Good road for fitness test in W. WA?

[Old_Crow]

Any good ideas for a smooth uninterrupted stretch of road for a fitness test? A nice shoulder and low traffic would be a plus. 10 miles up a slight grade with no stops would be fantastic but a flat, shorter out & back route would work too. I had thought 410 might work well but was trying to think of something closer to Seattle/Eastside.

TIA!

[BengeBoy]

How about:
- Cedar River Trail, starting in Renton? If you take it toward the Southeast it's a very slight grade uphill.
- Loop around Mercer Island (not flat, but you can generally get in 12 miles with no stops)
- East Lake Sammamish Parkway

[Old_Crow]

Thanks, I'll check out the Cedar River Trail. I'm very familiar with E. Lake Sammamish (used to live a block above it) and would like something smoother. Mercer is fun but the rollers would make it tough to hold a steady-state output. I need to do a threshold test w/ the new Powertap. It's going to be ego-damaging enough without doing it on bad roads...

[BengeBoy]

I've only ridden the Cedar River Trail once but I think for your purposes it's better than the other two I thought of. I rode it on a pretty cold day and had it almost to myself; I imagine that it gets crowded during nice weather.

[rnorris]

Hmm, getting a truly uninterrupted smooth, big 10-mile climb pretty much sounds like "mountain pass", either 410 or I-90 east of Front Street in Issaquah where it's legal to ride on the interstate. Not exactly traffic light, though. Wish I knew a route like that somewhere in King County.

[norsehabanero]

there is some nice roads around yakima if you are ever over this way

[Old_Crow]

I totally forgot about I-90. Dawn patrol on Sunday might work...

...but, I'll probably just head down to 410. I love that area anyway. It just feels strange to be going there without my snowboards.

Thx!

[BengeBoy]

As a native Midwesterner, I'd just like to point out that it's notable that none of us can think of a flat, straight road without going all the way to Yakima. :eek:

In my hometown, the directions to a flat, straight 10-mile ride would be:

"Go to end of driveway. Turn right. Or left."

[Daveyboy]

If you don't mind going north a bit, there's a great road between Everett & Snohomish called the Lowell Snohomish River Road. It's 6 miles along the Snohomish River, pretty flat with a very slight rise in the middle. Nice wide shoulder for most of the way.

They hold the Frost-Bite Classic time trial there every February.

A good place to park and start is Rotary Park in Lowell (http://www.mapquest.com/maps/%5B3500-3519%5D+Lowell+Snohomish+River+Rd+Everett+WA+98208/).

[Packeteer]

If you really want to make sure its a steady path you could ride on the velodrome at marymoor park in redmond. I go on there on my road bike to do sprints so i dont have to battle traffic in oxygen debt. It does get too boring for me if i do anything longer than a sprint.