InvisibleRider

Well i still don't have a bike but was just thinking what are some good beginners cycling routes in and near Seattle ?

jdgesus 

welcome!

first i would just ride around on the burke gillman, its often pretty full of ppl walking and riding, but its flat and mellow and you can stretch it into as long as you want, with tons to see and do along the trail.

InvisibleRider

ah ok great.. thanks.

Old'N'Slow

If you get out east of downtown Seattle, the routes are plentiful.

From the loop around Mercer Island, to the loop around Lake Sammamish and a lot of points in between, about the only limiting factor is time. Once your fitness improves, there are some great rides to be found that incorporate climbing...

BigBlueToe

When I was a kid we would go to Green Lake every Sunday and ride around. When I went back with my kids (they were 5 and 7 at the time) we rode around once and roller-bladed around once. To me, the path around Green Lake is Seattle's version of the path at Venice Beach in L. A. You see a sampling of Seattle's people, often quite interesting. It's a short ride, however. It's fun for kids and probably for beginning riders. For me, today, however, I would be barely getting started when I'd finished the circle once.

I rode with a friend a few years ago. We went from that park that used to be the army base northwest of Queen Anne Hill (name?) We went through The Locks, past Archie McPhee's, then up through neighborhoods until we got to the Interurban Trail. They were still building the Interurban then (is it finished yet?), but there was a nice bike overpass over Aurora. We stopped in Shoreline. It was a nice ride, and very nostalgic to someone (me) who grew up in the Seattle are and moved to California 25 years ago.

zoltani

I did a similar ride to BigBlueToe's a couple of weekends ago.

Started downtown and road the trail along the waterfront to Discovery Park (the old naval/army/whatever base) then headed to the Locks and checked out the fish screen, then on to Ballard, finally hitting the BG trail towards Lake Washington. I enjoyed it because it took me to places I haven't yet explored in Seattle.

For that ride I had a general idea of the route, but decided not to take a map and just went where it looked interesting, and followed bike signs along the way. The locks were a nice surprise as I hadn't planned on crossing them, actually I was even unaware of their existence. Sometimes tossing the map and "getting lost" is the way to go

Seattle Forrest

Borrow one! Or look to Craigslist.

The Burke Gilman Trail is great for beginners especially, because it's flat, it's scenic, and it takes you through a lot of different neighborhoods, giving you chances to stop off and check stuff out, get a bite to eat, or whatever floats your boat. This is anywhere from a block up to around 30 (?) miles.

Alki and the West Seattle waterfront are wonderful. You can make it as flat or hilly as you want, watch all the people, enjoy the view of mountains seeming to rise up out of the water... I think if you start by the bridge, you can go about 15 miles until you have to start climbing hills or turn back.

I like to go from Pioneer Square up the waterfront through Myrtle Edwards Park to Smith Cove. Again it's pretty flat, and incredibly scenic. You can either climb up toward Magnolia and drop through the Locks, or go up into Queen Anne. This is probably less than 10 miles of flat.

Lake Washington Boulevard is part of one of my favorite rides. It's pretty flat from its closest point to Madison Park, down to Seward Park, and 10 miles or so.

InvisibleRider

wow! sounds very interesting to me.

zoltani

I'm gonna throw this out here as it has to do with routes around seattle.

Has anyone taken the ferry to bremerton and cycles around kitsap peninsula? It looks stunning on google maps/street view.

Also, what would you know about possible locations for wild camping on the peninsula? Is most the land private? Surely it's possible to find a little spot out of the way for a night. I'd like to turn the loop into an overnight camping trip/tour.

crackerdog

Many years ago when I lived in Seattle, I used to bike up to Edmonds, take the ferry, ride down to Winslow by whatever route looked good to me that day, then come back. It is great to live in a large city and yet be able to get out to more rural areas without a car. When I felt more ambitious, I would ride to Olympia and then come back and catch the Bremerton ferry to Seattle.

BengeBoy 

Yes, I have done that -- had a great day.

I've got a link around here somewhere....

...here it is. Last June; 102 miles for the day (from my house to the ferry, then around the Peninsula). Just doing the ride around the Peninsula would be 60-ish miles, plenty of ways to shorten the loop.

Very nice ride.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...port-w-pics%29

Northwestrider

The trail along the green river is a nice easy ride with plenty of diversions along the way if one is ready for a break, shops and restaurants etc.

woodway

Yes, it is a nice trail when it is not covered with giant sandbags. More here:

https://www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_ki.../63626862.html

SeattleGuy

Check out the seattle bicycle club route map section. They have a number of routes, along with maps, mileage and directions. It's very simple and easy to read yet very precise and well organized. A few of my favorite areas for really nice puget sound water views and relatively lightly traveled streets/off street: Magnolia bluff, discovery park, bike path from ballard locks to golden gardens.