You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Mountain Bike’ category.
Sunday June 16, 2013 – Port Gamble Trails
Today we drove to Edmonds, parked the car, and rode our mountain bikes to the Edmonds ferry terminal. For each passenger + bicycle the cost was $8.70 to ride the ferry over to Kingston. Cyclists are special…they get to load first!
Eric waiting for the ferry.
Our ferry coming into Edmonds.
Excited to try out some new trails.
Why were we smiling? Because the purpose of our trip was to do some exploring on the Kitsap Peninsula. Eric wanted to check out the Port Gamble Trails.
To get to the trail system, we rode ~8.5 miles on roads (mostly uphill):
- Kingston ferry terminal to NE West Kingston Rd
- NE West Kingston Rd to Miller Bay Rd NE
- Miller Bay Rd NE to NE Gunderson Rd
- NE Gunderson Rd, across Bond Rd NE (Hwy 307) to Stottlemeyer Rd NE
- The south entrance to the Port Gamble Trails is located on Stottlemeyer Rd, past Gracey Trail Ln NE
NE Gunderson Rd
We had to climb a 10% grade.
We entered the Port Gamble Trails at the south end.
Click here to see the Port Gamble Recreation Map.
Initially, the trails were smooth, somewhat sandy, and exposed to the sun. It reminded us a little of mountain biking in Bend, OR.
Soon after, we were enveloped by lush forest. The canopy became quite thick, and the riding surface was a little more rooty. We gradually made our way north, grinning all the way.
Alder Forest
Twisted Sister Trail
Forbidden Forest
Exiting the Forbidden Forest
I spotted this caterpillar crawling on Eric’s shoulder, so I carefully moved him to this tree.
After riding ~7 miles of fantastic XC trails, we exited the system where Kitsap Ave NE joins Hwy 104. We then rode another ~6.5 miles along Hwy 104 to get back to the Kingston ferry terminal.
When I spotted this sign for CB’s Nuts, I insisted that we stop in for a taste.
CB’s Nuts
We bought a huge bag of hazelnuts for only $6.
Total mileage on the bike = 21.9 miles (~15 miles road, ~7 miles trails)
Total vertical = 3444 ft (1701 ft climbing, 1743 ft downhill)
Trip duration = 3 hours, 55 minutes (starting at ~10:45 AM and ending at ~2:45 PM)
The above figures were obtained from my Bike Tracks App. I started it when we got off the ferry at Kingston and stopped it when we completed our clockwise loop back at the Kingston ferry terminal.
I’m including our trip data because this is a trip definitely worth repeating!
Leaving the Kingston ferry dock.
One reason that we decided to take this adventure on this particular day was to visit my uncle Jeff at the Edmonds Art Festival. He is a comedic artist. Check out his work: Art That Makes You Laugh, by Jeff Leedy.
Jeff Leedy
Leedy Art
No active day would be complete without a satisfying, quick meal. I’d like to make a plug for Baja Fresh, a vegan-friendly fast food restaurant.
We order the “bare” veggie burrito (i.e. no tortilla and served over romaine lettuce instead), without cheese, without sour cream, and with extra guacamole. Each order comes with a small basket of chips. From the condiment bar, we select fresh cilantro, lime, and various hot sauces.
Baja Fresh Mexican Grill – Everett, WA
Baja Fresh Bare-Style Vegan Burrito
That’s a wrap to our fun day Sunday!
Little Mountain Park Trails, Mt Vernon – Mountain Biking – October 21, 2012
If you drive on 1-5 near Mt Vernon, Washington, you might pass the “little mountain” on the east side of the highway, without even knowing what delightful trails are up there.
Our first visit to Little Mountain was in September 2009. At the time, we were still new to mountain biking. We went to LM just once, to participate in a work party for trail building along the Sidewinder trail. It was one of those perfect late summer days, when Mt Baker was especially magnificent. I included some pictures from that day in this set of photos.
Click this link to check out the– still ongoing!– work of Jim “JT” Taylor and the Mount Vernon Trail Builders. They’ve been busting their butts for years to create such a great community asset. (Thank you!) I admit that I feel a little bit guilty that we only helped out the one time. We’re still on the e-mail notification list, 3 years later.
Today we finally went back. Our ride took just 2 hours to go up and down all of the “Multi Use” trails. If you live in Mt Vernon, these trails are an ideal location for your after-work workout. Who needs those cardio machines at the gym? For bikes, the singletrack trail surface is generally smooth to somewhat rocky and not too rooty…Very nice! Today the trail offered an additional, “slickish” layer of multi-colored fall leaves.
We parked at the lot between N. Pamela Street and the Silver Arrow Bowmen Archery Range. I felt extremely unsettled there, as I empathized with the animals who fall victim to the arrow. I couldn’t help but think of a certain image that I have in my computer– of a deer shot with an arrow. The arrow entered at the center of her nose and exited at the back of her right jawbone. I shudder as I imagine the suffering endured by that animal. She is not alone.
And– as this vegan’s luck would have it, right from our parked car, I could also see the green building for Andal’s Custom Meats. Those are the folks who were hired to slaughter Barbara’s Cows. Ugh. (Breathe, Elisa.)
Let’s get back on a happy note! At the end of the ride, we stopped in for wine tasting at Carpenter Creek Winery. It’s located right across from where we parked. I recommend the 2011 Signature Series Riesling and the 2009 Viognier.
Now for the pictures. Try to find…
- Camano Island, Whidbey Island, Fidalgo Island and the San Juan Islands
- the Skagit River and Skagit Valley
- the (distant) Olympic Mountains
- the City of Mt Vernon
- Mt Baker
- Blanchard and Galbraith Mountains
[Click on an image to enlarge and view in a photo gallery]
-
- Little Mountain Map
-
- Little Mountain from I-5
-
- Silver Arrow Bowmen Archery Range
-
- The green building of Andal’s Custom Meats
-
- Eric
-
- Fall Leaves
-
- Parachute Viewpoint
-
- Eric at Parachute Viewpoint
-
- City of Mt Vernon
-
- Elisa
-
- Skagit River & San Juan Islands
-
- Parachute Viewpoint – Sept 12, 2009
-
- Mt Baker from Little Mountain – Sept 12, 2009
-
- Skagit Valley
-
- Skagit Valley – Sept 12, 2009
-
- Elisa
Freeheel Vegan 