Now that I’ve been in the Seattle area for a full year, I decided to do this bike event that I had missed due to initially moving in and getting used to my new home. The Kitsap Color Classic is a group ride hosted by Cascade Bicycle Club that takes folks around the northern parts of the Kitsap Peninsula. The ride start is in Kingston, WA, at the ferry dock.
In order to get there from my apartment in Tukwila, I rode the light rail as far north as I could into Seattle, then rode my bike 14 miles north along the Interurban Trail (North section) to Lynnwood (near Edmonds) through pouring rain and stayed the night before in a motel. The morning of the ride, I rode to the ride registration in Edmonds, ate some breakfast, and took the ferry from Edmonds to Kingston to start the ride. As I was putting my bike down on the ferry, I looked up and happened to see a friend who had gotten on the same ferry (there were 3 that people could take for the event), so we rode together with his friend for some time (he peeled off after we did the first loop because his knees weren’t feeling great).
The ride was split into 2 loops (25 miles and 39 miles which overlap and can be combined for a 57 mile ride), and while the hill climbs weren’t very challenging, per se, I was loaded with all of my stuff that I had brought for my stay at the motel. I made it, but my legs were giving out by the end of the ride, and my friend graciously waited at the top of each hill during the final grueling 15 miles of the ride. Plus, after we finished the ride, we had to take the ferry back to Edmonds and bike back to Seattle (another 15 miles). My legs have never felt so tired before!
The ride was fun, though, and I saw some beautiful autumnal colors in the trees (there are mostly evergreens here, by comparison). I look forward to doing it again (albeit with less stuff in my panniers!).
[video=youtube_share;blDDPViofyY]https://youtu.be/blDDPViofyY[/video]
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