northbend
11-01-2008, 09:15 PM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snoqualmie_Valley_Regional_Trail
Taking advantage of a dry morning predicted by the forecasters, I rode my Yo Eddy (MTB) on a 50 mile spin fest on the unpaved Snoqualmie Valley Trail which borders the neighborhood I live in just east of North Bend. I had never been on the trail north of the Reining Bridge before but riding home from work the other day, I found the trailhead off of Tokul road so today was the day to explore the northern end of this trail. The temperature was warm and it was a bit gusty which forced many of the Maples along the route to give up their leaves and they slowly drifted down like snowflakes as I rode along on a yellow leaf carpet many inches thick.
Originally I thought of turning around in Carnation but that came and went all too soon. What the heck! Go on to Duvall. Along the way, some hikers pointed out two bald eagles perched in a tree by the river looking for lunch. Rain started threatening on the return but yielded no more than an occasional drop. A headwind developed that got stronger the closer I got back to North Bend making my legs start to burn. Bend the elbows and drop low over the handlebars to reduce resistance and soon I am home. What a nice ride and a very different experience from riding the route on paved roads with the Merlin. No cars, very few people, even fewer cyclists. Quality time for a ride. Yes, nothing technical about it but sometimes it's nice the get on the bike and spin for a few hours and it sure was pretty. The rain started to pick up only after I had washed and put away my bike how cool is that?
The Old Snoqualmie Mill
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj140/northbend/tokul003.jpg
On The Trail
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj140/northbend/tokul006.jpg
Eagles
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj140/northbend/tokul009.jpg
Taking advantage of a dry morning predicted by the forecasters, I rode my Yo Eddy (MTB) on a 50 mile spin fest on the unpaved Snoqualmie Valley Trail which borders the neighborhood I live in just east of North Bend. I had never been on the trail north of the Reining Bridge before but riding home from work the other day, I found the trailhead off of Tokul road so today was the day to explore the northern end of this trail. The temperature was warm and it was a bit gusty which forced many of the Maples along the route to give up their leaves and they slowly drifted down like snowflakes as I rode along on a yellow leaf carpet many inches thick.
Originally I thought of turning around in Carnation but that came and went all too soon. What the heck! Go on to Duvall. Along the way, some hikers pointed out two bald eagles perched in a tree by the river looking for lunch. Rain started threatening on the return but yielded no more than an occasional drop. A headwind developed that got stronger the closer I got back to North Bend making my legs start to burn. Bend the elbows and drop low over the handlebars to reduce resistance and soon I am home. What a nice ride and a very different experience from riding the route on paved roads with the Merlin. No cars, very few people, even fewer cyclists. Quality time for a ride. Yes, nothing technical about it but sometimes it's nice the get on the bike and spin for a few hours and it sure was pretty. The rain started to pick up only after I had washed and put away my bike how cool is that?
The Old Snoqualmie Mill
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj140/northbend/tokul003.jpg
On The Trail
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj140/northbend/tokul006.jpg
Eagles
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj140/northbend/tokul009.jpg