Hurricane definition:
a storm with violent winds with a wind force exceeding 74 mph. Well that about sums up our group of
friends. We ride, we ride Harleys, and
therefore we are a force to be reckoned with, at least to ourselves. And yes, we do sometimes go faster than 74
mph.
Three bikes and six riders, Dave, Lorie, Dave, Dawn, Larry,
and I left Sehome Starbuck at a little after 8:00 AM on Saturday morning headed
to the ferry for Port Angeles. We all
made reservations online so we were assured of getting on the 10:15 ferry and
being first in line. While waiting at
the ferry we saw friends John and Kathy.
They were not riding today but it was good to visit with old friends.
It was a short ferry ride and we had time for coffee and
laughter before heading back to the bikes and disembarking. We stopped just before we left town to gas up
the bikes and meet up with Darren and Audrey.
The sun was shining and the temperature was rising, except when
we rode closer to the shore and then we could feel that cool breeze again. This is why you ride with heated gear. A flick of the button and it is on or off.
We stopped for lunch in Port Angeles before riding up to
Hurricane Ridge. The seventeen mile road
to the top is a gradual climb, full of gentle twists and turns, three tunnels,
great views if you are on the back of the bike, but the driver must keep his
eyes on the road…right, Larry?
The view is striking at approximately fifty-two hundred feet
above sea level. You can look out to the
Olympic Mountain tops, Mount Olympus, Mount Constance, Mount Anderson, Mount
Deception, and others I cannot remember, turning slowly to look to the Strait
of San Juan De Fuca, Canada, and back
around in a full three-hundred and sixty degree view. We wandered into the visitor’s center to look
at the displays, out onto the deck to view the mountains, and then wander up a
trail to just take in the magnificent and majestic views surrounding us, at
what feels like the top of the world.
We headed down the mountain and back to our home for the
evening. Showered, rested, and ready to
relax before dinner, we gathered poolside for laughter and stories. We were having dinner just around the corner
from the motel so it was kickstands down and as Larry likes to say, time to“laugh
and splash.”
Time! It is always
the question, what time to leave so we know when to be ready. Of course with this group ready to ride at
8:00 AM means we are ready by 7:30 AM.
No one likes to be late so we are notorious for being ready early. Of course this is a good thing.
We were on the road by eight thirty for Port Townsend to see
if we could get an earlier ferry and possibly meet Bill and Marla for an
afternoon ride home. We stopped at the
Water Street
Creperie for coffee and hot chocolate before heading for home. Darren and Audrey headed south and we were
able to just barely make the next ferry headed east to Coupeville (last
vehicles on the ferry, the very end, no more room on the ferry). Lorie called Marla to let her know what ferry
we were on and Marla gave us a weather report of rain at home so she and Bill
were going to stay put at home. We
headed to the Farmhouse restaurant just west of Burlington for breakfast or
lunch depending on who was ordering.
There was still no rain in sight so we ventured up Chuckanut Drive for
the ride home. We slowly split off the
group, each of us heading for home. This
was another great weekend riding with friends, and for most of us, our first
trip to Hurricane Ridge.
The panoramic photo is from Wikipedia.
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