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| Day 7 |
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Saturday August 29 "I even rode my motorcycle in the rain..." Billy Joel, You May Be right Got up and saw fog. The weather report promised clearing skies and no rain, so I got ready and got off to an early start. Riding into the fog it collected as water on the bike and on my helmet, then the fog turned to drizzle, and the drizzle to hard rain. I rode through rain for the next five hours, past the town of Seaside OR (which didn't look much like a seaside resort town in the fog) on to the great bridge at Astoria, which just looked like a thin high ribbon disappearing into the fog... a strange sensation riding over it! After three hours, the bike's electrics started to suffer. I had already done my usual - wrapped a latex glove over the bike computer so that it continued to work flawlessly - but the right indicator started to turn on randomly and the headlamp started to flicker, indicating that the battery was no longer charging but being drained by what was, of course, essentially a large scale short occuring at every point where electric wire met wet bike... I pulled into a restaurant at Shelton, thinking it was time for a motel (it was only noon) but I was soaking wet, my hands were mostly purple grapes, and my boots were filled with water (I cursed the fact that I bought hiking boots which I wanted to be as breathable as possible so they were just sucking in the rain... for an additional $30 I could have gotten the Goretex waterproof versions... darn it... Apart from my hands (mesh gloves) and feet, I was fine and dry with my rainsuit... but in the cold I was starting to shiver and enough was enough... After some hot soup and coffee, and the inevitable questions about the bike, the proprietor of the restaurant told me the next motel was about fifteen miles up the road at Hoodsport. So after I had warmed up a bit I rode off into the rain and headed north on 101. Five miles later, I broke out into sunshine. Within a few minutes my hands felt OK again and I was warm... and as I rode towards Hoodsport I considered my options... Should I just keep going north or stop for the day? It could as easily be raining tomorrow, I thought, and riding in the sun should help the bike dry out more than just letting it sit in a motel parking lot wrapped in a tarp (bought yesterday)... and it might be possible to make it to San Juan Island (and my parents home) in one long ride... but I could also be riding back into the rain... I kept thinking about it until the Hoodsport motel came into view, in the bright sun... and I felt warmer and decided to keep going. In the bright sun 101 North on the Olympic peninsula is one of the best rides in the country... water views on the right as the road twists up and down and winds through one village after another. AND it was all mine... most traffic had decided to stay home! It was a wonderful payoff for my long ride in the rain. I wound up to to the north side of the peninsula and had another decision to make... should I go to Port Angeles, catch the ferry to Canada and then ride through Vancouver Island and back to San Juan Island (which might mean an overnight stay in Canada as I wasn't sure I could make the return ferry in time) - or should I take the Port Townsend ferry (30 miles or so nearer) and ride through Whidbey Island over Deception Pass to Fidalgo Island where I could catch the Anacortes ferry to San Juan Island (and I knew there was a later ferry I was sure to catch)... and then take later, tomorrow or the next day, finish the trip to Canada? I decided on the latter and rode into Port Townsend. I caught the 3.45 ferry to Whidbey Island, and rode through the afternoon to the Anacortes ferry terminal. There I sat in a warm terminal drying off ... and three hours later I was on San Juan Island, riding the last six miles to my folks home.. made it in at 10 at night... The last six miles at night showed that the bike's electrics were back up and working fine... I was worried it might not have enough power to light the headlamp if the battery hadn't recharged in the last few hours... but everything was fine and the bright headlamp lit up the night as I rode back on the familiar Beaverton Valley Road out of Friday Harbor, then up the long gravel road to my parent's house... four wheeling it on two wheels on the last mile, in the dark... I saved both night riding and riding in the rain for the penultimate day of the trip! And of course, I was too tired to update the blog last night, so I'm doing it this morning while getting caught up with some laundry and other chores. This afternoon, I'll finish the trip by catching the 3.40 ferry to Sidney. CA, and then come back on the same ferry an hour later. It's been a long, great trip... My final post won't have much to say... just a quick ride around a parking lot in Canada! MPG figures will be posted in the next couple of days for the final tally - when I get back from Canada, I'll drain the tank, measure what's left, and post the final figures. As I've been saying for the past few days, I don't think I made it... but I sure came close!
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