Lan and I woke at 5:20AM to ensure that we will catch the 6:15AM ferry out of Orcas Village. This was quite important because the next ferry would be a few hours later. This would make the difference of arriving home in daylight or at night. This is another reason why you shouldn't take long bike trips in the winter up here in Washington.
We quickly got ready and left the cabin, trying not to wake up the others. It was raining very lightly, and the ground was completely wet. We walked the tandem out of the resort area, and once onto asphalt, we started riding towards the ferry terminal
Although our legs no longer hurt from Thursday's ride, it was quite clear to me that we weren't completely up to par. But it didn't matter, as the ride back would not have the strict time requirement for catching the ferry. The Mukilteo ferry we would take at the end of Whidbey island is a short one, and leaves every 30 minutes.
It was quite dark, and even with the bike lights, I could only see about 20 yards in front of me. A few cars were on the road, probably trying to make the same ferry. As they passed us, they gave me a few seconds of good visibility as their more powerful headlights illuminated the roads. And the receding red taillights would tell me about turns and dips, and taunt me by making it clear that the road ahead was full of rolling hills.
Since we had looked at a better map of the island the day before, we did not make any wrong turns this time, and made it to the ferry landing with plenty of time to spare. Once on, we quickly entered the passenger cabin and bought our breakfast. Unfortunately, they do not serve the Ivar's clam chowder so early in the morning. We had a Washington Ferry clone of a Sausage Egg McMuffin, and a ham sandwich. We also had some of the fruits we were carrying - a Mandarin orange and a Fuji apple.
Lan slept for part of the 1 hour ferry ride. It was pitch black outside until only a few minutes before the Anacortes landing. By then, it was beginning to be light outside. We couldn't see the sunrise because it was very cloudy, but the rain seemed to have stopped.
We rode out of Anacortes after all the cars. The weather was warmer than on Thursday, but I was beginning to notice the constant wind that seemed to be coming out of the south. I knew that it would slow us down, but it's effect seemed less than I normally felt on single bikes. It may be one of the advantages of tandem bikes, or it could be that with all the pain, I didn't notice.
The ride through to Deception Pass was ok. There was more traffic than
on the way up, but the number of semi-trucks still seemed to be fairly
low. We stopped at Deception Pass to take some photographs. At this point,
I was beginning to notice that the lack of fenders (mudguards) was beginning
to show. Lan's back was totally covered with wet road grime, and my front
was beginning to get dirty.
After Deception Pass, it was pretty much of a mindless march on our tandem to get to Clinton (the Mukilteo ferry landing). We stopped about every hour to eat some Clif Bars. We had neglected to eat and drink regularly on the way up, and I think we paid for it. I made sure Lan drank enough water this time, although she didn't seem to suffer any ill effects from not drinking on the way up.
On one of these food stops, Lan laughed at my appearance. I knew that there was quite a bit of grime on me, as I could see it on my chest, legs, and arms. And I continually had to spit grit out of my mouth, and blow it out of my nose. The front wheel would continually kick up road spray, and our forward motion would carry my face directly into it, especially on quick downhill descents. Lan said that they probably wouldn't let me on the ferry in my condition, and later on, the traffic director on the ferry did give me a funny look when I asked them where to secure the bike. I thought she couldn't hear me, but it could very well be that she was trying to determine whether in fact I was a human, or some grime monster risen from the shoulder of the road.
I kept looking at the various signs, waiting for them to change from 'Northern Whidbey Island (whatever)' to 'Central' and finally 'Southern'. I noticed some of the signs that we had passed on the way up, like the one proclaiming that only "Walk-In Hunting" was allowed. We once again passed Useless Bay Rd. and Surface Rd., but as we approached southern Whidbey Island, the scenary became quite unfamiliar to me. It could be part of the ride that I totally zoned out on on the way north.
Finally, we made it to the Mukilteo ferry landing, and there was just enough time to clean up in the restroom. Then it was time for the last 19 miles or so of our epic adventure.
Once off the ferry, we sat in a bus stop like we had the last time and had more water and Clif Bars. There was quite a long hill out of Mukilteo landing. I remembered it since we basically coasted at high speeds for the last two miles on the way north. Now it was time for us to pay for the descent. In cars, one forgets that for each downhill, there is an equal and opposite uphill.
Although there were a myriad of alternate routes we could have taken back to Shoreline, I decided to stay on Mukilteo Speedway, then onto Highway 99. The traffic didn't seem to be too bad, and from what I remember on the map, it seemed to be about the straightest way. Once past the long hill, there were no more significant changes in elevation. Lan and I kept up a steady, but not speedy, pace. After a few miles Highway 99, it had begun to get dark, so we stopped once again at a bus stop to put on the headlights, sit and rest, and have more food. It was not getting near the Costco which seemed so close to our house by car. Then we arrived at the Safeway which we frequent, which seemed very, very close to our house by car. Then we finally arrived at NE 145th St., and after a left turn and a very brief rise, I knew that the rest of the way could be coasted, as long as we did not get hung up at any stop lights. Luckily, we made them all (one was beginning to turn yellow), and after inserting ourselves into the left turning lane, we made the turn onto 12th Ave. NE, and after a quick left and a 30 yard hill, we were finally home!
After spraying down the bike with a hose to get most of the grime, we
showered and changed, and drove to Chengdu, our current favorite all-you-can-eat
Chinese restaurant. I ate so much that I got heartburn, but I was still
able to sleep that night. Besides a sore left knee, I seemed to be in pretty
good condition.