A Ride Around Seattle

Sort of.

Arsen posted an invitation to join him on a 50 mile ride around Seattle.  As it ended up it was just Arsen and I.

We both biked to the ride, pedaling to Gasworks Park.  Rather than a true loop around the City of Seattle, we took the Burke-Gilman Trail until we got to the STP course then more or less took it south.  When we got just south of Seward Park we left the STP course and headed west on Othello St.
We turned to the north to get around King County International Airport then worked our way south again.   We stopped for a bit at the Museum of Flight, having our attention drawn by Airforce One.

Air Force One parked in front of a 787

Concorde

We spent about 45 minutes getting an up close and personal look at the planes parked outside before continuing on our way.

We crossed the Duwamish River then worked our way northward.  The original plan called for a loop of West Seattle, but we weren't feeling our oats and decided to cut out that loop.

 Before long we were riding along under the Alaskan Way Viaduct.  There was a bike path to the side, but we have road bikes, not path bikes.  We rode in the lane (easily keeping up with the flow of traffic).  We shamed a few cyclists that we saw disregarding red lights by reminding them that red lights applied to cyclists as well as cars.  Most of them pedaled on with a look of "oops, been called out" while a minority made excuses.

Arsen and I were chatting and missed the turn to do a loop of Magnolia.  It's okay, we were having a good day riding.

We finished up at The Dock
 

...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total
Today............44...............0..............0...............0...................44 Jan...............765...............0...............0...............0...............765
Feb................248...............0...............0...............0................248
March...........183.................0................0..............0................183
April..............228...............0................0...............0 ................228
Total............1424...............0...............0...............0..............1424

A Saturday morning pedal

Julie and Molly went for their daily 5 mile walk early this morning.  I took the fixed gear bike and pedaled in the area.  I kept an eye out where they were but pedaled around blocks.

It was a decent morning.  Mostly cloudy and cool, but some blue sky and dry.

The three of us finished up with breakfast at our favorite weekend breakfast get away, the Queen Anne Cafe.

...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total
Today............13...............0..............0...............0...................13 Jan...............765...............0...............0...............0...............765
Feb................248...............0...............0...............0................248
March...........183.................0................0..............0................183
April..............184...............0................0...............0 ................184
Total............1380...............0...............0...............0..............1380

A hardware store run

There have been a few incidents of night time prowling in friend Julie's neighborhood lately. Today I put in an electronic eye for the back porch light to illuminate the area a bit.  To complete the job I needed to make a trip to the local hardware store.  I took the fixed gear bike.

...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total
Today.............3...............0..............0...............0....................3 Jan...............765...............0...............0...............0...............765
Feb................248...............0...............0...............0................248
March...........183.................0................0..............0................183
April..............171...............0................0...............0 ................171
Total............1367...............0...............0...............0..............1367

Who turned on the AC?

After yesterday where it hit 81 degrees, today was markedly cooler.  It reached 59 degrees today. It felt as if it would rain, but never did.  I took a short ride on the fixed gear bike into town for a donut and other errands.

...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total
Today.............4...............0..............0...............0....................4 Jan...............765...............0...............0...............0...............765
Feb................248...............0...............0...............0................248
March...........183.................0................0..............0................183
April..............168...............0................0...............0 ................168
Total............1364...............0...............0...............0..............1364

Making Money!

 I had an appointment with my stock broker today.  The meeting was scheduled for early in the afternoon, and the weather was going to be perfect.  It was a perfect excuse to ride the bike there.

I left a bit of cushion in the time calculated to pedal there, in case of a flat, and because I'm old and slow.  I didn't need any of it. I arrived over an hour early.  That's okay, there was a good magazine in the lobby. ;-)

Todd and I did a little sprucing up of accounts.  I'm not sure I made any money but he rides too, so we had a nice visit about bikes.

After finishing up I pedaled back toward home.  I had saved a little money by biking instead of driving but I also made some money.  Within 5 blocks I found 43 cents!

And it was a nice day too!

80 degrees as I finished up.


...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total
Today............66...............0..............0...............0...................66 Jan...............765...............0...............0...............0...............765
Feb................248...............0...............0...............0................248
March...........183.................0................0..............0................183
April..............164...............0................0...............0 ................164
Total............1360...............0...............0...............0..............1360

Reaching for the Top

 I've been reading reports of people biking over McKenzie Pass all winter.  While skiers and water managers lament the lack of snow it was a treat for cyclists to be able to cross the Cascade summit on this route closed to cars during the Winter months. Some friends rode up to the summit from the Sisters side (longer drive to get there, shorter climb, less elevation gain) on Friday and reported no snow on the road at all. They said they rode down toward Scott Lake a way but saw no snow.

