# Commuting in Bremerton Area



## jcolley (Jul 11, 2007)

Greetings all,

Well, I'm not there yet, but will be living in the Bremerton area starting in about December.

The wife and I are looking somewhere down around Gig Harbor and I'll be working at the the shipyard at Puget Sound.

Is it crazy to think I can commute this on my bike daily? I mapped it out and it looks like about 21.5 miles and around 2000ft climbing from one of the houses I was looking at. I'm not afraid of the climbs, that's about all we do here now on Sardegna, Italy, but I'm new to the idea of commuting and riding in rain.

I have a Ti bike I will probably use for the commute, but need to outfit it for such. 

Are the roads to and from that area reasonably navigable by bike? Anything to look out for?


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## Spinnerman (Oct 21, 2004)

Yes, except you will probably do a short bit on Hwy 16 around Gorst before you get to Bremerton. There are alternative routes, but additional miles to do this. There is a Kitsap Ferry from Port Orchard to Bremerton http://www.kitsaptransit.org/Footferry.html. I would recommend you check to see if you can bring your bike aboard. If not, find some safe place to park it and then walk on the ferry and then walk (not far) to work from the Bremerton side. This will avoid all of the traffic problems. You can check this out on Google Maps .... but the best route from Gig Harbor to Port Orchard is: Harbor View Drive in Gig Harbor to Crescent Valley Drive. Follow Crescent Valley Drive north to Olalla, WA where the road becomes Olalla Valley Rd after you cross the bridge. Follow Ollalla Valley Rd East until the same rd and road name veers right where you will be riding north again. Eventually this road will veer left where you will merge with Banner Rd. Follow Banner Rd north until the T and Sedgwick Rd. Make a left turn and ride to Bethel Rd. Turn right (there can be a lot of traffic on this road) Follow Bethel north until you drop down the hill to Bay Street on the water and then turn left to the ferry route. 

I would say it is very doable, but it is hilly and you might get tired toward the end of the week. It might be more worthwhile to drive one way and ride the other to alternate morning and everning rides. That is your call and you might decide to continue north on Banner Rd by turning right on Sedwick and then left again on Banner but you will be much farther north before you are on Bay street and quite a few more miles. The plus is less traffic. 

The down side is if it is raining sideways, these can be very dark country roads so make sure you are very visable. You will just have to try it out and see if it works for you.


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## burntbizzkit (Jul 12, 2007)

That sounds like 3-4 hours of commuting. Definitely possible if you have the time and energy. You don't need to touch highway 16 until Port Orchard, and that small leg around the sound is fairly short and safe (except when it's dark). Watch out for deer!


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## jcolley (Jul 11, 2007)

I think the places we are looking at will all end up around 12-18 miles from Port Orchard. I checked the website and talked to some friends and they do allow bikes on the foot ferry at no charge. That looks like a more reasonable route than riding up Hwy 16 at all.

I guess the next question is what temperature range do you guys see there? I mean, always count on rain, but how cold? I have no insulation on me person, so it makes me a bit of a cold weather wuss.


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## Spinnerman (Oct 21, 2004)

Quite frankly, it can be 34 degrees and raining sideways somedays in December and January. I don't know of anyway to sugar coat the reality of a cold and wet early morning winter commute ride around here. Take your poison really because it can dip below freezing with dense fog, which means very dangerous black ice. Especially on the descents. The smooth asphalt sections can be particularly bad. The chip seal is actually safer in those conditions. The summer months can more than make up for it. Be flexible, don't plan on commuting everyday during winter if the conditions provide dense fog or black ice. On those days, put your bike on the bus and commute into work and then ride home in the evening when the conditions are better than AM and definitely take the foot ferry.





jcolley said:


> I think the places we are looking at will all end up around 12-18 miles from Port Orchard. I checked the website and talked to some friends and they do allow bikes on the foot ferry at no charge. That looks like a more reasonable route than riding up Hwy 16 at all.
> 
> I guess the next question is what temperature range do you guys see there? I mean, always count on rain, but how cold? I have no insulation on me person, so it makes me a bit of a cold weather wuss.


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## lemonlime (Sep 24, 2003)

Spinnerman said:


> ...There are alternative routes, but additional miles to do this. There is a Kitsap Ferry from Port Orchard to Bremerton http://www.kitsaptransit.org/Footferry.html. I would recommend you check to see if you can bring your bike aboard...


Yes, you can. I used to do it all the time.


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## jcolley (Jul 11, 2007)

*Well, we're here *

We are renting a house in McCormick Woods in Port Orchard and I had my first commute yesterday. It was about 10.7 miles into PSNS and wasn't as bad as I was expecting. It was downhill most of the way to work and only about 600ft of climbing on the way home. 

I was actually a little hot by the end of the ride, which is a good sign as I normally have little tolerance to cold. The weather was nice and I'm sure it will be worse, but it just felt good to get back on the bike again after moving.

Jim


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## lemonlime (Sep 24, 2003)

jcolley said:


> We are renting a house in McCormick Woods in Port Orchard and I had my first commute yesterday. It was about 10.7 miles into PSNS and wasn't as bad as I was expecting. It was downhill most of the way to work and only about 600ft of climbing on the way home.
> 
> I was actually a little hot by the end of the ride, which is a good sign as I normally have little tolerance to cold. The weather was nice and I'm sure it will be worse, but it just felt good to get back on the bike again after moving.
> 
> Jim


Good for you, Jim! McCormick Woods is really nice. What was your route? How did you get through Gorst? 

You can also take Old Belfair Highway into Gorst and then go up over the hill on the otherside of 16 from PSNS and down toward Kitsap Way. From there, it's a fairly straight shot through a residential area.

I'm envious, dude. I have another 14 months until I'm done with this detailing stuff and back in the area, hopefully for good.

Yes, the weather will get worse. MUCH wetter. But wait for the summer and you'll never want to leave again!


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## jcolley (Jul 11, 2007)

lemonlime said:


> Good for you, Jim! McCormick Woods is really nice. What was your route? How did you get through Gorst?
> 
> You can also take Old Belfair Highway into Gorst and then go up over the hill on the otherside of 16 from PSNS and down toward Kitsap Way. From there, it's a fairly straight shot through a residential area.
> 
> ...


Well, I actually rode down to 16, north to 3 and right into base. I won't be doing that again I don't think...:idea: 

With the snow, heavy rains, roads washing out, flooding, etc, I drove Monday and Tuesday, but found a new route this morning. I took your advice and took Feigley up through the back country, then down through that residential area. Nice descents, but a little hairy in the wet with all the debris washed out into the roads.

Here are a couple of pictures from the last couple of days...

View attachment 110252


View attachment 110253


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## lemonlime (Sep 24, 2003)

jcolley said:


> Well, I actually rode down to 16, north to 3 and right into base. I won't be doing that again I don't think...:idea:
> 
> With the snow, heavy rains, roads washing out, flooding, etc, I drove Monday and Tuesday, but found a new route this morning. I took your advice and took Feigley up through the back country, then down through that residential area. Nice descents, but a little hairy in the wet with all the debris washed out into the roads.
> 
> ...


HOLY SH*T!!! I had no idea that area was hit so hard! I've seen one other picture of a big washout north of Bremerton on Illahee Road. Did you take those photos?

I can't believe you braved Gorst on 16/3. You've got some cajones! With as bad as traffic is coming out of the yard and heading south on 16, I imagine you'll find biking faster than driving.


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