A motorcycle tour covering six counties!
More after the break…
To Ferry
I started this ride at about 6:15 and headed along SR-99 and through downtown Seattle to get to Colman Dock, mainly to avoid the grated deck on the Ballard Bridge. This left me arriving at about 6:40…only to wait for about an hour for the second boat of the day. Since I only have a motorcycle permit, I couldn't have left much earlier to catch the first boat, as I'm not legally allowed to ride at night. The hour didn't drag on, thankfully.
I'm at Seattle Ferry Terminal in Seattle, WA https://t.co/Rx7OZIb7nM
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) June 12, 2021
While I waited, a couple of cyclists unfamiliar with taking their bikes on the ferry rolled up. I told them about the bike lane and so on so they wouldn't be missed by the WSF workers. They said that they were riding with someone else to Colman Dock who was headed down the Pacific Coast to San Francisco. We got to talking about this and that, and one of them seemed familiar with motorcycles. When I told him that my scooter was 400cc, he was pretty surprised.
Kitsap & Quimper Peninsulas
The ferry workers told me to go with the hand motion of opening the throttle, much to my surprise. Since they put me into a side lane on the ferry, I had to squeeze between the car and the side of the ferry after arriving at Winslow. I didn't stick around in Winslow, however, instead heading straight towards Poulsbo on SR-305.
My next stop was at the Central Market in Poulsbo.
The supermarket was impressive! Not only was its produce section nearly as large as my local supermarket in the same chain, it had a fast food restaurant at the front. I only bought a four pack of bran muffins at the store, eating one before riding off.
I left Poulsbo via Big Valley, a very familiar route from my bicycle rides. Since it was still fairly early, there wasn't much traffic to contend with until I got to SR-3, where there was maintenance work being done that required a flagger to direct traffic. After waiting for several minutes, we were allowed to go.
The Hood Canal Bridge worried me a bit with its grated bridge deck, but I checked Street View to confirm that there were plates on the sections that were sloped, and it ended up being fine. After crossing the bridge, I did something I'd never done before: went down to Termination Point to get a better view of the bridge and its surroundings.
I'm at Shine Tidelands State Park - @wastatepks in Port Ludlow, WA https://t.co/LTcg2Z1bQy
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) June 12, 2021
Once done at Termination Point, I continued along SR-104, then made a right onto SR-19 to head towards Chimacum. At one point along the latter, a sportbike got impatient with the car behind me and zipped past us both with the usual loudness, in a no passing zone no less. The car and I were both going over the speed limit!
My next stop was at the Chimacum Corner Farm Stand, where I only got a bottled fruit smoothie. The one thing that struck me as being different during my visit was the new shelter out front, likely for people waiting in line before entering due to COVID-19 restrictions.
I'm at Chimacum Corner Farm Stand in Chimacum, WA https://t.co/Eix9lI7aE5
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) June 12, 2021
My next stop was Port Townsend, where I spent some time walking around and taking photos. While I did so, a band comprised of a sousaphone, violin, and another instrument I can't recall played some very nice music.
One thing that jogged my memory during the walk was an old building that was featured in a ghost hunting show that my partner and I watched while in Portland.
I noticed that there was a ferry headed for the dock, and it took me a few minutes to realize that I should head down to catch it due to how long the headways are on weekends.
I'm at Port Townsend, WA in WA https://t.co/CuBkp9RWi4
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) June 12, 2021
After rushing to the ferry dock, the clerk at the ticket booth said that I had plenty of time, but I still ended up one of the last ones on the ferry.
I'm at Port Townsend Ferry Terminal in Port Townsend, WA https://t.co/51U45nP4LD
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) June 12, 2021
Whidbey Island & Return Home
My first stop after leaving the ferry was an unplanned at Camp Casey. I just had to get photos when I saw everything laid out in front of me!
As I headed towards Coupeville, it struck me how windy it was on the island, which remained a theme throughout the rest of the ride.
I had it in my mind that I'd never been to Coupeville before, but as I walked around taking photos, I saw many familiar sites from some past bicycle ride.
After I'd taken my photos, I thought about getting a hot dog from the stand I'd seen earlier, but there was quite a long line at that point so I decided against it.
I left Coupeville via an unplanned route along Madrona Way. Unlike the fast highway with the wind knocking my head around, it was a pretty chill time. Once back on SR-20, I sam some familiar sights, such as the 
Three Sisters' Market in San de Fuca, which featured a new paint job in a nice red..
My next stop was in Oak Harbor, where I stopped at the Oak Harbor Cafe & Lounge for a tasty lunch of a chicken sandwich and garlic knots. The service was pretty slow, but it was probably because they were still running with a pandemic-level staff.
I'm at Oak Harbor Cafe And Bar in Oak Harbor, WA https://t.co/laGMvioh44 pic.twitter.com/L245S3p17A
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) June 12, 2021
While I'd previously done a two-day bicycle ride along Whidbey Island with a night in Oak Harbor, it was a ways out of downtown and I made a point of bypassing the city, so this was my first real look at it.
The city made a big deal about a "historic waterfront", but it was more like a beach than vintage buildings.
With the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island adjacent to town, there were also some interesting buildings like this radar tower.
As I headed out of town, I saw the 
Auld Holland Inn where I'd stayed last time, which is what made me realize that I'd not really seen Oak Harbor before.
After fighting the wind for a while, my next stop was at Deception Pass. Unlike last time, it was very busy indeed!
Unfortunately, they were repainting the bridges, so I could only walk along one side of the bridges, and couldn't see much of the substructure.
After I'd gotten my fill, I continued along SR-20. As I crossed Fidalgo Island, there was a group of several motorcycles who were hanging well behind me for quite some time, only to pass by as we crossed the bridge. I hadn't lost any speed during the climb, so they must've powered up it.
I left SR-20 via SR-536, passed through Mount Vernon without stopping, and rode along the frontage road to Conway, my next stop. I entered the gas station's convenience store without a mask on, which felt strange but appeared to be the norm for the area, then bought some water and headed out.
As I rode along the Pioneer Highway out of Conway and through Milltown, there were some small scooters going just under the speed limit. The car in front of me passed one of them, only to end up stuck between them, and I just hung back since there was'nt a safe way to get around everyone.
Pioneer Highway eventually became Marine Drive, which left me with visions of walls of trees whizzing by for days!
My next stop was in on the access road to the Tulalip Casino, just for a quick break since I'd been riding for a while. i'm glad my mental endurance now is much better than it was before!
I rode along the old SR-529 bridges into Everett, then stuck to Broadway as it approached its merge with I-5. I was worried a bit, until I saw the ramp that took me onto a much smaller version of Broadway that bypassed I-5 into South Everett, which is where I made a left onto SR-527.
After a stop in Bothell to discuss GPS mounting options with my Dad, I headed home along the usual route. Unlike my last ride through the area with its horrible traffic, there weren't that many people out. What a nice change of pace!
It sure is nice to finally be getting out of the city! Looking forward to when I get my motorcycle endorsement so I can stop focusing 100% on practice with these long motorcycle rides, though, as I do miss the long bicycle rides.
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