Village Clinic Ride Days 5-7: Stay Alert and Keep Pedaling

Day 5: Belfair WA to Elma WA. 

The day started with a harrowing 4-mile ride on into Belfair. This road isn’t on the official Pacific bike route, and for good reason: it had a narrow shoulder and heavy industrial traffic. We made it safely, but it was a reminder of the inherent risks of cycling. Sometimes you get in tough situations, and the only thing to do is to stay alert and keep pedaling. The road eventually smoothed out to more manageable roads with good plenty of shoulder. 

We made our way up a few incredibly steep climbs as we left the coast, entering more mountainous terrain. We passed several mountain lakes and accompanying villages. It’s early in the season, and the landscapes we crossed had very few people. We didn’t have many interactions with locals, as there weren’t many locals to interact with. We just cycled along at a steady pace and enjoyed the dense spruce forests along the way. And for a lovely change, we only had 30 minutes of rain. 

Day 6: Elma WA to West Port WA 

T’was a beautiful morning in the pacific northwest. We settled into an easy pace as we climbed through rolling hills. The rain had subsided and we were greeted with misty spruce forests and nearly empty mountain roads, aside from the occasional logging truck. We remarked that the stages of timber harvesting cycles that were visible as we pedaled: some areas seemed recently clear-cut, while others were full of young trees the height of a person. Like everywhere we visited in Washington, the landscape was rich with life. 

Deception Point Bridge

Eventually we dropped down to the coast and started heading south on highway 105. At this point, the ride became a bit frenetic. Logging trucks were plentiful, and we devoted our concentration to avoiding road debris on the shoulders and navigating the occasional narrow bridges. It wasn’t exactly a dangerous road, but it did demand discipline. After a long, sunny flat (and a persistent headwind), we rolled into the fishing town of West Port WA. We were pretty tired, but it was a satisfying day of cycling overall.

Day 7: West Port WA to Raymond WA  

Today was supposed to be a rest day. The forecast stated a 100% chance of rain, and we were worn out from the 60 miles we did the day before. It did indeed rain early in the morning but by 9:00 we were seeing sunshine through the clouds. We checked the forecast and saw that we’d have a steady tailwind for the next leg of our ride, so we decided to go for it.  

Ah, the virtues of riding with a tailwind! It felt effortless, like we were always going downhill. We pedaled along the coast feeling like superheroes. We made a short day of it, but it was good to put in an easy 25 miles. We then ate a feast of locally produced seafood. It was delicious!