A self-supported family ride from Portland, OR, to Port Townsend, WA, and back, with an assist from the Amtrak Cascade line (biking ~250 miles), August 2007.
THE PLAN
We hoped to bike to the Kelso Amtrak station and catch the train to Everett Amtrak Station and bike to . . .
Mukilteo Ferry – Whidbey Island – Port Townsend – Port Gamble – Poulsbo – Bainbridge Island – Vashon Island – Tacoma Amtrak Station
. . . then bike home from Portland’s Union Station for a grand car-free loop.
Kitsap Peninsula & Puget Sound Itinerary (all the details – with links to points of interest – this was our Plan)
(click on calendar below to see full size Biking Schedule and planned daily mileage)
But one thing we know for certain about bike touring is that every plan is merely provisional – especially when you throw our unreliable national trail service into the mix … and so we also have …
THE REALITY – not quite car-free, and rather than catch the train in Tacoma we biked almost to Longview where dark caught us and a friend zipped over the bridge to scoop us up and bring us home. But the extra bike miles were beautiful. When we have 15 days instead of 10 we’ll have to do this loop all on two wheels and nevermind the trains! Though the train should be a viable option and we’re so stubborn we’ll probably try to make that work again. (click link for the details and maps of our Reality ride.)
Useful Links
Map of Interurban Bike & Pedestrian Path from Edmonds to Everett, WA.
Map of Yelm-Tenino Trail and directions to the Yelm Trailhead.
Kitsap Peninsula Visitors & Convention Bureau: Bicycling on the Kitsap Peninsula
Cascade Bicycle Club: resources for Puget Sound Maps & Routes
Bikely: Tacoma to Steilacoom – a connector route with map and cue sheet.
Biking Puget Sound: 50 Rides from Olympia to the San Juans, by Bill Thorness. This book was a life-saver for plotting out alternative routes. The maps are clear and easy to follow, the cue sheets detailed and exact. I xeroxed copies of the maps and tucked them into my handlebar map-carrier.
This ride lives on in our memories as the best of all best rides!
imaginary bicycle 