Seattle

STP – On The Road

/ Paula+Timothy / Leave a comment
Out of Seattle, into the open countryside.
Mount Rainier looms in the distance.
Not a bad place to have a farm.
A colorful sight indeed.
What lovely roads.
Riding was easy in all this beauty.
A perfect day.
Some of us could have used a break like this.
There were some great outfits.
Still more beauty.
See separate post for more on Piper The Dog.
Another irresistible bridge.
Shooting while riding is much easier while climbing.
Approaching the bridge between Longview, Wash., and Rainier, Ore.
Crossing Into Oregon!
Down the bend in our first pedal strokes in Oregon.
Welcome!
Just a few miles to go, heading over the Willamette River in Portland.
As seen by bus heading out of Portland.
As seen by bus en route back to Seattle.

Cascade Bicycle Club‘s annual STP – Seattle to Portland – ride was a 204-mile celebration of great roads and great people.

There were the highly fit though possibly insane types who did the ride in one day, the highly fit types who more reasonably stretched it out over two days, the reasonably fit types who did the ride in two days and took a lot of pictures along the way (that would be us), the getting fitter types for whom something like this was once an unimaginable accomplishment … and all sorts of others.

Seeing all the varieties of riders out on the road, and sharing the camaraderie, was one of the truly great things.  So was the scenery.

Juanita Park, Kirkland/North Lake Washington Loop

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In New York, a “routine” ride often means a quick jaunt to Piermont and Bunbury’s — a 40ish-mile round trip to a lovely small town with an excellent bakery (often jammed with like-minded cyclists) at the midpoint. (One of about a zillion ways to get there is here.)  Our Seattle equivalent has become the 40-mile RT North Lake Washington Loop, with a park, beach and ice cream shop in Kirkland at the midpoint.

After a few miles winding our way down (think 20 percent grades DOWN) from our apartment through lovely neighborhood streets, we hit the famed Burke-Gilman Trail and ride its last 10 miles to Kenmore. Unlike familiar NYC trails (Hudson Greenway, for example) this trail is wide enough to ride comfortably while sharing with many (but not too many) other people on bikes, on foot and in strollers. It’s blissful.

Then it’s on to Juanita Drive and a 2-mile climb with 4 to 7 percent grades, enough to make it worthwhile.  After a fun descent and a few more short climbs and descents,  we arrive at Juanita Beach Park.  This place is idyllic (as is so much of this area). Sparkling water, charming scenes of people enjoying their lives, boats, ducks, paddle boards. And ice cream. And hot dogs.

We linger there for awhile, then head on to the second half. This part features a bit of neighborhood meandering but also a fair amount of decent straightaway type riding where we can get a good pace going. Not quite like 9W for speed, but also much prettier.

We still miss Piermont and Bunbury’s. But this loop is a lovely alternative.

Chilly Hilly and Camano Island (and Hampsten)

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Our first major event with the Cascade Bicycle Club was its well known Chilly Hilly — which, in fact, isn’t all that hilly and this year wasn’t very chilly (until it came time to wait an hour for the ferry in damp bike clothes …)

This was a great introduction to beautiful Bainbridge Island. And though we didn’t know it at the time, it also kicked off our unofficial Tour de Islands, still in progress. We did know that we’d return to Bainbridge, as the route was just gorgeous. Even on an overcast February day. And even though we didn’t manage to take pictures.

But: The most notable moments came after we finished pedaling.  Big events such as the Chilly Hilly are more than just rides. They’re also unofficial bike expos. Timothy had spent much of the ride, and the pre- and post-ride gatherings, ogling other bikes. Paula largely ignored this.

Until, that is, she emerged from a Port-a-John to discover Tim examining what was propped on the other side.  And it was love at first sight. And second and third and fourth.  It was a spectacular Hampsten Strada Bianca. Just luscious. She couldn’t stop gazing at it.

Then Timothy explained the Hampsten story.  And she got home and read more.  One week later …  well, stay tuned.

A month later we did Island No. 2 (or No. 3, if you count Mercer Island).  This time, we drove a little more than an hour north of Seattle to Camano. This ride was led by our new friend Bob, who’s been fabulous in making us feet at home and happy in the Seattle cycling scene. He’s a great person and a great ride leader, and we’re very lucky to have met him on one of our very first club rides.

The route was a loop of the island, and another little slice of heaven.  Too bad we didn’t linger long enough to get any photos, either here or on Bainbridge. We shall return!