More fixed gear fun

I only have one bike with me in Seattle this visit, the fixed gear.  Arsen wouldn't accept that as an excuse for me to not join the ride today, so off I went.

I rode down Queen Anne and met him at the Nickerson Pub.  We took off without any set route or destination in mind. We ended up riding this:

 There are places to ride in Seattle that are flat. Arsen thought that would be boring and decided to put some hurt on me.  We rode up some 10% to 12% grades and I managed to keep the pedals turning. Arsen would roll down the back side, and I'd work my legs off trying to make my way down safely.  A fixed gear bike is harder to ride down a hill than to ride up.

We stopped to take a few photos as we crossed over the Chittenden Locks.

Not feeling that he had put enough hurt on me yet, Arsen led out to Magnolia where I was treated to a 16% climb. I got a good run at it, but soon was down to just grinding it out.  I was putting all I had into it, barely turning the pedals over.  A car came up behind me and did not pass. (we were nearing a stop sign)  I was afraid that I might tip over in front of the car, so with 30 ft to go I bailed.  I figured that a controlled exit from the bike was better than a uncontrolled crash.

We got back to Fremont and it was my turn to be ride leader.  Arsen had never biked up Queen Anne via "The Kralik Way" so up we went.  When we reached the top Arsen took a turn toward Safeway for a snack, I turned back toward Fremont. I had a route mapped from the Fremont Bridge to Bellvue where I had plans to join a Labor Day picnic.

 28.4 miles/1682 ft of climbing

 I rode this route:

I rode along Westlake Ave.  A large Seattle based bike club sees this section as problematic.  Cyclists ride through parking lots, pedestrian ways, driveways, etc. dodging cars backing out of parking spots, and pedestrians crossing without looking  It IS problematic and unsafe, .....unless...... you stay on the road and take the center of the right lane and pedal.

The cars all signaled and changed lanes well in advance.  No irate responses.  No problems at all. I'd love to take the advocacy dept of that bike club and take them for a bike ride.

After Westlake I crossed over Capital Hill then across the I-90 floating bridge across Lake Washington via Mercer Island.

I stopped at a convenience store once across the bridge for an ice cream bar and a Snickers bar. (gotta keep my energy reserves topped off!)

It was a good ride today.  The weather improved as I rolled along.

16.0 miles/967 ft of climbing


..........road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total Today.........44...............0..............0...............0............44 Jan............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ...........701.............0..............0...............0............701
April..........749.................0..............0...............0..........749
May...........613.................0..............0...............0...........613
June............309...............0..............0...............0...........309
July...............615...............0..............0...............0............615
August.........359................0..............0...............0.............359
 Sept.............44................0...............0...............0..............44
Total..........4586...............0..............0...............0..........4586