Today I found a friend.
We woke up on the shores of the sound today, and I slowly packed up the bike. It takes me awhile even though I don't think I'm carrying all that much stuff. Back at Lake Crescent we had a purge party, where we all went through our gear and asked if we really needed to carry it with us. Though over the past few days I've been contemplating sending a few more things home.
Todays goal. Cross Whidbey Island. We had 20 miles and 2K feet of elevation to go. I didn't take a ton of pictures today because much of our riding was out on more main routes. So I wanted to focus on paying attention to traffic. It was never terrible going straight but it could be challenging at times if you wanted to cross. Lunch was at a fantastic little food truck. A Fried BBQ Chicken Sandwich was just what I needed.
The final hill was thankfully all downhill. The way down had a 2 mile This lane is reserved for ferry backups. There weren't any vehicles in the lane so it made for an awesome race lane all the way down the hill. They had signs along the way that said "+-90 min wait from this spot" and "+-60 min wait from this spot". I wondered how crazy does this ferry get that you have that level of backup.
The different ferries all seem to have varying schedules. I supposed based on demand and distance. We've had ones that run on 1/2 hour, 1 hour, and 2 hour increments.
While we were waiting, I got into a fantastic conversation with 2 perfect strangers. One was a woman who was an author and one was a gentleman who I think worked as a dancer. We talked for probably 15 minutes about arts and culture. I talked about the local scene we have back in Sioux Falls and learned things about what's happening out in WA.
On a somber note. I was faced with a different reality of living on an island. At one point an ambulance came down the hill and raced up to the front of the line. We heard that there was an individual who was in unstable condition. As someone from the plains. I would find that incredibly frustrating. There was nothing else to do other than wait for the ferry. 10-15 minutes were probably added to the travel time in the ferry wait alone. Once the ferry arrived they only dumped the minimum amount of vehicles and only loaded the ambulance to get them across as quickly as possible. Everyone else already on the ferry and in line would have to wait. I said a prayer and watched them drive away.
Back on the mainland we decided that we were due for a rest day. We've been doing a lot of climbing and our bodies are still getting conditioned. However we weren't quite willing to call it just yet. Lynnwood was chosen as it was another 15 miles down the road.
When you're at sea level. The only option is to go up. And just off the ferry crossing we went up, fast. It was good chunk of hike a bike for me as it was a 15% grade hill followed by a skinny grass trail. At one point on the trail it got so steep I had to use my brakes to hold on to any progress I had made. I grabbed my seat post to help pull because pushing wasn't getting me anywhere. I was very very glad to be done with that section.
We soon picked up the Interurban Trail. This is another rail-trail conversion but at times it was more urban that it was trail. We stuck together as a group and made it all the way to Lynwood and our hotel.
At our hotel we were quickly greeted by our first known visitor of the group Dan. Dan lives out here in the Seattle area and has known Art for a long time. When I first met Dan last fall he was very excited about the possibility of us getting together. We were determined to make it happen.
We dumped our bikes and bags, took a shower (thank goodness), and donned "regular' garb. For supper Dan wanted to take us to a Korean BBQ place just around the corner from our hotel. I've never had Korean BBQ and was excited to try it. What a treat. We were super social and the food was amazing. Everything comes in small chunks so it's super easy to keep conversation going while you're grilling the next portion of meat. We had pork and beef, ribs and belly. Oh it was indulgent even. I'm grateful to be traveling with these friends. We all come from very different backgrounds, but have something that keeps us all together.
'till next time
-Matt
Miles Ridden Today: 50.06
Total Miles Ridden: 230.79
Feet Climbed Today: 3,127
Total Feet Climbed: 10,723
Matt, I am loving this adventure! keep writing and take care of yourself.