Kent and I took off early this morning to ride up the West side from McKenzie Ranger Station.  Our plan, like normal, was to ride up to the summit, then down to Sisters for lunch, then ride back.  It would be a 78 mile ride with just over 6000 ft of climbing.  As an added treat, Kent had never been up the west side before.

We started out from the Ranger Station shortly after 9AM.

There was just a bit of morning chill in the mountain air, but still very much like a summer day as we pedaled out.

We continued to pedal through the Douglas Fir, true fir, and hemlock forest, climbing relentlessly as we did so. At 8 miles in, we reached the first snow gate.  I noted that the gate has been replaced since last year.  I failed to get a photo, but it is now a very substantial barrier, too low to go under, too high to comfortably go over, too wide to go around.  We carried our bikes over boulders on the hillside to get beyond. (yes, we checked before driving down here, it was legal to go around the gate)

Deadhorse Grade snakes its way up the mountainside

 

We had started at 1500 ft elevation.  We saw the first skiffs of snow as we reached 4000 ft.  Normally in June at this elevation there would be 2-3 ft of snow on the forest floor.  Our talk turned to the ramifications of the dry winter the West Coast has experienced. Shortly after seeing skiffs of snow under the trees we found a patch of snow on the roadway under the shade of trees.

Before too long the novelty of snow on the road was becoming a common occurrence.  Kent had some tread on his tires and weighs bit more than I do.  He had a better time riding through snow patches than I did.  My bike was pretty squirrely.

The snow patches increased in frequency and depth. We finally resorted to walking through the snow to minimize the chances of falling and getting injured.

By the time we neared 4500 ft elevation the snow was getting to be really problematic.

We should have packed snowshoes!

The snow was obviously "new" snow, probably from last week when the ski resorts received their first real snow fall of the winter. It had not set up like ice, but was heavy and slushy.  Our feet were wet with the first steps.

It was beginning to look like we wouldn't make it to the 5400 ft summit.

By the time we got 16 miles into our ride, and reached 4700 ft elevation it became obvious that we weren't going to make it.  We still had 8 miles and a little over 600 ft of elevation to go.

 We were in 6-8" of snow, and the prospect of walking 8 miles and carrying our bikes didn't sound appealing. Given how much conditions had changed in the last 700 ft of elevation, the next 600 ft would probably get worse.  We'd also have to retrace our path back, since our vehicle was parked on the west side.

We sat in the sun, ate a bar, and discussed the day.
We turned around and rolled back down the hill.  We were bummed that we didn't reach the summit and the great views to be had from there.

There will be other opportunities.

33 miles, 3200 ft of elevation gain.

...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total
Today............33...............0..............0...............0...................33 Jan...............765...............0...............0...............0...............765
Feb................248...............0...............0...............0................248
March...........183.................0................0..............0................183
April...............98................0................0...............0 .................98
Total............1294...............0...............0...............0..............1294

A Change of Plan

Today was the De Ronde Van West Portlandia.  I have participated many times, and was going to go again today, despite the fact that it is a very tough ride, and I'm in about the worse bike shape that I've been in for nearly 10 years.  Some friends went to Sisters on Saturday and biked up McKenzie Pass despite that the road is officially closed.  It is probably the most scenic route in Oregon.  I made a few phone calls and found that while the road is indeed officially closed, as long as cyclists ride at their own risk (don't we always?) they are welcome to ride and won't be hassled or ticketed.

If I start at the Ranger Station on the west end and ride to Sisters and back it has about the same amount of elevation gain as De Ronde,  I'll have 30 more miles to do the climbing.  The descent back down Deadhorse Grade is an E Ticket Ride, way better than anything on De Ronde, and the scenery is top notch.  I've also got a ticket to attend "Inspired to Ride" a documentary on the first self supported Trans America Bike Race.  I thought that I'd either be too late, or too dead, to make it to the movie.  That's it, the stars aligned.  I'm going to ride McKenzie Pass tomorrow instead of De Ronde today.

I took my new found free time and rode the fixie to the local car rental agency to work on details for the Race Across the West support van.


