Friday, March 22, 2019

Frager Road (2019-03-16)

Finishing up what I would've done in "Sumner Out and Back" if I'd been feeling better.

More after the break…

Outbound

This ride started largely the same as last time: I left at about 05:15 and headed south. Unlike last time, however, I didn't need to progressively add layers to stay warm.

I stuck to the exact same route, which is why this new railing at the end of the old bridge across the Green River caught me off guard, and had me wondering if my past ride is what prompted locals to push for said railing.

After meandering for a while on the Green River Trail, it was a straight shot down the Interurban Trail until the two met again.

Inbound

Inbound

As always, the Frager Road route started with a short bout on the Green River Trail. This time, however, I decided to take a look at the west end of the little bridge across the Green River…which was just a park.

Green River Bridge: The western end is a gravel path.
Green River Bridge: The western end is a gravel path.

Then I took the usual route over to Frager Road, which was what I was originally planning to do last time.

Frager Road
333fab and Mount Rainier

As usual, it didn't disappoint.

333fab at Old Fishing Hole
Old Fishing Hole
Frager Road
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Great day for #cycling so far.

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Frager Road ends in Kent, so I crossed the Green River via the usual bridge and continued along the Green River Trail. At this point, I had one of the best rhythms I've ever had while cycling and was keeping quite a brisk pace!

I ended up with an overpowering exercise high by the time I was mostly through Tukwila and had to sit and eat for a bit at a park.

After that, I wasn't able to keep the same pace as I headed up through South Park back to Seattle.

Fish Sculpture
South Park Bridge: I never got to ride across the old South Park Bridge.

Following the route I'd planned for last time, I went though downtown Georgetown and via Airport Way back to Downtown. By the time I was largely through SoDo, I felt like I could really use something sweet to eat, so I stopped at what used to be the local Tully's. I was sure surprised when the owner told me to bring my bike in while I was locking my bike outside!

Groove City Coffee: The owner told me to take my bike in when I was looking into locking it up.  Wow!

My route continued along Airport Way, and I was hoping to take 4th Avenue through Downtown, but there was a Saint Patrick's Day parade going on, so I had to switch to using 2nd Avenue instead.

St. Patrick's Day Parade Preparations: Had to avoid 4th Avenue because of the festivities.
Keystone Kops: Had to avoid 4th Avenue because of the festivities.

The last thing I did was make a quick stop at FreeRange Cycles to order a new crankset to allow for a more normal cassette and the ability to stay closer to the center of said cassette.

It was pretty nice getting out on a day with good weather after so long, but I sure was tired at the end!

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