[bobco85]

My apologies for the delay (it’s certainly not Wednesday anywhere), but I wanted to ride the coolest new trail in Seattle first before sharing pics!

On Wednesday, December 20, the State Road 520 Trail became officially connected across Lake Washington on the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge. This floating bridge is the longest in the world and provides a really great connection between Seattle and Bellevue. Now, a continuous trail joins Seattle, Bellevue, and Redmond together!

I rode across the bridge Thursday evening and took some pics before my phone’s battery died.

(left) wayfinding on the Seattle side; (right) it has its own monolith (I was biker #923)!
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(left) yay for a new trail!; (right) previously, only the I-90 Trail provided a route across Lake Washington instead of having to circumnavigate the lake
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(left) interesting structure that also has an observation point on the far side with a bench and information on the history of the region; (right) the floating part of the bridge
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They did a good job with the lighting as it was enough to illuminate the path without being too bright. (left) east and west ends had these lights on the railing; (right) center part of the bridge had these lights
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The SR 520 Trail has its own version of everyone’s favorite Woodrow Wilson Bridge Trail element: the dreaded expansion joint! Luckily, the one on the SR 520 Trail is less jarring in comparison, but it still raises some ire. Quick bit of info: the expansion joint edges are the maximum height allowed by the ADA for wheelchair accessibility.
(left) expansion joints have a solid yellow line on either side as a warning; (right) close-up view of the expansion joint’s geometry
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[bobco85]

It was just below freezing on my commute this morning. There was a thin layer of frost that sparkled in my lights and looked equally pretty and dangerous. I took great caution crossing each of the bridges on my route and made it without incident to my office in downtown Seattle.

After locking up in the bike cage, I proceeded to go to my desk, grab my clothes to change into, and realize that I had forgotten to bring a dress shirt (I thought I had one in my desk)! Luckily, I was able to head a few blocks away to the nearest clothing store (TJ Maxx) and get something. I usually keep a spare set of clothing at my desk, but today was a bit different. I blame it on the solstice!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bobco85]

Hello from Washington (and Oregon, briefly)!

Good stuff is happening here in the Seattle area as they are finishing an extension of the 2nd Ave PBL which is our version of DC’s 15th St NW cycletrack. The countdown has started for the SR 520 Trail which is set to fully open next week on December 20, so I will have to ride that way.

(left) those are bike signal lights that are being “stored” in the extension of the 2nd Ave PBL, but by next week they will be installed; (right) Space Needle is undergoing renovations which will include a glass floor on the viewing deck but they still put some holiday lights on top
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(left) i love this bridge connector to the Elliott Bay Trail because the lights are on the underside of the handrails, making it easy to see without blinding folks; (right) this jug-handle is used to slow trail-users approaching a railroad crossing
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Part of the 7th Ave grade-separated PBL running past the Amazon Spheres; both pics were taken in almost the same spot but facing different directions
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I took a trip down to Portland this past weekend and got to experience the small-town city along with its transit options. It was cold and windy (in 30s-40s Fahrenheit), but I had a good time. I walked across the new (from 2015) Tilikum Crossing (Bridge of the People) which is only accessible by pedestrians, cyclists, and transit (bus, streetcar, light rail). The best part is how quiet it was since the whooshing of speeding vehicles was nowhere to be found.

(left) Tilikum Crossing lit up at night; (right) pedestrian/cyclist separation with a one-way bike lane (the other side of the bridge had the other one-way bike lane), also it’s hard to tell in this pic, but the cycling lane was shown with green while the pedestrian lane was shown with yellow
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(left) looking down the Williamette River at downtown Portland; (right) Tilikum Crossing motto
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[bobco85]

Got a fresh new video from biking in Seattle today! I had wanted to bike to all stations of the Link light rail, just like I did back in DC for all of the Metro lines (including the Purple Line), and I finally did it.

The route I took is about 25 miles long and follows the path of the light rail using various bike lanes, trails, and other infrastructure to access each and every station along the way. I started to run out of daylight when I rode the route, so I had to go back the next day to reshoot the latter parts of the ride (you’ll notice it suddenly gets bright outside at the Westlake station).

Enjoy the video!

