Amy & her boys

Bob, Geoff & Amy

The plan was to ferry some supplies over to the Kitsap Peninsula for the 300km and for a couple volunteers to get-in a ride before they supported the 300km. Mark’s email message read,

“Here's the proposed plan for ride on Saturday.

I'm going to take car over to Bainbridge and park up the hill at the motel. It will probably have a lot of brevet supplies, so it would be better to plan for others to ride up the hill from the ferry.

I was thinking of taking the 7:55 ferry to Bainbridge and riding to Port Hadlock via 305, Big Valley Road (or maybe go along the water in Poulsbo), Hood Canal Bridge, Paradise Bay Road, and Oak Bay Road. After lunch, return via Beaver Valley Road, Hood Canal Bridge, Port Gamble, Squamish. See http://tinyurl.com/59y8vq.

We'd probably be back in Bainbridge by around 4, depending on coffee stops.”

Willing participants included Bob Brudvik, Geoff Swarts, Mark Roberts, Jon Muellner, Robin & Amy Pieper and me. While 15 other randonneurs planned a 300km ride for the day, ours was much less ambitious. With a few coffee stops, our plan was a casual ride of 120km.

Bob spent the first half of the ferry boat ride showing off his new mini pump to Robin. According to the hype on the packaging, it was more powerful and quicker. After Bob and Robin returned from the car-deck, we could see that Bob was itching to tryout his new pump on a real ride (rather than on Lisa’s tires in their garage).

For the rest of us, the boat ride provided an opportunity for those who traveled to Wenatchee last weekend to share their experiences. We who didn’t go to Wenatchee were green with envy.

As we approached Bainbridge, we observed the rain hitting the sound. It was wet out there. With the hope that if we stopped for coffee in Bainbridge, we could wait out the rain we made our first stop before we really got started. While drinking our coffee, Eric Vigoren called Mark Thomas to inform him that 15 riders started the 300km, with Jennifer Chang and another rider starting about an hour late. Jennifer had fallen leaving the ferry boat at Bremerton and bent her front wheel. Eric retrieved one of his wheels from home for her to borrow.

After about an hour in the coffee shop, our choice was to ride in the rain back to the ferry terminal or to start-off towards Port Hadlock. After much debate, we headed north, away from home and towards Jon Muellner, who would be meeting us on the other side of the Hood Canal Bridge.


Geoff, Amy & Mark

After crossing the Agate Pass Bridge, we detoured off Highway 305 and onto the back roads into Poulsbo. Once in the pretty town, Mark made some comment about a coffee stop. There was a very nice bakery and café straight ahead; I pulled in, and others joined me. The éclair (my first since Paris-Brest-Paris) was delicious!

Eric called to inform us that a car pulled out in front of Michael Huber in Shelton. The front fork on his beautiful Rivendell was bent and unrideable. Mark called Jon to inform him that given our current pace, we would not meet-up with him on time. That was okay for Jon; he turned around and headed home to a warm shower.

We skipped crossing the Hood Canal Bridge and made our next stop at the General Store in Port Gamble. After a light meal, Amy dropped her spoon into the trashcan. For the next few minutes, we watched her bent-over diving into the trash to retrieve it.

It was still raining when we readied to depart. Mark noticed that his front tire was a low due to a small leak. Bob pulled out his new mini pump ready to give it a go. The rest of us left them alone to do their thing, while watching from inside the warm and dry General Store. The two of them made quite a spectacle. Mark’s hands were nearly black from his dirty rim and cleaning out the tire. Bob gave it his best shot with the pump. However, he looked really unsatisfied. At best, he filled the tire to 85psi. His quest for a fulfilling mini pump experience continues!

We rolled back onto Highway 104 and then onto Port Gamble Road. This was Amy’s first time on this road, and she enjoyed its climbs.



Once back to Bainbridge, we refueled at an eatery before saying goodbye to the Marks and Geoff and returning to the ferry terminal. We had an enjoyable day with friends!!!