July 18, 2013

  • A Picnic Ride

    Today Étienne and I took a picnic ride. I finished my chores, made a few sandwiches, and loaded the tandem. Our first stop was Golden Gardens. That put me down a very steep and winding road to get to the beach. I remember the days of +40 mph on the bike and now I ride the brakes all the way down. Étienne still thought it was to fast.

     

    We stopped along Shilshole to look at Leif Erikson. The plaques along the outer circle list the Scandinavian immigrants right up to today! Follow the link and find the connection to Ballard First Lutheran.

     

    Our next stop put us at the Chittenden Locks where we ate lunch. I also packed a partial jar of frog balls to snack on.

    After lunch we headed across the Ballard Bridge to get to Office Max. I was not sure how to negotiate the bridge. We were on the South side of the ship channel and the roadway dumps me on the very West edge of the bridge. That will put me on a multi-use sidewalk traveling against traffic. I met a Northbound cyclist just before entering the bridge and he confirmed that although it is preferred to ride bikes on the correct side (in this case Northbound traffic should be on the East side), a road was closed and it was next to impossible to get there. He validated my plan to ride North on the Western side.

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    After all that hair raising navigation, I stopped at Top Pot to get Étienne a doughnut of choice. Nothing like creating a sticky mess at the restaurant instead of my house. This also gave him the energy to complete the ascent to the house. Great job Étienne!