The last few weeks have been good for running and biking. Six years back, I did a long distance ride of about 115 miles. I was interested in repeating such a long distance bike ride. In particular, I was interested in biking from Bellevue, WA to Sequim, WA. My family was concerned about my interest in doing this solitary ride. In my weekend walk with my wife, she convinced me to take a bus for part of the way. I took her advice and attempted the ride on June 6, 2022.
I slept well before starting the trip. At 8:42 AM, I arrived at a local bus stop where Route 535 buses start. Found a bike rack and got into the bus easily. After arriving at Lynnwood, I transferred to another flight 116 to reach the Ferry Station. Quickly, I got the tickets and boarded the ferry. It was an amazing feeling to load up first, even before the first few cars came at high speed.
At Kingston Ferry station, I was also the first to leave the ferry. Now the joy and pain of biking starts in earnest. I walked the bike first, and then started biking. Slowly and steadily, I reached the Hood Canal, a famous landmark in this area. I crossed the floating bridge to reach the other side. Just then I had completed 11 miles. There was a cop who passed me by; that was assuring that there is some security in this seemingly remote city of Kingston.
To avoid the major highway 101, I took an alternate path through the Miller Peninsula. After a long climb via the Paradise Bay Road, I reached Port Ludlow. Then I curved around the peninsula via Oak Bay Road, Beaver Valley Road, Highway 19, and then Highway 20. This section on the regular road was fantastic. There was limited traffic, wider roads, a calmer setting, bird sounds all around, etc. Between miles 22 and 27, it was hard with long continuous hill climbs. The route returned to highway 101. and I was at Discovery Bay completing nearly 30 miles of my biking trip.
The Olympic Discovery Trail starts at Discovery Bay and runs westwards. Some sections have well paved bike routes, and others were on the exiting arterial roads. Sometimes the path weaved back to Highway 101; most other times it was over the woods nearby. This was another calming section via Gardiner, Blyn, etc. I stopped by a few extra times today to drink water and eat a protein bar. Eventually, around mile marker 49, I rode into the entrance to the city of Sequim.
The entire trip was 6 hours and 40 minutes long. I biked for 5 hours and 40 minutes, not including the stops. My watch recorded the distance at 51 miles with an elevation gain of 2808 feel. That was fantastic, given that I am back to bicycling long distances only this year. It was about 9.0 miles an hour. For now, I am very satisfied with this bike ride. I expect to make additional biking trips in the future.
As mentioned in my longest run in Seattle post, there are several reeats: drink water, pause & rest is okay, manage bowel movements, enjoy the scenery, etc. Thanks to my family for the support they gave me in the preparation and this bike ride. There will be many other bike rides in the future!
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