I had signed up for a 10 am start, so leaving the house just after 8 it seemed like I would have no problems. Then a Mercer Island policeman pulled me over on I-90, and I thought that I was doomed. Fortunately, it was just because my tags had expired and he let me off with a warning.
The first control is open at an area called The Commons in Woodinville. I found a good parking spot in a park next to the Sammamish River Trail and then rode up to this place before 9:30. For once, I had time to eat a cinnamon roll and have a couple of cups of coffee.
By the time I hit the road at 10 am, it had warmed up a bit but was still foggy. The route had me get on the Sammamish River Trail, and I recognized where I was on that trail about the time that I got off of it near downtown Woodinville. I cruised through town on a nice road with a good bike lane, and then climbed for about a mile and a half up onto the ridge. From there, the roads were quiet and rolling, and soon the last of the clouds cleared away.
The road dropped down into a pretty valley full of farms, and the quiet roads continued as I approached Snohomish. I passed a group of four cyclists on a training ride headed the other way, and they all waved and called "hello." It was nice that they were friendly, but I could also tell that they were trying to figure out who this new randonneur (obvious because of the bags and lights on my bike) was. Seattle may have a lot of cyclists, but it's still a small community.
Control #2 is a popular one in the area -- the Snohomish Bakery at First and Union. Although I was not exactly cruising, I had plenty of time for another pastry and a cup of coffee. On the way out of town, I saw more cyclists coming in.
I retraced the same roads that I had used to get to Snohomish for a few miles, and then veered left towards the river.
This made for a long ride over gently rolling hills, with many flooded fields off to one side presenting a gorgeous view.
Many of the trees in Washington are coated in moss, so they look like they're wearing puffy green sweaters. Otherwise, this could have been a road in middle Tennessee.
Eventually, the route crossed over the river and got onto a multi-use trail that follows Hwy 203 in to Carnation. This was my least favorite "road" of the route, since the trail was small gravel that got slippy at about 15 mph on it -- and I was running 32C tires! Although it had a good number of cars, I would have preferred to have been on Hwy 203 here.
In Carnation, I stopped at another bakery for coffee and a pastry. This time, it was a bacon and cheese biscuit, so it probably passed for lunch. I sat outside the restaurant and ate, noticing that the wind had come up a bit and the temperatures felt cooler.
Leaving Carnation, the route was on more quiet farming roads.
Soon, I passed by the farm that the town is named after ... or is it that the farm and company is named after the town?
I considered it ironic that a company whose name is synonymous with powdered milk -- an abomination that I grew up with such that it ruined coffee for me until I was in my 20's -- would be so close to a city that has become synonymous with good coffee. But they also make evaporated milk, and you can't make a real cuban coffee without evaporated milk.
Just past this farm the route begins a nice 3.5-mile climb up onto another ridge -- Union Hill and Novelty Hill. Again, the roads were wonderfully quiet and most of the cars well-behaved.
I went by a bunch of huge homes owned by software magnates, and then enjoyed a fun descent off the ridge. Almost immediately, I was in downtown Redmond. The roads were decent, with good bike lanes and very little debris, and soon I was on another series of multi-use paths. For part of this I had to dodge and trackstand folks walking their dogs and babies on a sunny afternoon, and then I was back on the Sammamish River Trail.
I was hungry for real food by now, having promised myself pizza at a place that I had seen at the start at the Commons, so I put my head down into the now-stiff headwind and motored north. Another cyclist tried to grab my wheel after a mile or so, but I was too hungry to back off and give him a pull.
Back in Woodinville at the Commons, everyone was out enjoying the sunny day. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait too long at the pizza place and my belly was soon full again. I didn't think to get my card signed until the end, so my time on the route -- while official -- did not look good.
But in spite of my poor time, I had a good time.
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