🚴‍♂️💨 RIDE WEST SOUND: Tour de Dabob (Moderate)

We’ll meet at the Olympic Peninsula Gateway Visitors Center parking lot (free parking), located off SR 19 (Beaver Valley Rd) near SR 104 (see the location map above). Look for my white Sprinter van—your beacon for the ride. Be there, ready to roll, at the time listed above. A required safety briefing will begin before rolling out together. All riders must attend the safety briefing to participate.

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This Ride West Sound’s Tour de Dabob is a 48-mile rolling endurance route through one of the quietest and most scenic corners of West Sound, tracing the remote backroads between Dabob Bay and Hood Canal across the forested Toandos Peninsula. Expect approximately 3,900 feet of climbing—averaging roughly 81 feet of elevation gain per mile—delivered through long rollers, steady grinders, punchy rises, and very few extended recovery sections. While no single climb is massive, the route delivers a challenging endurance-style effort with constant elevation changes, limited flat recovery, and gradually accumulating fatigue throughout the ride. Riders should be comfortable with sustained climbing, confident descending, and several hours of continuous rolling terrain. 

We’ll follow quiet stretches of Larson Lake, Center, Dabob, Coyle, Thorndyke, and South Point Roads—known for smooth pavement, deep forest solitude, sweeping Hood Canal views, and barely a car in sight. Portions of the route also utilize multi-use trails where we will observe posted speed limits—typically 15 MPH and occasionally 10 MPH—to ensure a safe and respectful ride for all trail users.

🚴 Did You Know?
Dabob Bay—located along the eastern shoreline of the Toandos Peninsula, where much of our route rolls above and around it—reaches depths of nearly 600 feet, making it the deepest part of Hood Canal. The bay has long served as a proving ground where Navy submarines test their sea legs. Stretching from Hazel Point to Tskutsko Point, the Toandos Peninsula also includes a torpedo-tracking station used to monitor underwater technology. One of our own ride leaders even spent part of his Navy career as a commander working in these very waters. Local lore also claims that, on rare occasions, naval testing operations were briefly paused—not because of storms or equipment failures—but because the peninsula’s booming frog choruses 🐸 became loud enough to interfere with sensitive sonar readings.

🥪 Lunch Break & Rest Stops
With kind permission from Thane Grooms, we’ll enjoy a relaxed BYOL (Bring Your Own Lunch) break at the Laurel B. Johnson Community Center in Coyle at mile 28. Please note there are no food services along the route, so riders should come prepared with lunch, snacks, and ample water. Restroom access is limited and available only at the ride start, Quilcene Fire Rescue Station 22 (26), Laurel B. Johnson Community Center (28), and again at the finish.

Please bring:
*Water and ride nutrition
*Lunch and extra snacks
*Spare tube and flat repair tools
*Phone and photo ID Cash or credit card
*Weather-appropriate layers

📌 Due to the remote nature of this route, services are minimal. Riders should arrive fully prepared and self-sufficient.
📌 If roads are wet, full fenders with buddy flaps are required—or riders may be asked to ride at the back of the group.
📌 If weather conditions meet the Weather Status cancellation criteria, or if unforeseen hazardous riding conditions or unexpected events arise, the Ride Leader may cancel the ride.
📌 If canceled at least two hours before the start, Ride Leaders will not be present at the start location. Please check ride status updates before departing for the ride.

We hope you can join us for a strong day rolling through one of the hidden gems of West Sound! 😅
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