Point No Point (and points beyond)
Well since I could count on 1 hand the number of rides that didn't start or end at work so far this year. I decided to wear cycling clothes under my church clothes so I wouldn't need to go home after church and guilt myself into yardwork and all the other chores that are piling up(literally). After church ended I did my Clark Kent thing and then pedaled down to hop the ferry to the Kitsap peninsula.
Sunday is always an interesting day for marine traffic. On the way to church I saw the morning cruise ship and 1 container ship headed up towards the Strait. While on the ferry we watched this tug towing 2 barges. What looks to be a fish processor and a regular supply barge headed up to Alaska.
If you look closely you can spot a SUV and a U-haul on top of the containers!
Trying to avoid the main roads, I headed up Parcells Rd which eventually ended with a trailhead that appeared to be bike friendly. Nice trail, I met 2 horse riders who thankfully had just come around a bend and called out to me. One horse had never seen a bike before!, so the rider had me move off the trail while they came by. She told me that he couldn't give two sh*ts about motorcycles but she had no idea how he would react to a pedal bike
Once through the public lands and back on a road I made my way through the town of Eglon and its 1 room church, and small but very tidy old school building. I headed up Pilot Point Rd despite the dead end sign, since RWGPS seemed to think it would wind down to the water and connect me to the next road further north.
Well, the road ended at a short driveway, though there was a gated track that might have been a right of way but clearly is never used. In the driveway I met Bill, a spry 93 year old out doing yardwork with his tractor. Bill explained that there was a cabin down there but he didn't think I could get down to the road below without going through private property. So after chatting for a few minutes (I confirmed that I don't know his friend Chuck who also bikes in Seattle), I took my leave and after a bit of backtracking ended up on a nice dirt double track road that eventually go me out to the main road headed to Hansville and Point No Point.
At the lighthouse I checked out the plaque commemorating(?) the treaty more or less forced on the local people in 1855 ceding their land the the US gov.
This horse showed no reaction to my bike
After a quick snack at the convenience store I headed on around the peninsula and down through the Port Gamble S'Klallam reservation and adjacent lands.
From there I headed south along Port Gamble Rd all the way down to Suquamish. Pretty country, and made me think of
@ChezCheese:) who we haven't heard from in quite some time.
Down in Suquamish I ate my protein bar and the last of my water while watching the afternoon cruise ships leaving Elliott Bay to head up the Sound. The air wasn't very clear, but you can make out Mt Rainier looming in the clouds.
After that, a quick ride up to Indianola then a few miles on the surprisingly nice White Horse trail to get back to Kingston in time to catch my ferry.
I was surprised at how much elevation gain I had at 5382ft, considering the whole ride was between sea level and my house at 440ft elevation. 58.6 miles, longest ride in nearly 8 months!