Day 54, Christmas Eve

Today was my 54th consecutive day on the bike.

It was nice to be back on home turf. Smooth roads, surprisingly dry weather, and low traffic awaited me today.  I rode to my mom's to tweak the Christmas decorations. (actually undo her tweaking!) I took a bit longer way back because, despite rain in the early morning hours, it was now drying out.

It was 41 degrees, a bit cooler than it is in Seattle, but a whole lot nicer riding conditions.

Merry Christmas to all!


...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total Today............21...............0..............0...............0..............21 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............292...............0..............0...............0............292
Oct.............708...............0..............0...............0............708
Nov.............650...............0..............0...............0............650
Dec..............451.................0..............0...............0...........451 Total..........6627...............0..............0...............0...........6627

Day 53-Barely... Pinapple Express

Today was my 53rd consecutive day on the bike (despite my earlier claim that yesterday was.... now corrected).   I started off with a ride down the south side of Queen Anne to an "upscale" grocery store to get a free pineapple using a coupon.  The pineapple was free, but the Bismark I purchased was $1.39 plus tax.  I can get the same thing at home for  $0.59 and no tax.  Evidently at times the only thing separating upscale from regular is the price of things.  I also picked up a box of breakfast cereal.

I rode back up the hill, ate breakfast, then packed up and made the trip back to the Portland area. I understand that it is blustery and raining in Seattle.  At 7:45 PM, it is 54 degrees, dry, and calm in Hillsboro.

With all the other stuff going on, I did not get back on the bike today.  4 miles barely counts, but I guess it will have to suffice today.

...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total Today.............4...............0..............0...............0...............4 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............292...............0..............0...............0............292
Oct.............708...............0..............0...............0............708
Nov.............650...............0..............0...............0............650
Dec..............430.................0..............0...............0...........430 Total..........6606...............0..............0...............0...........6606

Day 52

Today was my 52nd consecutive day on the bike. I'm a little disappointed in myself.  At the beginning of the month I thought getting more miles than I did in November (650) would be a good goal, and thought that achieving 7000 miles for the year would doable.  As it ends up, it doesn't look likely I'll get either.  Blame it on holiday conflicts and a bit of laziness.

Today I rode out to Red Hook Brewery for lunch. I turned around and came back, detouring via BevMo and Bike Sport for some last minute stocking stuffers.

 I started out Shilshole Ave thinking I might go to Golden Gardens but changed my mind after just a short distance. On the way back to Fremont I saw two things that made me think of wasted time and resources. There has been a lot of buzz surrounding infrastructure and the roll out of Pronto Bike Share.  The talking point is that this stuff is making biking an "8 to 80" proposition.  As I came back along Shilshole Ave I was riding in the highly touted bi directional protected bike lane.  I see a group of 4 Pronto Bikes coming my direction. One of them tries to cross a railroad track parallel to the bike lane, and of course goes down. I stopped to see if they needed help.  They didn't need help, just education. "Gee, I didn't know that tracks would be so slippery". :-O

As I am nearing Fremont I see a truck parked in a bike lane, forcing bikes out into the oncoming traffic from the blind spot behind the truck.

Not only was this truck somehow able to cross the double yellow "magic paint" but you might notice the "no parking" sign right by the drivers door.  The street is a one way coming the same way the truck is pointing, the bike lane is going the opposite way.  Wrong direction bike lanes never make sense to me, and here where a truck blocks the way a bike will truly "appear from nowhere" as they go around head on into traffic.

Instead of paint, bollards, and bike shares I think a better return on investment would be education and enforcement.

Who knows, you might just be able to fix stupid after all.

...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total Today............53...............0..............0...............0..............53 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............292...............0..............0...............0............292
Oct.............708...............0..............0...............0............708
Nov.............650...............0..............0...............0............650
Dec..............426.................0..............0...............0...........426 Total..........6602...............0..............0...............0...........6602

Day 51-Magnolia Loop

Today was my 51st day on the bike.  The weather was nice (52 degrees and dry) but time was short. (tis the season)  I had time for a loop around Magnolia and took it.

