Pedals have turned, and the ride is under way at last. Well sort of. The first leg lasted just half a mile, from Waterfront Park to the ferry terminal. Then we boarded a car ferry, and glided serenely across the Puget Sound. The sun sparkled off the improbably blue water, and the views forward over Bainbridge Island to the distant Olympic Mountains were breath taking. And back to Seattle and Mount Ranier wasn’t bad either.

 Tim’s camera was working overtime. This simply has to be one of the best seascapes on the entire planet, and one of the best ways to travel.

The only snag is that we were heading westwards, and that is altogether the wrong direction. With every passing second the distance to Boston was increasing. But we were not worried. Just at the moment nothing is going to break the spell. The promise of 40 days cycling is stretching out in front of us like an enchanted dream. Setting off to cycle east across America, from Seattle to Boston, seems such a perverse thing to do anyway (we could fly across in 3 hours) that to begin by sailing, not cycling, and in entirely the opposite direction – well, it seems a fittingly odd way to start!

It seems to have become almost mandatory to bookend your cross-country cycle ride with well-photographed wheel-dipping ceremonies: rear wheel in the sea at the start (nervously), and front wheel at the opposite coast (triumphantly). I would like to claim that the non-conformist streak in me decided not to bother with it at all. But when we arrived at our ‘official’ starting point, Waterfront Park, Seattle, it became clear that wheel-dipping at this particular spot was nigh on impossible. The Park is built on wooden piers, jutting out over the water. When we arrived at around 8am the water was about 20 feet below the railing at the edge of the pier, and there was no ladder access to the sea. So we had to make do with a picture by the rail.

  
The real point of the ferry ride was to get us out of Seattle and north towards the Washington Pass by a suitably scenic route. But I have always enjoyed punctuating my bike rides with ferry crossings, as anyone who has ridden with me will attest. This one took us to Bainbridge Island, a very well-heeled commuter suburb. Today the high street was sealed off for a July 4th parade, but we just got through ahead of the party! Then it was on across the Agate Pass (actually a sea passage – spanned by a road bridge) to the mainland again.

   
 We stopped for the first coffee of the trip in Port Gamble – a pretty wooden village where, again, July 4 was in full swing.

Then it was on to the Hood Canal Bridge – confusingly named. First, the Hood Canal is not a man-made canal – it is a natural arm of the Puget Sound, a salt-water, tidal estuary. Second, the Bridge is mostly not a bridge – it is a series of floating pontoons with a roadway on top and a retractable central section to allow big boats through. (Small boats can get under a small bridge section at the eastern end). The big boats in question are Trident submarines going to and from the nuclear weapons store at Bangor. Being here brings back distant memories of an early 80s CND mass trespass at the site of RN D Coulport (the Navy’s equivalent Trident weapons store on Loch Long) when it was under construction. The one and only time I have ever combined serious Scottish hiking over
rough ground with a direct action protest. But fortunately no sign of Trident subs today and no direct action required.

The ‘bridge’ floats for just under 2km of its nearly 2.5 km length. It was built in the 1960s and was rebuilt after being destroyed by a wind storm in 1979. Glad I wasn’t riding over it then.

   
 Another 20 miles took us to Port Townsend and a fantastic hippy cafe for lunch. Then a second ferry took us back east to Whidney Island and the final miles to Oak Harbor. 

  
It has hit 95F this afternoon, but we have had the cooling sea breeze all day. We are making the most of it! The hotel has a windmill on the roof (not sure why) and we are relaxing and preparing for tonights fireworks. We are promised a spectacular display!

Altogether a superb first day.