This time by motorcycle!
More after the break…
Part 1: To Ferry
With this ride being in the middle of a heatwave, I thought it best to start early and get home midday to avoid the worst of it, so I started at about 05:20 and headed straight to Colman Dock via SR-99. That taller windshield that my father installed a while back did a great job of blocking all but the worst gusts at higher speeds and I found myself going a little faster than before.
When I arrived, I was in a line of several cars in the overflow lot waiting to get into into the waiting area. It felt like it was going nowhere for a while, but we moved quickly once we started.
Once the cars had disboarded the arriving ferry, the ferry workers waved us on and put us into one of the side lanes on the main deck, meaning we'd have to squeeze between cars and the wall at the side.
While we were underway, I looked over the other motorcycles that had boarded behind me: a Honda Gold Wing and a Suzuki GSX-R. That Gold Wing sure was nice!
Part 2: Bainbridge Island
After leaving the ferry dock, I made my way along back roads to Manitou Beach. This started a theme throughout the rest of the ride: being afraid of missing turns and sometimes having to backtrack. The first time this happened was when I zipped right by Manitou Beach while looking for parking. I had to turn back, and wondered if the folks walking their dogs along the road thought I was being odd.
Manitou Beach was a familiar sight: my partner and I rode our bicycles there the one time we took the ferry over there.
Continuing along back roads, I passed by the the Rolling Bay Jiffy Mart.
Then I rode up the eastern side of the island, making a left and completely bypassing Fay Bainbridge Park without realizing it. As I headed towards SR-305, I started seeing signs pointing to the park and decided to turn around because I wanted to see it since I'd never done so before.
While I walked around taking photos, one guy who thought he was in one said that it would be a "world famous photo". Another couple of people were bicycle camping at the park, which is something that's fairly popular to do but that I'd never done.
I'm at Fay Bainbridge Park in Bainbridge Island, WA https://t.co/tco0q8Jjyy
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) June 26, 2021
From Fay Bainbridge Park, I continued along my planned route, which sent me out along NE West Port Madison Road. I'd originally mistakenly planned to go along the Bloedel Reserve's driveway to get to NE Dolphin Drive, but realized that it wouldn't really work. I wasn't opposed to visiting the reserve, but it wasn't open yet and I didn't want to stick around because of the heatwave.
After turning around, rode along back roads like Henderson Road NE, which were barely two lanes wide and lacked dividing lines. Thankfully, there was almost no traffic out there.
As I rode along Miller Road NE, I saw signs for a park and hung a right to check it out. On my first go, I turned when I should've gone straight and ended up having to turn around yet again. I did eventually make it to Williams–Olson Park, though.
While I did see a sign for Battle Point Park down there as well, it was pretty obvious that this wasn't the correct way to get there, so I headed back to Miller Road NE and my route…which led me to Battle Point Park after all, which was huge! It featured play structures, a roller hockey rink, several tennis courts, multiple soccer fields, a disc golf field, an observatory, and a concession stand, from which I bought a Gatorade. I was looking for water, but this was a good second choice..
As I walked around taking photos, I kept hearing a buzzing, which became overpowering as I walked by the sandy disc golf field. There were thousands of some sort of sand fly swarming around it!
I'm at Battle Point Park in Bainbridge Island, WA https://t.co/FpGfOtqBMQ
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) June 26, 2021
As I left, I took note of the white Suzuki Burgman 650. Back when I was looking for my first powered two-wheeler, it was on my radar, but it seemed too big and I ended up getting that Honda ADV 150. Funny how I ended up with a Burgman after all, but the 400cc version instead.
I then headed towards Lynwood Center, but not without grabbing some water from the Fletcher Bay Mart along the way.
Lynwood Center sticks out in my memory as the refuge I took during the downpour on an earlier bicycle ride, which gives it a special place in my heart. Like that time, I got a sandwich: egg, bacon, and cheese on wheat.
I'm at Lynwood Center in WA https://t.co/Ma1GaRyBZ0
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) June 26, 2021
As I got ready to leave Lynwood, I noticed that my route actually had me go the long way around Lynwood, so I backtracked a quarter-mile and proceeded to do that. As I neared the top of NE Baker Hill Road, I stopped as there was a downed tree in the road. This was something I'd come to expect on bicycle rides away from cars, but not on roads!
A lady who was heading on the other way to an appointment that was starting soon, and a mother and son who were in the car behinhd me, tried in vain to move it. A couple of police cars showed up a few minutes later and told us that the public works had been called, and that we couldn't move the tree on their watch due to liability. The second lady said she'd called her husband who has a saw, but the officer said that was also a no-go, so she had to call back to cancel that.
The first lady asked if she could drive around it in the grassy area that sloped down into a ravine, which the officer obviously denied. Desperate, she asked if she could park in the grassy area on the other, level, side and walk to her appointment. The officer said that it didn't bother him at all. Her reply to that was a bit snippy, but I can understand being in a hurry.
The officer said it would be an hour before the public works would show up, so I turned around and took the long way around to the other side, which featured a narrow road frequented by locals walking along it, so it took a while for me to get to the other side of the hill leading up to the downed tree. Rather than dealing with the tree, I turned back around to check out the pier at Point White. I wasn't alone, though, with a couple of women walking their dogs on the pier.
I'm at Point White Dock in Bainbridge Island, WA https://t.co/G7zUWqmrSc
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) June 26, 2021
After continuing along my way, I passed by the other side of Lynwood Center again, then passed right by Fort Ward Park. Actually seeing the park wouldn't have been so convenient, I'd already seen it, and I didn't want to spend much more time out in the heat. I'd already been sweating all day and was soaked with it!
My next stop was South Beach, where I found a tiny spot of dirt on which I could park my scooter while I took photos.
When I got there, a guy walking his dog pointed out the bald eagle, so I whipped out the super-telephoto lens to get a shot.
I was a bit worried about the 1.5-lane wide road I had to travel along next, since I wasn't sure if it was two-way. I asked a couple of locals who were walking by and they said it was fine, and that there was an exit on the other end, so I pressed on.
When I finished the Fort Ward Loop, I noticed that Blakely Harbor was very low and muddy, but I didn't stop to take photos due to the heat. I really wanted to get home!
When I got to the ferry terminal, there were two motorcycles and a scooter there. The two riders of the motorcycles (a Harley–Davidson chopper and a very old BMW) were chatting, while the guy with the scooter (an Aprilia Atlantic 500) was standing there looking like he was up for a chat, but I wasn't really in a talking mood at the time.
I'm at Bainbridge Island/Seattle Ferry in Bainbridge Island, WA https://t.co/B0EQjQxUtW
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) June 26, 2021
Part 3: Return Home
Once back in Seattle, I realized I had to take a different route than my planned one due to the Colman Dock construction, but it was only a minor headache and I made it home without any more fuss.
This ride ended up being great handling practice for my upcoming motorcycle endorsement skills test. So many tight turns on a route that looks like the side profile of an old man!
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