By the Numbers
- Sport
- Cycling
- Shape
- Out-and-Back
- Profile
-
Pyramid
Ice, snow, and cold all greeted us on this ride - Distance
- 30 miles
- Elevation
- 3500 feet
- Time
- 2h30m
- Nutrition
- Bring everything you need, no services at all
- Logistics
- Parked at the (closed) ranger station in Quilcene
- External
- Strava | Ride with GPS
We’d been waiting anxiously for the weather to be favorable for an attempt at cycling to Bon Jon Pass for a few weeks. Kiel Reijnen’s posted a ride on Strava going over the pass so we decided it was high time we gave it a try.
We found easy parking at the ranger station and then started our ride toward Penny Creek Road with Ryan leading the way.
We started to hit the snow around 3000 ft with the snow getting more frequent, and worse, it was getting more icy. In the areas in full sun the road surface was rideable but anything in the shadows was covered in ice & snow. After a few miles I was slipping and falling so frequently it was no longer enjoyable and we bailed.
Near the Mt Townsend trailhead we came upon this truck stuck in the ditch. We chatted briefly while he was trying to break the truck free from the snow and carried on. On the way back he was still stuck so we, along with some skiers who needed the truck cleared to continue on their way, helped break him free by all sitting in the bed to add weight over the rear wheels. Fortunately he was able to get out without incident.
After the little adventure with truck, and feeling cold, we made the descent back to the vehicles having failed to make it to Bon Jon Pass.
So Kiel. While he’s obviously a far superior cyclist to either one of us, he also had some help. Only later did we learn how different were our situations. Kiel was filming a commercial with a crew – we had ourselves!
