Today I rode through a forest.
Art and Alex were kind enough to bring me a cup of coffee from the coffee shop across the street. Alex asked what I wanted and I said a black coffee with a little creamer in it. He misheard me asking "Screamer?" I replied yes. A little screamer and a little creamer please. Well I did get my black coffee though he thought perhaps I was asking for an extra shot of espresso in it.
I treated this morning as a chance to be a little bit lazy. I wrote a bit and then packed the bags. Thankfully Barb and Curt are hanging around for another day so we can ride unloaded. Today was a day to start to get the legs ready for climbing. Alex wanted to stay behind to get some work done for his day job, and the rest had taken off already, so I had a good time to ride all by myself. This will probably happen several times over the course of the journey. We all have the route and share location data with each other, so even though we may be apart we're still able to check in.
I headed out of Forks on US 101 also known as the Pacific Coast Highway. This is the same highway that runs all the way down to California I'm told. It wasn't my favorite bit of riding today. While there was a wide shoulder there was a large amount of logging traffic and other vehicles. Some would give a little bit of room, but it felt that most were not inclined to give any space.
Today had 1 spot where we could stop along the way. This was at the grocery store in the town of Beaver, WA. A charming little stop. I had a breakfast burrito and a coke. They called it a Beaver Burrito (though it did not contain any beaver). It was a sausage and egg burrito, and while it wasn't anything fancy it sure hit the spot for breakfast.
After a little bit more time on the highway, I hit the destination trail for today. The Olympic Discovery Trail. This trail is a rail trail conversion and it traveled straight through some of the forest heartland of the Olympic Peninsula. Everything was so very green. The humidity was probably 100% so everything just felt cool and damp. The trail was damp, the air was damp, I was damp. I struggled at times trying to figure out if I was hot or cold because I really couldn't dry off the sweat that I was putting out. But slowly the sun started to come out and I started to dry out. The whole day was paved so grateful for that and there weren't too many steep climbs but there were a couple moments where I was like, "Should I walk?" But I persisted and was able to ride the whole thing.
Ended the day on the shores of Lake Crescent at the Log Cabin Resort. This lake is incredible! Super clear and blue. I took some time to walk around the lake and even went for a walk in the lake. Being able to see my feet all the way at the bottom was a little bit of a wonder.
Today was also the first day of setting up the tent again. Thankfully all the parts were still there and at this point I've gotten pretty good at it. I repacked my bags yet again. Carefully thinking about what I need and what I can send back with the truck. Tomorrow we start carrying those bags so any weight I can drop is probably a good thing. While I was packing the bags there was a pretty friendly pair of Mallards that came wandering through our tents looking for scraps. I thought it was funny. Jeff helped me a bit with my bike rack and then it was time for supper. Alex has also been very helpful on the bike front. I'm still getting used to electronic shifting and have either forgotten to put in a battery or have had a dead battery the last couple days, sooooo his help is very much appreciated and i suppose eventually get it right.
Tomorrow we are going to attempt a section of single track on our way to Port Angeles. The pictures look amazing though I will admit I am a little nervous. Single Track is NOT my favorite type of riding though the reviews say it should be doable.
Miles today 43.6
Steps today 10,000
Total Miles 73.7
Total Steps 45,000
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