WEEK 4 JANUARY RIDES PHOTOS #16-21

RIDES/PHOTOS #16-21

#16 January 22, 2021

Oh goody! An unexpected ride with Cindy. I was planning on my solo ride until Cindy decided to opt out of a small group ride she had been dithering about doing. My gain 🤗.

Mill Creek was again our venue as there are many nice routes in that area with little to no auto traffic. Plus — Cindy knows the area extremely well. At about nearing the end of our ride together (Cindy would head to her house, I would head to mine), we stopped for tea and crumpet (my crumpet was a scone, Cindy’s an apple turnover) at Bequest cafe’s outdoor table. 

The view from where we sat looked *almost* as if we could have been in Italy or a snicket (alleyway) in the UK. Cindy is off to the right there.

Gosh, first an outdoor table in *Paris*, now in Italy. And not needing to board a flight ;’-). Temps were in the low 40s today with only a few fleeting sun breaks while on our ride together. On my way home the sun shone bright in a beautiful blue sky, I took my sweet time for the ending of my ride to enjoy the last sunny miles.

#17 January 23, 2021

I knew I wanted to get out for at least a very short ride on this day because the forecast looked quite bad for almost the entire remainder of the month — low temps (30s), potential snow, ice, rain!! Though the forecast showed one day that MIGHT be dry with no precipitation the night before, we know we cannot count on long term forecasts, and this day could be my last ride for the month of January.

With the sun shining at noon, and the 28 degree earlier temp climbing all the way to 35, it was my time to ride. Short and sweet around the neighborhood where I found this little creature as a warning to others. This would do for my photo of the day. ;’-)

#18 January 25, 2021

As anticipated, the weather forecast of continual rain all this week has not held true 🤗. At least today would have weather good enough for a ride. So I did.

What I call my “Shawna Loop” was the route for the day as I have not ridden that one in a while.  Very light traffic is always a plus and so it was on this day. Remember Shawna who I met last July on my ‘Bicycle Ride and Seek’ hunting...

I wrote about her in my July 2020 post (July 7, Soldiering on into July). I named this route for her.

Not far from the spot where I had met Shawna, I pass this door and window to nowhere. Has got to me my photo for the day.

I stopped for a gander at our iconic goat. The goat is placed on top of a fence and changes periodically depending on the season or holiday or whatever strikes the owner. The local people who drive by on this well used road let it be known how much they apparently enjoy having the goat around. At one time it was stolen and our little local newspaper had a big article with people asking for its return. Quietly it did get returned, apparently in the middle of the night as it simply reappeared one day. The locals were happy.

At this time, s/he is appropriately masked ;’-).

Goat must have been active for Halloween.

#19 January 26, 2021

Another gift of a day — no rain ;’-). You can see by the blue sky in my photo for the day that it was quite the day for a nice bike ride.

My ride was short as I had an early afternoon appointment that I needed to get ready for. I often ride through and around the small airport near us, and today there was the opportunity for a photo with no cars in the parking lot. Don’t know why, but I would take it as it was. The wet pavement dried up quite quickly and added to the delight of the ride.

#20 January 27, 2021

First I was, then I wasn’t, then I was, then I wasn’t, then I did ;’-). Go for a ride that is. I was not looking forward to the time it takes to put on all my bad weather gear, feeling like the Pillsbury Dough Girl, gathering all my battery warmers, and getting ready to start riding in the cold gloom. It rained until mid morning, was very cloudy until early afternoon, and was nearing the time of day that I don’t like starting on a ride.

But...but...but “they” are saying we have many days of rain, clouds, cold and possible snow coming our way very soon — as in today. 😏. With that forecast I want to ride as many days as present for dry riding, and this afternoon was it for this day. 

I went out in some sun in 42 degrees (at least it climbed from earlier 37) and cut my ride shorter than usual, but rode for at least an hour. A very nice trail leads through the High School campus. Weekends or holidays, or pandemics, are really the only time you can ride the trail unless you go at night. There are a few rather nice bridges and I have posted one back in October that links to the Middle School This one is on the HS grounds.

#21 January 29, 2021

I must remind myself to take some time off from the bike periodically. Having had a full day off made today’s ride so very enjoyable! It did not feel like it was because my body needed rest, as I have not been doing strenuous rides. Far from it. I chose a bit longer route that would give me more miles than I have been doing, and I had a much better time riding. It must be a combination of time off the bike, and a route I do not do very often.

Anyway, I rode up to the trail that would take me to south 

Everett.

Beginning of the trail...

I am about to head DOWN this hill on the trail, and I/we (my riding buddies) choose a different route back to avoid riding UP it 😉. 

