Friday, June 14, 2019

South Whidbey Island II (2019-06-08)

Actually doing a ride I would've done years ago!

Port Townsend Highway Signs
Geotagged Album

Related albums:

Quimper and South Whidbey (Album)
Whidbey Island, Kitsap Peninsula, and Snow (Album)
Kitsap Loop (Album)
Quilcene II (Album)
Around Hood Canal (Album)
Hood Canal II (Album)
Multiple Peninsulas and Whidbey Island (Album)

It's been a while since I've last crossed Puget Sound, so I thought this world be the perfect opportunity!

More after the break…

Part 1: To Ferry

Part 1: To Ferry

I started at about 05:00 and headed for the Colman Dock. Along the way, I saw the current state of the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

Alaskan Way Viaduct Demolition: Pretty crazy to see it go.

Every time I think about it, I'm reminded of how surprised I am that such a significant change happened in my lifetime. I think that's a sign that I'm still young.

Also on the ferry were a couple of women headed out on a camping trip to the Finnriver Farm and Cidery, with their bikes all loaded up.

Part 2: Kitsap/Quimper

Part 2: Kitsap/Quimper

The climbs over Bainbridge Island were pretty easy, though I took the steeper multi-use trail beside SR-305 rather than said highway's shoulder when possible. I wouldn't say it was really worth it, but I wanted to check it out at least once. Once off the island, the route to Poulsbo was slightly tougher than I remembered, but still not bad.

I took my usual route out of Poulsbo, via Little Valley Road to Big Valley Road and the bicycle pass-through at its end..

Little Valley Road NE
Little Valley Bicycle Shortcut

The route through peaceful and green Big Valley was as lovely as always. Every time I go through there, I'm amused by all of the dogs barking at the Big Valley Pet Resort.

Big Valley Chevron

Once at the end of the valley, I took SR-3 to SR-104, then used the latter to cross the Hood Canal Bridge.

On Hood Canal Bridge
Hood Canal Bridge

When my partner saw the photo on the Hood Canal Bridge, she thought it looked surreal with the reflections of the clouds in the water.

The northwest end of the bridge marked the start of the longer climbs over the Quimper Peninsula. I did see something new, though: Rise on Shine on the south side of the highway, at a location that has long been called Shrine-Gri-La, a play of Shangri-La. The food truck was painted with murals advertising it.

At the top of the highest climb, I left SR-104 for SR-19 and headed north.

Red River Thresher

While on SR-19, I discovered that the old Beaver Valley General Store was gone, having been replaced by Sugar Hill Farms' store, which wasn't even open when I passed through.

Sugar Hill Farms Store: This used to be the Beaver Valley General Store.

I forgot about how SR-19's shoulder randomly ranged from five feet wide to two feet wide with a curb at the side. At least the chipseal that was horrible when fresh was worn down enough to be barely any worse than asphalt. When I was most of the way to Chimacum, a large group of Harley riders rode by, flashing the sign of horns one-by-one as they passed me. Following not far behind was what a truck towing what appeared to be an official Harley–Davidson trailer. The group pulled off right before the four-way stop in Chimacum, then headed off as I pulled into the Chimacum Corner Farm Stand.

Chimacum Corner Farm Store

At the farm stand, I got a bottled fruit smoothie. While I was there, a couple on a Co-motion tandem also stopped at the stand. They said they were usually solo riders, but were training on a tandem. Talking to them reminded me of the couple who were headed for Finnriver, which is in Chimacum. I hadn't seen them since I left the ferry on Bainbridge Island.

When I left the farm stand, I saw a teenage girl riding an old '90s mountain bike north along the highway's shoulder. Later, when I stopped to eat, I didn't see her again, but I did see the tandem couple again. Further toward Port Townsend, I ran into Rob Haggerty Jr., who was headed back to Seattle from a Whidbey Island camping trip. What a small world!

SR-19 in Chimacum

Eventually, SR-19 merged into SR-20, which I used to continue on my way to Port Townsend. My route had me taking a bike trail around a shoulder-free bridge on SR-20, but I stuck to the road and had to wait for an opening in traffic. It kept coming, so I had to use a suboptimal opening and be in the way of traffic until the shoulder returned on the other side. Soon after that was the descent into Port Townsend, which was a lot less scary than I remembered. Definitely a change of pace from the beginning of last week's descent into the valley!

Every time I visit Port Townsend, the local architecture captures my imagination!

Port Townsend Ferry Dock
Port Townsend
Port Townsend
Port Townsend
Port Townsend

There was an underground shopping mall in Port Townsend, beside which was a lady playing a bluegrass fiddle for a nice ambiance.

Mount Baker Block Underground
Mount Baker Block Underground

I didn't spend long in town, heading to the ferry terminal once I had my photos. While I waited, an older couple rolled up, headed for a nice ride on the island. They were riding on '90s mountain bikes.

Bikes on the Ferry: An older couple were also headed to Whidbey Island.
On the Ferry

Part 3: Whidbey Island

Part 3: Whidbey Island

Once off the ferry, I headed out via SR-20 to SR-525.

