Blue skies and warming temperatures promised ideal riding conditions so I chose to venture to Vashon Island to tour the farms, coffee stands, and bakeries. I started with a route from the Seattle International Randonneurs, 2020 WTS #9: Vashon Island, and modified it slightly to add some gravel and a trip through Dockton Forest, both of which turned out to be great additions to the route.

Fantasic tour under blue skies, under falling leaves, and quiet roads among farmland. I started the ride from BI on the normal loop to Port Gamble with a small detour for a road closure.

This year’s edition of Ride the Hurricane had two great changes from last year:

The primary goal of the ride had been to see | ride what had become known as the scary bridge – the High Steel Bridge, the highest railway arch bridge ever built in the United States.

It’s not an adventure until something goes wrong.

The Tahuya Hills is sparsely populated area nestled inside the hook of the Hood Canal. The ride is predominantly a road ride though the six mile section of gravel on North Shore Road is certainly the highlight of the ride. Legend has it the road was hand built and riding it one has no reason to believe otherwise. It’s a roller coaster of steep gravel climbs followed by steep, twisting descents on roads which receive little maintenance. The joy of riding such a road is highlighted with…