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Wutheringbikes Home -- TransAm Bike Ride
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Wednesday 8th September 2004
From Lake Sylvia State Park to Belfair State Park, 69.5 miles, according
to my pedometer (though about 5 of those miles were cycled when completely
lost in the city of Shelton). Today was a day of steady rain. It wasn't
cold, and the scenery is pretty, being a series of wooded shallow valleys,
some with lakes in. The heavy traffic and rain didn't make it so scenic
however. After a breakfast supplied by the local Thriftway, and a glance
at the local library's maps (which showed that the road we'd initially thought
we'd take, past Shafer State Park, was gravel and that we'd likely as not
get very lost - so we took a simpler route) we sped out of town on the road
that parallels the dual carriageway/interstate, going NE. Eventually reached
McCleary, where we headed over to Shelton. In Shelton we got very lost,
and passed through the town centre three times before finally getting out
of the town on Highway 3 North (by which time it was getting late at 4.30pm).
Guy slipped on some railroad tracks and fell off, on one of our abortive
attempts to leave Shelton by the right road. A man nearby said that he'd
seen many a cyclist slip off there - the tracks cross the road at a sharp
angle, not the preferred 90 degrees - "They all do that! We had one with
a broken hip once, we had to take him to hospital" to quote! Some locals
stared at Guy, lying in the road and then brushing himself off, but none
helped nor did anyone enquire whether he was OK. Even the dogs, which barked
endlessly, weren't quietened down, but just allowed to bark and bark. I
don't have a good image of Shelton! - it may be a nice town, but it could
sure use some traffic signs and a bit of cycle friendly road design! We
reached Belfair as it was getting dark and headed into a Chinese restaurant
- which seem to be an excellent deal for vegetarians in the USA since they've
always got tofu on the menu. Then on, with lights on, to Belfair State Park
(3 miles out of town), where we pitched up in darkness in a woodland glade.
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Wutheringbikes Home -- TransAm Bike Ride
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