Day 5 (April 24): Coupeville, WA-Seattle, WA -- 69.7 miles biked

Miles biked: 69.7 (208 total)

Time on bike: 6 hours, 35 minutes, 8 seconds

Maximum speed: 29.2 mph

Roads taken (besides the ones on which I got lost): North Main, Engle, Water, Sims, SR 20, SR 19, Irondale, Flagler/Oak Bay, Paradise Bay, SR 104 (Hood Canal Bridge), SR 3, Lofall, Pioneer Way NW/Clear Creek/Kitsap Mall, several Seattle streets.

Ferries taken: Whidbey Island-Port Townsend, Bremerton-Seattle.

Places stopped: Port Haddock (for sausage breakfast sandwich), Silverdale (to eat ice cream before it melted and blog at library), park before Bremerton (to eat lunch and try to get refund from UPS for overcharging on shipping the bike; no luck).

Friday was a very active day for me on the bike. It began at 5:20 a.m., when I woke up at Janet's house and we drove back to Coupeville. This was because I had to catch the 7:15 ferry from Whidbey Island to Port Townsend, otherwise I'd have to wait until the next one at 10:15. That would make it very difficult to make it to Seattle before dusk.

Of course, I held up my reputation for cutting things close. I took too long putting all my gear on the bike once we reached Janet's Coupeville office, and after a quick bowl of oatmeal I had just 25 minutes to bike 4.3 miles to the ferry.

I don't know if I've ever pushed myself so hard on a bike for that many miles. The entire time I kept scolding myself, thinking that I'd miss the ferry and end up sitting around for 3 hours doing nothing. Thankfully, I zoomed into the ferry station with about 5 minutes to spare and was quickly on my way to Port Townsend.

It was absolutely freezing, with temperatures in the mid-30s -- not exactly ideal biking weather. But once I got off the boat, I was anxious to get my long day of riding going. I estimated that it'd take about 58.6 miles to reach the Bremerton ferry to Seattle. Then, after an hour ferry ride, I'd have about 6 more miles of riding in downtown to reach the house where I'd be staying. I wanted to get there, easily, before dark.

So I pushed and pushed, stopping only for a couple minutes in Port Haddock to grab a sausage breakfast sandwich. I absolutely cruised through 8.5 miles on Oak Bay Road and was making great time. I'd lower my hands into the drops, lean forward under any wind resistance and eye the road ahead of me. I was probably averaging 16 or 17 mph.

Then I took a left on Paradise Bay Road. Sounds innocuous enough, right? Yeah, right. For most of 6 long miles, all I did was climb huge hill after huge hill. Occasionally, I'd get a glimpse of the bay down to my left, but mostly I was busy pedaling away while in first gear, moving at about 4.8 mph. It was a bitch, no doubt, and my lower back certainly didn't appreciate it.

Finally, upon exiting the oh-so-voluptuous road, I had to cross the Hood Canal Bridge over the -- you guessed it -- Hood Canal. One thing I've quickly learned on this trip is that when you're on a bike, bridges seem way, way longer than when you're comfortably sitting in your typical Ford Focus.

Such was the case on the Hood Canal Bridge. It was only about a mile, but for probably a good 6 minutes I was sweating as I navigated a basically nonexistent shoulder while semi trucks zoomed by me -- without much room to spare. I couldn't afford to move right, either, because I'd hit the railing and then who knows. With my feet clamped into the pedals, it could have spelled a disaster.

Anyway, I was very relieved to finally reach the other end. Biking alongside motor vehicles on bridges -- not exactly a soothing experience.

Still, despite the Paradise Bay and bridge experiences, I was making excellent time -- I had 30 miles completed by about 11 -- and had my eyes set on catching the 3 p.m. or 4:15 ferry. That way, I figured, I could reach Seattle in the mid-afternoon, bike to the house and even watch the end of the Pistons-Cavs game if I so dreaded.

I kept that thinking all the way to Bremerton. That's when I stopped at a fishing dock-type park just minutes from the city. I finally allowed myself to scarf down two PB&Js for lunch and some gorp -- damn, I love gorp; already two bags consumed on the trip -- and then I thought, "Hey, I've got some time. Why not call UPS and try to get a refund on the extra $157.60 I was charged for shipping the bike to Canada?"

Bad idea. After two calls and about 27 minutes, I got nowhere. That money, almost certainly, is gone.

Oh, well. I got a chance to rest the legs...

But the thing is, I've noticed that my legs and knees usually feel sorest after a respite. And that's exactly how they felt as I rounded the corner after the park and saw, directly in front of me, a steep, steep hill. "Quite a hill," I exhaled to a runner who smiled as he ran down it. Lucky dude. Still, I figured that once I reached the top, I'd see the small city of Bremerton stretched out before me and a sight line to the ferry.

I couldn't have been more wrong. At the peak of the crest, I saw no sign of water of a ferry. At that point, I had about 45 minutes to make the 4:15 boat to Seattle. I figured I had about 3 miles of riding, mostly downhill.

Maybe I should have given myself an hour or more, because I quickly lost my route. Then I spent the next half hour asking about four people for directions to the ferry, biking down a hill and then back up it -- and, yep, it was huge -- and having to take a detour to finally get down to the ferry station...

Five minutes too late.

It was probably the worst 50 minutes, thus far, of the trip. I was riding mostly uphill on congested roads, not getting anywhere while constantly looking out for cars passing right by me. It definitely told me that from now on, no matter how big the city I'm going to make sure I follow the directions to a "T."

Anyway, I pulled the bike into a local watering hole and watched the second quarter of the Pistons game before heading down to catch the ferry.

And while I hadn't taken a single picture all day -- there really wasn't much to look at -- I took several during the hour ride to Seattle. There, to the south, sat beautiful and imposing Mt. Rainier, all 14,411 feet of it. The mountain looks even bigger than it is because it's not surrounded by much of anything. It completely stands out like a huge white mound.

Then we neared the city, and I snapped some more pictures of the skyline. A man pointed out to me that a medium-sized building used to be, not too long ago, the tallest structure in the city. Now there are a few taller skyscrapers, such as the tallest 76-story Columbia Tower, but the city didn't strike me as huge or intimidating.

I felt that same way once I rode off the ferry and hit the city streets to try to find the house Janet and others share. I got lost a few times, but I eventually came upon it tucked into a quiet, cozy neighborhood in the north part of the city by the University of Washington. Many of the streets I rode on were biker-friendly.

Now, today, I'll probably take a day off from the bike and explore the city, more or less, on foot. Plenty to do, plenty to see. Should be a busy Saturday.

Oh, and the Thai food here is tremendous. At least the restaurant I went to last night with friends. Best Thai I've ever had for a very reasonable price.

Until next time, peace.