Gearing Up

On Friday we were warned that it would be sunny for most of the day Saturday, then it would start to rain again.  So when we saw how nice it was yesterday, we headed out for another ride - this time to someplace new to us, the Soos Creek Trail in Kent.

The trail began in a wooded area with lots of small hills.  I wasn't used to using my gears as much as I needed to in order to gain speed on the downhills and immediately switch to the right lower gear to pedal uphill.  As a result, at one point, I was about halfway up a very small but steep hill on too high of a gear, couldn't pedal anymore, and had to stop and walk my bike just a few steps to the top.  An embarrassing lesson to learn - get in the right gear before the hill.

Soon the path leveled out into what looked like a valley, and we rode under large power transformers for a while.

Here, we took a break to catch our breath, drink some water, and watch people pass us.  Mostly runners and other recreational cyclists, but a couple faster cyclists rode past us in their spendex, as well.

At times, we had to cross various roads, some busier than others.  I still haven't mastered the quick start, especially when my bike is in a somewhat higher gear, and can be slow to get going.  A couple of times, drivers who I'm sure thought they were being courteous drove me nutty because they held up traffic (one even though they had the green and I had the red) waiting for me to cross.  I would have much preferred that they just went, so I could decide myself when to cross.  Instead, I struggled to get my bike going in too high of a gear with an audience of impatient car drivers watching.

After leaving the flat area, we rode through some skunk cabbage in full bloom (not pleasant), then past some horse pastures (much better).

There were even a couple bridges to ride over (which I love).

I was worried that on the way back, I'd have the same trouble with getting in the right gear for the small hills, but I switched to my lowest gear in the front when we got there, and found it much easier to get in the right gear (especially for hills), although I probably gave up some speed on the downhills.  But I made it over all the little hills with little effort, and only had to walk up the last very steep hill that J walked up, too (although I made it farther than he did :) ). 

Moms on Bikes

Today we headed to Seattle to ride on Lake Washington Blvd with J's parents.  They ride Dahon folding bikes, and had already unpacked them when we got there.

This stretch of Lake Washington Blvd was closed to cars today because it was a Bicycle Sunday, so we had the road to ourselves.  As did all the other families, moms, kids, and cyclists.  The road follows Lake Washington, and is lined with flowering trees.  It's about three miles to the Seward Park entrance.  For a while I rode with J's dad while J rode with his mom.

The folding bikes are single gear bicycles, so I found that if I stayed in my middle gear we traveled at the same speed.  I enjoyed not having to have to worry about getting out of the way of people because we had the whole road to ourselves.  Car-free days are genius, and I wish there were more of them in more places.  The freedom of being able to ride on the road was fantastic, especially for someone like me who's still not comfortable sharing the road with cars (not that they share much).

Soon we arrived at the Seward Park entrance.  I didn't realize it, but there's a bike path that follows the waterfront of the park, which is a peninsula that juts out into the lake.  We found great places to stop along the way with docks and views of the city in the distance.

Here, since we were riding on a smaller bike path and more moms were at the park riding with their families, I got to use my new bell more often.  Rather than yelling "On your left!", it's much more cheerful to let people know you're coming up on their left to ring a bell.

I loved watching J's parents ride their folding bikes.  The proportions of their bikes are different from ours with our big wheels and frames - their wheels are smaller, their seat posts and handle bar tubes much taller.  I love that there are so many different types of bikes out there for different people.

On our trip back to Mt. Baker Park, we was saw more and more cyclists on the road, including a large group of road cyclists all wearing the same jerseys who hogged the middle of the road.  I guess even on car-free days there's still someone who thinks they own the road.

The later it got in the morning, the more families joined us on the road.  I saw a dad who looked like he was accustomed to riding very fast riding very very slowly behind his son on a very small bicycle, who was pedalling as hard as he could.

We made it back to the car after riding over 11 miles (again!), then took off for lunch.  I look forward to spending more days riding with moms on bikes.

Bridge Number Four

Today was a gift – a blue sky, sunny gift of a day.  After a couple weeks without cycling, we ventured out to explore another part of the trail we rode on our first day with our bicycles – the Foothills Trail.  Last time we rode over one bridge on our ride; this time J wanted to ride over three.

With Mt. Rainier huge and white in the distance, we started in Orting, heading out of town and along the Carbon River.  Another couple, older and fully geared out with jerseys, bike shorts, and clip-on pedals left just ahead of us.  They looked much more experienced than me in my workout pants and tennis shoes.

There were people on the trail of all ages, experience levels, shapes, and sizes.  Little kids on their miniature bikes, parents towing toddlers in trailers, people on recumbent bikes and trikes, and us.  We maneuvered through them all – the kids wobbling all over the trail, and the speeding road cyclists coming at us at what seemed like 40 mph.

We rode past the cows, along the river, across the first bridge, then into the trees and past the emu – quickly getting to new ground.  The purple wildflowers were in bloom, and we could smell skunk cabbage. 

We rode along a creek, and passed over a second bridge.  This one looked like it used to be a railroad bridge, trestle and all.  I still don’t know what the best way to maneuver these is when I’m behind  slow/stopping pedestrians, and other cyclists are speeding toward me.  I just slow waaay down, and wait until it’s completely clear to pass.

Soon we saw a turnoff with a barbecue next to a picnic table, and pulled off at the stop created by REI at the halfway point of the trail. I walked out to the end of the paved walkway, and the creek spread out to my left and right.  A lone duck paddled toward me (the sign said it was a wood duck).  It let me take its picture, then flew off down the creek.

We continued along the path, which followed the creek.  We saw the geared up couple heading back already.  I saw the woman get on her bike and she wobbled and didn't look confident getting started - much like me a few weeks ago.  You just can't tell by looking at people whether they're truly experienced or not.  I find that reassuring.

The path met up with the river again for a while, and we rode over a third bridge, then bridge number four.  We rode a little longer, but soon turned around, not wanting to leave too little in the tank for the return trip.

Turns out we didn’t need to be worried about being too tired to get back because it’s mostly a very slight decline going that direction – we sped back, I finally got to use my higher gears, and I loved the feel of speeding along on my own power.  On the straightaways I swerved back and forth and felt like a kid.

We maneuvered our way through the families, kids, pedestrians and dogs on leashes when we got closer to town, then reached the truck.  Not sure how far we rode, but we made it over four bridges this time – three more than last time.

On our way out of town we stopped for a dipped cone (the ultimate reward).  FYI - in Orting, they're almost twice as expensive as normal.  Still worth it!