Downtown Seattle To Kayak Park Century - Riding For Nothing But Fun

So today (Saturday) I was supposed to be riding a 200km permanent with Jack, Robert, and a bunch of other people I've been dying to ride with.. but I missed the damn ferry!! When I got up this morning my stomach felt weird, and that did nothing but slow me down and make me re-consider doing a 200k..

But with maybe 15 minutes to spare I headed out anyway, hoping my little stomach would clear up.. which it did, at least! But by the time I got to the ferry, it was too late. Missed the damn thing, not by more than a few minutes! So there I was downtown, at 6 AM, all dressed up (in Ibex wool), with nowhere to go. I figured I might as well get some miles in after all, even if it won't "count" towards a future award/medal.

Where to go? I had to keep all the recent flooding in mind, and how I heard that Highway 203/202 around Fall City was closed (blocking the route I know to North Bend, my first idea). I also heard that Carnation was an "island." Hmm, what do do?

Head north, I decided.

A little while ago I'd planned a rough route out to Kayak Park (west of Marysville), roughly 100 miles out n' back. And I had a rough idea of how to piece the route together, so I pointed by Pacer north and started pedaling. Here's the route I took: (zoom out a bit)

(And now I realize that I essentially shadowed the route I was supposed to be doing, but on the east side of The Sound)



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Photos

The Pacer in front of the Seattle Art Museum, at about 6:15 AM:
The Ostrich bag in motion - riding with it no-handed (and loaded) was actually pretty easy, I just had to look out for bumps.

Breakfast in Shoreline (this is that convenience store across from The Crest on 165th or so):

Now on Aurora Avenue (yes, that one, Highway 99). As I've said many times, it's actually not that bad - you get a turning lane to yourself for about 10 miles:

Now in Everett, on Grand Ave. Some nice views, even if everything was gray and there was light drizzle coming down:
Now at that little park looking towards Marysville & Marine Drive (across the water, where I'm headed):

Although the quickest way to cross that water is on Highway 529, and it's a real doozy - a few bridges you get to cross, and then you make the choice of using the super-narrow sidewalk, or the road itself. I chose the road:

But traffic was actually pretty light and nobody seemed to mind - and I didn't have to slow down to stay upright either:
Now heading west on Marine Drive in Marysville, I saw a cool old house (quite the contrast, starting in downtown Seattle):

Tulalip Tribes Police Station:

View of the woods along Marine Drive:
Marine Drive has a decent shoulder too:

But it also has a lot of ups and downs:

Now at Kayak County Park, overlooking The Sound (technically this is the Port Susan bay I think):

Looking northwest:

A very PNW shot:

After enjoying Kayak Park, you get to climb a short but steep section. I think this route would make for an interesting permanent and/or brevet:

An interesting sign from the Tulalip Tribes about buckling up.

A quick lunch of Sprite & a mystery-meat burrito - it really hit the spot!


Harvy's Bike Shop on Aurora in Lynnwood or so. Interesting place, but seemed geared towards BMX riding (although they did have a good Brooks selection, and a really packed interior):





So after heading out at about 6 AM, I returned to The Hill at about 3 PM.

Funny to think that one of my first big rides was a 12-hour affair (one way) up to Stanwood, using mostly this same route. Of course, that was on a hybrid bike w/ flat bars, and I hadn't ridden much at that point.

But it's nice to know that I can do almost the same route (out n' back) in the same time it took us to get up there! Progress.

You can find the photos in full size on flickr.