I rode down Queen Anne then jumped on the Ship Canal Trail and rode west. I ducked in and out of various waterfront parks and scenic overlooks.
I was mindful of needing 28 miles to reach the 700 monthly mile marker. I figured I'd head out toward Alki.
I got on the Elliot Bay Trail and pedaled toward downtown.
I was in tourist mode, so stopped at Ivar's for jumbo shrimp and chips.
Following the lunch stop I continued southward along a new section of trail.
As I merged onto the West Seattle Bridge I noted that I was the 601st bike there today. I thought that was a surprisingly low number, but maybe this isn't a major bike commute route?
I crossed over the Duwamish Waterway under the careful watch of Mt Rainier.
I got to Jack Block Park and noted that I had nearly 15 miles, turning around and retracing my route at this point would insure getting enough miles to reach 700. I pedaled out to the overlook and sat in the sunshine for a bit.
I saw a sign stating rules to abide by. I chuckled a bit at the "as in any park" wording. I found them unnecessary for their purpose, and untrue in some cases. I know many public parks that allow alcohol, fires, and camping, but I got their point, and would be doing none of those things today.
I turned around and began my return trip.
When I got back to the downtown waterfront I noted that the Olympic Mountains were in full view today. As mountains go, they are not all that tall, the highest peak being under 8000 ft, but they are still snow covered as we near the month of May.
I made my last stop at Pier 86. Yesterday I pedaled by this grain loading facility and noted the aroma of wheat. I was surprised at the lack of wheat dust as the ship was being loaded. I presumed dust abatement equipment, but today learned that it is shown by the EPA to be the cleanest tidewater loading facility in the world.
I turned onto the Ship Canal Trail, and when I got to Seattle Pacific University I turned right and powered the fixed gear bike UP Queen Anne.
30 miles, got my 700 for the month, plus a couple.
A fun day to check day 29 of #30daysofbiking off the list, but there is more riding to do yet today. In an hour I'll be riding with Arsen on one of his twice weekly evening rides.
Evening update:
I did indeed join 5 others for an evening ride. We met at Gasworks Park.
Our ride leader was a bit late, after determining a destination we finally shoved off at 6:30 pm, and promptly were stopped by a raised Fremont Bridge.
This bridge has a counter too, I was bike number 5641 on this crossing. We pedaled up Dexter. It is not steep, but my partners hardly slowed as they pedaled up. I was happy to keep pace with another rider taking up the rear. We weren't that far off the back, but we definitely weren't in the front! We pedaled though the downtown Seattle area.
We made our way over to the Elliot Bay Trail, but the trail along the waterfront is a mess of construction, tourists, and detours. We teamed up side by side and took the lane. We were fast enough that cars didn't have to wait for us as we sprinted from red light to red light.
We crossed the West Seattle Bridge, and lo and behold, had to wait briefly for it to close after letting a larger boat through. We finally got across the bridge then turned left and went up Avon to Faunterloy making our way to Lincoln Park. It was almost the reverse of a route that Julie and I rode on Saturday.
We reached the trail along the water just as the sun was getting low in the sky.
We stopped along Alki Beach and I put on my headlight and ate a bar, The others turned on lights, ate a snack, put on jackets, etc. It was a quick stop, probably less than 5 minutes. We crossed back over the West Seattle Bridge and took the lane under the viaduct. We were moving quickly and vehicles weren't having to wait.
One of our riders peeled off since he lived nearby. The remaining 5 continued onto the Elliot Bay Trail and made the turn onto the Ship Canal Trail.
As we got to Drayvus I bid my farewells and pedaled up Queen Anne, the remaining riders had plans to finish up the evening at The Dock with a cold beverage in their hand. As for me, I was riding back up Queen Anne for the second time today.
I added 36 miles to the daily total.
...........road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total
Today.........66................0..............0...............0............66 Jan............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ...........701.............0..............0...............0............701
April..........738.................0..............0...............0..........738 Total..........2727...............0..............0...............0.........2727
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