It is IMHO one of the prettiest routes in the Seattle area.

Alki Pt

Washington State Ferry passing Bainbridge Island

I didn't have time to explore Discovery Park today.
All I would get would be 13 miles, but at least there were some hills.

...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total Today............13...............0..............0...............0..............13 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............292...............0..............0...............0............292
Oct.............708...............0..............0...............0............708
Nov.............650...............0..............0...............0............650
Dec..............373.................0..............0...............0...........373 Total..........6549...............0..............0...............0...........6549

Day 50-A Lock Loop

Today would be my 50th consecutive day on the bike.  I thought it would be fitting to ride to Red Hook Brewery and back, an easy 50 mile ride.  However, dinner guests tonight meant that I would feel guilty riding all day when there was work to be done to have everything ready.

So instead I shared in some house chores, then took off shortly after noon.

It had been raining most of the morning, and continued to do so as the day progressed.  It was a wet ride, but it was 48 degrees, pretty warm for late December.

I got down to the locks, normally a busy place with tourists and boat traffic. Today not so much.

Bicyclists are required to walk their bikes while on this Federal property so I walked my bike across the paths and walkways to get across the ship canal.

Once on the other side I had the choice of riding around Magnolia or turn left and head back toward Queen Anne.  The weather was still grey and drizzle filled.  I thought there might be an interesting photo somewhere along Magnolia, but instead turned left in the interest of time.

As I pedaled along the path next to nautical related businesses I noticed that the fire personnel training facility had a training in progress.  Being the longest serving Fire District Director in Oregon I found it interesting and worth watching.

 

The training officer noticed me there in my reflective vest and helmet cover, and said I looked like I was ready. did I want to put on a air pack and join in?  I told him I was a Fire District Director in Oregon, we both had a good laugh.

Having done enough fire training to make my trip tax deductible I pedaled on.  ;-)

I rode back up Queen Anne the Kralik Way and arrived back at 4 minutes to 4PM, 4 minutes earlier than my deadline.

As is most often the case, the weather  was not nearly as bad as it might have appeared.  I was warm enough and dry despite the rain.  You can't ask for much more when riding in December.

...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total Today............14...............0..............0...............0..............14 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............292...............0..............0...............0............292
Oct.............708...............0..............0...............0............708
Nov.............650...............0..............0...............0............650
Dec..............360.................0..............0...............0...........360 Total..........6536...............0..............0...............0...........6536

Day 49

I had a trip to the library to make today.  I of course rode my bike.  When I got there I found that the library is closed on Friday.  Well, might as well go for a bike ride then. ;-)

I  just tootled around the neighborhood.  I just played around the steeper sections of Queen Anne.  There were some steep brick streets, and even some cobblestones reminding me of a race in Belgium,  de ronde van vlaanderen.

There  were many places where the terrain just got too steep for streets so stairs were in their place. Interspersed among the fancy old homes where some pretty nice viewpoints.

The Magnolia Bridge

Moving just a bit more counter-clockwise around Queen Anne gave me a good look at Smith Cove.

I pedaled a bit more through the neighborhood streets and alleys.  I got a good view across Elliot Bay out into Puget Sound.

I rode over the very top of Queen Anne.

Then dropped back down to an overlook on South Lake Union and downtown Seattle.  It is a bustling and happening place.  From where I took this photo I could see 16 of those big construction cranes.

I pedaled back to an spot where I could look over Lake Union, Gasworks Park, and Lake Washington.

While at this location I struck up a conversation with a couple of fellow tourists.  The guy was from Korea, and his lady friend lived in Vancouver BC.  We talked about the differences of the way bikes are mostly used in the U.S vs how they are used in Korea.  It was an interesting discussion.

The 49th consecutive day on the bike did not have many miles, but it had a lot of elevation gain! My maximum grade was 23%.

