Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Granite Falls and Arlington II (2015-01-24)

Another excursion out in the Sonohmish County foothills. I'm not too happy with the blurriness in some of the photos, and will make sure to take multiple shots each time from now on, as I had been doing in the past.

And, of course, some related albums:

More after the break…

Outbound

I started at about 05:00, and didn't forget my camera! I took the typical route north out of Seattle and King County.

I was happy about being able to locate and trigger all of the stoplight sensors in Shoreline. It's been a pain point for me for years now.

After last week's ride and discovery that the leather part was more comfortable, I did indeed get the new seat post. Unfortunately, moving onto the leather significantly changed the fit, which would be a problem throughout the ride.

When I got to Everett, I took a different route to Snohomish, this time on the north side of the Snohomish River. This also involved using the Hewitt Avenue Trail for a bit.

I then followed little roads along the way. I had to do a bit of manual wayfinding, though.

I also saw a familiar sight, though from the other side of the river.

The road along the river seemed to be a victim of washouts, as there were gravel bits along the way.

After going over a notable hill, I made my way into Snohomish proper. There was a bit of a bike trail. While in that area, I saw a group ride go by.

I ended up skipping Rock City Cafe and got a smoothie at a trailside cafe thing inside of a small gym.

I then proceeded along the Centennial Trail, leaving it at Machias Way and headed out towards Forest Glade along the little road out there.

Next, I continued to Robe Menzel road, where I hung a left to head north. It's really quiet around that area.

(I do realize there's overexposure in the above photo, and will be mindful when using manual mode for panoramas in the future.

I eventually made it to Granite Falls, where I stopped at the local supermarket for water and a caramel apple.

From there, I followed the South Fork Stillaguamish on Jordan Road and stopped at the familiar pedestrian bridge.

I continued north along the road, taking note of the same waterfall I saw last time.

It was under construction last time, likely for the widening.

Eventually, I made it up the last two big hill climbs.

And then got on SR-530 at an intersection where the lights were out.

Thankfully, I didn't have much trouble making the left as traffic was light.

Before the last climb into Arlington, I stopped by Twin Rivers Park.

And then I stopped at Legion Park for water as usual.

Inbound

The ride back south was a lot lower-stress. I even had the privilege of taking off my muddy shoe covers!

As always, the trail was really easy. Due to the earlier rain, there weren't too many folks out. At this point, I had figured the trick of pointing my toes up in order to temporarily 'fix' the fit.

I hit the Rock City Cafe for coffee as has been the norm. The barista recommended I get a punch card, and even punched it a few times extra since she knew I stop by the shop fairly often.

I then headed south via SR-9, before making a right onto SE 152nd St. Unfortunately, the street dead-ended despite what my directions said, but I was able to hang a right to make my way to Cathcart Way instead of having to backtrack.

It was indeed quite nice. I was able to take the bike lane all the way to Bothell–Everett Highway, where I made a left onto another bike lane which I took all the way to Bothell, where I stopped to visit my parents.

Then, I headed to downtown Bothell via the same highway. Things sure have changed a lot over the past few months! If it hadn't been so dark, I would've taken some photos. There are certainly chances in the future for that.

Once I got to the BGT, I did indeed start fiddling with the fit.

Unfortunately, I didn't have much luck due to being afraid to go too far in any direction.

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