Day 2: Aug 1, 2013 - Mt Vernon to Mercer Island
80.1 miles, 14.4 mph
Mark and I had previously ridden from Bellingham to Mercer Island. As a consequence, we pretty much knew the route, and I made a few changes that I thought would improve and optimize our experience. For example, I cleverly routed us along the northern edge of the town which contained two enormous hills, instead of along the multilane (and more direct) College Avenue in order to optimize the "scenic potential" of our trip. Everyone was clearly appreciative of these efforts and enjoyed the challenge of hills first thing in the morning.
Hwy 9 snakes along the east of Mt Vernon heading past Big Lake (more appropriately named, "Long Lake") and then past Lake McMurray before heading south towards Arlington. On our previous excursion, Mark and I had followed a part of the Cacade Bike Clubs RSVP route thru this part of Washington that was obviously designed by sadists--leaving the smooth, easy trail along Hwy 9 for a set of hills that could only be thought of as "gratuitous." Why enjoy a nicely paved highway when you can travel rough roads in the middle of nowhere?
This was a scenario that would repeat itself on following days.
Hwy 9 lead us to the beginning of the Centennial Trail--29 miles of awesomeness leading from just south of Lake McMurray all the way to Snohomish. Designed along an old train line, the Centennial Trail is a wide, asphalted pedestrian and bike trail that takes riders and walkers thru some of the more picturesque backwoods of northwestern Washington. It is one of the most enjoyable biking experiences you'll find, beating out dodging trucks on 101 by a wide margin.
We meandered through Arlington onto Snohomish where we lunched at the Cabbage Patch. Note to self: Don't order a 2-cheese/3-egg omlette in the middle of a long bike ride.
Our longest climb of the day--about 650 ft-- took us from the flats of Snohomish up Broadway and onto Woodinville. And, the most dangerous part of the ride was undoubtedly along the Main St of Woodinville, where we were dondging cars turning right, left (and diagonally) for about 1/2 mile. So much for civilization.
The ride from Woodinville to Redmond is one of the most pleasant you can imagine, along the Sammamish River trail--roughly 5 miles of paved bike path along the banks of the beautiful Sammamish river. This is a well-traveled trail with lots of bikers and strollers. A significant breeze had kicked up and the temperature was in the mid 60's, and it would have been a perfect way to end a day's ride. Unfortunately, we still had to face the 520 hill.
I, for one, am super-appreciative that urban planners design things like bike trails thru cities--even those that parallel highways, like the one next to WA520 out of Redmond. I do, sometimes wish, however, that they would design them in a way that recognize that people who have already ridden over 70 miles in a day, don't really want to cimb another 500 ft or so. Note to self: write letter to Planning Dept.
It would be nice to say that the 11 miles from Redmond to Mercer Island was a quick jog through town. I gave the rest of team palooza my usual tour of well-known and obscure bike passages through town, and we arrived home late afternoon.
80.1 miles, 14.4 mph
Mark and I had previously ridden from Bellingham to Mercer Island. As a consequence, we pretty much knew the route, and I made a few changes that I thought would improve and optimize our experience. For example, I cleverly routed us along the northern edge of the town which contained two enormous hills, instead of along the multilane (and more direct) College Avenue in order to optimize the "scenic potential" of our trip. Everyone was clearly appreciative of these efforts and enjoyed the challenge of hills first thing in the morning.
Hwy 9 snakes along the east of Mt Vernon heading past Big Lake (more appropriately named, "Long Lake") and then past Lake McMurray before heading south towards Arlington. On our previous excursion, Mark and I had followed a part of the Cacade Bike Clubs RSVP route thru this part of Washington that was obviously designed by sadists--leaving the smooth, easy trail along Hwy 9 for a set of hills that could only be thought of as "gratuitous." Why enjoy a nicely paved highway when you can travel rough roads in the middle of nowhere?
This was a scenario that would repeat itself on following days.
Hwy 9 lead us to the beginning of the Centennial Trail--29 miles of awesomeness leading from just south of Lake McMurray all the way to Snohomish. Designed along an old train line, the Centennial Trail is a wide, asphalted pedestrian and bike trail that takes riders and walkers thru some of the more picturesque backwoods of northwestern Washington. It is one of the most enjoyable biking experiences you'll find, beating out dodging trucks on 101 by a wide margin.
We meandered through Arlington onto Snohomish where we lunched at the Cabbage Patch. Note to self: Don't order a 2-cheese/3-egg omlette in the middle of a long bike ride.
Our longest climb of the day--about 650 ft-- took us from the flats of Snohomish up Broadway and onto Woodinville. And, the most dangerous part of the ride was undoubtedly along the Main St of Woodinville, where we were dondging cars turning right, left (and diagonally) for about 1/2 mile. So much for civilization.
The ride from Woodinville to Redmond is one of the most pleasant you can imagine, along the Sammamish River trail--roughly 5 miles of paved bike path along the banks of the beautiful Sammamish river. This is a well-traveled trail with lots of bikers and strollers. A significant breeze had kicked up and the temperature was in the mid 60's, and it would have been a perfect way to end a day's ride. Unfortunately, we still had to face the 520 hill.
I, for one, am super-appreciative that urban planners design things like bike trails thru cities--even those that parallel highways, like the one next to WA520 out of Redmond. I do, sometimes wish, however, that they would design them in a way that recognize that people who have already ridden over 70 miles in a day, don't really want to cimb another 500 ft or so. Note to self: write letter to Planning Dept.
It would be nice to say that the 11 miles from Redmond to Mercer Island was a quick jog through town. I gave the rest of team palooza my usual tour of well-known and obscure bike passages through town, and we arrived home late afternoon.
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