Hello! I'm new too.

Hi. First off, I'm a guy, married to AbvnX (also on this board). I've been starting to take cycling a lot more seriously. My primary bike is a Haro Escape A7.0, MTB. I have it configured with a 50/39T Chain wheel, and a 11/44T cassette (9x).

I enjoy going off road a lot, but have trouble finding locations in riding distance, though my riding distance is increasing.

I'm trying to ride from Redmond to Renton and back every day for my transit. (17.5 miles one way). My trouble is making the connections in the route following the 405 south from Bellevue. I'm worried about taking a wrong road, and with the Seattle area weather, not being able to tell direction.

Off Biking perspective: I'm vegan and loving it, I have lots of cats right now, and a large dog. I teach XBox programming at the Bellevue Community College, and work FT at Wizards of the Coast (owners of D&D, Pokemon & Magic: The Gathering). I also enjoy writing fantasy fiction, playing Guitar/Piano, Soccer, Volleyball, Ki-Ball, Amateur Photography and Rock Climbing.

Welcome, I am new to this forum as well. Been cycling (road) for many years, but this looks like a good place to learn something new.

Hi, I am new too. I've been into bikes for a year now. I started out with fixing up a couple 50's middleweight cruisers. They were fun projects but the bikes were too slow for riding on these rural Louisiana highways (I live right on a highway) so I got an 80's Schwinn Le Tour mixte on ebay. Haven't ridden it much due to a seriously evil saddle. I literally can't sit on it at all. Anyway, I ordered a brooks and it is on the way. I got a cheapie Bell saddle from WalMart to use in the meantime. It is not great but it's loads better than what was on there.
Nice to meet y'all : )

Hi and welcome! I'm vegan too for several years... Don't know how long you have been but feel free to hit me up with questions, etc.

hpdvs2,

get a map?

I'm not sure what to tell you about getting lost.

Bicycle Alliance of Washington has a "bike buddy" program where an experienced bike commuter mentors you and guides you through your commute. They also have a gazillion bike route maps. They might be a very good resource for you for your Renton to Redmond commute. http://www.bicyclealliance.org/

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Originally Posted by mimitabby

hpdvs2,

get a map?

I'm not sure what to tell you about getting lost.

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Good point, but I probably should have mentioned this: I have looked up many maps. It's easy to find a map of the roads, but the only trail maps I've found for the area are very low resolution, and when I went just south of the Bellevue Transit center, the bike trail broke up, and I couldn't figure out where it was supposed to continue. The trail map just shows a line that large enough to encompass several roads in that location, and doesn't show that it breaks up at all.

cascade bike club has some downloadable maps that should help you.
Please use their forums!! and ask about routes and buddies.

I just made the trip this morning. It turned out to be 20 miles, instead of 17.5 that I presumed, it only took 1.5 hours of riding.

I did get the maps from cascade bike club. It lead me to king county bike maps, which shows an un broken trail from Bellevue transit center. The actual trail, as I found, breask up into several sections of road that don't have bike lanes. (this is where my confusion came in earlier)

This time, I followed the road it cut out on for a couple miles, and I got a bike path again. woohoo. 20 miles is my longest single distance yet.

(Thank you [mimitabby] for the map suggestions. that will be helpful later for other routes.)

how was the monsoon?

Hi Hp! You might want to consider getting one of these in the future. It will give you turn by turn directions, photos of your route, maps, etc. That way you'll always have a backup plan for when you want to venture out in the unknown.

Congratulations on your little victory and may you enjoy many more trails.

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Originally Posted by mimitabby

how was the monsoon?

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The rain was actually quite nice. it kept the outside of my gear cool, so I didn't over heat inside it. I brought a change of clothes to work, and I have my wet cloths scattered around my office to cool. (make no mistake, my office is also known as a cubicle)

I plan to ride down there for a week, taking the bus back, then starting to ride back next week. 200 miles a week for commuting will be good excercise.

Oh wow! I'm in the Pacific Northwest, as well. I've even taken a class or two from BCC (not Xbox programming though) ;)

200 miles will be great for commuting! Nice that the rain didn't stop you. You're much braver than me!