What a wonderful ride this was, last Friday, around Seattle on a beautiful 50-degree, December, almost-solstice, no-rain day. The shoppers were a-shopping, but lots of bikers were a-riding, all over the city.
First stop, yoga class in Wedgwood, followed by a view from Gasworks Park (pic #1), of downtown, my ultimate destination. Then I stopped at the Essential Bakery in lower Wallingford for their bostock pastry, a luscious almond-flavored, powdered-sugar covered french-toast-like thing. Then, I rode to La Tienda, in Ballard, where the merchandise is varied, unique, attractive and not made in China. From there I cycled to downtown by going across the Ballard Bridge, a somewhat narrow biking path, and then onto the Magnolia-to-downtown bike path (does it have a specific name?--I don't think so). Along the way I took pic #2, of a clear and wintery Mt. Rainier. At Pike Street Market, I parked my bike among a number of others (pic #3) and hit DeLaurenti's and the artisans' booths. From there I rode and walked to Elliott Bay books, and my final stop in the downtown area was at the Best Tea Company in the International District (pic #4). Alas, they were out of my favorite, black lychee tea, but they have lots of other good teas, and I came away with a strong beautiful black tea and some bags of Pu-Errh tea--yum! My route home involved going up Jackson to the Central District, where I breezed through beautiful residential neighborhoods, til I got to the commuter bike route through Montlake, another residential-area ride. Finally, with winter dark falling fast, I hit Metro Market on the Burke Gilman Trail for a few groceries, and headed home, just as my bike light illuminated a few beginning sprinkles--a great ride!
