Total Mileage: 254.8 miles
Quote of the Day: Advice from the ocean: Be SHORE of yourself. Don't get TIDE down. Let worries DRIFT away!
The team, half of whom were dressed in arm warmers and rain coats, head out under a gray and misty sky. This morning we would be riding to South Beach on the Pacific Ocean for the first of two nights camping. We joked that our ride would be the quickest to arrive at the Pacific and patted ourselves on the back for that accomplishment. We were also joined by two members of the Grays Ferry Cycling Club, Laurie and Cindy; their organization donated lunch supplies which was amazing and saved us money which we can put back into the affordable housing cause.
The first forty miles were much easier than anticipated. The smooth shoulders, minimal debris and traffic and low head winds made it easier to take in the scenery and talk with fellow riders. As someone who has never been to the Pacific Northwest I can honestly say the views are breathtaking and taking a picture would never do them justice. One of the last turns before lunch biked us through a hallway of trees and if we had had more energy some of us would have stopped at the largest sequoia tree in the US.
Today's lunch stop was one of the best to date. Katy had found a place along a river with a picnic table under a tree. For a lucky few there was even a place to charge their phones.
After lunch many riders had what is not so affectionately known as 'lunch legs' which meant we had a bit of a slow start. That, coupled with strong head winds, made the rest of the ride challenging, but not impossible. While today's ride is not the longest of the trip, it is longer than many of the riders had ever biked before (riders are asked to complete one 65 mile ride before arriving at orientation).
About a half mile before the end of the cue sheet, we arrived at our first National Park Park of the trip and I got to cross another one off my bucket list.
As everyone started to arrive at South Beach, the trailer was unpacked by the earlier riders and everyone else started to pitch tents. There was some down time until dinner so some people headed to the beach to play some frisbee or get in a little yoga. I am sure some riders would have opted for a swim in the ocean had the sun been out. Andrew A. was able to get some popsicles and nectarines DM'ed which was a great surprise.
Dinner crew, however, was hard at work on the inaugural camping dinner of the inaugural Drift West (are you sensing a theme with that word?). Camping nights are particularly difficult was there is only two pots and one camping stove to work with; there are usually minimal groceries to create a cohesive meal. Tonight the crew decided on chili two ways (vegetarian and non vegetarian). While it was a good attempt one was rip your hear out spicy and the other had a "smoky aroma" aka was burnt. A couple of alumni and I stole away to grab some leftover pizza out of the cooler.
The rest of the night will be spent around the fire chatting with our neighbors, the B&B alumni and/or each other. A couple of us headed down the beach and found a "crab shack" which was built out of drift wood. One of the neighbors was offering free massages; I got there a bit too late, but some of us made an impromptu massage train which was nice.
Tomorrow we head further into the Olympic National Park and will get to ride through the Ho Rain Forest.
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