I'm coming to Seattle on business this week; staying in Bellevue right off the 520. I'll be free in the evenings probably after 5 or so, and would love to hook up with someone who knows the area roads for a 35-50 miler twice this coming week, likely on Tues and Thurs, maybe a lake loop and a climb up cougar (never done either). I know I could pick my way around the lake by map, but I hate stopping to consult a map every few intersections when I need to get miles in. I hold a 17-20 pace with draft sharing and hills. If anyone's interested please let me know, I will return the favor if you come to PDX.

Thanks in advance

Poprad,

I ride in a group ride that might be what you're looking for. We ride 16-18 on the flats, ride 20-35 miles, and do a lot of hills (1000' - 2000'). We often get in a few miles of pacelines on the trip back to the starting point.

Leaves at 6:30PM Tue/Thu from Lot K at Marymoor park (near the tennis courts on the west side of the park). It's a cascade bicycling club ride named "Eastside tours". More details here:

http://www.cascade.org/EandR/Activities_Calendar_RDetail.cfm?eventID=10640

I might also be up for a climb up zoo hill (aka cougar mountain) - I haven't been up yet this year - assuming my rib is healed up enough. Not sure which lake you are talking about riding around - Lake Washington is about 55 miles around. It's an okay ride but you spend a lot of time on a MUT, which means you need to deal with other riders, walkers, skateres, etc., and it's not terribly exciting. You can also ride around Lake Sammamish, which is about 25 miles.

Poprad, Another ride you can do without looking at a map too much is to head down to the I90 bike trail, take the bridge over to Mercer Island, and do a lap around Mercer Island. Whole thing from where you are staying ought to be 25 to 30 miles.

The Bellevue City bike map (on the Bellevue City website) will show you how to get down to the bike path. You don't spend much time on the path itself; most of this is on public roads where you can motor right along.

. Not sure which lake you are talking about riding around - Lake Washington is about 55 miles around.

You can cut the lap around Lake Washington in half by cutting across I90...from your hotel the "South Loop" would be about 35 to 40 miles. Look on Bikely.com for something like "Lake Washington South Loop," or the website of the Seattle Bicycle Touring Club. You will have to look at a map a bit.

Sorry I can't join you for the rides...I would slow you down anyway!

Thanks to both of you for the info...depending on when I get done tomorrow I might try to find that group ride, or just do a couple loops of L. Sam. I'm pretty close to that one; is that loop road around the lake OK for riding?

I'd definitely be down for the Cougar Mtn ride as I have heard so much about it. If you're serious hit me on a PM and we'll set a meet. I'd prefer Thurs, I'm still a little burnt from my Sun 100 miler for STP prep.

Thanks again, once again the Seattle riders provide quality local info.

T is that loop road around the lake OK for riding?

Yes. I think it works better to take it counter-clockwise, so that you're going south when you're coming down the west side of the lake...you have a painted bike lane in your favor that way.

Also, be aware that on the east side of the lake there is a bike path but it's gravel; you don't want that on a road bike. Stay on East Lake Sammamish parkway.

When you get to the North end, Marymoor Park, you cut through the park. Make sure you pay a visit to the Velodrome if you haven't seen it before.

Not that hard to figure out, but just in case:

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Lake-Sammamish


One more thing - just so you know -- the loop around Lake Sammamish is a nice ride but you don't see much "lake." It's really a nice long ride w/long stretches with no stoplights....gently rolling hills to flat...but don't expect a scenic view of the lake.

poprad, here's a route of the cougar climb in case you aren't sure where it is: http://veloroutes.org/bikemaps/?route=14584

also when you're on west lake samm. bike lane, be warned that you'll see riders coming at you! it's a bi-directional bike lane, for some odd reason..

+1 to mercer island, that's some of the most scenic road around.

Thanks again for all the advice; I managed to get in 2 decent rides while I was up there. I did a 2 lap run of Lake Samm (yep, very wierd seeing the riders coming at you on the wrong side of the road) and then a run up Cougar Mtn followed by a lap of the lake. Both rides were perfect training, I ended up doing Cougar the other way by going up Lakemont to Cougar Way until I hit gravel. Is there any advantage to going up the other route that you sent me?

Poprad,

I ride in a group ride that might be what you're looking for. We ride 16-18 on the flats, ride 20-35 miles, and do a lot of hills (1000' - 2000'). We often get in a few miles of pacelines on the trip back to the starting point.

Leaves at 6:30PM Tue/Thu from Lot K at Marymoor park (near the tennis courts on the west side of the park). It's a cascade bicycling club ride named "Eastside tours". More details here:

http://www.cascade.org/EandR/Activities_Calendar_RDetail.cfm?eventID=10640

I might also be up for a climb up zoo hill (aka cougar mountain) - I haven't been up yet this year - assuming my rib is healed up enough. Not sure which lake you are talking about riding around - Lake Washington is about 55 miles around. It's an okay ride but you spend a lot of time on a MUT, which means you need to deal with other riders, walkers, skateres, etc., and it's not terribly exciting. You can also ride around Lake Sammamish, which is about 25 miles.

Thanks for this tip Eric, I rode with the group on Thursday and what blast it was. I will be making Tue & Thur a routine from now on. Did you ride? I was riding a white/silver Cannondale wearing a Specialized jersey.

Derek

I ended up doing Cougar the other way by going up Lakemont to Cougar Way until I hit gravel. Is there any advantage to going up the other route that you sent me?

Nothing wrong with lakemont, but the zoo road is much steeper and is therefore the "bragging rights" climb. I actually think it's a little too steep to be a good training route most of the time, from that side of Couger, my favorite is actually Village Park Drive, which has better road/less traffic than Lakemont, but is low enough angle to do in the big ring most of the way...

For future reference, here (http://www.bicycleclimbs.com/ClimbLists.aspx) is a pretty comprehensive list of good climbs in the greater seattle area, organized by length and grade, most with some description.