Once in town I crossed over a Main Street and scamandered through neighborhoods on surface streets rather than head back on the trail. Thus, making a loop rather than an out and back ride. Weather was ok with clouds, 40+ temps, no rain, no sun. All in all a good ride.

JANUARY

The last two days of this month have presented with much rain, and February is coming in with some soakers for the first week of the month 🤨. I will try oh so hard to get in rides when there is any kind of break in the raindrops ;’-).

It was a bit of a wet month, but many days allowed some bike riding, some more than others. Midway through the month we had 7.53 inches of rain measured in Seattle — “soggiest January ever” they said then. I have not heard what the measured rain was for the entire month. We live a little north of town, so may have gotten a bit less than that, but still — a lot of rain everywhere. For most of the month, the daytime temps were fairly good to us as they stayed in the upper 30s with many days in the low to mid 40s; even a few afternoons in the low 50s! For many of us who bike all year here in the PNW, temps anywhere in the 40s are welcome for a ride so long as there is not a ton of cold rain or icy conditions from overnight precipitation in freezing temperatures. 

Much of the month was cloudy, (yes the wettest, and the sixth warmest January in 77 years!!) but did have some sun breaks on many days, and when the sun does show no one loves or appreciates it more than we do here in the PNW! 

As we end this first month of the new year with adults now leading our country, I will quote this from an article I read just a few days ago “I hope for a return to a common purpose for the common good, but struggle to see how we get there from here”. At least I feel (my opinion here) we have a better chance at that with our new President and Vice President at the helm. Gives us all hope.

 I will end with a couple of photos for the month.

Susan’s amaryllis bloomed a LOT.

 And we have a reminder here...


This young lady had something encouraging to covey for us.

See you all next month. 😉

WEEK 3 JANUARY RIDE/PHOTOS #10-15

NOTE: Apparently I have been stuck in 2020 — no worse place to be stuck!!! So now that I realize that, my photos should have the correct year indicated on them 😏. It is impossible to go back to change the year on previous photos. 🤨

#10 January 15, 2021

My bike was ready for pick up (recall my mechanical breakdown a couple of days ago) so we made a plan. Susan and I would drive to the bike shop and I would ride home, alleviating Susan of having to load up my bike, and allowing me my ride for the day ;’-). Plan worked great 🤗. 

I took some back roads through neighborhoods I am familiar with, some of which are part of regular routes I often ride. I veered off to go by this little pocket park. Little being the operative word here. You can see how small, as it is just about totally in the photo.

I added a few miles by riding through the Boeing plant but still the ride was much shorter than yesterday. Much hillier though, so it balances out. Similar weather with some sun breaks and this time some actual threatening clouds. Empty threats for this part of the day as there has been no rain ;’-).

#11 a & b January 16, 2021

Cloudy, damp and chilly today. After a zoom meeting this morning I geared up and rode around a longer route in my neighborhood. Stopped for the photo of this Green House which needs two photos.

Those are plastic pop bottles used for walls. Rather interesting I think, and probably very effective for a Green House.

#12 January 17, 2021

They said it would be sunny and in the mid to upper 40s today. Cindy and I did not see nor feel any of that on our damp and cold morning ride. Didn’t matter though as we did a short meander around the south Everett/Mill Creek area to the Nickel Creek Park to enjoy our tea and snacks. And of course a lot of chit chat ;’-)

I had ridden to Cindy’s house for our ride start, and arrived a little early. I ambled around her house and yard and found my photo for the day —  her front yard remains adorned with a “Christmas” tree.

Candles in the window shine a warm glow onto her front porch.

#13 January 19, 2021

I am NOT going to count the one mile (1 mile) I rode on Monday (yesterday as I write this). I thought it would be a good riding day until I walked out in the early morning and found how cold and damp it was. In the late morning I saw a sun drop and thought I might harness some of that for a neighborhood ride. I got on my bike and chose to ride alone rather than join Susan for the ride back to pick up the car from general maintenance work. A few pedal strokes was all it took for me to know I was not going to ride. I have been riding in cold damp weather for days, this day I just could not find the smiles for a ride. Often I would ride on, hoping it or I would be better and have ended up with a good ride. Not this day. Aborted plan and finished around our mile long block to get back home.

This morning (Tuesday) presented with early morning fog and temp at about 33. Ugh. I am an early rider, and by afternoon I have normally lost all motivation to get on my bike. When there was blue sky, bright sun and temp at 43, I could not resist.  

Not a lot of miles, but plenty of smiles behind my mask for a bimble around the neighborhood and through the Village Center.

