Articles

Bike Tour to Shakespeare: Join a BPS Ride to The Mountaineers Forest Theater for "A Midsummer Night’s Dream"

By Bill Thorness, BikingPugetSound.com

Enjoy a midsummer day bike ride before watching A Midsummer Night’s Dream by taking your bike rather than your car to the Mountaineers Forest Theater for the show. The ride, especially attractive for members taking the ferry to Bremerton, adds a bit of exercise and reduces traffic and pollution at the theater.

Cyclists can make a day of it by using the Mountaineers Books guidebook “Biking Puget Sound: 50 Rides from Olympia to the San Juans,” which includes a route from downtown Bremerton to the theater. Or, plan to see the show on Sunday, Aug. 17 and join a free, guided ride by Biking Puget Sound author Bill Thorness.

The ride is 7.5 miles from the Bremerton ferry terminal, and heads out of town on Kitsap Way, S.R. 310, crossing under busy S.R. 3. Cycle past the south edge of Dyes Inlet and the north edge of Kitsap Lake while riding northwest on the Seabeck Highway to the forested amphitheater.

Seattle riders will board the 11:25 boat at Coleman Dock, assembling at the ferry bicycle waiting area. All cyclists joining the ride must pay their own way, sign a liability waiver and wear an ANSI or Snell-approved helmet, and should carry their own bike repair kit and cell phone, as there is no breakdown support. Children under 16 are not allowed on the tour. The route is not difficult, but riders should be comfortable riding in traffic and on a highway. Ride speed will be leisurely, 10-12 mph.

Tickets for A Midsummer Night’s Dream are $14 in advance or $16 at the door; advance tickets may be purchased at the Mountaineers or online at www.ForestTheater.com. The show runs Saturdays and Sundays in August at 2 p.m.

The Forest Theater ride is the first leg of the book’s “Bremerton to Seabeck and Scenic Beach” tour, one of eight “strenuous” rides in the book. The full, 37-mile ride goes out to Seabeck Bay on Hood Canal, then comes back through Silverdale and around the north end of Dyes Inlet, climbing the challenging NW Anderson Hill Road en route.

Many of the “Biking Puget Sound” rides, which vary from 10 to 50 miles in length, are easy or moderate, some suitable for families. The book covers eight western Washington counties, and includes rides on the Kitsap and Olympic peninsulas as well as a full tour of the San Juan Islands.

For more information or to join the Forest Theater bike tour, contact Thorness at bill@bikingpugetsound.com.