Blyn to Kingston

May 2 - 47 miles - 5 hours of seat time.

The final day on the Olympic peninsula started out a little colder. Mostly because we didn't want to wait around. Washington ferries can get really popular in the afternoon, particularly on weekends, leading to incredibly long wait times.

Poodle is disappointed she isn't allowed to run free in that field.

So the objective would be to try to make it to Kingston by lunch time to have lunch with friends, and then get back to Seattle proper to also have dinner with some other friends.

I also knew that today was going to be challenging on the hills. My lunch friends seemed to think that this part of the peninsula is flat. Perhaps it seems that way in a car.

The first part of the ride started out quite pleasant. I saw festively painted houses.

It's not a Squid, but who ever you are Cephalobro, I like you and I don't even know you.

But the pleasant ride would end and I would get to Eaglemount. This hill is the devil. I'm certain a Cat3 or better rider would just motor right on up it while imagining they were about to take the King of the Mountains jersey on the Tour d'France....but I am not that rider, and I walked up that road that has no shoulder, and it is the most unsafe I've ever felt whilst riding a bike. I have a high tolerance for this sort of situation. I was so frustrated that I forgot to take a picture at the top, which is a shame because the view at the top of the hill, and the 60s era motel located there, are quite picturesque.

The rest of the ride was a suffer fest. My legs were shot and I walked every hill shown on the profile in the pic above. But, I did make it to Kingston in 3 days, and in the moment I felt as if I had proven that the big goal was possible; that I was going to be able to ride a bike all the way to Washington DC.