Day 1: Seattle to Issaquah

August 16, 2011

My wife and I got up very early so she could drive me 60 miles north to the train station in Eugene, Oregon. We arrived at 7:15 AM.

The AMTRAK web site says that recumbent bikes are not eligible for roll-on bike service, but the ticket agent told me that my short wheelbase recumbent could be rolled onto the baggage car if I had made a reservation. Unfortunately, all the roll-on bike racks were already reserved. So I had to box my bike as originally planned. I found a used box next to the dumpster in the parking lot, so I didn't have to buy a new $15 box. The Eugene-to-Seattle train cost $52 for me, plus $5 for the bike.

This was my first time to ride on the Cascades line, a single-level train that serves the populated corridor between Eugene, OR and Vancouver, BC. The train doesn't have sleeping cars or a fancy dining car, but it does have a cafe and lounge car. Plus Wi-Fi and an AC outlet at every seat.

Downtown Portland through the train window.

I had to change trains in Portland, allowing a few minutes to walk around the train station there. I had never been to downtown Portland before, but I will pass through Portland later during this tour. Union Station in Portland is a grand old train station. The interior is recently restored and the exterior is covered with scaffolding for an ongoing restoration.

Clock tower at Portland's train station.

The train to Seattle left on time after a 45 minute layover. All was well for a while. The train frequently out-paced traffic on I-5. But eventually it was announced that one car has a suspension problem that will force the train to go 25 mph from Olympia to Seattle. As a result, the train arrived in Seattle at 5:25 PM, 1 hour and 40 minutes late. The Seattle King street train station was mobbed with people because three trains were about to depart. It was hard to find a place to assemble my bike.

Below is the route map for days 1 and 2 of the tour, from downtown Seattle to Goldmyer Hot Spring. As usual, I recommend Terrain view.

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I finally got on the road at 6:25 PM. Good thing the days are long... I have a motel reservation in suburban Issaquah so I don't need to go very far. I rode the downtown streets for about a mile to get to the eastbound bike trail.

View of Pioneer Square and downtown Seattle from the King street train station.

I followed the busy and well-signed Mountains to Sound bike route which was mostly on on separate bike paths. For me it was a Sound to Mountains bike route. Just before Lake Washington the bike trail passes through a long lighted tunnel.

The bike path crosses Lake Washington on the westbound I-90 bridge. The sun was behind me, the temperature was in the 70's, and visibility was very good.

I-90 bridges crossing Lake Washington to Mercer Island.

I had a clear view of 14,411 foot (4367m) Mount Rainier, the highest peak in the Cascade range. It looks big even from 70 miles away. I will be much closer later in this tour.

Mt. Rainier from the Lake Washington bridge.

The prosperity of the Lake Washington area is almost incomprehensible to me. It seems like everybody owns luxury cars, a yacht, and a multi-million dollar mansion. It's Bill Gates' neighborhood.

Lake Washington and the city of Bellevue. Mt. Baker is faintly visible on the left.

Much of the Mountains to Sound bike route is on paths adjacent to noisy I-90, and the path has many sharp turns and road crossings that slow me down. But the path has some quiet forested sections as well. On Mercer Island it climbs to 300+ feet (100m) elevation.

Descending from a bridge to Motel 6 in Issaquah, Washington.

I arrived at Motel 6 in Issaquah a few minutes after sunset at 8:30 PM, just as it was getting hard to navigate in the fading light.

Distance: 16.8 mi. (27 km)
Climbing: 1001 ft. (303 m)
Average Speed: 9.9 mph (15.8 km/h)

Today's ride: 17 miles (27 km)
Total: 17 miles (27 km)

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