Time to take stock – we’ve had our initial 200 and 300 km ACP qualifying brevets. These rides were well received but they visited roads and trails that we know too well. It’s time to go farther afield to roads less traveled. There will be no Tualco, Centennial or BGT on these routes.
In that spirit, we’re serving up the following ACP brevets this coming weekend (Easter):
We’ve designed the weekend so you can take a ferry over the day of the ride, or make a weekend of it if you want to ride both which is great training for PBP, or even the 600K. Come out for both and get yourself used to back to back riding with more sleep than the 600K schedule allows.
4/4 Second Chance 300K – 7:15 AM start
Hood Canal
Heading out of Bremerton to the southwest over initially steep and then gentler hills, you’ll work your way down towards the nuclear towers of Elma, and then turn back north at the Brady Store, the first of only two controls. From Skokomish, the route follows the rolling shoreline of the Hood Canal with watery views of the Kitsap Peninsula. If the sky is clear, be sure to look to your left for views of the Olympic mountains, particularly near Dosewallips State Park. Just before Quilcene you’ll summit the ride’s highest point, Walker Pass, at ~768ft. The store in Quilcene closes at 8pm, from which time the control will be staffed. Then to the Hood Canal Bridge, through Port Gamble, and onto some quiet roads leading back to Bainbridge Island and the finish at the Island Country Hotel. The ride features ~8660 ft of climbing, mostly rolling.
4/5 Easter 200k – 8 AM start
Riding into Port Townsend
This ride will take you from a location near the Bainbridge Ferry Terminal north and across the Agate Pass Bridge onto the Kitsap Peninsula. From there you’ll head to the northernmost spit of the peninsula and visit the Point No Point lighthouse. Then back south to go around Port Gamble, across the Hood Canal Bridge and onto the Olympic Peninsula. From here, you’ll and north to Port Townsend along roads and trails. After you’ve re-charged yourself in this charming town, it’s up and down a hill for some more lighthouse action at Fort Worden. The trip back to Kitsap offers some new roads and some repeats. Once across the Hood Canal Bridge you’ll head south to hug the coast around Poulsbo before returning to Bainbridge and the start. Riders will have plenty of margin to catch a ferry home afterwards. The ride features ~6500 ft of largely gentle climbing.
Dramatic Sky on the Easter 200K route
Pre-ride reports, final maps and cue sheets for these rides will be posted shortly. As usual, we recommend that you pre-register and pre-pay for the ride.
Check the ferry schedules here:
- Seattle-Bainbridge http://
www.wsdot.com/ferries/ schedule/ ScheduleDetailByRoute.aspx? route=sea-bi - Seattle-Bremerton http://www.
wsdot.com/Ferries/Schedule/ ScheduleDetailByRoute.aspx? route=sea-br
