Is there a city more beautiful than Seattle, for biking? If there is, I can't imagine it.
Yesterday, as I left home, I needed my snow mittens, because without them, my fingers would have frozen. I headed south, on the Burke Gilman, landed (for my first stop) at the Essential Bakery on Madision--yum! Then, I took the Seattle Bike Map's suggestion for getting to Lake Washington, by traversing Harrision over the hill, to Lake Washington Blvd., where I rode the several miles to Seward Park.
Side note-- (and a a good one)--I didn't have to walk up any of the hills I encountered on my ride, which means I'm getting stronger. A bunch of guys, as I approached Seward Park, were flying their radio-controlled airplanes (picture #1). Then, after riding around Seward Park (view of Mt. Rainier from Seward, picture #2), I rode to Beacon Avenue along Orcas, also a recommendation of the Seattle Bike Map. I thought the hills would be horrendous, but they were do-able. I got to downtown Seattle via 15th, so that I was able to take picture #3, a view of downtown from the Jose Rizal Park.
In downtown Seattle I hit the Elliott Bay Bookstore, the Central Library, and the Seattle Art Museum (first Thursdays are free!) to see Michelangelo's drawings (hint: if you're an artist, don't throw away your drawings--somebody might want to see them someday).
And finally, I rode along the Elliott Bay path to lower Magnolia, then across the Ballard Bridge just after dark had descended. The bike-and-walking path across the bridge is pretty narrow, so it's better to cross the bridge in daylight. And I rode the last 10 miles home, along the Burke Gilman trail, during bicycle rush hour. There are some really stupid bike riders out there. I saw one guy who flew across an intersection after the light had turned yellow, and he missed, by about one foot, being hit by a car making a turn. Bikers, please protect yourselves!
Total mileage for the day: 41.8
Great pictures, and way to go on the hills.
ReplyDeleteI rode home from work after it had snowed about 2 inches. It was a perfect chance to test out the new winter bike pants I recieved for Christmas (They worked great). It was cold and pretty slow going, but fun. Also, the cars were being cautious as people around here seem to know how to drive in the snow. An exciting ride, but I still wish I was riding my bike in the Northwest.