Day 21 of #ridingeverydayinNovember

Today is the 21st day of #ridingeverydayinNovember.  The weather was pretty nice and the shopping list was comprised of small items, so I biked to Home Depot to get supplies for a wiring project I'm doing.  While the weather was nice, the topography would be a challenge. It wouldn't be hard to find 8-10% grades today, and on my fixed gear bike that would be about my limit.

I started down the 8% 3rd Ave N, the roads were a bit wet and the rear wheel would skid a bit from time to time as I put back pressure on the pedals to keep the bike from running away from me.  Once I got across the Fremont Cut, I started the climb up the other side. I would end up at an elevation higher than Queen Ann, but had more distance to attain it. Grades still reached 8% at times.

As I neared Home Depot the climbing leveled out a bit and I got on the Interurban Trail for a short distance.

I had to get across Aurora Ave, a busy 4 lane highway with a concrete center divider. Safe crossings were few and far between.  My route today went a bit farther north than my destination before crossing Aurora Ave, then backtracked south. My secondary street turned into a power company access road for a few blocks, closed to automobiles, but open to pedestrians and bikes.

 I was riding along the backside of Home Depot so I rode around the side of the building and entered the parking lot via the "back door"   I locked the bike up and went shopping.

After getting my supplies I more or less retraced my route. Pedaling back down toward the Fremont Bridge was considerably easier than pedaling up and away from it!  I soon arrived at the Fremont Bridge, and the end of my easy riding.

I crossed the bridge and started up Queen Ann.

Rather than going back up 3rd Ave N, a steady 8% climb for a half mile, I headed up via the "Kralik Way", an easier way up the hill that I learned when on a Cascade Bicycle Club ride a few years ago.
The route is easier because the average gradient is not so bad, but it still goes to 10% in some short segments early in the climb.  Being out of shape, I resorted to a paperboy weave, zig zagging path to get up those segments.

I eventually reached the top of the hill.

It is predicted to be the last dry day for a few days.
It was nice to out for a few miles of dry riding.

.........Road Bike.....Rollers.............MTB..........Lifecycle......Total
Today .........19................0..................0.......................0...........19
Jan...............0................0...................0.......................0............0
Feb..........124...............0...................0.......................0...........124
March......277................0..................0........................0..........277
April......559................0..................0........................0..........559
May.........414...............0..................0.......................0...........414
June........337...............0..................0.......................0...........337
July........310...............0..................0.......................0...........310
August.......40.............0....................0......................0............40
Sept..........100..............0...................83......................0...........100
Oct.............29...............0....................0......................0............29
Nov............401..............0......................0......................0...........401
YTD...... 2568.............0...................83.......................0..........2701