Day 72 – Port Townsend,WA to Port Angeles,WA

Date: 09.07.2018

Altitude: 2234.3 ft (681 m)

Distance: 51.00 mi (82.07 km)

Total Altitude: 137437.7 ft (41891 m)

Total Distance: 4702.33 mi (7567.65 km)

Second day on my trip around the Olympic Peninsula and it has been a really good one again. The weather was not as nice as yesterday, it was pretty cloudy and with the wind it was a bit chilly on the bike. At least it didn't rain as long as I was on the bike, it started to rain just when I arrived at the motel in Port Angeles. I guess one could call that perfect timing.

The day was again only a shorter day with only 51 miles, but with lots of up and down along the way, which made the ride a little bit more challenging. The worst were the short but really steep climbs, up to 16% gradient, on the route and there were a few of those along the way. And with the fully loaded bike it is really hard to get up those climbs but at least they were only short. Other than that the route was great. Most of today's route stayed on a separate bike path and for the few miles on WA20 there was a wide shoulder to ride on. The scenery along the way was again really beautiful the route stayed for the most part in forest areas. Except for when I cycled through a town it was green around me. Another positive effect of the trees was that the headwinds from the west didn't affect me too much on my route, today. The only time I really felt the headwinds was on the last few miles to Port Angeles right along the coast.

On the Olympic Discovery Trail, the bike trail I used for most of my route, I met quite a few people on their bicycles. This area seems to be pretty popular for cycling. Actually when I started this morning in Port Townsend, I didn't even know that he Olympic Discovery Trail existed. I only learned about the trail when a guy stopped me by the side of the road and told I could get of the road and use the trail to get to Port Angeles. He passed me a little earlier with his car and must have stopped and waited for me to tell me about the trail, because after he told me about the trail he got back in his car and got going again.

Conclusion for the day:

Although it is only the second day on the Olympic Peninsula, I can already say it was a good decision to extend the trip and ride around the Olympic Peninsula.