Whidbey Island Houses
Whidbey Island Houses
Driftwood Park

After a couple of bends, the surface of SR-520 degraded to chipseal, with a very narrow smooth shoulder. I was left the option of taking some of the lane, or dealing with the seam between the two surface treatments causing instability and discomfort. Faced with that choice, I just edged a little more into the travel lane and made my way up the climb away from Keystone and to SR-525

After the usual ups and down on SR-525, I arrived in Greenbank to discover that the old Greenbank Store had closed down…

Greenbank Store: I asked the owners of the Greenbank Pantry and Deli what happened to the Greenbank Store. They said that they were the owners of the Store, and simply moved its operations into the smaller space. The store was currently undergoing rennovation and restoration to be turned into a restaurant and bar. The said that the roof trusses and other things were in such poor shape that major work would be needed, and the new owners are working on it themselves. The tuna sandwich I got from the Pantry was pretty good, but I ate it in two parts: one at the Pantry, and the other an hour later on the side of the road. I also had a Dad's Diet Root Beer, which was quite good as well.

…Or so I thought. When I stopped by the adjacent Greenbank Pantry & Deli, I asked the owners of the Greenbank Pantry and Deli what happened to the Greenbank Store. They said that they were the owners of the Store, and simply moved its operations into the smaller space. The store was currently undergoing renovation and restoration to be turned into a restaurant and bar. The said that the roof trusses and other things were in such poor shape that major work would be needed, and the new owners are working on it themselves. The tuna sandwich I got from the Pantry was pretty good, but I ate it in two parts: one at the Pantry, and the other an hour later on the side of the road. I also had a Dad's Diet Root Beer, which was quite good as well.

Greenbank Pantry & Deli: I asked the owners of the Greenbank Pantry and Deli what happened to the Greenbank Store. They said that they were the owners of the Store, and simply moved its operations into the smaller space. The store was currently undergoing rennovation and restoration to be turned into a restaurant and bar. The said that the roof trusses and other things were in such poor shape that major work would be needed, and the new owners are working on it themselves. The tuna sandwich I got from the Pantry was pretty good, but I ate it in two parts: one at the Pantry, and the other an hour later on the side of the road. I also had a Dad's Diet Root Beer, which was quite good as well.
Greenbank Pantry & Deli Menu: The tuna sandwich I had was delicious.

When I headed to the restroom at the Geenbank Pantry, a couple of roadies stopped to do the same. The man was on a titanium bike with dynamo lighting, which the woman said he'd gotten via Montlake Cycles. They mentioned a few good routes on the island heading south, but I planned to stick to the highway because I wasn't trying to overdo it.

The ups and downs on SR-525 continued as the hot weather started to make itself known. I was reminded of how the highway doesn't have much in the way of points of interest along it, with those mainly along the side roads, which makes for great uninterrupted cycling as long as one really wants that.

P6080142
The Short Stop
SR-525
SR-525

I eventually made it to the ferry terminal. While waiting for the ferry an older gentleman asked me where I was headed to start a conversation. He eventually steered the conversation over to e-bikes and how much they've improved, and another older gentleman asked if he'd heard of a company importing cheap Chinese e-bikes, which turned out to be Rad Power Bikes. When the topic of the tariffs on Chinese goods came up, I tuned out of the conversation.

Clinton Ferry Terminal

I didn't see any other cyclists leave the ferry before I got on, nor did I see any on the ferry. Maybe the climb out of Mukilteo is discouraging to most?

Part 4: Mukilteo to Everett

Part 4: Mukilteo to Everett

I started up that climb right after disembarking the ferry, making it to the left turn to Mukilteo Boulevard thanks to the low amount of traffic, likely because I was the last one off the ferry. For some reason, I had it in my head that I'd only ridden Mukilteo Boulevard when it was dark, but my last time on it wasn't dark at all. While it wasn't dark, it definitely was a nice challenge, with lots of ups and downs!

Mukilteo Boulevard: The last time I rode on Mukiltea Boulevard, it was well past sunset. It was great being able to actually see everything!
Mukilteo Boulevard: The last time I rode on Mukiltea Boulevard, it was well past sunset. It was great being able to actually see everything!
Forest Park Overpass: The last time I rode on Mukiltea Boulevard, it was well past sunset. It was great being able to actually see everything!

I showed up at the bay at Everett Station for the bus to Seattle only minutes before the bus went out of layover, so I quickly unloaded everything on my bike. I was the last person on the bus, but it still didn't leave for five minutes so I wasn't really at risk.

I didn't appreciate the white lab barking over and over on the bus. Between that and the conversation between a scruffy guy and a girl from Europe, I didn't get any of the quiet I usually enjoy on the bus ride back to Seattle after a long day of riding.

Part 5: Return Home

Part 5: Return Home

When I was riding between Gasworks and Fremont while heading home, I noticed that the man from a couple had dynamo lighting on his bike. After a slow conversation start, we got to talking, we all ended up following each other on Instagram. They were impressed by my 333fab bike, and the woman got a picture of my chainring tattoo because her adventurous mother wanted to do the same. They were headed for a goth tiki night at the Masonry. My partner wasn't interested in going. (No stop at FreeRange since the shop had been closed for hours for just this Saturday.)

When I got home, I thought about how I saw so many cyclists out on the open road, from hard-core roadies, to bicycle tourists camping or otherwise, to that girl riding on SR-19's shoulder in Chimacum. It was so nice waving to folks headed the other way. I felt like I was congregating with my people around the bicycle.

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