August 10 Crossing America
Port Ludlow, WA – Belfair, WA distance 59 miles
Total distance traveled through today 4,103 miles, rode 3, 494 of them on my bike.
Foxglove flowers along road where I stopped to take a break. I enjoy taking pics of beautiful flowers.
Up at 5:30 this morning and Denny I headed to Port Townsend but made a wrong turn and arrived in Port Ludlow about eight, after several chaotic minutes on my part getting organized to once again ride without all my gear I was on my way to Belfair. Denny took a couple pictures of me before departing and then headed toward our first rendezvous community Silverdale. Took me 3 hours to get there
which wasn’t too bad considering all the hills I had to climb. Washington besides being hillier then I imagined it would be has a lot of mature forests intact lending greatly to thebeauty and appeal of the State. I’d enjoy it much more if the temperature would warm up another 10 degrees or more.
Upon arriving in Silverdale Denny suggested we eat at a King’s Wok which was a great idea as it has a large assortment of fresh seafood on the buffet. The place was packed, so no doubt this restaurant is a favorite of many folks. Denny treated which was not expected but I did appreciate it as did my meager wallet.
The next community I came to was Bremerton which the Adventure Cycling map kept me on the far west side of town avoiding most of the congestion of a 40,000 populated community. I did manage to get myself temporarily lost on the west side and of course after having climbed a steep hill. By the time I found my way, I had to climb that hill a second time. I’m so lucky with hills. On the plus side, the temperature did warm up a bit in the afternoon and I only semi-froze the rest of today’s ride.
About 10 miles out of Belfair, I caught up to a father and son on a two day loop ride. The dad was carrying all the gear. Hey whatever it takes to enjoy being with your son during his pre-adolescent years is a good thing, keep pedaling and going dad! He aso told me why the Adventure Cycling map doesn’t route across the the bridge into Astoria. It has heavy motor vehicle traffic and no safe pedestrian and bicycle lane. The guy was envious of my riding across America, I was envious of his being able to enjoy quality time with his son. After several miles we parted and I have met yet another new friend.
I arrived in Belfair at four, stopped at convenience store and phoned Denny. He had already checked us into the motel and again surprised me as he paid for it. I had told him I’d pay for the motel. Gees, I haven’t seen the guy in 47 years he invites me into his home,
feeds me for two days, drives his own truck (Larry needed my van to get homeafter the San Juan Islands), buys lunch and now pays for the motel.
After taking a shower Denny asked me how many miles I got from a set of tires, I replied normally about 1,500 miles but the front tire on Spirit had more then 2,000 miles on it. As I was telling Denny this I decided to spin the tire slowly to check how it was actually holding up, something I should be doing everyday but forget to do. To my dismay there was a bulge on the left sidewall of the tire. My Guardian Angel is still with me as had the front tire blown out going down a hill, I would have surely taken a nasty spill. Of course, in my rush to get into the hostel Sunday night I forgot to crab a spare tire to bring with for this section of my ride. Denny got to witness me put a dollar bill between the sidewall of the tire and inner tube as a temporary boot in order to be able to continue my ride tomorrow.
However, I won’t trust this temporary tire fix to carry an additional 70 lbs. of gear on Thursday. Thus, I told Denny I’d be heading to Seattle with him after tomorrow’s ride. Denny was going to Seattle to visit his older brother Joe. No need to unnecessarily take risks.
For dinner Denny and I agreed Mexican would be a good choice. Me for the Margaritas. We enjoyed two Grande size Margaritas each, which were extremely good. Yea, so was the meal but the drinks were most enjoyable. I did manage to pick up the check for this meal.
The rest of the evening flew by as Denny and I continued to enjoy reminiscing about our daysin Crystal Lake and all the hijinks we managed to get into. Denny summed it up best by saying, “You know growing up in the 50s and 60s was a pretty good time”. I couldn’t agree more.
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9 Comments
larry covington
August 14, 2011Frank,
Thanks for the kind words, be assured we have enjoyed your visit and again you are welcome anytime and you can stay up to a month before we start charging rent 🙂 Wish I could do more sagging for you as I had planned but life gets in the way sometimes. As far as the hills go, you have overcome a lot greater challenges in your life than those hills. Maybe it will help to think of each hill as a particular challenge in your life. Oregon has plenty of challenges but the rewards are definatly worth it. See you on Wednesday for some CXhicken fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans and country gravey.
admin
August 14, 2011Hi Larry, You and Charis are so kind and I’m deeply touched with your kindness. I love your comparison of hills to other challenges in life. I don’t believe I’ll ever climb a hill again without thinking of it as meeting and overcoming a challenge in life. Yea, I was checking out the elevation changes for Oregon, it may rival Missouri for the amount of steep hills? You guys are going to keep me fat with all the great food you’ve been feeding me. My mouth is already watering for the chicken fried!
Jack & Connie Odell
August 13, 2011Frank, we’ll be staying at the Bandon Inn (355 Hwy 101) on Sunday, August 21st. We hope to buy you a steak (or meal of choice). Stay safe.
suzy Mcdonald
August 14, 2011Hi Jack and Connie,
I live here in Bandon. I would love to help out and have offered my home for a rest stop, laundry , rest etc. I live on a lake 6 miles south of Bandon. Are you staying here long? I can certainly drive the gear on down the coast a ways. I am an acquaintance of Rita Golden Gelman through whom I learned of Frank. I am so impressed with his adventure. Suzy McDonald
Jack & Connie Odell
August 14, 2011Hi Suzy, we’re old HS mates of Frank and just happen to be traveling north to Seattle, so we’ll only see him for dinner on the 21st, our only night in Bandon after spending the 20th in Eureka. Other than staying at the Bandon Inn, our plans are fluid depending on Franks schedule and we’ll be in touch with him by cell phone as time approaches. I’m sure he’ll be in touch with you. You’re wonderful to help out.
admin
August 14, 2011Hi Jack and Connie, Looking forward to being with you on the 21st. I’m going to have another rider and good friend with me Larry Covington as will Dale. I’d enjoy the steak but since there will be three of us, let’s keep the steak for when I’m in Georgia with you. Probably going to be staying either with Suzy McDonald on the 21st or some friends of Joyce Major (Bernard) don’t know which yet. I will stay safe, you do the same.
Jack & Connie Odell
August 15, 2011Great, the more the merrier. We’ll watch this site for more details as you approach Bandon. We also have yours and Dale’s cell phone #s. Since we’ve been living your journey vicariously through your blog, it will be great to see you in person. Be careful on those tricky coastal roads.
ted and candice
August 13, 2011Hey Frank. Good to talk to you yesterday. Had followed blog til we left Nevada last part of July. Been traveling since without much access to computers! Have talked several times that we don’t have stamina to drive across America much less bike it. Have had time this am to catch up to July 28. Will catch up later this pm. Enjoy and be back by deer season!
admin
August 14, 2011Hi Candice and Ted,
I was concerned as I hadn’t heard from you in awhile. Glad to hear you are safe and having a great vacation of your own. Yea, you could ride a bicycle across America if it was a desire. You guys have the right attitude. I plan to be back in Missouri about the first or second week of October in plenty time for deer season. Take care and enjoy your journey.
Always your friend, Frank