[video=youtube_share;fyrsgMpD0gY]https://youtu.be/fyrsgMpD0gY[/video]

[bobco85]

I returned to the scene of my first trip to Seattle years ago when I biked to the Marymoor Park velodrome a week and a half ago. Of course, it having been November (rainiest month of the year), it rained nearly the whole day, but I persevered and had an awesome ride to Redmond and back.

Here’s an interesting bit of information on Seattle’s reputation for rain compared to Washington DC (from USClimateData.com):

• Average days each year with precipitation (rainfall): Seattle 147 days – DC 115 days
• Average days in November with precipitation (rainfall): Seattle 18 days – DC 8 days
• Average precipitation (rainfall) per year: Seattle 37.13 inches – DC 40.78 inches (this stat surprised me)

(left) riding on the Cedar River Trail in Renton which I found is a lot better the farther from Lake Washington one gets; (right) riding on an unpaved gravelly portion of the East Lake Sammamish Trail near Sammamish
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I finally returned to the velodrome! It was dedicated in 2015 as the Jerry Baker Memorial Velodrome, and I really like the new logo.
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Pano of the velodrome, slick from the ongoing rain (I rode a lap, but I wimped out on the curves because it was steep and slick)
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In nearby Redmond, I stopped at a Puerto Rican restaurant named La Isla and had Sopa de lentejas (A vegan lentil stew with a sofrito base, sweet potatoes, potatoes, olive oil and spices, served on a bed of rice) and a Pernil bowl (A lunch favorite of our slow roasted pork shoulder marinated for days and hand pulled atop a bed of arroz con gandules. Served with tostones, mojito sauce and mojito flamboyan!) that both served to warm my cold and wet body and soul
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(left) riding on the eastern part of the soon-to-be-expanded-on-December-20 SR 520 Trail; (right) I found a slice of home
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[bobco85]

I returned to the scene of my first trip to Seattle years ago when I biked to the Marymoor Park velodrome a week and a half ago. Of course, it having been November (rainiest month of the year), it rained nearly the whole day, but I persevered and had an awesome ride to Redmond and back.

Here’s an interesting bit of information on Seattle’s reputation for rain compared to Washington DC (from USClimateData.com):

• Average days each year with precipitation (rainfall): Seattle 147 days – DC 115 days
• Average days in November with precipitation (rainfall): Seattle 18 days – DC 8 days
• Average precipitation (rainfall) per year: Seattle 37.13 inches – DC 40.78 inches (this stat surprised me)

(left) riding on the Cedar River Trail in Renton which I found is a lot better the farther from Lake Washington one gets; (right) riding on an unpaved gravelly portion of the East Lake Sammamish Trail near Sammamish
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I finally returned to the velodrome! It was dedicated in 2015 as the Jerry Baker Memorial Velodrome, and I really like the new logo.
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Pano of the velodrome, slick from the ongoing rain (I rode a lap, but I wimped out on the curves because it was steep and slick)
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In nearby Redmond, I stopped at a Puerto Rican restaurant named La Isla and had Sopa de lentejas (A vegan lentil stew with a sofrito base, sweet potatoes, potatoes, olive oil and spices, served on a bed of rice) and a Pernil bowl (A lunch favorite of our slow roasted pork shoulder marinated for days and hand pulled atop a bed of arroz con gandules. Served with tostones, mojito sauce and mojito flamboyan!) that both served to warm my cold and wet body and soul
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(left) riding on the eastern part of the soon-to-be-expanded-on-December-20 SR 520 Trail; (right) I found a slice of home
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[bobco85]

I was blanketed in fog this morning on my way into the Emerald City

beam of light
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moon visible through the fog
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bridge over the Green River along the Green River Trail
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from a bridge over the Green River on the Green River Trail
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I love foggy rides; standing on a bridge over the Duwamish Waterway (remnants of the Duwamish River)
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[bobco85]

Tomorrow is the end of the rainiest month in Washington State. Throughout November, a competition that reminds me of Freezing Saddles has been going on to challenge cyclists to ride as much as they can each day. It’s called Ride in the Rain, and I participated in a team of 6 (named the Freedom Riders with the tagline “Cycling gives a sense of freedom and strength, that does not compare to anything else in the world!”). Here’s my profile page for Ride in the Rain from which you can find more info: https://www.lovetoride.net/washington/user_profiles/272610

Onto adventuring, I rode almost all the way to Tacoma in order to find and ride on the southern leg of the Interurban Trail, a rail-trail that is in 2 major parts on the north and south sides of Seattle. There are a few disconnected segments that will eventually link into a full trail connecting Tacoma to Seattle.

