04/06/2021
Well....that was a friggin blast!
It occurred to me that the route would make an excellent S24O, and I needed to check it out. I took the 625 (pm) fast ferry with the intention of riding to the area just above Holly and testing out some of the new gear I’ve acquired recently.
I was riding in the dark beginning at Leibers Ln, which is also where I discovered my LiM TAZ1200 is fubar (side rant: I’m really tired of going through warranty replacements for warranty replacements on critical equipment. These companies need to step up their game, or close up shop. I’m talking to you, Crank Bros and LiM!). Thankfully, I packed a helmet mounted flashlight (Fenix E35 v3) which gave me enough light to see Rachel Wills’ tracks from earlier in the day.
So I rode in the dark, and wondered how long my little light would really last. I reached my destination at this lovely plot of land that overlooks the canal, is dotted with trees, and covered in a carpet of soft moss—totally magical. It was a perfect place to test out my new Warbonnet Blackbird XLC hammock (which worked great, btw).
In the morning, I had coffee and oats while waiting for the earliest riders to make it out to me. I wondered about whether it would be prudent to stash my gear at the top before riding down to the shelter. It might’ve been prudent, but it was not going to be the plan. I brought the baggage—I carry the baggage.
On the way down the hill I blasted right past the turn so I set out a stick arrow for others to follow. I knew you probably couldn’t see it before you passed it, but it would hopefully alert you as you came back to it. How many people went all the way to the wrong shelter?
When I got to the North shelter, the tide was high and there was no one around. Eventually, Roger and Matt showed up. So I hung out with them and gave Roger a head start on the hill. He was having mechanical issues and was stuck in the 12t sprocket all day (yay Di2!). By comparison, I just replaced my chain and cassette and now had a low gear of 28:40 which made that wall actually rather easy, even with the additional weight. Near the top I even managed to stop Fabien Le Gallo from doing the loop backwards—probably preserving his win.
The rest of the day was super fun. Especially, the burgers and beer at Bremerton. It was great seeing all the riders roll in with big ass grins on their faces. We let a whole boat pass while we reveled in the spirit of camaraderie, fried food, and hops.
My time was 19:07, which I’m pretty sure is DFL (unless the coyotes are still working on someone). However, as a S24O, the experiment was a stellar success.
Thanks again for joining me on these adventures! Thanks for trusting me, and for showing up ready to take on all the challenges thrown your way. If you take the three routes from the three GGs you should be able to explore the Kitsap Peninsula on your own and find many other great places to ride. And, if you need someone to ride with you, that can be arranged too. This is especially true for traditionally underserved groups: I’m committed to equity when it comes to gender, orientation, and skin tone. If you fit in those groups, reach out to me and let me know how I’m doing. Better yet, clear off a day and join us, cause we do stuff just like this literally every weekend. As long as you have the basics, you’re welcome to join.
