A few other notes about the Olympic peninsula trip

2009-09-14T09:18:00.000-07:00

The tent I used was an REI Quarterdome. Went up in two minutes. Kept the rain out. Very little condensation with a breeze coming through the peak vent.

Stove was a Trangia. Highly recommend for ease of use and portability.

In Seattle I had the wonderful opportunity to talk with Bill Davidson, co-0wner of Elliot Bay Bicycles. What a wealth of information and opinion!

Three things I learned amongst the many:

Don't touch Titanium tubing! Let me add a few of these - !!!! Human skin oil is very detrimental to the welding process.

Apparently there are some frames made with the "seamless" True Temper coming in for warranty work on cracks. A good reason for choosing Italian, English, or Japanese tubing. Had a nice education on how tubing is made.

One reason to choose Shimano components over those of their competitors is that they do extensive testing for function and durability before going to market. Warranty requests are theirfore fairly minimal. Other manufacturers apparently use the customer for this purpose and expect up to 30% reject when inspected by the dealer who is then given a credit on their account. A good reason to find out about the R&D methods of a company before you buy their product.

On the train I met a wonderful couple who are traveling across the US. Both using LHT with panniers. They started out with Panaracer Pasella TG but found their loaded bikes split the tread from the casing. Apparently they had to over inflate to keep from bottoming out on the rims. Switched to Conti's and Schwalbe's - no problem.

Their blog is at thepathlesspedaled.com. They are making use of the Warm Showers website to stay here in Eugene and other places. What a great way to go!

Trip to Olympic Peninsula 9.2009

2009-09-13T20:52:00.000-07:00

The photos are not really that interesting maybe, but here they are here - http://tinyurl.com/mtu4s6

Most important piece of "gear" was some power food powder - two parts Mt Capra Caprotein to one part Capra Mineral Whey. That stuff is pure high quality food. Keeps the mind sharp and the energy up even on little solid food.

This was my first cycling trip ever. I planned and prepared a lot by asking other people what they took and how they traveled. Even so, the first day of travel was very tiring due to the uncertainty of it all. Had to get up at 3:30 am to make the train. Checked and re-checked that I had everything. What a great feeling rolling out of the garage and getting underway!

There is a terrific amount of noise, movement, and visual input with travel. If you don't know the routine it adds a tremendous strain. Going was therefore stressful, but coming home was a breeze.

I caught an Olympic Bus Lines bus right outside the Amtrak station in Seattle that took me on the ferry and dropped me in Port Townsend. Being a small town, it was not difficult to find Fort Worden - a pretty cool place but all the beach sites are taken by motor homes while the tents are relegated to the woods. I didn't feel so badly, though, when I saw the Tsunami escape route signs pointing away from the beach.

Fort Worden has a separate and slightly cheaper Biker/Hiker camp area. There is also a shower available that requires tokens.

The road into and out of Port Townsend is unsuitable for bicycle traffic as the shoulder is very narrow, in places non-existent, and the traffic is heavy with motor homes. I took public transport to a Tribal Center on the way to Sequim, where I picked up the Olympic Discovery Trail. It took me within two miles of Dungeness campground. Showers available ( quarters ) but again the B/H camping area off in a dark area of the woods. Not so bad I suppose if there are others camping there, but after Labor Day there are few tourists so I was alone.

Riding along the Olympic Discovery Trail is a joy - very peaceful and for the most part away from the road.

In Port Angeles I had a few hours to look around before my bus to the Elwha. I took the bus because I am unfamiliar with the area and the roads bear heavy traffic. Later on I was shown a beautiful rural road and returned to PA like a legitimate cyclotourist.

Altair campground is really wonderful because it has no day use area adjacent to it. That makes for less traffic. The sound of the river is a beautiful white noise that numbs mind chatter.

I got a ride up to Hurricane Ridge - 17 miles of uphill, and therefore 17 miles of downhill with a long trail bike, gusting winds, and a tiny shoulder.

While I was up there I did manage to find a picnic area that was empty. Every one seemed to be going to the hiking trail further on. In this quiet place I managed to finally get that sense of being part of where I was. A door exists there which is more easily apprehended due to the lack of human sound. If you turn your back on the picnic table, there is no evidence of human at all.

The universe formed as the immensely solid dark green presence of the mountains. The absolutely untamed song of the universe formed as mountain air passing through conifers. The intense and shocking sweetness of the air - real clean God-given air as it is meant to be breathed- and into it the universe forming as the sound of a bird. On the ground a mound of broken pine cone - the detritus of someones dinner. Further on, bear scat quite fresh. How all these come into being, exist, and pass on makes a laughing stock of the order I think I require for life. My packing and planning. The universe has no order that the tiny human mind can apprehend, and yet it is caused.

I took my time coming down the mountain, pulling off to let cars pass and my rims cool. And then, too easily, far too easily, I found myself in Safeway getting dinner. I would like to be a person who does not transition to this ordered madness so easily. A person who has lived so long in the context of that untamed wind song that the mere idea of Safeway does not enter consciousness. Feral is perhaps not the right word, but in a way it is, although I would like to be without the fear one sees in a feral cat's eyes. Feral, as in not needing the forms of human made madness - a madness caused by the sense of being separate from that song.

CyclingLife

A few other notes about the Olympic peninsula trip

Trip to Olympic Peninsula 9.2009