Buses, Boats and Bicycles

Normally each year I pick a fun international destination and spend a couple of weeks there for my annual vacation. This year, I decided to stay local and instead of eating my way through France, I opted to instead torture myself for two weeks by pedaling Bob (the mountain bike) across the state of Washington. Not only that, but I wanted to do it on dirt, so it was not a straight shot. Instead I wound my way around the state and up and down some mountains before getting to the end. After that, I still had to get back to my car, so the adventure was not done. Then I was like John Candy in Planes, Trains and Automobiles, except my adventure was Buses, Boats and Bicycles. 

The adventure started by driving from California to the Olympic Peninsula and the tiny town of Forks, Washington. This may be familiar to you if you are a Twilight fan, as it is the setting that the author used for the series, and also one of the rainiest places in the US, according to Wiki. Luckily it did not rain when I was there, nor did I see any vampires. I parked my car there and got a ride to La Push, which has the westernmost zip code in the contiguous US, and also many beautiful beaches. As is customary, I dipped my back tire in the water and then started my journey. 

Sign outside of Forks, WA

I will not bore those of you who don't care much for a play by play of my entire bikepacking trip. However, there were a few highlights that I think everyone can appreciate! 

The Olympic Peninsula is beautiful. There are huge ocean beaches with enormous waves that remind me of the crashing waves of the Pacific where I live, but that doesn't make them any less intriguing. I could sit and watch them for hours! There are also tons of hiking trails, many tiny towns where you can get a coffee or a breakfast, and lots of places to stop and just take in the view. 

The lovely Pacific coast

Bob hanging out near Port Angeles

But the thing I utilized the most was the Olympic Discovery Trail. This is a mostly flattish bike trail that goes all the way from La Push to Port Townsend, which I think is about 135 miles. Right now, some sections are on the road, but you could easily find a 20 mile stretch that is mostly bike paths and quiet streets. There were a ton of blackberries along the sides and I think I spent more time eating them than I did riding. The other highlight was an alternative section called the Olympic Adventure Trail, which was a really smooth and fun single-track section that I really enjoyed, especially when it started raining and the canopy kept me halfway dry! They have a great set of maps on their website that you can even download to your phone and get turn by turn directions if you want. 

Olympic Discovery Trail near Forks

Bob and the ODT near Lake Crescent

The next fun thing was taking the ferry across the Puget Sound. Did you know that if you do not have a vehicle, riding the ferries eastbound is free? You have to pay $10 for the westbound trip but unless you have a car, you only pay one way! I have taken the ferries in the San Juans before, but I have never done it with a bike, so that was a first for me! It's quite exciting to zip in (and out!) before all of the cars come rushing up behind you and you have to get your bike out of the way and tied up before they run you over. Also, just like in San Francisco, taking the commuter ferry is a great way to see the bay (or the sound in this case) without paying for an expensive "bay cruise." For $10 I got to see the Seattle skyline and watch the sailboats in the Puget Sound. I call that a win! 

View of Seattle from the ferry

I also rode for a long time on the Snoqualmie Valley Trail, which I started on in the town of Carnation, which is east of Seattle. It goes along the Snoqualmie River into the mountain towns of Snoqualmie and North Bend. This was a steady uphill but it was shaded and cool and since it was an old rail trail, it was not very steep. I would really recommend going there; you can camp at the campground near Carnation and ride east to North Bend and get a hamburger at Twede's cafe. For those of you who are fans of the show Twin Peaks, this is the location of the famous cherry pie diner. I found it a bit kitschy of course, but I got a seat right away, my food came out fast, and they had bottomless French fries, so yay! After gorging yourself on fries, you have a downhill ride back to your camp. By the time you get back you will be ready for a swim in the river right next to your campsite! For me there is nothing better than a swim in the river on a hot day. 

Snoqualmie Valley Trail

Twede's Cafe in North Bend

Last but not least, the Snoqualmie Valley Trail links up to the John Wayne Trail, now known as the Palouse to Cascades trail. This is also a rail trail that has been converted to a bike trail, and is again all dirt and slightly uphill for the first 20 miles. I ended up loosely following this trail almost all the way to the Idaho border. The highlight of the first section of this trail is a more than two mile ride through the Snoqualmie tunnel! If you do not want to ride all the way up the hill from the start, you can also start at the town of Hyak and then it is less than a mile from the tunnel from there. It was very dark and kind of damp and chilly but pretty fun and was a new experience for me! We used to run through the train tunnels when we were kids; it was such a thrill to see if we could get through before a train came. I don't think the Snoqualmie tunnel had that same element of danger, but it was eerie being alone in the dark for several minutes, and you literally cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel!!!