...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total Today............11...............0..............0...............0..............11 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............292...............0..............0...............0............292
Oct.............708...............0..............0...............0............708
Nov.............650...............0..............0...............0............650
Dec..............346.................0..............0...............0...........346 Total..........6522...............0..............0...............0...........6522

Day 48- A Loop to Lincoln

It was going to be a rainy day, and increasingly so as the day progressed.  I finally got on the bike (wearing wet weather gear) by late morning. I rode down the south side of Queen Anne, across the pedestrian/bike overpass to get across the multiple train tracks, and accessed the Elliot Bay Trail at Myrtle Edwards Park (if you click on the park's link you be brought to nice photos than I would have been able to get today in the rain and low clouds).

I continued past Seattle's tunnel fiasco and all the detours caused by that project. One thing that the linked Wikipedia article doesn't mention yet is that as workers pumped out water from the rescue pit the water table was lowered and surrounding city blocks have settled nearly 2 inches.

Having successfully negotiated the construction zone I crossed the Duwamish Waterway and proceeded to West Seattle.  I made my way out to Alki Point and continued southward to Lincoln Park.  The climb out of Lincoln Park was steep, I saw 18%,  but thankfully short lived.

I pedaled along Faunterloy and rolled down Avalon then crossed the West Seattle Bridge.  I made my way back along Elliot Bay and followed the Elliot Bay Trail to the Ship Canal Trail.  

When I got back to 3rd Ave W I turned up, thinking I was going to take the Kralik Way, but changed my mind at the last minute.  The challenge of a three quarter mile long 8% gradient hill awaited.

Up I went.  Once at the top I had only 1 mile ride left to finish up today's ride.

The 48th consecutive day on the bike was wet, but not all that bad.


...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total Today............32...............0..............0...............0..............32 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............292...............0..............0...............0............292
Oct.............708...............0..............0...............0............708
Nov.............650...............0..............0...............0............650
Dec..............335.................0..............0...............0...........335 Total..........6511...............0..............0...............0...........6511

47 consecutive days on the bike- A Scouting Trip

I'm attending a screening of "Unbroken" this evening in downtown Seattle.  Parking is a adventure in patience and luck, bike parking is not secure, buses are too easy, and at over a dollar per mile for this trip would be a little pricey.  I decided that a two mile walk would do me good.

Since I "needed" bike ride today I decided to scout my route. (my mom reminds me regularly that I don't "need" to ride bike, but that's a story for another time)

I started toward downtown from Queen Anne.  Rather than the route down Taylor that I'd normally take, I took steep streets, some to 22%, since that was the most direct way, the way I would be walking.  In many cases there were stairs instead of sidewalks.  I had a few dead ends to contend with, but eventually made it to Mercer Street at the bottom.  From the corner of 5th Ave and Mercer I could see 8 construction cranes.  There is a lot of construction going on in the South Lake Union area. Too bad I didn't have any way to take a photograph. Once off the hill I rode easily south on 5th Avenue to Pine.  The movie will be shown at Pacific Place on 6th and Pine.

Having successfully scouted tonight's hike I rode back up to Mercer and angled over toward Elliot Ave with a little detour over through Kinnear Park.  I entered Kinnear Park in the "Upper Kinnear Park" and rode the path to the "Lower Kinnear Park".  The trail between the two turned into a gravel path for a short distance.  The views were pretty good, again I wished I would have had a camera with me.

I got on Elliot Ave and pedaled a short distance before deciding wind my way up the hill.

It was a fun exploratory ride. Having accomplished my goal, I rode back to make preparations for the walk to the movie.

On the 47th consecutive day on the bike I got a staggering 9 miles.

...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total Today.............9...............0..............0...............0...............9 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............292...............0..............0...............0............292
Oct.............708...............0..............0...............0............708
Nov.............650...............0..............0...............0............650
Dec..............303.................0..............0...............0...........303 Total..........6489...............0..............0...............0...........6489

Day 46-Golden Gardens

Today was the 46th consecutive day on the bike.  I started out late morning for a ride and thought I might go around Magnolia (I love the views from there) and on out to Lincoln Park in West Seattle.  The temperature was in the low 50's and the sky was grey, but roads were dry.  I decided to leave the rain coat behind because "if it starts raining I'll just turn around and come back".

