Last Friday GO REDMOND held a "Bike Bash" event awarding commuters colorful GO REDMOND tee shirts. Though I'm retired and not much of a commuter I signed up for a ride on the 520 Bike Trail starting at Leary. My destination was Kirkland for an espresso at Rococo; but prior commitments confined my journey to 2 hours from my home on Education Hill.
On my PIM electric bike, I did it without a sweat.
The 520 Bike Trail was most interesting. Most of the road bicyclists struggled up the first hill. I cruised at almost 3x the speed -- and could have gone faster. They had to breathe the 520 exhaust fumes for a long time. I was out of there and soon high above SR520 and it's noise.
My first stop was a Microsoft water station serving iced water infused with fruits. On 148th Ave. NE I met a Honeywell worker biking to Burger King. I passed quite a few Microsoft pedestrians walking briskly from one office to the next; but no electric bikes. Those guys were probably already at their office from the Seattle burbs.
Had I more time, I could have easily ridden by pedal assist to Seattle and seen some of the sights. However, I did savor the fries at Burgermaster! The bike trails are well marked with way-finding signage. On my way into Kirkland I saw a "Lake Washington Loop Trail."-- youser!
Kirkland is not a bike friendly town. There's a nasty intersection at Lakeview and Lake Washington Blvd. Lake Washington Blvd. is dangerous the whole way with cars parked inches from the bike lane. Only one door has to open from the inside, and smack. The espresso was a delight but the ride from Kirkland up 85th was terrible and I couldn't have done it safely without my PIM. Ascending Education Hill was a breeze. I made it home with time to spare while tapering my pedal-assist to an
exercise plan.
The GO REDMOND tee-shirts are colorful and cool! Their website is too! I can't wait for my next commute! 😎
B. Yoder
On my PIM electric bike, I did it without a sweat.
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| 520 Trail - yellow specks are struggling road bikers. My PIM is front center |
My first stop was a Microsoft water station serving iced water infused with fruits. On 148th Ave. NE I met a Honeywell worker biking to Burger King. I passed quite a few Microsoft pedestrians walking briskly from one office to the next; but no electric bikes. Those guys were probably already at their office from the Seattle burbs.
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| Love them fries! (click to enlarge) |
Kirkland is not a bike friendly town. There's a nasty intersection at Lakeview and Lake Washington Blvd. Lake Washington Blvd. is dangerous the whole way with cars parked inches from the bike lane. Only one door has to open from the inside, and smack. The espresso was a delight but the ride from Kirkland up 85th was terrible and I couldn't have done it safely without my PIM. Ascending Education Hill was a breeze. I made it home with time to spare while tapering my pedal-assist to an
exercise plan.
The GO REDMOND tee-shirts are colorful and cool! Their website is too! I can't wait for my next commute! 😎
B. Yoder
Fascinating and well written story, Bob, and I liked the photos, too.
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining the fun at Bike Bash, Bob! It was great to see you. Keep on biking Redmond and let us know if we can ever be of assistance.
ReplyDeleteJill - Go Redmond