Day 54 - Endurance test for our rain gear
Distance: 55.36mi | Time 4:35 | 2310kcal | 2344 vertical feet
After a very stormy night in Horseshoe Bay we took the ferry over to Nanaimo, Vancouver Island. 5km after our campground in Horseshoe Bay we were soaked to the bone and were hoping for better weather on Vancouver Island. We were wrong! There it was pouring rain the entire day. For lunch we warmed up in a fast food restaurant and planned the route for the rest of this island here. We discovered a short cut from town of Mill Bay, 45mi away to Brentwood Bay. Since it was already 3PM and the last ferry would take off at 6:30 in the evening, we had to hurry. In the hardest rain so far on our trip here we were riding as hard as we could on the Trans-Canada-Highway... and saw the ferry leave from the dock. We had missed it by 5 minutes! Completely soaked and freezing we were looking for a B&B where we finally warmed up with a hot shower and lots of tea.
Day 55 - Back in USA!!!
Distance: 39.94mi | Time 4:37 | 1633kcal | 3169 vertical feet
We started very early today. Our plan was to catch the first ferry over to Brentwood Bay and so we left the B&B at sunshine. But after about 10min t started to rain hard again and our dried cloth were already soaked again at the ferry. It only took the ferry about 30min to cross over to the other side and until Sidney we only had about 10mi. There we awaited the ferry over to Anacortes, Washington. From there we continued to Whidbey Island to visit our friends we already met in B.C. From Anacortes on it did not rain but the strong storm was so hard, it almost blew us down in the ditch. We crossed over to Whidbey Island over a high bridge, the Deception Pass. There we had so gusty wind it almost blew us down the low fence on this bridge, so we had to walk our bicycles. This bridge is known for its strong winds that it blew a truck into the fence one day. In Oak Harbor, where our friends live as well, we stopped in the Flyer Burger Restaurant. On the ferry we hardly ate anything, since it was really low quality food there. In the restaurant in Oak Harbor we even found Hofbräu Beer, a famous German beer. A hot shower and a hot-tub at their house warmed us up again!
Two Days of Rest and Relaxation on Whidbey Island
Our friends here in Oak Harbor live directly next to the sea and we spent two very cool days in this area. Since their property is on the cliff right next to the sea, you have to take down an “interesting” stairway until you are on the beach. It’s almost a vertical way down and the wooden steps are extremely slippery when it rained before. At the bottom we could collect some mussels and on the other day we even dug out some clams from the sand. Later we had a very tasty meal with a white wine sauce and our self-caught seafood. The first day we also could take out the kayaks for a short trip around the bay area. We saw many seagulls and some herons next to the sea. Since the weather was very instable we of course got wet again on this trip but at least we could warm up right after we took the stairway up to the house. Thanks again to Neal and Maria for letting us stay with them!
Day 56 – In the rain again!
Distance: 48.08mi | Time 4:05 | 1846kcal | 2264 vertical feet
We were almost ten minutes dry until the rain had us again, but since you are probably getting bored of these kinds of news: Today we stopped in an awesome burger restaurant, where everyone can design a dollar bill and put it to the wall inside the restaurant. The owner told us, they put down the bills sometimes when they don’t have any spots left and give them to hospitals or boy scouts. She estimated the total to about 8K bills, but we would say there are way more than that. And of course we also designed our own bill and put it on the wall. After a few more miles we arrived at the Sequim Bay State Park, which was to our surprise already closed. Since it was getting dark already we sneaked around the gate and found a good, even dry spot with a stove, where we currently stay. Great that there is a stove in the little shelter here, where we currently dry our shoes, socks and gloves. Let’s hope for dryer days when we ride through the “Rain Forest” of Washington around the Olympic Peninsula in these days!
Day 57 – Sun, the sea and a slippery bridge
Distance: 52.81mi | Time 5:26 | 1923kcal | 2759 vertical feet
The night was calm but rainy. But this we didn’t really realize under our small shelter and the best was our tents stayed dry during that night. Shortly after the breakfast the clouds shattered up and the sun came through. From the campground to Port Angeles we had the Discovery Trail which was half way following the coast line and was paved. Mostly this trail was also away from the busy Highway 101. But there it also happened: Accident number three: On the wet wooden bridge Caro’s front tire slipped away and fortunately she landed good and got out of this with only a bruise on the leg. After this the sea had us again and it smelled like holidays at the beach. We followed the Highway 101 further towards inlands after Port Angeles. There we also rode through the Olympic National Forest: The trees were quite high and moss was fully grown over them, brief said we felt like in the rainforest but it was quite cold (about 50°F). Our today’s campground is directly at the picnic area of the National Park, which was actually closed because of the inner political situations of the US government but our bikes fit through underneath the gate :-) 
Day 58 – A National Park just for us!
Distance: 68.55mi | Time 5:57 | 2382kcal | 2427 vertical feet
As we were getting up this morning, we almost couldn’t belive our eyes: Blue sky and sunshine! There the pleasure goes up to 100%. Our today’s ride was again on the Highway 101 through the Olympic National Forest. The road was basically going right through the forest and we rode until we reached the Pacific Coast. There we enjoyed a dinner at the beach at least until the Park Ranger arrived. The beach is part of the National Forest and therefore closed because the new budget for all national parks was not approved through the US government. What a bummer! We hope the two parties agree soon, because all the nice parks down in the south are National Parks. At this beach somebody threw the barriers in the bushes and that’s why this beach was overcrowded with people. The ranger threw everyone out again and told us the next camping possibility comes up in about 75mi. But since it was already 6PM we never would have made it to this one! The ranger, from us only named terminator, since he spoke like a cyborg, allowed us to camp on the closed National Park in about 7mi. We just should not speak with anybody about this and should find a spot far away from the road, so nobody sees us. Since the place was officially closed we were there completely by our own on the best site of this campground with an awesome view directly to the beach.