#14 January 20, 2021

An aside: CELEBRATE!! NEW PRESIDENT AS OF TODAY. ;’-)

I have not ridden the north end of the Centennial Trail for at least a year, mainly due to the Pandemic and not leaving home. It is about a mere half hour drive to the trailhead that allows a 25 mile round trip bike ride, but still away from home, and not wanting to ride that distance alone that far from home had kept me away. 

Today changed that as Cindy and I met at the trailhead and rode along the trail practically all to ourselves. The day was cloudy and on the cold side of 40, but we expected that and were well bundled against the weather. This part of the trail is a delight as it takes us through a lot more countryside than developed neighborhoods. The destination is always to get to the Nakashima barn at the very north end of the trail. 

Here are a few photos I took around the barn. The website will tell the story of the Japanese family who ran the farm, and for all purposes, were the owners (as Japanese they could not own property then). The family were gathered up  after the Japanese attack and the war began, and put into internment camps.

SEE STORY HERE

There are more photos to take along the trail, but these are the few I took, saving some for another day ;’-).

Big bike little bike.

Owl in a fence. Looks blurry but really is not.

The town of Arlington, a bit south of the barn, has several interesting murals. Here’s one; I am saving more for another day.

A marker on the trail through town. I cannot quite figure out the “10”. There are pole mounted mile markers all along the trail from 1 on the south end to 30 on the north end. The center of Arlington is about 8 miles south of the barn. The best I can do is surmise that this particular marker (there are a few more) is 10 miles south of the barn. I did not notice where these ground markers start or end. I will try to remember to make notice on my next ride here.

 

#15 January 21, 2021

Another cold damp morning. Well, it is January, and they are reporting it the wettest January in 77 years! I was not totally into riding today, but since the rain (and maybe even some snow) is well on its way for next week, I thought I should give it a try today. There was no rain, so I got my warm gear bundled on to me and spent a bit more than an hour meandering around our area, close to home.

Riding through the Village Center, this photo reminds me of a cold winter day in Paris where a writer or artist might be seated plying their craft. 

I was happy to get home after a short ride and enjoy my hot tea and cozy comfort of my couch ;’-)

WEEK 2 JANUARY RIDES/PHOTOS #6-9

RIDES/PHOTOS

#6 January 9, 2020

Having had temps in the 43+ range for the past couple of weeks, it was surprising to see 32 this morning with frost everywhere! Early morning bike ride plan was thwarted. ;’-(. I had in mind to start my ride early so to ride a little longer before needing to get home and ready for the 1:30 Seahawks game. So, at 10:00 with temp climbing to 35 degrees, I switched gears and got ready to ride closer to home for my short neighborhood route.

Thwarted again when my feet were slipping around on the slippery slick surface on the road in front of our house. It takes so much time and effort to get geared up with layers of clothes and head gear, and heating elements for fingers and toes for cold weather riding, and now I would have to do it all over again when temps increase a bit more.

Will 11:00 be the magic hour with 39 degrees in the sun? That will be the time for ime to try again.

So —- I will just go back and remember this...

11:00 did present with better riding conditions. Kinda. By the time I was on the saddle the clouds came by to cover the sun and I figured I would turn around for home if anything unsafe appeared. I would do as Cindy says and choose to live another day to enjoy another ride. I was sure to avoid the side roads that were very shaded, and carefully maneuvered around any wet/shiny places. Like this one...

That is ice in there.

This all caused me to ride shorter than usual, but safely. I went into the elementary school to check on the abandoned garden. Abandoned at least during the pandemic.

The sun was now out and high in the sky as I rolled into our garage shortly after noon. Shorter but a nice hour and a half on my bike.

#7 January 12, 2020

After two full days off the bike I was, shall we say ‘ready’ for a ride! The first day off was due to high lack of motivation, and it was dry with even a few sun spots later in the day. Myself was simply saying I did not want to ride that day. I try to listen to myself, so passed up a ride. The second day off was “legit” with tons of rain for the entire day. 

This morning brought some rain as well, but when our water gauge (a puddle on the the street in front of our house) showed no rain at about 11:00, I quickly got it together for my solo ride. The temp was 52 degrees, so I wore some lighter gear for today’s ride. I had some swift wind in a few places, but nothing too bad. The route took me on some quiet neighborhood roads and then to the back way to our county airport where many airplanes are in “storage” at this time. Today’s photo was taken near the Mukilteo City Hall that I pass on this route.

#8 January 13, 2020

Mechanical issues stopped my ride short 😖. I was just about half way and starting my route to home when my derailleur stopped working. Could not shift gears. That was not quite the disastrous happening for me on my pedal assist as the gear was now stuck in the easiest sprocket. BUT, what was I to do for my future riding! 

