Shelton Inn, Shelton WA
Miles Today: 67
Miles Done: 231
Miles Left: 1596
Last night was really cold. I found my self roused many times by cold spots in my hammock though I still seemed to have gotten a good nights sleep. The slow leak in my rear tire caused it to flatten overnight so I filled it while doing my morning checks. I got out the road and almost immediately I ran into another biker. We stopped and talked for few minutes. His bike looked like it would float off if he wasn't sitting on it. I know when this trip is over and I strip all the gear off my bike I will feel like a rocket to but for now I had to haul all my gear. While we were talking he looked at my map and suggested a better route, one with more to look at and less traffic. I asked him about bike shops just in case he might know a place open on Labor Day. He asked why and I told him about my lack of spare parts. He took pity on me and gave me a spare tube. I offered to mail him a thank you gift but he refused. Thank you whoever you are!
The route he suggested was certainly more interesting than most of what I had ridden too. It had nice views along quite roads and led me straight by a coffee shop with free WiFi. There I took in a few sweets and relaxed into journaling and made some phone calls.
After a long break I got back on the road. I was doing great until I came across a missing bridge. Some bikers on the far side shouted that the water was crossable. They didn't have 45 lbs of gear strapped to their bike though so it took me about 10 minutes of huffing and puffing to get everything across.
In Silverdale I was surprised to come across a open bike shop. I
excited bought my replacement parts, go some srub at Taco Bell, and got
back on the road.
I was doing fine until I reached the Bremerton. There somewhere I got off route. Unfortunately I could not find a person who knew enough about their town to tell me anything except on how to get to the expressway. Finally I found a sign for a road on my map. Unfortunately without warning that road feed into the expressway. One feature of expressways is fences they put on then to keep for people walking on or off so it was a mile or so until I could find a way out. Luck would have it that the road I managed to get to was exactly the road I was looking for and from that point on I managed to stay on route.
It was another a late day but that was not a problem as I am staying at a motel. There is a long strech here with no campsites. As a result I have the choice of doing a 30 mile day and camping or going a little over 60 and motel. I have been just barely keeping up with my miles goals so I elected to pay more and go long. As a result I have a comfy bed and got to eat decidedly OK Mexican food though it is far better than any I have had in Canada. Also I have WiFi so I and been able to catch up on some of my email.
Tomorrow I will try for another long day to make it a campground.
Miles Today: 67
Miles Done: 231
Miles Left: 1596
Last night was really cold. I found my self roused many times by cold spots in my hammock though I still seemed to have gotten a good nights sleep. The slow leak in my rear tire caused it to flatten overnight so I filled it while doing my morning checks. I got out the road and almost immediately I ran into another biker. We stopped and talked for few minutes. His bike looked like it would float off if he wasn't sitting on it. I know when this trip is over and I strip all the gear off my bike I will feel like a rocket to but for now I had to haul all my gear. While we were talking he looked at my map and suggested a better route, one with more to look at and less traffic. I asked him about bike shops just in case he might know a place open on Labor Day. He asked why and I told him about my lack of spare parts. He took pity on me and gave me a spare tube. I offered to mail him a thank you gift but he refused. Thank you whoever you are!
The route he suggested was certainly more interesting than most of what I had ridden too. It had nice views along quite roads and led me straight by a coffee shop with free WiFi. There I took in a few sweets and relaxed into journaling and made some phone calls.
After a long break I got back on the road. I was doing great until I came across a missing bridge. Some bikers on the far side shouted that the water was crossable. They didn't have 45 lbs of gear strapped to their bike though so it took me about 10 minutes of huffing and puffing to get everything across.
In Silverdale I was surprised to come across a open bike shop. I
excited bought my replacement parts, go some srub at Taco Bell, and got
back on the road.
I was doing fine until I reached the Bremerton. There somewhere I got off route. Unfortunately I could not find a person who knew enough about their town to tell me anything except on how to get to the expressway. Finally I found a sign for a road on my map. Unfortunately without warning that road feed into the expressway. One feature of expressways is fences they put on then to keep for people walking on or off so it was a mile or so until I could find a way out. Luck would have it that the road I managed to get to was exactly the road I was looking for and from that point on I managed to stay on route.
It was another a late day but that was not a problem as I am staying at a motel. There is a long strech here with no campsites. As a result I have the choice of doing a 30 mile day and camping or going a little over 60 and motel. I have been just barely keeping up with my miles goals so I elected to pay more and go long. As a result I have a comfy bed and got to eat decidedly OK Mexican food though it is far better than any I have had in Canada. Also I have WiFi so I and been able to catch up on some of my email.
Tomorrow I will try for another long day to make it a campground.
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