Y'know, I don't usually do well on a rented bike. I'm short, and I have short arms and legs for my height (5'2"). Pick a bike model -- any model -- and I'll either have to ride the smallest one they make . . . or else it'll be too big for me. This is why my main ride is a custom job.
Nevertheless, hubby and I had a great time today, biking in Seattle, on rented bikes. I got to borrow a well-maintained Trek 7300 hybrid from Gregg's Cycles, in Green Lake (a neighborhood, and park, in Seattle). Yeah, I had to sit upright, and I wasn't fastened to the pedals in any way (slippery footing, ugh), but it did the job (felt kinda like riding my old Raleigh comfort bike, in fact), and we managed to do 42 miles. Not bad for an afternoon's work. The weather cooperated, too . . . it was in the 50s and cloudy when we took the bikes out, about 10:30 am, but by early afternoon, the sun had broken out and temps got into the 70s.
We mostly biked on the Burke-Gilman Trail. Maintained by the City of Seattle, this is an absolutely gorgeous, asphalt, debris-free trail, extending from Seattle to Redmond (where along the way it becomes the Sammamish River Trail). We didn't bike the entire trail, but we did manage most of it. We started from Green Lake, which means we had to travel on surface streets for a while, before we picked up the trail at about the 5-mile mark. We biked into the 'burbs, passing through Lake Forest Park, Bothell, gorgeous neighborhoods, and lots of lovely views of Puget Sound and Seattle itself. (Have I mentioned that Seattle is full of TONS of lovely bungalows? I'm totally in love with bungalow/arts and crafts architecture).
We also saw a ghost cycle at the point where we entered the trail -- cycle #24. "A cyclist was struck here," the sign on the dead-white cycle read. These cycles were placed in various locations around Seattle last month -- at bicycle/car accident sites -- to draw public attention to the need for better cycling conditions. (No place is a perfect bike paradise, including Seattle, but if they only knew how good they have it, relative to what we have to contend with in the DC area. Nevertheless, I applaud their efforts.)
We stopped several times on our route, of course. We had bread samples and what I can only describe as a "chocolate bun" (like a cinnamon bun but with chocolate chips) from Great Harvest Bread Company, and fried clams 'n chips from Ivars. I also had a skim mocha, post-ride, with Dilettante chocolate, from Tully's. Mmmm . . . . .
I think I now have the fried fish jones out of my system for a while . . . while on vacay, I've had fried salmon 'n chips twice, and fried halibut 'n chips once (split with hubby). The only fish I'm going to be having for a long while, after we get back home, will be BAKED or POACHED.
Anyway. It wasn't a particularly challenging ride for either of us, being mostly flat. Mostly. Um, did I say "mostly?" Yes, the trail itself was pretty much flat. Getting to and from the trail, now . . . that was different.
Seattle, as you may or may not know, can be pretty hilly. A couple a days ago, we walked up Queen Anne Avenue. That's "up" as in "steep." That part of Queen Anne Avenue is so steep, in fact, that when the Queen Anne neighborhood was built, regular streetcars couldn't make the grade, and so a "counterbalance" system was designed to allow cars to transport folks to their hilltop homes. The steepest part of the hill is about an 18% grade.
Walking up the hill was pretty much like climbing stairs. About 10 to 15 flights' worth, I'd say.
Was I going to try to bike up one of these hills? Heh heh . . . not on your life.
Tho' the trail itself was flat, as previously advertised, getting to and from the trail involved city streets, most of which were not flat. Getting TO the trail, actually, was easy. That was mostly downhill. Getting from the trail BACK to Green Lake involved . . . uh huh. Going back uphill.
I'm not a total slouch at hills, really I'm not. I don't love them, but I know they're good training. But remember, I wasn't riding my own bike, and I wasn't clipped to the pedals. This meant I had much less leverage than normal.
To get back to Green Lake, we had a couple of choices. One of them, Phinney Avenue, would have involved a grade approaching that of Queen Anne Avenue. Um, no. Not a good idea. We chose, instead, to ride through the Fremont neighborhood, taking Stone Avenue -- an uphill street, but a much gentler one. This took a bit longer, but overall, it was easier.
I could so live here. Maybe someday. But believe me, if I ever move to this city, I will quickly learn how to avoid the very steepest hills . . .
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