Shi Shi Beach

Elizabeth and I went out to the Olympic National Park this past weekend. I crammed in some miles during the week with the expectation of a three day weekend sans spandex. So Monday I commuted to work. Tuesday I spun around Mercer island after work for a 38 mile day. I commuted Wednesday and on my way home I hear a "ping" ring out from my front wheel and I realize I broke a spoke. The broken spoke throws my wheel out of alignment and ends my ride home and I find a bus to make the remaining commute home. It is after 7 and I don't have time to visit my LBS so I swap out pedals from my mountain bike and put them on my old Cannondale road bike.



Great. I don't miss a beat. The Jake is out of commission until I can get the wheel fixed. No biggy, but with the weekend quickly approaching and my desire to get miles in before the weekend, I shelve the Jake and ride into work on the red Cannondale, my first road bike and the beginning of my interest in long distance road riding aka century rides. The red Cannondale is a fun aluminum frame and fork, compact geometry with a biosphere 52 big ring. Fun on the flats, light weight, but doesn't take the bumps as well as the Jake and the lower suicide shifters make me feel a little shaky at first when shifting but I get used to it. Gorgeous evening to take the long way home. I decide to add the Magnolia loop to my ride home. Just an additional 6 miles but quite scenic. I ride up to Discovery park. Still not quite familiar with this old friend I end up hammering up to the hill at Discovery park in the big ring thinking the double is simply more difficult with the climbs. As I reach the top of the hill and look down into Discovery park I realize I am in the big ring and look forward to easier climbing ahead. Spin around the west side of Magnolia and take in Mt. Rainier, Downtown Seattle and enjoy the downhill stretches at over 30mph. I climb up 3rd avenue towards Queen Anne finishing up a 22 mile day feeling great. I'm going to get my miles in and backpack with my sweetie all in one week.

Exactly 2 blocks from my apartment building I'm trodding up the hill. Leaning on the Right leg pushing down. Leaning on the Left leg pushing down all the while standing and feeling strong again and again until finally when I go to lean on the left, I don't stop. My body continues to go down past the pedal and me and my bike fall on our sides on the street. Fortunately there are no cars or pedestrians nearby to further my embarassment or possibly run me over. As I lay on the ground I think one that I didn't get hit, two I didn't hit anything else, so why the f*ck am I laying on the ground? I look just a couple feet away to see the answer. My left pedal is laying next to my bike. I wasn't hit. I didn't hit anything, but I did not tighten my pedal enough when swapping them out with my mountain bike and the pedal slowly loosened and I finally pushed it out of the crank arm. Long sleeves saved my forearm a bit of road rash. The side of my left shin was raspberried as I have done many times before, but otherwise I was feeling fine. Picked up my pedal and pushed my bike the remaining 2 blocks to my apartment. No bike for Friday. Oh well. We're going to Shi Shi Beach!



First camping trip of the season and it takes much longer to get ready as it often does. We don't leave Seattle until after 12pm and reach the Olympic National Park Visitor center outside of Port Angeles at 4:45 to purchase permits and pick up bear cannisters. But it has been a long day, and it has been a busy April, so we elect to go wine tasting and stay in Port Angeles for the night. Win Win. Next day we drive to Neah Bay, buy additional permit and find secure parking near the trail head. Muddy trail and 2 miles later we reach the beach. We hike down the beach nearly 2 miles and find a lovely campsite near the point of arches. Scramble over some rocks during low tide and take many photos. Ahhh great stuff, and I didn't even have my bike.

But now I have 2 bikes at home that need tender loving care. So I ping Second Ascent about the Jake and the spoke. They are fantastic as always and tell me to bring it in asap. I run the red Cannondale over to Recycled Cycles possibly looking for a used crank arm as the threading appears stripped. One of their clever bike mechanics proposes threading the pedal in backwards and realigning the threads in the front. Fantastic idea. Especially since the alternative was looking like a new crank set. I drive home with the red Cannondale and pick up the Jake the next day and ride it home, and all is well in my little bike world once again. This weekend though, is going to require some long miles on the bike.

See the gallery of photos from this trip on HawgFuel's flickr