Touring Terrapin: Heading South

First things first, I have just learned that I cannot drink a whole pitcher of beer without getting drunk. This was definitely an accidental discovery, and not a calculated move to make myself unable to ride for a few hours because the wind has been constantly in my face for the past few hours. Definitely. So anyway, since I'm stuck here in this pizza shop until my BAC hits acceptable levels again I thought I'd crank out a quick blog post.

First things first, I didn't start the tour like I had planned on the 18th. I had originally tried to time it so that I would leave right after the FBA all hands and picnic; there's no way I'm using up a vacation day on a department sanctioned free food extravaganza! However, a one of my coworkers got the bright idea that this picnic did not have enough fire, and had us bring 4 bushels of wood to we could make one. Also, he told me that a few of his friends would be swinging by on their bikes later and would absolutely not be bringing beer, because this park was alcohol free, and we are responsible adults that respect such sanctions. Yup.

So yeah, I decided to stay around for the after-party and had a pretty good time, despite all the times George tried to burn my eyebrows off by shooting lighter fluid into the fire. Most of the people that came by were from the Point 83 bike club, and it was really interesting listening to all of the different rides they've gone on in the last few months. A few that I found especially interesting were hobbit ride where they brought enough food up a mountain to just eat for a whole day straight and the ride where they fed themselves with for a few meals with weed sausage. I really need to start going on rides with that crew.

Anyway, I didn't leave leave till late the next day either, as I don't get up early on my vacations as a general rule and I also had too clean the sand out of everything. Once I set out I had a pretty good time of it though. Following a suggestion from Rob (another one of my coworkers) I headed to the Fauntleroy Ferry, and was able to arrive just as one was leaving to the town I was heading to. (A happy accident I assure you. I don't plan things out that well.) Once on the other side of the sound I was able to make it to Manchester State Park where I just collapsed in a heap.

I was tempted to claim I just swam across the Puget Sound.

Let me make on thing clear off the bat. I expected this going into the tour but I am waaaay out of shape. From working a desk job for two years and not exercising nearly enough I've gained a good deal of weight, and my legs are BURNING on this tour. Hell, I didn't really fall into a good rhythm on my last tour until two weeks in...which is when I'm stopping this one. Excellent planning on my part. Well, I've always said that anyone can manage a tour no matter their physical condition as long as they love cycling, so this is probably going to be a good test of whether or not I'm full of shit.

Moving on, today has been interesting so far. As I mentioned earlier a good stiff wind has been bearing down on me the whole time, but I've happened upon two different events on my way. In Port Orchard there was a BBQ competition going on, and I was able to snag a few free samples out of the competitors there. (Delicious by the way)

Sorry, I didn't think to grab any pics of the actual event.

And once I hit the town of Belfair I found a flier for another special event; pizza by the slice, and all proceeds go to a local bulldog shelter. It had me at pizza by the slice.

So I was able to stuff myself full of pizza (and beer, see first paragraph) and pet a whole bunch of adorable dogs at the same time. All in all I had a pretty good time.