6/4 Capitol Forest Prison/Elma/Wynooche/Wiskah/Lake Quinault

We ate our breakfast at camp Will looked up the maps on his Iphone and we decided to take the Bordeaux Rd through the Capitol Forest.  We rode undisturbed though the trees on a gorgeous morning.  We ended up at Cedar Creek Correctional Facility, nestled in the forest, where the prison employees let us fill up our water and informed us that the road we were planning on taking was washed out and instead to take the D-line.   As we left the facility, and the inmates watched us through the chain link fence, I thought to myself, if I had to spend time in prison, this would be the place.   We made our way to the D-line, which featured a nice short steep climb that softened us all up.  We then descended through the forest and made our way back to Rt 12 towards Elma.  I felt strong through the forest but when we reached Route 12 I began to tire.  The miles the previous day had begun to take their toll.  We rode in a line at a pretty steady pace all the way to the Rusty Tractor Restaurant in Elma, where we gorged on Yak Burgers, fries and copious amounts of sugary caffeinated beverages.  We avoided the highway and rode on the Monte-Elma Rd to Montesano, where we fed ourselves some more and got some groceries for later in the day.  As we left Montesano we rode along the Wynoochee River Valley.  Will and the gang rode fast through the bucolic setting while hung on at the back.   These directions were inspired by the Google Maps bike directions and they took us through Aberdeen Gardens and Wiskah, where we climbed up a section of dirt road to a beautiful view of the Olympic Mountains.   By the time we got to the very coarsley paved  Hoquiam Rd, we were all really tired.  We finally got to the 101 we stopped for some bagged wine.  The next 30 miles on the 101 through Humptulips were very memorable, we were all feeling tired and had to count down every mile on the side.  We got our sweet satisfaction as we made it to our destination, the angelic Lake Quinault, where after 90 long miles we met my good friends Jordon, Jaycee and her dog Sasha at the Gatton Creek Campground.  There we feasted on the spoils from our earlier grocery store purchases, watched the sunset and slept well on the side of the lake.

Pete having some fun in the Capitol Forest

Dan and Pete begin a descent on the D-Line

More D Line fun

The locals know where the good roads are

Yak Burger au Jus at the Rusty Tractor

 

A much needed break near Wiskah

Bagged Vino

When I first started riding I was not that flexible and by the end of the day I would look like this

Goody flaps his wings for the final few miles on the 101

Goody's Campsite

Sasha

Goody hangs out in the Hammock

Dan and Pete enjoy the sunset and Lake Quinault

Background/About the riders

        Hello, my name is Dan and this blog is a recap of the bicycle tour that my friends Will, Goody, Pete, Aidan, David and I went on in the summer of 2010.   My friend Will began to vocalize the idea to ride across the continent in late 2009.  Will and I grew up in Potsdam, New York, and had biked and ran together from time to time in our youth.  It was just after new year eve dinner in 2009, that we first starting looking at google maps that I became excited by the prospect this journey over land.  It took me a while to commit to the idea, but I made up my mind in late spring and was on board along with Goody, an all american middle distane runner in high school and environmental studies major at Binghamton, Pete, a history and russian major at Binghamton and high school rower, Aidan, Pete's cousin, musician and biology student at  University of California, Santa Cruz.  Additionally Will's father David, an author and librarian in Potsdam, would ride for us for a section in Canada and New York.  I knew Will and David well, had spent a little bit of time with Goody and have never met Pete and Aidan.  The tour was setting up to be a good mix of old friends and new companions.
         I graduated from University of Portland in May after another lackluster year of collegiate running and was ready to do something new.  My Dad owns a bike store in Potsdam, NY, the Treadmill, and I grew up around bikes, but I had never done any touring before.  Although I did some duathalon and mountain bike racing in middle school I became a runner in high school and didn't do much bike riding  In the summer of 2009, before my senior year at UP, I began to use my 1993 Bridgestone MB-4 to commute to an internship in Beaverton over Germantown Road from North Portland.   This got me excited about riding again and lead me to my decision to ride across the country.  For my graduation present my Dad gave me a 59 cm Salsa Casseroll outfitted for touring.  On my first ride on the Salsa in early May, I redlined up McNamee Road on a ride with my friends and was real spaint after a 25 mile ride.  I was a long way away from being able to do any serious touring.   I trained for 3 weeks, riding 20-50 miles a day on the hilly slopes up to skyline rd, running when I could, and replenishing my body with oatmeal heavy with maple syrup and hemp powder, and the tacos and burritos of the many fine taquerias of North Portland.  I looked online at biking forums and found a group of two young women who were looking to travel from Seattle to New York at around the same time as our tour.  We contacted Carrie and Ashley and planned to ride with them for a while.  They were leaving a little after we had planned to start so this gave us time to do a counterclockwise loop around the Olympic Peninsula and get to the "real" Pacific Ocean.   My plan was to meet Will, Goody and Pete around Olympia on the night of the June 3rd, before we would loop around the Olympics.  To view June 2 and 3rd to see Will, Goody, and Pete's journey from Seatac Airport to Mima Mounds, and my trip from Portland click older posts. To view June 4th and beyond click newer posts. 

6/3 Mima Mounds

The above map is the route that I took from Portland to meet Goody, Pete ,and Will at Mima Mounds Natural Area.  I waited to get ready until the last minute and didn't leave Portland until just after the stroke of noon that day.  It was my first day riding with a fully loaded bike and as I left the house I remember getting up out of the saddle and wondering how I was going to make this work. The longest ride of my life had been 50 miles, and I was lucky to have a tailwind push me along for a good portion off the way.  It is amazing what you can do when you leave yourself no other option.  The last ten miles were an eternity but I found the guys before dark.  It was my first meeting with Pete, and the four of us socialized, checked out each others bikes and gear and then retired for the evening.   

Goody

Mount Rainier

Goody and Will

The Capitol Building in Olympia

Campsite

Pete's Tent

Goody enjoys some meal

Will and I's home-The Six Moon Designs Lunar Duo Tent

6/2 Arrival

Will, Pete and Goody arrived at the Seattle-Tacoma Airport and then made their way to the bike shop where they shipped their bikes.  They assembled their steads and began to head south through King County to the Puget Sound.  They eventually found a campsite on the side of the road somewhere around Tacoma.  I stayed up until 2am getting my things ready in Portland.  

Will changing outside the Bike Store

Pete chills in the bike lane

Will

Pete and Will at the Puget Sound

Pete and Goody

Inside Goody's Hammock. Goody read Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut 


"Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God."
-Kurt Vonnegut