Biking the ODT with Friends!

Biking the Olympic Discovery Trail

This past week I got out for a ride on the beloved Olympic Discovery Trail (ODT) with my good friend and former REI colleague, Nicole Leggiere.

When I asked how far she wanted to go on this initial ride, she simply said, “Three hours?”Gulp. I’d only done shorter 8-mile rides so far this year — what I’d call a “toodle.” Three hours sounded ambitious. But what I said was, “Sounds great!”

The Ride

We met at 9am at the Dungeness River Nature Center. Nicole unloaded her bike — an electric bike — and I immediately thought, Okay, I’m setting the pace.

The trail is mostly flat and follows the Old Olympic Highway through beautiful farmland. There are a few steep descents and climbs as the trail approaches Highway 101 (just after the Old Olympic Highway joins 101 outside Port Angeles).

I had to get off and walk my bike up the hill a couple times — my quads were toast. We didn’t make it all the way into downtown Port Angeles due to time constraints and my leg situation. Instead, we swapped bikes and headed back to Sequim about an hour and a half into the ride.

The E-Bike Experience

The e-bike was a dream. I honestly don’t know what assist level it was set to, but I’m pretty sure it was low because Nicole is a hard-charger and I didn’t change any settings.

No more walking the bike uphill. (Thank goodness.) My only complaint: no toe cages. I didn’t realize how much I rely on them, especially coming out of a stop. Otherwise, the ride back to the Nature Center was pleasantly leisurely.

If I were biking to lose weight, I think I’d have to go much further on an e-bike to get the same results. It’s a trade-off.

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