Snoqualmie Pass Tunnel

Camping along the PTCT with the Enchantments in the background

In the end, it was a grand adventure! There were many hard days; I rode my longest ride ever so far (80 miles) in one day, and one day it was about 100 degrees out and of course this was in eastern Washington where there are no trees, so I think I baked my brain a little bit that day. However, I rewarded myself with a lot of ice cream when I could, and had fun seeing the small towns (and I do mean small! One was about 500 people) and farmland along the way. I saw a lot of dead animals, banana peels and trash, specifically aluminum cans. On one stretch of highway, I counted over 100 cans in a one mile stretch!! I ended up getting to Idaho via Spokane, where I then took my buses, boats and bikes back to my car before driving home. 

This photo was taken on the hottest day

Made it to the border!

Hottest temperature:     100 degrees

Longest day (miles):      80 miles

Total elevation gain:      31,784 feet

Total mileage:                688 miles

Have you ever been to Washington state? If so, what is your favorite place/thing to do there? Are there any fun bike paths or rail trails where you live? What did you do for your vacation this year? 

North Bay Overnighter: My First Bikepacking Trip

You have already met Bob, and you know that I have not really had a lot of experience with mountain biking, but that did not keep me from deciding to try bikepacking out as soon as the bomb cyclone had passed and we had a sunny weekend. I figured why not, since I already have a lot of backpacking and camping gear, so all that I needed was something to put the gear in and attach it to my bike and I would be good to go. I figured I could learn the rest as I went.

Bolinas Ridge Trail

What is bikepacking? It is basically the same as backpacking except instead of carrying all of your stuff on your back, you carry it on your bike. Your stuff includes a tent (unless you are going to cowboy camp, aka lay out your bedroll under the stars) and sleeping gear at the very least and can include a stove, pots, food, bike tools, extra clothes, electronics and toiletries. So, like I said, pretty much like backpacking. Usually the route consists of more trails than pavement, also like backpacking, but can be on highways, gravel roads, bike paths, logging roads, forest service roads or fire roads. 

Here is Bob, all loaded up and ready for adventure!

How did I find out about this? I have no friends who do this. To be honest, and I am a little embarrassed to admit this, I found it on YouTube. I was looking for ideas for summer hiking/backpacking and I stumbled across this channel where two regular people completed part of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR) and I thought, "I want to do that!" and I started looking into it. I found a great local route that I could get to without driving and off I went. Of course, before this, I went pretty deep into a YouTube wormhole. You know how that goes. 

The route that I found can be found on Bikepacking.com and is called the North Bay Overnighter. It is an 80 mile route that goes from the Golden Gate Bridge (GGB) through the Marin headlands to Samuel P. Taylor park near Point Reyes and back a different way to the GGB to finish the loop the second day. These are mostly trails that I have run on before, so I felt pretty comfortable with the route-finding aspect of the trip although this also meant that I knew exactly what I was up against in some cases, which was a little bit daunting! 

Day 1: The official route starts and ends at the Anderson parking lot on the Marin side of the GGB. However, since I live in Oakland, I decided to get there by bike rather than driving. I started off by riding my bike from my house to the BART, which I took to the Civic Center station in the city. It was pretty early in the morning and the only people on the street besides me were the homeless, the druggies and the prostitutes. This is not the most beautiful part of the city, let me just say that. From the Civic Center, I rode down to Fort Mason and then went past Chrissy Field to the end of the GGB. I crossed the bridge in the fog and wet and finally got to the official start around 8:00 am with about 9 miles under my belt already. 

Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge

View of the Golden Gate Bridge from the headlands

From there, the route goes up the road to the Coastal trail, and the sun was just starting to break up the fog and I had some really nice views of the bay. I then cruised down the Coastal trail, which is a very gradual downhill, although there were a few rutted areas that made me realize that I had no idea if was best to ride in the rut or try to stay on one of the side lumps, and at one point I heard another bike behind me and I was not sure if I should pull over or get off to the side or...what the rules were! The route goes down, crosses the road and then heads back up Bobcat, which is really just one big mile and a half long uphill and is a trail I have run many times, but have never been able to run the entire uphill without walking a little. However, I rode the bike without stopping the entire time and I was so proud of myself that I stopped at the top for a snack before heading down towards Tennessee Valley. 

