Saturday, February 13, 2016

Arlington Sans SR-9 (2016-02-06)

I wanted a route for tuning this bike's saddle position, as I'm sitting on it in the intended way now. Pretty much: minimizing long, steep climbs, which threw out SR-9 through Clearview.

More after the break…

Outbound

I started at a little after 05:00 and headed straight up the hill that is North Seattle, then took the Interurban Trail to Lynnwood before leaving it in favor of my typical route to Everett.

When I got to Everett, I didn't use the Interurban Trail, instead taking a route along nearby roads. When I got to Everett, I stopped at the Petite Sweet Bakery for a bear claw and some tea.

I sat next to a table of older gentleman, and we had a friendly chat while I ate. When I got up to leave at the same time they moved the table to be adjacent to theirs, they said that they weren't trying to scare me off. They moved the table because their friend was there to join them. Said friend said that they were surprised to find a stranger sitting in the chair that would've been across from them. They gave me a kind farewell as I left.

From Everett, I headed north along SR-529 to Marysville, then cut over to a side street to head further north. After all, State Street (old US 99) is no fun!

After a little further riding north, I hit Arlington and came across the Eagle Festival.

To get to the real far point of my ride, I went through downtown, across the South Fork Stillaguamish River, and to Twin Rivers Park.

The park was rather muddy.

And the restrooms were closed.

Trying to find a good photo location, I found a path to the river.

Inbound

I then headed back through Arlington, coming across the free wagon rides advertised for the Eagle Festival.

And then I rode past what used to be some sort of industrial park, which is being converted into a business park.

After another saddle adjustment, I thought I found the perfect spot, albeit just the tiniest bit too high. I laid on the power and zipped down the Centennial Trail.

I stopped for a smoothie and some tea at Grilla Bites when I passed through Snohomish.

Then I followed the north bank of the Snohomish River into Everett. Once in Everett, I took my usual route back to the Interurban Trail.

Then left it shortly after to meander over to Bothell–Everett Highway, which I took south all the way to Mill Creek.

And then I took it further to Bothell to visit my folks for a little bit.

And finally, I took it all the way to downtown Bothell, before switching over to the Burke–Gilman Trail, which I took all the way home.

By the time I got to the U District, my legs had no more strength left for the non-ideal saddle position.

Once home, I was done for the day, as were my shoes.

I have a new set of shoes on order.

In the end, after all of my messing around, I the fit guy I normally see said I got it pretty much right, even though it didn't feel right.

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