Fall Foliage, Country Roads, Poulsbo Pastries, and Cows: a Photo Montage of the Kitsap Color Classic

Riding my electric cargo bike is my favorite thing

Paul Tolmé

  • On the fence about riding the Kitsap Color Classic? Check out our photo gallery for an extra nudge!
  • Register for this Cascade classic by Sept. 19, and come pedal the photogenic Kitsap peninsula with us on Sept. 26. 

Bicycling Magazine has called our Kitsap Color Classic one the nation's top fall rides. With three route options of 25, 35, or 53 miles, the KCC is ideal for everyone from seniors on electric bikes who want to enjoy the views, to families seeking a colorful fall outing together, to fast riders who want an end-of-season long ride with mechanical support, food stops--and delicious pastries from a historic Poulsbo bakery. 

Last Friday, my colleague Jos Johnson, Cascade's events and communications coordinator, took the Edmonds ferry to Kingston and unloaded our bikes to pre-ride some of the event's most scenic and fun segments. Enjoy the photos, and apologies in advance for my shirt!

Jos (above) cruises down Hansville Road into the quaint fishing village of Hansville, located on the northern tip of the Kitsap Peninsula. Hansville Road has a wide shoulder for comfortable riding, and it passes through farmlands with cows. "Mooooo-ve it," the cow below seems to be saying.

 

The beach in Hansville and Norwegian Point Park are a great place to stop for a snack, which you can pick up at Hansville Grocery and Provisions. 

Past Hansville, Hood Canal Drive NE offers swoopy turns and views of the Hood Canal waterway. Jos sweeps through the corner near Jake's Creek, below.

Port Gamble is a former timber town and National Historic Landmark whose well-preserved Victorian-style homes, general store, theater and clapboard buildings resemble a New England coastal village. It is also home to one of the best mountain biking trailheads on the peninsula, the Port Gamble Community Forest, which we rode and wrote about last fall.

Port Gamble’s historic Buena Vista cemetery, below, is located on a windblown hill overlooking the Salish Sea. We paused to view some of the 150-year-old weathered tombstones, which rise like time capsules from beneath the gnarled branches of stately elms. 

The Jetty in Port Gamble creates calm waters ideal for kayaking. Jos climbed up for a heroic pose.

Wise words from the S'Klallam Tribe, on whose ancestral lands this beautiful ride takes place. 

 

Next stop: Poulsbo, the charming Scandinavian port town that is home to Sluys Poulsbo Bakery. All registrants in the Kitsap Color Classic get a pastry from this bakery, so there is no need to stand in line.

 

We grabbed a snack at the nearby Marina Market, which sells pickled herring for those so inclined, and ate in the shadow of the massive Viking mural.

We encourage riders who have extra time to visit the Suquamish Museum, where you can learn about "the people of the clear salt water." The museum offers bike parking. 

Register for the Kitsap Color Classic by Sunday, Sept. 19, to enjoy these sights and so much more!

 

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