...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total
Today.............5...............0..............0...............0...................,5 Jan...............765...............0...............0...............0...............765
Feb................248...............0...............0...............0................248
March...........183.................0................0..............0................183
April...............65................0................0...............0 .................65
Total............1261...............0...............0...............0..............1261

Noodling around

It was a beautiful day. The temperature was 69 degrees and the sun was shining.  I just had to put my duties aside and go for a little ride around town.  The fixed gear bike is the perfect ride for such endeavors.  Nowhere in particular, just pedaled around the neighborhood.

...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total
Today............16...............0..............0...............0...................16 Jan...............765...............0...............0...............0...............765
Feb................248...............0...............0...............0................248
March...........183.................0................0..............0................183
April...............60................0................0...............0 .................60
Total............1256...............0...............0...............0..............1256

Discovery

I've been on house watch/pet care duty this week near Discovery Park. I finally got a chance to get out for a short ride this afternoon. The dog wasn't sure about my plans to abandon him for a short period of time.

The cats couldn't have cared less. Typical.

It was a beautiful afternoon, the sun was out and the temperature was in the upper 60's.  I was on the fixed gear bike and it didn't take long to realize that Discovery Park has more hills than I remembered!  There were some nice overlooks though.

Discovery Park is a maze of roads, paved trails, and gravel paths.  I picked up a map as I entered the park, but the sign posts weren't helping.  I rode up to a perfect "T" intersection.  I had a choice of going straight ahead, or 90 degrees left or right.  I had no real idea what this sign was trying to tell me.

Good thing I'm a country boy with a good sense of direction.  I scurried back on the chance to join friends on their evening walk, but that didn't happen.

At least the dog was happy to see me return.

...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total
Today.............9...............0..............0...............0...................9 Jan...............765...............0...............0...............0...............765
Feb................248...............0...............0...............0................248
March...........183.................0................0..............0................183
April...............44................0................0...............0 .................44
Total............1240...............0...............0...............0..............1240

Easter

It was a sunny Spring morning. It was a sunny cold morning! It was 32 degrees as I pedaled out on the fixed gear bike. I rode west on Evergreen Rd. I've always said that riding Evergreen is like riding downhill with a tailwind.... both ways.

Today was no exception.


13 miles on the fixed gear. Happy Easter everyone!

...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total
Today............13...............0..............0...............0..................13 Jan...............765...............0...............0...............0...............765
Feb................248...............0...............0...............0................248
March...........183.................0................0..............0................183
April...............35................0................0...............0 .................35
Total............1231...............0...............0...............0..............1231

Before the Rain

As I wrote the title for today's post, I thought it sounded like a song title.  A Google search didn't bring up a song, but it did bring up a movie.

There was rain predicted later in the day, but the morning looked pretty good.  I took the fixie and rode for an apple fritter.

After getting all "frittered up" I decided to take the long way home.  It was a nice day for just tootling around.

The wind picked up out of the south as I was out peddling around.  In this part of the country that is usually a sign of impending rain. Before long it "felt like" rain was coming.  Sure enough, by the time I got home some drips were beginning to fall.


...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total
Today............16...............0..............0...............0..................16 Jan...............765...............0...............0...............0...............765
Feb................248...............0...............0...............0................248
March...........183.................0................0..............0................183
April...............22................0................0...............0 .................22
Total............1218...............0...............0...............0..............1218

Wired

It was a beautiful sunny day.  My work on Race Across the West continues, today I gathered supplies and wired all the electrical devices.  I've learned a few things during the times I've done this, and rolled all that experience into some pretty good upgrades. March was a very low mileage cycling month for me, April is starting out the same way.

I grabbed my fixed gear bike and backpack and peddled around Wilsonville picking up wires, circuit breakers, connectors, project boxes, lights, and panel mounted indicator lamps. I spent the rest of the day fashioning them into a wiring harness that attaches to my previously made overhead flashing light/"Caution Bicycles Ahead" sign, feed light, and auxiliary driving light.  I've got to get my 1200 watt inverter tied into the system yet, and get a socket for my heavy duty electronic flasher, then this aspect of preparations will be done.  

...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total
Today.............6...............0..............0...............0..................6 Jan...............765...............0...............0...............0...............765
Feb................248...............0...............0...............0................248
March...........183.................0................0..............0................183
April................6................0................0...............0 ..................6
Total............1202...............0...............0...............0..............1202