Wouldn’t want to miss this part!
The majority of the way through Sequim proper was on a path that ran parallel to whatever road. Once out of Sequim, it was back to cross country.
I came to Railroad Park, and realized I should probably eat something. There were picnic tables, so I pulled up and had some lunch. I was feeling a slight bit of pressure to make it to Fairholm Campground before dark, but I still needed to eat. I ate fast.
I rode across the big bridge over the Dungeness River and only took this selfie.
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one out riding today! See the gentleman right behind me? He rode up beside me and asked if I was familiar with the trail. I told him a little. He told me when the trail went down steeply, to not go down, but stay on the road bridge. The trail went down, under the road, across its own bridge, then back up the other side. When I got to that part, I was grateful for the info. It saved me a steep climb. That’s not to say there weren’t other steep climbs. One that I remembered from years ago when Christian, Carol, and I did the trail, involved a very steep switchbacking downhill, over a covered bridge, followed by an equally steep uphill.
No way to avoid this one!
Eventually, the trail went along the water to...
I made my second route error (but quickly turned around when my Garmin started beeping at me) as I was leaving PA. The trail has been changed...well, I should say, more trail has been added, so it’s much further before it goes on the road. Still, only for relatively short periods of time. Then it’s back to long stretches of separated trail.
I came to the cool bridge over the Elwah River.
Suspended below the road!
Elwah
From then on, it was road riding, and hill climbing. At one point, I was supposed to go off SR 112. I stopped and looked at the map I’d picked up when I came into Sequim, and saw I could just stay on 112, and cut out a small section that just came back to 112 down the road. I think it only saved me a couple of miles. But, that was good because it just started to rain as I came into Joyce. I stopped undercover at the general store. I got something to drink, and filled my water bottle. The rain showed no signs of quitting, so I pulled out my rain gear. I’m trying out a rain poncho. For my legs, I brought my long gaiters. I put my Shake Dry jacket on underneath, thinking it would keep my arms dry. I needn’t have done that. It made me too warm while I was climbing. The poncho worked great! I was concerned about the wind, but it stayed hooked over the handlebars just fine. Meanwhile, I stayed nice and dry, and not super sweaty. Would have been even less sweaty without the Shake Dry.
Me in the poncho.
I made it to the Spruce Railway Trail which is part of the ODT.
It runs along the north shore of Lake Crescent. It goes through 2 tunnels.
Number one
Inside the tunnel
Number two (much shorter)
As I continued on the Spruce Railway Trail, I came to where there was a road downtown a road below. I saw some people, and asked if that roadbelow was Camp David Junior Rd. They said it was. Since I was eventually getting on that road to go to the campground, I went ahead and got on it there. Tomorrow I will return to the Trail, but I saw where I don’t have to go all the way back.
I finally made it to Fairholm CG at 7:00. It was still raining, but not too much. I quickly set up my tent and got everything undercover as much as possible. It sure will be nice when I have the proper footprint for this tent. It also covers the vestibule floors.
So, long day at 55 miles, but such a good one!
1 comment:
Wind exposure is a concern to consider with any cover, based on personal experience. When I returned home from a trip out of town, I saw my 500+ pound bike lying on its side, the victim of heavy winds that had converted the cover into a sail. I didn't have a completely wind-protected area to put it at the time, but I'd also become complacent and parked with the side stand upwind.
Post a Comment