Quote Originally Posted by MarieV View Post
Last Saturday my husband and I did my favorite ride. I call it the Kitsap Loops, and it's based on the 2012 Kitsap Color Classic 63-mile route with three loops around Indianola, Hansville, and Poulsbo on the Kitsap Peninsula. The weather was perfect, mostly sunny and in the low-70s. I love the nice, smooth roads on this Kitsap route, and except for two stretches on busy highways, most of the ride consists of nice rollers, only a few short climbs, and a several long descents--my favorite!

Here's a photo of the funky house made from the bridge of the US naval tugboat, the M/V Jupiter Inlet, on Point No Point Road towards the Point No Point Lighthouse near Hansville:



Most people visiting the PNW like to go to the San Juans, but I always think riding on the Kitsap Peninsula is a lot more fun. I hate the rough chipseal roads on San Juan Island, not to mention the steep drops and climbs to get to and out of each of the harbors. Of course, that may have been because the only time I've tried to do a 100 km ride around San Juan Island, I'd only been riding for 6 months, and I was riding my heavy steel bike while my husband was a seasoned randonneur riding his light carbon bike. I'd probably enjoy the ride more now on a lighter bike, but I still don't think that rough chipseal will ever be any fun.
Thanks for posting the link to the route you rode. That looks like a really fun ride, and I'm looking forward to trying it out!

Chip seal is never fun--but I have noticed a difference from bike to bike. My first bike, the Jamis, is steel with a carbon fork, and pretty smooth. But when I got my Colnago, also steel but with the old-fashioned curved steel fork, I noticed that a lot of chipseal disappeared. Bad chipseal is still annoying, but the Colnago glides down the road so beautifully! I have pretty much the same tires on the bikes--25mm Conti 4000s on the Jamis, and 23mm ones on the Colnago, but on wider rims so that the 23's end up measuring 25mm--so I think the difference really is in the bikes.

(BTW, the only time I rode on any of the route you did was doing the Bainbridge-Port Townsend 200k permanent. I was 3 months into bike ownership, wearing tennis shoes, and riding with my husband, the seasoned randonneur... I remember the road from the Hood Canal Bridge to Poulsbo and then Bainbridge as being really really difficult riding! However, I was pretty tired by then, and I'd probably enjoy the ride more now... At any rate, I think it's neat to revisit things that were huge challenges a while ago, and see how much less intimidating they seem now--even if they still aren't easy. You might find it fun to bike San Juan Island in triumph now, even with the chipseal!)