(left) Riding on the beautiful Milton Trail which is technically part of the Interurban Trail; (center) mile marker set in the trail pavement; (right) midpoint between the cities of Milton and Edgewood on the Interurban Trail
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(left) the Seattle to Tacoma Interurban, part of the Puget Sound Electric Railway, was electrified as shown by the painted red 3rd rail; (center) Jovita Station with historical information; (right) information on the railway which operated from 1902 to 1930 and converted into a trail in 2012
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(left) paved sidepath with cute wavy sign; (center) note that all of the driveway crossings are marked and have signs for drivers, even though the grassy lots have not yet been built upon; (right) I confirmed with Judd that this is his dream home
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The other day, I participated in a joint Cascade Bicycle Club and Auburn Police Department patrol ride involving 3 officers in their bike unit. It was set up by chance as one of my friends who knew some of the Auburn PD was approached by an officer to set up a group ride the week before. We all had a blast with our “entourage” making cycling just a little safer. In fact, during the ride while waiting at a stop sign, we were harassed by an impatient driver behind us who gave 5 long beeps before driving around us and running the stop sign to make a left. Problem (for the driver) is, we had 3 officers in our group who immediately sprung into action, chased the driver down, stopped them, and gave some education to the driver! It was awesome!

(left) pano of the group on patrol; (right) patrol waiting for a train to pass
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(left) at a rest stop, we had a chance to ask the officers some questions and get feedback which was really great; (center) riding on the Sumner Link Trail; (right) these are the folks (Cascade Bicycle Club and Auburn Police Department) who deserve a lot of credit for setting up a great group ride, also to note, the ride started/ended at the Green River Cyclery and Busted Bike Cafe in Auburn http://www.greenrivercyclery.bike/
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[bobco85]

@Steve O 168699 wrote:

Looks like a great group. I was watching and wondering which of them are counterparts of which of us. That is, who in that group is the Cascade version of Judd or Ricky or Komorebi or FFG or LSG, etc.

Haha, I’ll keep an eye out for anyone resembling forum folks!

[bobco85]

I’ve got a new video of a ride I did with the Cascade Bicycle Club a couple of weeks ago.

There was a thick fog in the air that morning, and on my way to the group ride start, it seemed like I was in another world. Once I met up with everyone, we headed through the town of Auburn before heading along the Green River. We saw many beautiful views of farms partly shrouded in fog and trees in autumnal splendor around us. When we got to Flaming Geyser State Park, I split off from the group so I could check out the park before riding off to Black Diamond on my way home.

Here’s the video. Enjoy!

[video=youtube_share;qPvjGDtfP78]https://youtu.be/qPvjGDtfP78[/video]

[bobco85]

My vote: reflective ear tags. They would be both safe and fashionable, plus they’d be an easy way to mark which team one is on.

I know I’m going to confuse the heck out of everyone in Seattle (“What’s Freezing Saddles? It doesn’t freeze here. You’re dumb… …can I buy one of those from you?”)

Here’s the site I came across when randomly searching for reflective tags: https://www.cckoutfitters.com/blogs/blog/76340485-reflective-ear-tags-for-cattle-deer-and-livestock (Warning: the first half of the video at the end of the article is strangely intense with graphic livestock injuries; skip to :50 to avoid them)

[bobco85]

More adventures have been completed since last week’s post, including one that is a far simpler (for now) version of what is in DC.

I’ve been waiting to do this, but I finally went and biked the Link Light Rail in Seattle! Just like the rides I did in DC to ride to every Metro station on each line, I biked the entirety of the Link Light Rail (we only have one line, but if you look in previous pages on this thread, expansion is on the way) from south to north. It was a good challenge, and some of those hills were brutal (climbing Beacon Hill, I had to stand and lean forward to avoid falling over backwards, and I had to stop twice to catch my breath/pick my heart up off the ground!). I will make a video on it before the year’s end.