A not too long story a little shorter, Susan drove, I rode, to the bike shop where she took my bike into the the shop (I am, with Susan’s staunch agreement/insistence) staying out of all stores and shops. Fortuitously, I was planning to schedule a full maintenance for my bike as soon as I could get to it. This was sooner ;’-). My back up is —- using Susan’s bike while mine is at the doctor. 

My photo for the day ...

Another thing for today is that we had quite the storm last night that Susan and I slept through undisturbed. Trees were down, homes had lost power, there was debris strewn about on most roadways. This tree was closing the road.

Of course, when I saw the sign and knew why the road was closed due to the tree, I recalled all the downed trees we have scrooched around with our bikes and did the same here. On the other side a workman sitting in his truck told me that was “risky” because there are loose wires in there!! Although very nice, neither he nor the other workman sitting in the truck next to him had moved out of his truck to stop or warn me. I apologized to him and thanked him for the warning and kept beating myself up for being so stupid, but soon let that go when I thought about them not acting very concerned for me! Lesson learned — look UP for any downed wires when scrooching around downed trees.

One more photo today that caught my interest. A lone caboose on the tracks.

I have to include a part of an email Cindy sent to me after I had written to her about my ‘adventures’ for today: 

"Once again our intrepid cyclist Nancy finds herself in mortal danger on her bike ride... what could it be this time??  Downed trees, raging river... no, not even live power lines across the road 

#9 January 14, 2020

My ‘Cindy ride’ today — or rather my ride with Cindy today ;’-). Some clouds early, but they promised at least some sun for the day. And they were basically right. High fluffy white clouds that were not threatening of anything filtered the sun for much of our ride, but we got full sun and blue sky for at least a bit of the day. We scamandered around the Mill Creek area with a brief visit to Tambark Park before heading on for a “snack” at Bequest Cafe in the Town Center.

That’s Cindy — waaaay up there in the red. This is a park I/we have come to quite often with two differences today: we entered from the opposite end, thus coming in from the rear ;’-); there were NO people anywhere in the park. That was really a new phenomenon, because if not really busy there have been at least a few people milling about. Not on this day

My scone treat at Bequest. Yummy.

Great riding weather for January, great route, wonderful scone, and fantastic company. Life is good.

WEEK 1 JANUARY RIDES/PHOTOS (#2-5)

 RIDE #2

#2 January 3, 2021

After a soaker and high winds yesterday, this morning started with consistent rain. Forecast kept going back and forth for when to expect no rain. I finally gave up waiting and took a chance at mid morning when the rain had just about come to a stop. Once out and on my bike —— I had sun for my entire ride ;’-).

\

#3 January 5, 2021

Rain or wind for just about all day each day has kept many of us off our bike more times than we like! It had rained most of yesterday with a hint from the weather people that this morning would potentially be dry. Rain to come in late in the afternoon. I grabbed the morning window and went for a ride.

What I call my “Shawna Loop” takes me  just a little outside my neighborhood and today, offered a delightful time in the saddle. I tried out the new glove/mittens that Susan found to purchase online, and they were great in today’s 43 degree, damp weather. Below 40 degrees I think I will have to add hand warmers to the gloves, but today worked great without that addition.

#4 January 6, 2021

Imagine my surprise when I had sun for a good part of my ride today. Sun! And some blue sky as well. By the end of the ride the temp had reached 47 degrees. 

I got out at my same time (9:00) and was not certain that the rain wold not start again. But alas, no need for worry. Our golf course has a double hazard! Sandtrap AND water hazard all in one. I continued on into south Everett and then through the airport on my regular route returning home. A good day.

#5 January 7, 2021

Finally a ride with Cindy. We have had to cancel or reschedule many of our planned rides in the past few weeks due to weather, but today was ours for a grand day of cycling. I drove my bike  to Everett for our ride start from Garfield Park. We each packed our lunch for a stop at the gazebo in Snohomish as we have done in the past, but woe, there were people in OUR gazebo!! 

So we rode around town a little before heading on for the second half of our trip. We stopped at the picnic table, after getting our feet a little wet riding through the big puddles on the trail, in the park by the Lowell River. 

It is such a delight to have a rural ride through farmland and flood plains so close to home. The horses are always a welcome companion along Riverside Road.

Our first ride through some water is down there at the end of the bridge...

These dilapidated steps lead down to the slough under the bridge we are standing on.

Flood plains are covered with water in a lot of places. Here the horses reflect in the pool as they graze.

We entered town to find “our” gazebo occupied and so made a new plan for lunch. This was our decision spot ;’-). NO — we will not go down there ;’-0.

I see this big ol’ tree trunk many times when I bike through town, now was an opportunity to take a photo.

On the ride out of Snohomish, Cindy had noticed this sign which could not be passed by. Words to live by — or hope by at least.