Friday, August 2, 2013

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Today we’re riding with Becky, Bruce and Paul for a tour around West Seattle. We meet Becky at Green Lake Park and bike down to Gas Works Park to connect with Bruce and Paul.

Bruce leads us out on N Northlake Way for a small loop around Evanston Ave N and Fremont Pl N to the Fremont Bridge crossing on Fremont Ave N.

We continue on the South Ship Canal Trail along the canal towards the shipyards and marina onto W Emerson Pl. Gilman Ave W and 20th Ave W runs along the east edge of the residential neighborhoods of Magnolia out to Interbay. Interbay is a Seattle neighborhood much occupied by BNSF Railway’s Balmer Yard and Fishermen’s Terminal.

The Elliot Bay Trail leads us south under the Magnolia Bridge out to the shoreline parks of Seattle’s waterfront area. We exit the trail onto Alaskan Way past the Victoria Clipper Terminal, the Edgewater Hotel, the Bell Harbor Conference Center, Seattle’s waterfront area and the multiple Washington Ferry Terminals.

E Marginal Way S takes us towards the Port of Seattle along the Duwamish Waterway. The Alki Trail leads us past Harbor Island to West Seattle via Seattle’s Swing Bridge on SW Spokane Street.

We continue on the Alki Trail along Harbor Ave SW for a stop at the Jack Block Park off SW Florida St. This park is on the north end of Industrial District West near the Port of Seattle.

We wind our way up and around the path to the overlook area. From this view point, you can enjoy the phenomenal views of Puget Sound with a full sweep of Seattle‘s gorgeous skyline-WOW!

The Alki Trail turns north along Harbor Ave SW and Alki Ave SW along the shores of Elliot Bay to Alki Beach Park. This is a beautiful waterfront area with fantastic views of Puget Sound and beyond! The storm clouds above us are pretty impressive too!

We continue on Beach Dr SW; this road snakes along the shore of the parks and behind the waterfront homes. At the end of the road, there is a packed gravel path that runs along the shoreline of Lincoln Park to the Colman Pool area. The paved path from the pool leads to a steep climb up to the parking lot off Fauntleroy Way SW.

We are hit with light rain as we make our way up Fauntleroy Way SW and California Ave SW for our lunch stop at Bakery Nouveau. This bakery is hopping and packed with people! Michael and I share a BLT sandwich on a fresh baguette, a twice baked chocolate croissant and a plum Danish. Everything was very delicious! This is more than enough to fuel us for the remainder of the ride!

The light showers have turned to steady rain as Bruce leads us to a shorter way back to the bridge crossing. From California Ave SW, we take SW Alaska St to Fauntleroy Way SW and SW Avalon Way. The steep descent on SW Genesee St drops us onto Delridge Way SW; straight onto the Alki Trail for the Swing Bridge crossing on SW Spokane St.

From the bridge, we reverse our way back to Alaskan Way S and the Elliot Bay Trail. Bruce decides to add a little jaunt around the Belltown area on Clay St, 2nd St and Blanchard St. We head north on Dexter Ave through the Westlake area to the Fremont Bridge crossing on 4th Ave N.

There is a sign on the Fremont Bridge which designates Fremont as the Center of the Universe and a bicycle counter which shows the daily counts of bikes crossing the bridge.

Bruce saves the best for last and ends this tour with a steep climb up Troll Ave N to see the Fremont Troll under the Aurora Bridge-fantastic!

Much “THANKS” to Bruce for leading us on this fabulous tour around West Seattle and “THANKS” to Becky for keeping an eye out on us! We had a wonderful ride with great company and good food-Life is great!

Garmin Stats:
43.87 miles with 1588′ of elevation gain
Max elevation: 142′
Max grade: 11%
Terrain: Mostly flat with a few short steep climbs

Weather: RAIN! Overcast and cloudy skies with early afternoon showers. Temps ranged from the low 50’s to the low 60’s. S winds with 72% humidity

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I like people who smile when it’s raining.
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Follow this route for today’s ride: