Tuesday, January 5, 2016

It's an Ice Day to Ride (2015-12-31)

I tried to complete the reverse foothills loop, but there was too much ice on the rural side. I had to fight the cold, but I couldn't fight the ice.

I've tried to complete the route once before, but didn't find success that time or this time due to frigid weather.

More after the break…

Outbound

I started at about 05:00 or so, heading out along the Burke-Gilman Trail. I was fine for a while, but eventually lost the ability to grip the bars well, so I went to the Starbucks in Lake Forest Park for coffee and a warm place to wait until sunrise.



A little while after sunrise, I continued east along the BGT, but stopped again due to weak hands again. I wasn't the only cyclist out, though.

While there, I saw the first of the drinking fountains that weren't working. I'd see them not working at all the parks on the Sammamish River Trail further southeast, too.

Even so, I continued southeast, not really seeing any ice at all on the trail. Every restroom I saw was closed because of vandalism, though.

Once at Marymoor Park, I decided to go along the West Lake Sammamish Parkway to avoid any potential ice on the East Lake Sammamish Trail. Unfortunately, ice is exactly what I found on the shoulders of that road, which I took as a harbinger of things to come.

Rather than having to deal with dodging ice in traffic, I decided to turn back, but not before stopping at Marymoor Park.

Inbound

I essentially retraced my tracks to head back home, though I did stop to get some photos of the right of way northwest of the Renton Connector Trail.

And then I headed back up the Sammamish River Trail.

As noted before.

After riding all day on my new frame, I noticed a bit of familiar discomfort. Tracking down a bike shop open on New Year's Eve, I continued along my route home.

I ended up choosing Counterbalance Bicycles for a stem. While there, I chatted a bunch with the mechanic and picked up a bunch of stuff I've been needing, and had some necessary maintenance taken care of.

From there, I simply headed home via the BGT. Thanks to the Sun, it was warm enough without needing anything special to get home.

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