first days and rest days

The ferry that we took from Seattle to Bainbridge Island was packed with bikes, all commuting home from work. A great fleet took on the empty car deck and hurried to fill the handrails with their bikes. At first all we could see was nice new bikes, fancy and shiny--but we soon realized our bikes were among the few more humble (and far less stealable) rides on the ferry. Once off the boat in the first little tourist town we stopped for a snack. The ride from our friend's house to the ferry dock in Seattle was probably 5 traffic-filled miles, and we were hungry. This hunger has been a guiding feature of the last few days.

After our snack we set out to put some distance on before the sun went down. We crossed the bridge off the island and set about finding a place to sleep in the dense forest by the road. Day two we put more miles behind us, and our legs were weary from the training on the road--there was a very long and windy bridge, then an intense hill, then it was a pleasant rural road with glimpses of the sound. We ate overlooking a resort marina (rice a roni) and again found a little place to camp.

Day 3 would lead us to Port Townsend, and being that we had someone to visit (and on account of our tired legs) we decided to take a day off. The morning was clear but soon rain came on, and we pulled into PT damp and ready to warm up with some coffee. Mmmmm, coffee. Meandering around the town we happen upon a fiddle jam so sat in for a few (which earned us $1 pints of beer) and met a nice man that let us camp in his yard. He is a bike enthusiast and has been around the peninsula extensively so sat us down with some maps and gave some much-appreciated advice. Also, he gave us some maps and his wife made us some cookies!

Our full rest day we did some busking (street performance for tips) and made a little dough, enough to cover a few bike repairs that Matt had done. The mechanic told him that his bike was a late 60's model Raleigh--pretty much all original! That night we crashed with friends-of-friends and saw again pals we met at the music fest in Centralia. Sweet, sweet people!

Today we ride again, two day to Port Angeles to meet up with the sleeping bag. It is fabulously clear and a little windy. The rain ahead will be a challenge, but with ever-strengthening legs I think that soon we'll be soaring over the road, regardless of the rain.