As I rolled down Queen Anne I decided to detour a bit and go to Magnolia via the Chittenden Locks.  As I approached the locks I decided that I would ride out to Golden Gardens.......... just because.
It was a nice ride out there with the benefit of a tailwind. Along the way I stopped to take a photo at the Shilshole Bay Marina. There were a lot of boats there!

I got out to Golden Gardens and struck up a conversation with an older guy who had spent his life as a commercial fisherman based out of Seattle. He was just sitting there on a bench watching the water. He was an interesting fellow. 

At the restored wetland there were a lot of ducks, and these two guys.

The seagull on the right was an easy ID, but the bird on the left had me a bit baffled.  I never got a better look at it than what you see in the photo. It seemed too small and short legged to be a Great Blue Heron.  I suspect it may be a Green Heron.

As I pedaled back toward the locks it began to rain very lightly.  I had a windbreaker on that would shed light rain, but the sky was dark and had that look that said "this in not a passing shower, it's going to rain the rest of the day".  When I got back to the locks I didn't turn in, instead continuing back to Fremont. The rain continued, and increased slightly.

The "bike pansy" in my head convinced me to ride back up Queen Anne rather than venture out farther and get soaked. I pedaled back up via the Kralik Way.  It continued to rain lightly, the road was getting wet but I made it to the top before I had a chance to get wet or cold. Rather than the 50ish miles I had planned on, it turned into an 18 mile ramble.

 46 consecutive days on the bike got into the book.

...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total Today............18...............0..............0...............0..............18 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............292...............0..............0...............0............292
Oct.............708...............0..............0...............0............708
Nov.............650...............0..............0...............0............650
Dec..............294.................0..............0...............0...........294 Total..........6480...............0..............0...............0...........6480

Day 45-The long way to Bellevue

I was invited to Bellevue this evening to a bon voyage party.  The most direct route available to bikes would be just under 14 miles, via the I-90 floating bridge.  Taking The Evergreen Point floating bridge would be significantly shorter, but bikes aren't allowed on that bridge. (One would think that with Seattle being home base for the largest bike club in the US that SDOT wouldn't be able to build bridges that didn't have facilities for bikes..........  but I digress)  Last night the weather was predicted to be wet today, but by early afternoon it still looked quite nice.  I decided to forgo the bridge and go for bonus miles by riding around the north end of Lake Washington. I'd end up with 29 miles.

I rolled down Queen Anne and crossed the Fremont Bridge then followed the Burke-Gilman Trail along Lake Washington. The temperature was in the low 50's but one didn't have to look too far to see snow.

As I arrived in Kenmore I stopped for a quick sandwich.  After the brief stop I continued along my way.  When I arrived at Wayne Golf Course in Bothell, I left the trail and started riding my road bike on roads. I pedaled along until I reached Juanita Bay then stopped for this photo op.

Throughout the late 1800's until 1916 this was a bustling steamer landing. Sleepy Juanita was then the center of activity for the east shore of Lake Washington.  In 1916, the Montlake Cut was completed, the level of Lake Washington dropped nearly 9 ft, the Black River, the original outflow for Lake Washington was left high and dry, salt water Salmon Bay became a freshwater shipping canal, and Juanita Bay a wetland,  no longer deep enough to support steamships.

I took the old bridge over the former bay, now wetlands, which is now only open to pedestrians and bicycles.  I stopped to read every one of the informational signs. ;-)

My route had been straight south since turning at Wayne Golf Course, but now took a couple of squiggles at Marina Park in Kirkland. The taller buildings of Seattle could be seen in the distance across Lake Washington.

I had just 6 miles to go before reaching Meydenbauer Bay, my destination.  I arrived just as the sun set, 4:18 PM.

The 45th consecutive day on the bike was pretty darn nice!

...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total Today............29...............0..............0...............0..............29 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............292...............0..............0...............0............292
Oct.............708...............0..............0...............0............708
Nov.............650...............0..............0...............0............650
Dec..............276.................0..............0...............0...........276 Total..........6462...............0..............0...............0...........6462