Finally got around to visiting Lake Cushman, after wanting to see it on my first tour around Hood Canal a while back. It wasn't all fun, though: I dropped my bike thanks to forgetting my disc brake lock.
More after the break…
Part 1: To Ferry
Just getting to the ferry was quite an event! I had to start very early since it was operating on a reduced schedule due to the labor shortage, and Second Avenue downtown was closed off for some reason. People were driving the wrong way down the one-way cross street when they saw this, but the worst I did was make a left from the right lane. After that, a scruffy guy was walking along a travel lane after a bus departed.
I'm at Bremerton Ferry in Seattle, WA https://t.co/U7Etw4inZH
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) February 5, 2022
When I finally arrived at the ferry terminal, I found a Harley rider in the motorcycle lane. He was on a Road Glide with the full touring package, and was the first of a group ride that was going to head down along the Kitsap Peninsula. Despite his fancy infotainment system, he was using the same Garmin Zumo XT that I was, because Harley's system doesn't tell which lane to be in for upcoming turns. Quite an oversight!
By the time the ferry showed up, several of his buddies had arrived, so the ferry workers sectioned off the entire front of the car deck for us.
Part 2: To Lake Cushman
I'd originally planned my route to go by the Family Pancake House again, but my GPS had other ideas. I knew the area well enough to get there despite the lack of directions.
I'm at Family Pancake House in Bremerton, WA https://t.co/howR7svBNH pic.twitter.com/Nqh0tFfe4q
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) February 5, 2022
The waitress who was serving me was very nice. The scrambled eggs on my plate were so fluffy!
My plan for this ride was to drink an energy drink after a second big meal to prevent stomach discomfort, hence my stop at the diner, which went well for all of a few minutes. I'd somehow forgotten to take off my disc brake lock when starting out shortly after finishing the drink, which resulted in my bike going down! My first thought was "Not this again!" since I'd almost dropped my scooter months earlier due to the same thing, though I managed to save the scooter from going down. The only significant damage was to the my left hand guard, which broke off, and my shifter, which was bent. Other damage limited to scratches on the extremities like the bar-end mirror and exhaust pipe. It could've been a lost worse, but I still felt pretty dumb. I'm glad I didn't go with something significantly heavier like a Harley, because I was barely able to pick my bike up!
After leaving Bremerton via SR-3, I hung a right onto SR-106. The twisty turns were a bit scary for a little bit until I got into the groove with them.
I'm at @Shell_us in Skokomish Nation, WA https://t.co/tw7ZiA9tUv
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) February 5, 2022
As I headed north along US 101, it started to get a lot colder, to the point where I was shivering despite the heated grips and layering. And when I finally starting heading up SR-119 to Lake Cushman, there was even snow! SR-119 was also pretty scary as there was a car on my rear pushing me to take the corners faster than I would've otherwise, which taught me to use counterweighting at the apex when I knew I wasn't going to make the turn with the amount of lean I had. Drivers out there sure are crazy!
When I finally got to my destination at Skokomish Park, I discovered that it was closed, so there wasn't much to do there.
Part 3: Return via Bremerton
I headed back down along SR-119, with a car behind me much the same as before, though I was more confident and even having fun with it now, to the point where I went past my intended turn-off to hopefully see Cushman Dam No.1. After turning around, I went along the side road, not quite sure if it was the right way. Thankfully, it was.
I'm at Lake Cushman in Hoodsport, WA, WA https://t.co/FcluomEmBH
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) February 5, 2022
I then headed back down to Hoodsport to find food. Not much was open, but I found a tasty meal at Burger Stand: egg rolls and a bacon cheeseburger.
I'm at Burger Stand in Hoodsport, WA https://t.co/WJGKEPRjY6
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) February 5, 2022
SR-106 back to SR-3 was a lot of fun this time! I managed to keep a good speed the whole way.
When I got back to the ferry terminal in Bremerton, there was a Suzuki SV650, and not long after, both a KTM 390 Adventure and a BMW F650GS showed up. The first three riders and I chatted a bit, with the KTM rider very enthusiastic about his new rig.
I'm at Bremerton Ferry Terminal in Bremerton, WA https://t.co/4JSNrl2Aab
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) February 5, 2022
The ferry ride felt a lot shorter than an hour, likely because I was falling asleep for a bit here in there. I hadn't slept great the night before, which might've contributed to me forgetting about the disc brake lock. While walking around the ferry, I also observed the KTM rider playing a Nintendo Switch.
Part 4: Return Home
When the ferry docked in Seattle, the Suzuki rider had a ton of trouble starting his bike. It would run for a few seconds, then die, but he eventually got it working. It looked pretty old, so could it have been a carbureted model?
The KTM rider and I took the same route through SoDo for a bit, until I hit SR-99 for the tunnel.
After a quick stop for gas in Wallingford, I was stuck in a long line of cars heading down to Ballard. I wonder what that was about
While eating dinner with my partner after getting home, I recalled seeing orange cables running down from the handlebars of some motorcycles I regularly see parked on the street in Seattle. I had the idea to look them up, and saw that they were disc brake lock reminder cables! If I'd been using them, this would've never happened! I had the feeling that I still had the cables since I didn't know what they were for and thought I might need them, and I did manage to track them down, so this shouldn't happen again.
I also ordered the replacement hand guard mount and arm since nobody sells the mounting piece alone. It was a good thing I did, too, since the arm was bent pretty badly! I was also fortunate enough that my local Triumph dealer had the shifter lever I needed in stock, so I grabbed that and replaced all the broken stuff myself since it was a pretty simple job.
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