BengeBoy 

The bike "season" officially opened this weekend in Seattle with the Seattle bike swap (yesterday) and the Chilly Hilly bike ride (today), a 33-mile loop around Bainbridge Island that lies a short ferry ride across the water from downtown Seattle.

Some years the Chilly Hilly has had snow; usually there is at least a threat of some showers; but after a bit of rain overnight it cleared up today and was 45 degrees first thing in the morning, warming to nearly 60 degrees by mid-morning. The ride was really packed this year -- the organizers estimate 5,000 riders were going to participate, but since the weather was so great it could have been more.

I rode from home (about 11 miles), then caught the ferry over. For this ride, the ferries are always packed with bikes:



It's hilly; a couple of really big ones and lots of little ones like this:



This is the end of a long downhill; you can't see the steep part up around the corner. My speedometer says I hit 44.8 mph coming down this hill.



View of downtown Seattle from Bainbridge Island:



We're getting an early spring - note the blossoms on the trees (this is the site of the post-ride chili feed):



After the ride, going home across the Interstate 90 floating bridge -- this is looking east, riding away from downtown Seattle toward the East Side suburbs, with Cascade range in the background. There is a bike lane attached to the bridge you see in front.

This is also my daily commute into downtown, and I think I've shown fotos from this spot many times before:





All in all, a good day -- 54 miles in all for me (including the 33 on the "official" ride). Brings my year-to-date total just over 1,000 miles. We've had an unusually warm year so far but this was the warmest day yet.

Bike season now open!

BluesDawg

Nice photos. Looks like a lot of fun. Glad the weather cooperated. Seeing all those riders has me itching for an organized ride. I had to pass up on one I was planning to attend yesterday as I have been fighting a cold and was not up for a 35 degree start. Looks like you are having warmer weather in the NW than we are having in the SE.

ecrider

Nice photos and a great start on your mileage to date. Looks like a good quality of life there.

tsl

Me too. My club's first ride of the season is Saturday the 13th.

I'm hoping the snow melts by then. I hate being the only one to show up at a ride on a bike.

Shp4man

Looks like a fun ride. It's nice to talk to like minded people.

zacster

I always wanted to do that ride but for some reason never did. It looks great.

BigBlueToe

Thanks for sharing. I hope I get to do that ride someday. It sounds like fun. It will probably have to wait a few more years until I retire. That view across the lake to Mercer Island brought back memories. (You're always doing that to me, BengeBoy!) I used to ride across the old bridge to watch the hydroplane races. I used to drive across that span several times a week.

Kojak

Benge, do you live on the rock, or do you go all the way across the east channel bridge?

I used to commute across that bridge nearly daily. I miss Seattle. Victoria is nice, but my heart is still in the Jet City.

BengeBoy 

I live on The Rock (South End). BTW, I commute on Schwalbe Supreme's - great tires for city commuting.

As you might imagine, I get across the East Channel bridge all the time.

BengeBoy 

The route will still be there when you visit Seattle in May! It's really a fun ride in nice weather; there are some good restaurants in the little business district just off the ferry in Bainbridge Island, and also a bike shop, Classic Cycles, with a bike museum in the back (some truly classic bikes).

The Chilly Hilly organized ride itself is fun, but kind of a zoo. Thousands of riders, a fair number of whom get surprised by the steepness of the hills -- they get going too fast on the downhill side, and then run into trouble on the uphill parts. Lots of people suddenly stopping on the hills, walking, struggling to unclip, etc. I promised myself last year I wouldn't do it again but I've decided its such a tradition that I should just show up to enjoy the crowds.

Retro Grouch 

That looks like a nice route. We've got grandkids in Seattle now (daughter and son-in-law too) so I'm more motivated to visit than previously. Our new tandem is going to be a take-apart so an $800.00 bike bag and whatever tribute the airline demands and we're good-to-go. Does that sound to you like kind of an expensive bike ride?

zacster

If you want a zoo, try doing the Bike New York 5 Borough. You walk on the flats on that one because it gets so slow.

I was considering a ferry ride over to Bainbridge for one day of riding. Maybe I'll get a route map for that ride as I always get a bit lost over there. My girlfriend at the time I lived there also was from there and she had friends with some really nice places on the waterfront.

riversiderider

Here is a link to the map of the ride https://www.cascade.org/EandR/chilly/CH_details.cfm.

The Island is great very bike friendly. Some great restaurants as well.

Ride Safe