(top-left) Station #1: Angle Lake; (top-middle) Station #2: Seatac Airport; (top-right) Station #3: Tukwila/International Blvd; (bottom-left) cool mosaic of light rail riders I see almost daily from the light rail; (bottom-right) Station #4: Rainier Beach
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(left) Station #5: Othello; (top) Station #6: Columbia City; (bottom) Station #7: Mount Baker; (right) Station #8: Beacon Hill
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(top-left) Station #9: SODO; (top-middle) Station #10: Stadium; (right) Station #11: International District/Chinatown; (bottom-left) Station #12: Pioneer Square; (bottom-middle) Station #13: University Street
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(top-left) Station #14: Westlake; (top-right) Station #15: Capitol Hill; (bottom-left) Station #16: University of Washington; (bottom-right) me being happy to make it to all 16 by nightfall
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On my way home, I stopped to look at the beautiful Seattle skyline across Lake Union from Gas Works Park, got stopped for an open Fremont (draw)bridge whose counter had googly eyes on it along with 2,649 cyclists counted that day, and perused the open portions of the really nice grade-separated-protected bike lane running alongside the Amazon Spheres
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Quick note: due to having started a new job (yay), I cannot take vacation for the first 3 months (boo). My return trip to the DC area will likely be in April/May, but if anyone heads to the Pacific Northwest, give me a holler!

Have a happy Thanksgiving, y’all!

[bobco85]

Haha, no, I am not the CEO, but the firm has the top 5 floors of the building. My desk is on the top floor because I service folks on that floor.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bobco85]

I’ve got more pics of my exploration of the greater Seattle area right here for ya!

First off, I went back to the SODO district and got a good picture of the mural containing the Redskins logo. The full name of the artwork is “Standing Rock / Stolen Native Patternwork #10” by artist Spencer Keeton Cunningham. Knowing the title for the mural gives more insight to the meaning and inspiration behind its creation.
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On one bike ride with Cascade Bicycle Club, we rode through foggy conditions to reach Flaming Geyser State Park. It is named for a perpetually burning methane seep that was set alight in the 1920’s. The flame is rather small (only a few inches tall), but it’s neat to see (looks better in video rather than photo form). Nearby is Bubbling Geyser which features strange silver streaks in the water that are calcium carbonate.
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After reaching Flaming Geyser State Park with the Cascade group, I broke off to do some more exploring of the area, eventually getting hungry and stopping for lunch in the town of Black Diamond (yep, coal country) at a German-Polish restaurant named Europa. Oh, it was good, and oh, I was so full that I couldn’t order dessert (sad German face)! I had a nice mug of pilsner, red cabbage, potato dumplings, and jaeger schnitzel (crispy breaded pork cutlet with gravy and mushrooms on top) which got me through the rest of my ride.
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[bobco85]

I’m happy to finally be able to post on this thread after a nearly 3 month long “hiatus” with things having been complicated since my big move, but I got to do a morning commute on my bike today!

My bike commute has changed over the years

• Arlington (2009-2015): 0.7 miles, 10 feet elevation gain, about 7 minutes
• Alexandria (2015-2017): 5.5 miles, 450 feet elevation gain, about 40 minutes
• Tukwila (2017): 14 miles, 270 feet elevation gain to work (450 feet to home), about 1 hour 5 minutes

One of the reasons I will be bike commuting at least 3 days of the week is that the office I work at has a bike cage AND shower facilities, both of which are free. It takes me about 50 minutes to get to/from work if I take the light rail which is less than a mile from my apartment, so I imagine I will use either option depending on my mood (or just light rail if I am running late).

Another reason is the route: my route takes me from my apartment in Tukwila on a couple of minor streets to the Green River Trail, a little bit of low traffic on-street riding, Duwamish Trail, West Seattle Bridge Trail, Elliott Bay Trail, a few blocks of on-street riding, then a 2-way protected bike lane on Yesler Way, a left turn from it onto another 2-way protected bike lane on 2nd Ave (this is a major one ala 15th St NW cycletrack in DC) which takes me to a street with a bike lane on the left side allowing me to ride half a block to access an alley to get to the parking garage having the bike cage.

Having so much of the route on trails with almost no conflict zones on the street portions and a secure bike cage with shower facilities really makes tripling my bike commute distance a non-issue. Here are some pics of the setup.

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2nd Ave cycletrack in Seattle which has planters for added protection

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View from garage door (requires card key) to bike cage (requires card key)

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My Chinook bike happily secure on one of 4 rows of racks in the bike cage

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View of garage bike path leading between the bike cage and the button-activated sliding metal door to the outside

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View of Elliott Bay and Puget Sound from my new office on the top (34th) floor of our building

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