Friday Ride: Fort Flagler

Yesterday, I rode over to Fort Flagler, in Marrowstone, WA. I picked it solely by looking at the map and looking for somewhere interesting to go. Which is to say I had no idea of what the roads are like (traffic as well as condition) or if it would have fun curves or just be straight slab. I picked up a tank bag from the local dealership before leaving, so I could have a map pocket to make finding my way easier.

(Thursday night, my BF had drawn out a short route for me to a pretty park he found on a guy's ride a few weeks ago. I kept having to stop to pull his directions out of my pocket, because it was too many turns for me to remember. It was a beautiful little ride, but really made me want a tank bag for Friday.)

Lately, I don't go less than 150 miles when I go out for a day ride and I'm really starting to prefer 200 miles. Yesterday's trip should have been just over 100 miles. I had to buy a day pass, as WA has just enacted the "Discover Pass" to tax people who use State managed lands. For the day, it's only $11.50. I got my $11.50's worth when I found a real flush toilet there and it was clean!

Fort Flagler dates back to 1897, when several points on the waterfront were armed with guns to protect the inlet to Puget Sound and the Bremerton shipyard. The original guns have been removed, then later replaced when historical relevance began to be appreciated (in some cases. Some of the forts just have the old bunkers remaining). Yesterday I read where the original 3 inch guns of Fort Flagler were removed in 1933, then replaced in the 60's when matching guns were found in the Philippines.





See the SV waaaaaaay in the background of the photo below? It is well protected.



Once I had my picnic lunch and explored all things touristy in Fort Flagler, I went in search of gas. To my relief, I had passed a station on the way in, but not even seen it. I was afraid there was nothing close by. Once fueled, I didn't want to "just" ride the 50+ miles home. I made a quick run up to Port Townsend, a ride we have done several times. This time, I found a country road out of town that went on for miles. So much so, I had to pull out my phone and check where I was on navigation, to see if it was better to backtrack or keep going. In effect, I had made a big loop back nearly to my starting point. It was a fun excursion.

The ride finished up with about 132 miles. Probably a good thing it wasn't longer. I had really been concentrating on using my core and not putting weight on my hands, and loosening my grip on the bars. That worked for my hands and wrists. They weren't tired at all when I got home. (I've been having issues with gripping too tightly and my hands really hurting later.) Unfortunately, in learning how to do this balancing act, I seem to have really used my traps/neck. They were tired and cranky, and I'm sitting out a dirt ride this morning to give my head a break from the weight of a helmet on my neck. Just muscles that need to be built up.