The Little Weatherman who Cried Rain

As we approached Seattle, and for the whole time we were there, rain was forecast each day. Each day we woke up expecting to see grey skies and wet streets, and each morning it was gloriously sunny. There were, perhaps, a few showers while we were there, but they were light and short. So, when the weather forecast for today said rain, we were naturally a little sceptical.

It was a beautiful, clear morning. Too hot to wear the wind-stoppers even on the ferry that we took from Seattle over to Bainbridge Island, where our ride for the day started in earnest. It was a busy road off the island, but we were lucky enough to have a shoulder/bike lane the whole way today, a good road surface for most of the route and either no wind or a tailwind. All sounding good? Well it was pretty perfect until we started approaching Port Ludlow, a small town where we decided we would stop for a lunch break. About 2 miles before this, the heavens opened. Having nonchalantly packed our raingear somewhere other than the top of our bags, there was a bit of a kerfuffle as we delved into the panniers and wrenched them out. Too bad we didn’t listen to that weatherman…

After a short break, it was still raining, but we set off anyway, and it was quite a pleasant ride considering. As we approached Port Townsend, where we needed to arrive in time for a ferry that only went every 90 minutes, we suddenly started to panic. Just as that happened, the wind picked up, and we missed a turn for a cycle path which was supposed to take us to the ferry port. Pedalling at double speed, we eventually found our way onto the path further down the road, and arrived at the terminal with time to spare. However, by that point, the wind was so bad that they were talking about cancelling the ferry. Eak squeak…how would we get to our hotel for the night?

At the last minute, the call was made to run the ferry… phew. We had a slightly stormy crossing but had a wonderful chat with Jeanine, from Port Angeles, who told us about the wildlife in the area and gave us a big hug as we went on our way to finish the last 6 miles into Coupeville, our destination for tonight. After a yummy Thai meal, we are back in our room watching the local news and raising our eyebrows at reports of Tornados in the area. But then again, perhaps we should pay more attention…

Us x

P.S. A note to Eric to send our apologies for not managing to catch up with him before we had to head out of Seattle. Thanks for the recommendations. Although we ran out of time on this trip, we will definitely be back.