Seattle area training hills

[mimitabby]

What about the 520 trail? It's got some good hills too. (Eden, I don't know how you did the map thing; do you know what trail I am talking about?)

Also, go to the redmond cycling club webpage; they have lots of rides with guaranteed hills.

[KnottedYet]

How about Edmonds? There are bike routes/lanes through most of Edmonds because of the ferry terminal. The hill on 3rd (3 blocks from the ocean) from downtown Edmonds south to Algonquin is pretty nifty. You can do hill repeats or follow the bike route to Greenwood. Plus there is coffee in Edmonds on darn near every street, and the BEST Thai food I've ever eaten (Thai Cottage on 5th and Main).

All of Edmonds slopes down to the ocean, so you get plenty of hills. East-west streets (other than Main and Dayton) are minimal traffic, and they have the good hills.

If you wanted to ride from your house, you could take 2nd (connects for the most part paralleling 3rd) or 3rd (connects to 145th, then you have to jog a bit around SCC, then back to 3rd, etc.) to Edmonds. Also, you are very close to Carkeek park, which is nothing but hill! (nearest big intersection is 3rd and 110th or 115th or something) Carkeek is a fun hill to ride from ocean back to 3rd. I managed to do it ONCE without walking. Someday I'll do it again.... Traffic on the road to Carkeek really isn't bad, and you can bounce over to Greenwood for coffee. (coffee plays an important part in all my bike rides! )

Have you discovered Chocolati yet? There is one on Greenwood and 84th. Mmmmm. With every coffee you get a little chocolate square, and they have LOVELY truffles! The "Cocoa Beware" with nutmeg is my favorite! You can sneak up on it via 3rd or the streets paralleling 3rd if the traffic is too much on 3rd.

PM me if you want to do a little coffee ride, I don't live very far from you. I'm planning to go for a ride to Diva Espresso (145th and Greenwood) tomorrow morning if the weather is good.

P.S. Oh, and I'm ok with Californians.

[teigyr]

KnottedYet, PM is on it's way shortly!

No, haven't been to Chocolati yet but I think I've seen it. I have been to Edmonds but ages ago, I'll mapquest it and see the sidestreets that you're talking about. Doesn't Carkeek have steep and windy roads with speedbumps?! I'm hoping Sunday won't be so bad...I could handle bits of rain but wind, ugh. It's my nemesis. I'll also check out the 520 trail, it doesn't sound familiar but I'm sure I can find it from the Redmond site.

Thank you everyone It's like I have a brand new toy and it didn't even cost anything!!!

Jane

[Dianyla]

If you don't mind hopping on a ferry, Mt. Constitution on Orcas Island is a helluva climb and has a beautiful panoramic view of the San Juans, Baker, and the Olympics at the top.

(The location makes this not quite suitable for a frequent training event, though, but well worth the outing!)

[MrSalsa]

There are lots of good hills around. You can find any degree of difficulty you want. For a steady climb in the city, try 8th Ave NW from Leary Way (near the ship canal) up to about 85th St. It's no too steep or long and it has a bike lane most of the way.

Another option is to start near Montlake Playfield and go southeast up Boyer Ave to 24th Ave NE, then go right one block and right again on Interlaken Ave. Then follow Interlaken up to the intersection of 19th Ave NE and East Galer St. From there you can go up 19th a couple of blocks and turn right toward Volunteer Park on top of Capitol Hill. It's a very nice ride.

There are lots of hills to choose from on this ride: http://home.comcast.net/~cheg01/waterworks1.htm
though they tend to be pretty steep and some of it is on high traffic roads

Other good resources:
http://www.bikely.com/listpaths/srchkey/seattle
http://www.routeslip.com/discover/USA/WA/Seattle
(routeslip has distance and elevation)

[Starfish]

In the Ballard/North Beach/Blue Ridge area (nearish to where you are):

You can do NW 24th both directions, north and south. If you start down in Ballard near the locks, you get a long gradual hill up to 85th. If you continue on up and over, you end up at the salt water and can turn around and come back up to 85th.

When you are all the way down by the water, if you turn right (east), you can do some harder (shorter) hill repeats in the Blue Ridge neighborhood when you want to go a little harder.

Also, for fun weekend training trips out to the Olympic Peninsula, check out the routes for the ride: Olympic Cycling Classic (I think it is olybikeride.com...but Google will find it for you). We have great hill training and a terrific century in May.

[dakay]

Another nice hill out east of Seattle is along Snoqualmie Ridge Parkway(the SR 18 exit off I-90) between I-90 and SR 202. A nice path climbs from 202 to the top so no traffic to worry about.

Kathy