From Tennessee Valley parking lot, the trail goes back up the Miwok trail, which was my first experience with the hike-a-bike! Also by now it was actually getting warmer and I shed yet another layer on my way up this hill. After the uphill, Miwok is a nice gradual downhill that crosses highway 1 before going back up towards Dias ridge. Dias was my first true single-track and I had "fun" learning how to manage the hairpin downhill turns, although I did  have one slow speed fall in this section. Side note: the completely packed bike is probably about 50 pounds, which is hard to control on the curves! You live and you learn, I guess. 

Dias Ridge Trail

After going down Dias you get to Muir Beach and this is where I had to break out the GPS. The trail was hard to find, as the route takes you basically up the side of a hill in what looks like someone's backyard, but I think it is just an attempt to not make you ride on the road for that section. However, it is a little strange, as you come out at the top on the road, which you then have to ride on for about a mile and a half before you go back onto the trail again. I was a little afraid of the road as I have driven on it and seen cyclists and it seems a bit scary (it is a windy coastal road) but people were polite and the traffic was still not yet too bad. 

Getting off the road and back on the trail toward Cardiac/Pantoll

The trail takes you to Cardiac and you cross the Dipsea before heading to Pantoll, which is a parking lot, bathroom, water fountain and camping area. Apparently there is hike in/bike in camping here but I was only about 21 miles into the official 40 that I was supposed to do this day, so I kept going. From Pantoll, you ride on the road uphill for about 2 miles; again, this was with cars, but there were also a lot of bikes and the cars were pretty polite. Then came one of my favorite parts of the ride: Ridgecrest Blvd. This road was mostly downhill and is very flowy, with barely any cars AND a view of the ocean for days, and then you go into a redwood forest and it's dark and moist and magical. It is super cool! It was so SO fun. 

Ridgecrest Drive

After four miles, you turn off on the Bolinas Ridge trail, which is dirt but doesn't have too many steep ups or downs and goes on for several miles. However, the very end, when you are headed down toward the turnoff to the camping, is a lot of bumpy downhill, which was quite jarring at times. When you get almost to Point Reyes, you turn off and go to Samuel P. Taylor park, where there is a hike in/bike in campground and for $7 you can put up your tent! I got there around 5 pm, put up my tent, made dinner and then spent a wonderful few hours listening to my audiobook before heading to bed. I did this trip in January and I was the only person in the shared campsite! 

Bolinas Ridge Trail

Samuel P. Taylor hiker/biker camping

Day 2: The next morning I got up early, realized I was out of fuel, drank a cup of cold coffee, strapped on my headlamp and hit the road. Well actually it was a nice flattish paved trail at first, but very soon afterward, I went straight uphill into the fire roads again. Seriously, my first 2 miles were flat, then the next 8 miles were about 3,000+ feet of climbing. Again, I embraced the suck of the hike-a-bike, but I spent a long time wondering when the joy of the downhill was going to come. When the downhill finally came thought, at first it was not very joyful. It was very rocky and rutted and I actually had to push my bike on some of the downhills! 

View from the top of the hike-a-bike near Kent Reservoir

When I got back to the Bolinas Fairfax road, I decided that instead of going into Fairfax and then back up the hill to Tam and then down again to Tennessee valley and then up again to the start line where I would then have to cross the bridge and ride the BART, I would rather skip the extra hills and the public transportation and head back home via the Richmond bridge. So I went through Natalie Coffin park into Ross and from there I took a series of bike paths into Larkspur, where I rode out onto the Richmond Bridge. Once I got to Point Richmond, there was only about a mile of street riding before I got onto the bike path along the bay. A lot of this part of the route was on the San Francisco Bay Trail, which is a trail that goes all the way around the Bay Area. Some of it is on an actual dirt trail and parts of it are on roads and bike paths, but all together I believe there are over 500 miles! 

