Ride to Neah Bay

Hoh Rainforest to Neah Bay: 79.4 miles
Total Mileage: 376.3 miles
Quote of the Day: "The wilderness holds answers to questions man has not yet learned to ask." - Nancy Newhall

Today the sun was peaking through the clouds and everyone was excited to hop back on their bikes and get to Neah Bay.  There was a little concern among the riders as we had a great deal of climbing to do to get out of the rain forest (we all were loving those descents yesterday) and today would be the longest ride undertaken by all of the new riders.  

Athena was rocking a helmet of moss on the way out.

The views were much better with the sun shining.

We made it Forks, WA which is where the Twilight series takes place.  

Sadly we saw no vampires and no werewolves so basically it was a waste!

Post lunch we hit some major head winds, poor pavement and big hills.  This, in combination with lunch legs, made getting back on the bike after lunch rough.  Views like this made it a little easier to get through the afternoon.

At mile 60 we had a mandatory coffee break stop.  

Washington is filled with coffee shacks; this one had a great drift wood sculpture in the back.

Soon enough we hit the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  According to Wikipedia, it is a large body of water (about 95 miles long) that is the Salish Sea's outlet to the Pacific Ocean.  It also serves as the international boundary between Canada and the United States.

Secondary mandatory crew with the water shot. 

Game faces are on.  70 miles down and 10 miles to the host.

Another view of the Strait.  The last ten miles of the ride could have been the most beautiful riding I have ever done.  The road followed the coast and despite the town being at sea level we had a good amount of climbing to do before we reached the town center.  On a side note: as people arrived they commented on the scenery and most of the cross country riders also agreed that this was a once in a lifetime ride. 

 

With just a few miles to go, Victoria got a flat so I snuck down to the water to grab one more picture.

The view from the host also did not disappoint.  The Makah Tribe would be our host for the next two days and when we arrived snacks were already laid out for us.  As a first time host even the Bike and Build director was amazed by the hospitality.  The green in the background is Canada.  If we had a bit more energy we could have swum? swam? to the shore or at least tried to DM a boat ride. 

After a disastrous dinner at a local restaurant we headed back to the host for our first town hall/family meeting.  The rest of the night was spent reorganizing life and cleaning out the trailer/coolers.  Six riding days down and only three more to go until the part one riders leave!