Olympic Discovery Trail, Moving Further West

Since I've started riding again, the miles have started to add up. I like to ride from the house, but at least once a week, it's nice to put the bikes on the rack and drive to a trailhead. I decided last week that I would plan to ride my new bike at least once a week, and so far, that's what I've done. Last weekend, we rode east. Today, we rode west.

A couple of weeks ago we rode from the trailhead at the top of Fairholm Hill to the Camp Creek Trailhead. That was a great ride, and I'll certainly ride that section again, but today we started at Camp Creek and rode west along a shared road, the Mary Clark Road, which terminates at Highway 101 just west of Sappho, between the two bridges that cross the Sol Duc River. This was a section I was curious about, so that's what we did.

This ride was totally on the road. The first thing that happened was W wanted to turn around; he thought he saw something down a trail. What he saw was an elk, minding its own business, browsing along a closed road grade. It was pretty hard to see, with the sunlight filtering through the trees, but I did see it, and that's how our ride started. The road was easy to ride; the first several miles had a great shoulder, but we had the road to ourselves. The first rig we saw was a Forest Service truck, parked off the road; someone was out doing their work. We could see the second rig; it was bright red, and around here, that usually means a Department of Resources vehicle. We recognize these rigs - W drove one during his years as a DNR Land Manager. We saw the young woman, getting her vest on before heading out to work. Until we hit the end of this section, which was 10 miles in length, we didn't see another vehicle on the road. 

Highway 101 looking east

After a short snack and water break, we turned around and headed back to the trailhead. We saw a few more vehicles, including a car we had seen when we were turning around. The man stopped, and asked us if we needed any water, which was really nice. It turns out he's a Forks local, and out for a drive with an older man. After him, we saw a couple of trucks which came out of driveways along Mary Clark Road, four men on quads who drive out to the area from Port Angeles to work on quad trails on Forest Service land, and two loaded logging trucks. Those two trucks were the only ones that came up behind us, and it's a little unnerving! The forest was a mix of newer trees, and some older stands that had been pre-commercially thinned. And one section through this mix was straight for two plus miles - easy riding. 

This was a good ride, and I could appreciate how touring riders would like this section, with it's quiet two lanes, but once they hit Highway 101, they will be on a pretty busy main road - for now. I've ridden on 101, and didn't really enjoy it, because of the traffic and the narrowness of the shoulders. And now that I've ridden this section, I don't know that I'll need to do it again. My curiosity has been satisfied, and the section east of the trailhead is nicer. Still, it was a good 20 mile ride, with beautiful sunny skies and temperatures in mid-70s. I'll look forward to our next trip out on the bike.

624.86/365

She Was Right; It Was a Game Changer

In my last blog post, I had mentioned that I was thinking about buying an ebike. This came about from a conversation with a woman on a day we had ridden our tandem from our house to the Elwha River Bridge. The woman basically said, "Just go buy one - it's a game changer!" She reiterated what I'd heard before - they make the hills easier, they are comfortable, and they are fun. My husband had ridden a friend's ebike a few times, so he knew that he would be purchasing one this summer. While W ran into the bike shop one day, the ebike guy, who knew I was waiting in the car, came out - on his bike - to give me a sales pitch! I was a captive audience. Then, a friend who had just purchased one stopped by the house, and he let me take a test ride around the block. Talk about a series of coincidences - we headed to the bike shop.

I took a test ride consisting of a couple of miles. One of the things I really wanted to test the climbing ability on hills. If you have avoided cycling because of hilly routes, you know that hills can be tough to get up, and are sometimes you just have to dismount and walk to the top when you run out of gears. One of the popular trails locally goes along the Port Angeles waterfront, and Francis Street has a little park and connects to the trail - it's short but steep; in other words, the perfect test area. I messed up a little on the gears, but with the power assist, I made it up the hill fairly easily. We rode back to the shop, and I bought the bike on the spot. It was the right size, the seat was comfortable, and I was sitting upright. We had to go home and put the bike rack on the car, but we took a ride that very afternoon, right back to the Elwha Bridge. I have never come up the hill so easily, and did manage at one point to leave W in the dust! I kicked it up, and made it almost up to 20 MPH - and on a slight uphill grade, too! 

   

I've ridden at least once a week since I brought the bike home. We did a nice ride on the Olympic Discovery Trail from Seibert Creek to the Railroad Bridge and back, and this week we rode from the top of Fairholm Hill west of Lake Crescent to the Camp Creek Trailhead in the Cooper Ranch area. This ride was also on the ODT. We had great weather on both rides, and the ride west of the lake was really nice. The trail was pretty much ours, and the few folks we saw were all on bikes. There were two new sections of trail we hadn't been on since the last time we rode out that way. The Olympic Discovery Trail is an excellent way to explore the Olympic Peninsula, and we are looking forward to riding other sections in the future. The trail is paved, and it is for non-motorized use; walking, riding, and equestrian. 

1st Ride - Siebert Creek east to the Railroad Bridge Park

The Dungeness River

Ride # 2 - Fairholm to Camp Creek

The Sol Duc River

I'm looking forward to riding more this year. I have fenders, and a mirror (bifocals are not the best for checking for cars and other riders behind), and I've already gotten much better at shifting. I know that probably seems a little silly, but on the tandem, all I do is pedal - no steering, shifting, or braking. I need to remember to not grab the front brake so hard, though; my Specialized Como is heavy, and I don't need it landing on top of me! Will I ride on dirt? That remains to be seen, although we have an event coming up on the Adventure Route, the OAT Summer Challenge - 22.7 miles of Adventure Route that can be explored on foot, on bike, or on a horse. With 8 weeks to complete the course, and some nice swag upon completion, I may get my chance. 

This was a good purchase, and the woman on the bridge was 100% correct - total game changer.

536.03/365