I grew up on Mercer Island in the 50's and 60's. I remember riding around the perimeter of the island on East, North, and West Mercer Ways. I'm going to be in the area this summmer, and was thinking about doing it again for old times sake.

1) Is it a worthwhile ride? How's traffic? Bike lanes?

2) How far is it?

Thanks!

its great and lovely!

1. yes. light traffic, north side is bike path, rest of island is sharrows (but every drives slowly and nicely)
2. 14-15ish miles. good for a few hours if you want to tour, or race it and do it a few times

check this out:
https://bit.ly/9MtmwN (google maps)

East Mercer Way is by far the most interesting parts with the nicely cambered S-curves. I like to do the loop counterclockwise so the S-curves are very slightly downhill.

Mercer Island is a very nice ride. If you have time, go one direction, then reverse and go the other. To me, it's very surprising how different the island seems by going to opposite direction.

BBT,

I think you and I discussed a couple of years ago that I live on MI and bike it daily. I've done the loop hundreds of times, and ride almost the entire length of West Mercer Way 2x a day.

It's a very nice ride; 1 out of 1,000 cars will be a little too itchy to get around cyclists, but for the most part cars expect to see bikes on the loop, so they're very respectful. The city has been discussing for years how to improve the shoulders around the island, because there simply isn't enough room for a good shoulder on both sides of the road all the way around the island. At one point there was a plan to get cyclists to ride clockwise around the island (so you'd be on the inside lane), so there is a bit more shoulder on the inside. However, I think most first-timers ride the island counter-clockwise, because that puts you on the outside with best views of the lake.

To me, it seems hillier going counter-clockwise. The two biggest hills are on West Mercer Way, and they're tougher when you're riding south to north than the reverse direction.

If you want to tack on a couple of extra miles, ride up the hill to the QFC shopping center at the intersection of 68th street and 84th Avenue South -- there is a Starbucks, sandwich store, and decent Japanese and Mexican restaurants where you can stop for lunch. There are also some very nice and short side trips along the way -- Clark Beach, Avalon Drive, Luther Burbank Park, etc. You could really spend a couple of hours poking around as you do the loop, especially if you do it in both directions, as recommended above.

Also, a very nice ride is to combine a loop of MI with a trip across the I90 bridge, then south along Lake Washington to Seward Park, loop around Seward Park peninsula, then back to MI.

Most importantly, if you want a riding companion, let me know!

BB

I'll just piggy back on...I ride MI All the time. I live in Newcastle and just jump across the East span of I-90. MI is my "go to" ride if I'm solo. It's super safe, tons of other cyclists, nice views...a mix of teams and rec riders. 4 loops will give you a half century and a fair amount of rollers....You'll need to head East to Cougar Mtn if you want to get your climb on.

I grew up there about the same time (I'm in Seattle now). My 2 bits:
The loop is very popular and you will see many cyclists if the weather is good. East and West Mercer Ways haven't really changed except for the northern access paths due to I-90. The shoulders are sometimes a little wider. North Mercer is quite different now because of the I-90 expansion, giving one several options for N. Mercer Way itself or on top of the "lid" path. I'm told the MIPD has been known to enforce stop signs on cyclists, maybe more likely in good weather.

The Samoa is gone.

Anyone have a good link or Garmin connect to the route around Mercer? Or is it as simple as following Mercer Way Counter-Clockwise (for the good views)?
Would starting on 77th by Veloce Velo bike shop be a decent start and end spot?

Yes, please always start and stop your rides at our shop!

Seriously though, you are always welcome to park at our shop and ride around the Island to your heart's content. Come in and use the bathroom, fill up your tires and/or water bottle, and there will never be any pressure. Just take 77th Ave up to North Mercer Way and you can head East or West from there.

We're trying to find some other routes around the middle of the Island that flow nicely into the outer loop. SE 53rd is a really nice grinder of a hill, but doesn't reconnect very easily back on to E Mercer Way so it's just an up and back down.

Last week I went mountain biking down in Pioneer Park. I had no idea that Mercer Island also has some great mountain trails too!

Pretty simple. Here is a Garmin Connect Route that just happened (ahem) to be done from/to Veloce Velo...I rode with the shop guys for a nice relaxing group ride in this instance.

https://connect.garmin.com/player/50463221

I can't add a whole lot to the long timers here, but this route is scenic and a great way to tack 14 miles onto an endurance ride. Cyclists and motorists are extremely helpful to broken down riders. A wicked nice couple from East Mercer Way actually drove me all the way to Greenlake. I was soaked AND filthy, but they loaded me in their Lexus and hauled me over the bridge anyway.

...which brings me to a question for ghunter. How is it the locals don't know about you? Everyone I've talked to when me or my buddy needed help said "No bikeshops on the island!"

They just opened the location on MI at the end of August.

Thanks everyone. This is great! My brothers and I used to think one lap around the island was pretty great. We used to put sandwiches in our baskets and eat while riding. We thought making the whole loop without stopping was pretty awesome! The Samoa is gone?!! I remember when it opened. We thought it was a big deal because they were the only place on the island to get soft ice cream. We used to stop in there special all the time for a soft ice cream cone. How about Arts? Ben Franklin? Tradewell? They're probably gone too, huh? Time marches on..

gone, gone, gone, gone.

We do have 6 Starbucks, though -- two standalone stores on the north end; one standalone store on the south end, 3 Starbucks mini-cafes inside grocery stores. And a Tullys. We pretty much survive on coffee.

Believe me, I've tried to blitz our name everywhere I could on Mercer Island!

A great time to get acquainted would be our annual super-sale which happens tomorrow morning (Saturday 20th). I'll be in the Mercer Island store all day.

Mercer Island, thankfully, still has the Roanoke. when the Denny's pulled out, it limited the number of establishments you could imbibe at on Mercer Island significantly.

The Roanoke is world class, in a world class Wisconsin fishing lodge kind of way.

BBT, did you make the trip to Mercer Island?

Nope. My schedule was too tight. I was in Edmonds, then off to Montana. The Great Divide Route was awesome but arduous. Every day was a grind - grunting up in my lowest gear and many times resorting to walking my bike when it was too steep - for as long as 3 miles.

Did you write a thread, post or blog about your Great Divide tour? I missed that...

I'm going to be putting together a journal. I've been procrastinating and getting other chores done. It always seems that when I get back from a month on the road there is a long list of things around the house that need doing. I'll get it done. I started it here - just stuff while I was planning so far - but this is also where it will appear when I get it compiled.

thanks, I bookmarked the journal so instead of bugging you for details I'll just wait for you to finish it. thanks.