Author: Paula+Timothy

Tour de Lavender – Kingston/Sequim

/ Paula+Timothy / 3 Comments

Last weekend took us for the first time to the Olympic Peninsula for a two-day ridefest: The inaugural Tour de Lavender on Saturday, and the Ride the Hurricane up Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park on Sunday.

We’d initially planned to do the longer version of the Lavender ride, starting in Kingston after taking the ferry over from Edmonds (leaving the car in Edmonds), then riding the bikes to Sequim and then to the lavender farms in the area. But since we were staying over for two nights and wanted to explore a wide swath of the area, the logistical challenges of going car-free or even renting a car were massive. So, we chose to drive to Sequim, then do a 40-mile lavender ride. Short, sweet, scenic — and very nicely scented!

We saw a lot of animals admiring us along the roads,  and of course had to take their pictures. They included four kittens at some old traincars that a guy was converting into a restaurant; he’d acquired and hired them to be mousers. Very friendly. Very cute. And we very nearly took them home with us …

On the road from Kingston to Sequim
Here we found four kitties. This is either William or Wallace
Wallace or William in action
William (or Wallace) and one of his unnamed sisters
Wallace or William on alert
Kitty training to be mouser at railcars training to be a restaurant
More railcars
Nice wheels
Railcar detail
Railcar detail
A man and a crab
Llama wanting to join the ride
Nice man riding with two bikes while girlfriend shoots llama
Getting honey treats at a lavender farm
A good way to celebrate a birthday
Riders nicely accessorized for the Tour de Lavender
A couple of suburban deer.
Lunchtime in the front yard
Cow wanting to join the ride
A one-cow garage
Showing no respect for the dead
Cruising the graves, lookin’ for some greens
Random riders
More random riders
Lovely scenery
More lovely scenery
Lavender water, a treat from one of the lavender farms
Drying in the drying barn
Drying barn
Drying barn
A man, lavender, and lines
Lavender and lines
A portrait in lavender
Liked this scene a lot, obviously
King of the …
Textures
Probably the only time an NYCC jersey has been ridden with lavender in the back pocket
Enjoying the view
Sheep.
Old railroad bridge
Salmon as seen from the bridge
More salmon
Rest stop
Views!
A whole lotta lavender

Tour de Whatcom

/ Paula+Timothy / 8 Comments

On Saturday we headed to far northwestern Washington for the fabulous Tour de Whatcom, which we’d heard about when we met the Mount Baker Bike Club folks after the Ann Ride in Walla Walla.

This was yet another spectacular ride on yet another picture-perfect day, with views of Mount Baker, Birch Bay, Bellingham Bay and … Canada, during the stop in Blaine, which is one of the border crossings. Here’s the route. We rode for awhile with several very nice Canadian groups, including the Vancouver Velo Vets and Ride 2 Survive. (Now we want to check out some rides up there).  We also did some stellar pacelining with two guys who came from Kentucky and who very much appreciated the low humidity and soaring scenery.

Besides the scenery, we love the name of the place, and its overall vibe. What’s a Whatcom?

Early morning rays as we head out of Bellingham
Some of the strong groups we tagged along with
Morning in northwestern Washington
Merlin, one of many highlights of the first rest stop
Boy Scout troop members dispensing treats
Young man giving free tattoos
Tatttoo application
And the result
Tattoo Master
“Welcome to the Kingdom!”
Leaving the Kingdom, back on the winding road
Pretty good shot, for being on the bike
Sunbathing cows
Lots of farmland
Another rest stop
Blaine, on the Canadian border
Also Blaine
Birch Bay
Child playing in mud as gulls observe
More mud play and gulls
We liked this scene, obviously
Walking the dog, Birch Bay
Music at one of the rest stops!
And free Cokes! That perfect late-ride refreshment
Yum
Mount Baker in the distance
Taking a pause to enjoy the scenery
One of the Ride 2 Survive leaders
Random person on the road
Potato fields
Adorable!
Still adorable.
And also adorable.
No, we didn’t do this. Though we WOULD have …
Bellingham Bay, after dinner
Bellingham Bay

Vashon Island on a Foggy Morning

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The roads of Vashon Island beckon to cyclists, offering up lovely, wooded lanes, climbs, scenic views, etc. We headed out early on Sunday morning and enjoyed a veiled experience on very quiet roads. Our highlights were the Southern ferry landing and an overlook at a park atop Maury Island, as well as some simply delightful twisty-turny country lanes—the sort that make any cyclist’s heart go pitter-pat

We followed the “Vashon Classic Loop,” providing 3,600-plus feet of climbing in about 42 miles. Short and sweet!

As for all those old exercise bikes lined up on the shoreline: Apparently they were gone for awhile but now they’re back. We didn’t want to stop mid-ride (for once) to take pictures, but returned later to test them out. Good way to add a bit more to the workout …

The southern ferry landing.
Abandoned exercise cycles at Tramp Harbor.
The old Portage store at Tramp Harbor.
The old Portage store at Tramp Harbor.
Sampling the blackberries.
Tramp Harbor
Tramp Harbor
The southern ferry landing.
Paula’s new Cannondale.
Paula’s new Cannondale.
Communing with the mystery of the row of exercise cycles abandoned by the roadside at Tramp Harbor.

This day was unusually foggy, so we missed the vaunted views of Mount Rainier and the Cascades and Olympics. We will have to return!

But we did have a great time at the Strawberry Festival. For photos of that cool event, see the Off The Bike section above.