Larkspur bike path

View of the city from Richmond (SF Bay Trail)

Once I got to Emeryville, I had to go back onto the streets to get to Oakland, but I have to say most of them have pretty good bike paths, so it was not too intimidating. However, I was definitely ready to be done and I even briefly considered taking the BART although by this point it would not have saved me any time or even very many miles! To add insult to injury I let Google maps tell me which way to go and it took me right up a hill that I normally try to avoid (MacArthur Ave.) However, avoiding it would have added a mile probably, so maybe in this case it was really half a dozen of one and six of the other. It sure was nice to get back home though and I celebrated by taking off my bike shorts and walking around without pants for a few minutes before making myself something hot to eat. (TMI? Too bad!) 

Thoughts/What I Learned: Sometimes riding on the road can be fun. I need to bring more food next time. I am stronger than I think I am. When riding down hills, lift your butt off the seat unless you want to be sore later. Samuel P. Taylor is very beautiful. Pushing a 50 pound bike up a hill makes my arms feel like noodles. It also makes me VERY hungry. I probably need different shorts (I am wearing hiking shorts over bike shorts). A screw top water bottle is a lot of work (will bring squeeze bottle or hydration bladder on next trip). 

Comments: Bikepacking.com says that this route in 99.9% rideable with a difficulty of 4/10. I would agree with the latter, as is it mostly fire roads and there are not too many rocks or things to avoid, so even a beginner like me can do it. However, 99.9% rideable is perhaps a stretch as I don't know who can ride up the 14% - 20% grade at the beginning of day two. Maybe I am just out of shape, I don't know, but 99.9% would mean that less than a tenth of a mile is not rideable out of the entire 80 miles. 

Total Miles: 98.3

Total Elevation: 11,300 ft.

Total Time: 15 hours

CalTopo Route

Download the Ride With GPS GPX file here. I get ideas and inspiration from: Bikepacking.com, Ryan, Chris and his buddy Rob, John and Mira. 

Have you ever gone bikepacking? Tell me about a YouTube or internet wormhole you have found yourself deep in, and how did it turn out? 

Everybody Meet Bob, Bob Meet Everybody

I mentioned that I got a new mountain bike. I have christened him Bob. As you know, the road bike is Bertha and it just seemed to go together. I have never had a mountain bike before. I have been mountain biking once in Bolivia, when I rode on the World's Most Dangerous Road, which is a downhill ride from about 4,000 meters (13,200 feet) to 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) and is a combination of paved road, dirt road and single track. 

This is Bob! 

In the last several years, I have done a lot more road biking. It has mostly been commuting but I have also added in a few longer rides and have really enjoyed myself. However, I am a woman of the woods at heart so I thought it was time to adventure out to the dirt. First I had to figure out what kind of bike I needed. Have you ever tried to buy a bike? There are hard tail, gravel bikes, bikes with no shocks and bikes with extra shocks. There are aluminum and carbon frames, there are different sizes and shapes and...man, there are so many different options and many of them are expensive! 

What I ultimately wanted was something I could take bikepacking; this is like backpacking but on a bike. You load up the bike and ride off into the woods for a few days and camp along the way. If you know me at all, you know this is right up my alley! So I chose a hardtail bike and I put a price alert on it and when the alert got triggered, I bit the bullet and bought it. Then it arrived in a big box and I had to put it together myself. I know a little from having the road bike but most of this  is new to me. 

So, basically the point of all of this backstory is that I have been having fun. Like I said in this post, we so often get so used to doing things that we know how to do, but this has given me so many different learning experiences! Have they all been fun? No. I luckily put my pedals on the right sides, but did not crank them down so that they would stay on all the time. I already had to fix the shifter and I now am on a first name basis with the local bike shop. 

BUT! Bob and I went out for our first ride this week. The trails are still a tad wet, but oh my gosh, it was SO FUN! I felt like a little kid again. I have to ride up a big hill to get from my house to the trailhead and then I had a few big hills on the trails and they were hard, but I did it! I had to go down rocky and rooted trails and I definitely tested out my brakes, but flying down the hill when you have a more smooth surface is such a thrill. 

I feel like a highschool girl with her first crush! He is so cute! I am in love. K + B forever! Like a highschool girl though, I am sure the sheen will wear off and reality will hit me, but for right now I am on cloud nine! 

Have you ever mountain biked? If so, I need tips! What is the hardest thing you have had to put together yourself (and how many screws did you have left over at the end)?