Stephanie Meyers supposedly picked Forks, WA as the setting for her Twilight series for the sole reason that it sees less sun than anywhere else in the continental United States.
I'll believe it. I haven't seen blue sky since I departed the ferry dock onto the peninsula.
I decided instead of riding through Portland before heading to the coast, to take the ferry west from Seattle and then just head south. I've already ridden from Seattle to Portland a few times, so I wanted to do something different. So I rode out around Alki to the ferry terminal.
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| So long, Seattle! |
I'm not sure I made the right decision.
The day had started out rather horribly and was not getting better. I had clipped one of my Front Rollers on poorly and it had slipped off. The buckle got caught in my wheel and snapped in half.
Fuck.
Well, out comes the zip ties and duct tape and I proceeded to MacGuyver the bag to my rack. I was carrying a small web strap, so worst case scenario, I could secure it on top of my back rack, but that would throw off the balance of my bike.
From the ferry, I rode through Port Orchard before turning South onto Highway 3 (and taking a left lane exit, which is super fun on a bike) and up a one mile 4% grade. 4% is fine, but oh man am I slow when climbing.
After 10 or so miles, Google Maps gave me the direction that finally made me decide to jettison the app, when it pulled me off the highway onto back lane country rides through who the fuck knows where.
I mean, I'm looking around thinking, “huh, if someone were to stab me, steal my bike, and dump my body in those woods, I doubt anyone would find me.” That's how isolated these roads were
And there was another 17% grade.
Now, having four panniers on the bike means I can stand up to climb without balance being too much of an issue. The issue came when I threw my weight forward and rocked the bars, thus causing my duct tape to start to fray and pull away from my bag. (Apparently I should have packed a whole roll of duct tape instead of just a bit.)
It was getting into the evening by the time I finally got back to civilization, a bit south of Shelton, WA. It was starting to rain and there were no places to post up for the night for about another 40 miles.
So I reluctantly called it a short mileage day and back tracked into Shelton.My first order of business was to buy a roll of duct tape to secure my bag better. Safeway however, did not jave any duct tape, just a roll of generic “silver tape” that I didn't trust.
What they did have however, was Gorilla Tape. And oh my god guys, if you've been using duct tape instead of Gorilla Tape your whole life like I have, you've been missing out.
Gorilla Tape is clearly superior in every single way. It's stronger, it tears straighter and cleaner, it's black instead of silver, and it's smoother. Clearly the better product and I'm now carrying a whole roll in case other emergencies arrive. (My pannier has gone 137 miles since I taped it up with the Gorilla Tape, and everything is still holding as strong as when I first taped it.)
Total Miles: 237
Best sight of the Day: Goats in someone's front yard literally a block from the ferry on the peninsula
Good Guy Driver of the Day: A couple of guys in a lifted truck rolled the window down and yelled, “Yeah! Destroy that hill!” While pumping their fists when I was climbing that stupid 17%.
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