Ibuprofen, Ramen and a Dirtbag Motel

The following is a post I had written in my notes before my iPhone kicked the bucket. I will need to catch you all up on the many crazy adventures since then! More to come soon!

September 12, 2019

As I woke up today, I felt a bit stiff after having ridden 200+ miles over the last three days… all while carrying my heavy load! I made breakfast consisting of an apple I picked up at the orchard yesterday, granola with blueberries, hot coffee and two ibuprofen! It wasn’t so much the legs muscles bothering me, but rather my hips and knees were aching. Nothing terrible… just some light joint discomfort. After brushing my teeth and saying goodbye to Ann and her little dog Ruby, I rolled out of beautiful Sequim Bay State Park 10:30 AM. As I was headed out of the campground, I noticed a little path running the same direction as I would have been going on the highway 20. After looking at the map followed by a quick Google search (thank goodness for technology and decent cell service), I learned this path was the “ODT” (Olympic Discovery Trail) which apparently is rather famous and popular and essentially goes around most of the perimeter of Olympic Peninsula. But more importantly I learned it was a fairly direct route to Port Angeles which would get me off the busy Highway 20 for a while.

Interlude: (this next section is about the risks of biking in traffic and the things I do to reduce those risks… feel free to skip ahead if this doesn’t interest you!)

Speaking of busy highways and traffic, let’s talk safety! I’ll take a few moments to share some of my thoughts around the potential dangers and risk of bike touring and some of the things I’m doing to mitigate these dangers. Let’s be honest, the most obvious risk and danger is getting hit by a car. Most of the ACA (Adventure Cycling Association) designated routes try to avoid heavily trafficked roads and narrow shoulders. Ultimately, your greatest risk of being hit is by distracted drivers… they’re texting, eating, putting on makeup, reaching for something, talking on their phone, or any of a myriad of things we multitask while driving. We all do it, but the consequences seem much more acute when it is you who has your life at risk. But like with anything in life, we take precautions to minimize that risk to the greatest degree possible. Most states, if not all, have an 3 foot rule which means that cars must give cyclists at least 3 feet between the car and the bicycle. In my experience 40% of vehicles move over significantly (crossing the middle line) and 50% follow the 3 foot rule which then leaves the dreaded 10%. Of that 10%, my guess is 9% falls under people having no awareness and 1% are motorist who just plain don’t like cyclists for one reason or another.

So what do I do? First I make sure to only ride my bike during daylight hours. Even riding at dusk alongside traffic feels a bit uncomfortable and dangerous. Additionally, there are number of pieces of gear and equipment that I have strategically incorporated to make me safer on the road. Some are more subtle while others are more obvious. Prior to this trip, one of the most important purchases I made was buying the best technology available in very bright day running lights in the front and red lights in the back; both of which have multiple settings from solid to various blinking patterns. Next, with the help my personal master seamstress and 87-year-old mother, I have two flags attached to a fiberglass stick sticking out of the back of my bike. The movement of the flags works as a indicator to approaching cars that I am there. Prior to the trip I also received an amazing gift from my girlfriend Jenny and her dad (and my good friend) Jimmy… a bright Neon orange helmet made by POC to make myself more visible! Finally, the thing that I use the most by far and which I believe gives me the best chances of safety on the road is a small rear view mirror that’s attached to my left handlebar. I’m constantly glancing down to see if there are any vehicles approaching from behind and if they are (and as they get closer), I have the ability to adjust my position in the shoulder based on what I observe in the mirror. Hopefully, by employing all the strategies and devices, I will be safe on the road for years to come!

The ODT path was spectacular! It was like being in another world… away from the cars and noise of traffic, in nature and full of grand solitude. I was beaming and grinning ear to ear as I pedaled down the ODT path and through the forests.

At some point a fellow cyclist on a road bike came up behind me and started riding with me and taking up conversation. He had tons of questions about where I was going and what my route was going to be, my packing strategy, time and distance, etc. We ended up riding together for about 10 miles which was great as I enjoyed the company. All along this part of Washington, there are miles and miles of blackberry bushes all with ripe blackberries. This brought back fond memories of when I was a child living on our farm in Virginia and my mother would take us kids down to the local stream where there were lots of blackberry bushes. We would pick berries for hours (eating about 25% as we picked) amongst the thorns and mom would spend days making and canning the most amazing blackberry jams that would last us all winter!

Twenty-five miles later I reached a fairly large town called Port Angeles which is a port city for cruise ships as well as Ferries coming and going to various places like Victoria BC and Vancouver. I stopped at the visitor center when I saw a few other bike touring people hanging out outside the center. I started talking to a young kid (in his early 20’s) who had just solo biked across the United States from Washington DC and had finally reached the Pacific Ocean the day before. Boy was he thrilled and what an accomplishment! He gave me some information about Port Angeles and told me the best place for food which was a natural food store a few blocks away where I went to right away. I had the most amazing French dip on ciabatta bread including Au Jus with caramelized onions! Yum! After lunch, I went outside to continue my ride but quickly retreated as another band of rain blew through! So I went back into the cafe to check my phone for email and messages. Occasionally, I would go back outside and check on the weather, but each time it just continued to rain with more intensity as the time went on. After while I decided to venture out to a couple of outdoor stores to supplement my rain gear as the forecast showed lots of moisture over the next few days. A couple hours later, I decided to get a room for the night and found a motel very close by. I went over to the Motel and “negotiated” a great $59 rate. The motel with the flickering neon lights outside was definitely a dirt bag hotel but the room seemed fairly clean and certainly beat sleeping in the rain. I took the opportunity to wash a bunch of clothes in a laundromat close by and grab a late dinner at a Chinese restaurant a block away. When I got back to my motel, I laid down and fell fast asleep.