UPDATED.....Loading up the family vehicle with three bikes on the rack and another in the trunk is hard to do, especially on a languid, beautiful weekend afternoon. But utterly worth it when it's Bicycle Saturday or Bicycle Sunday on Seattle's Lake Washington Blvd. The scenic lakeside drive is closed to vehicles for a stretch of several miles from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., between Seward Park on the south and Mount Baker Beach on the North. (The above link gives remaining dates for this summer). And to think that in August the entire stretch is filled with racous yahoos on land and parked in their stinkpots on the lake, all watching the hideously vestigial Seafair hydro races, an embarrassing Seattle tradition that really ought to be granted a mercy killing muy pronto. Today's excursion was an exceedingly mellow and cardiovascular Lake Washington Blvd. experience. I highly recommend it to all Seattle bike riders and families, and enlightened bike-happy visitors - just as strongly as I urge one and all to avoid the piss-drunk numbskulls massed for the Seafair hydro races along the lake in August.
Some photos taken on our family's Bike Saturday excursion today follow. Starting at the end, in Seward Park, gazing southeast some 60-plus miles upon majestic Tahoma. That's the Native American name for Mount Rainier.
Our kids after a long bike ride, enjoying shaved ice in Seward Park's shade.
After our ride, my son Max and I walked back to get the car, and bring it around to load up the bikes. We espied this scenic bog along Lake Washington's southwestern shores, looking north toward the I-90 bridge.
Our northernmost destination on the car-free Bike Saturday jaunt up and back from Seward Park on Lake Washington Blvd. was to Mount Baker Beach in Seattle, where we spent an hour lolling about. In the background here are a slice of the Cascade Mountains and the skyline of the suburban metropolis of Bellevue.
Sure enough, on the way back, it was time for a stop at the great southeast Seattle produce stand named MacPherson's, along Columbian Way. I will let you know whether the Temptation Melon we bought there lived up to its name.
Can you imagine a rock group called Temptation Melon? I can. That certainly beats Strawberry Alarm Clock, the Ultimate Spinach or the Apple Pie Motherhood Band.
TECHNORATI TAGS: SEATTLE, BICYCLE SATURDAY, SEWARD PARK, LAKE WASHINGTON BOULEVARD, SEAFAIR, MOUNT BAKER BEACH, MOUNT RAINIER, MACPHERSON'S; TEMPTATION MELON, STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK, ULTIMATE SPINACH,APPLE PIE MOTHERHOOD BAND
Posted by Matt Rosenberg at July 8, 2006 11:15 PM
"the hideously vestigial Seafair hydro races, an embarrassing Seattle tradition that really ought to be granted a mercy killing muy pronto"
Geez Matt, you sound like an intolerant liberal!
How come you can't grant us hydro fans (and Seattle natives) 3 days a year to enjoy our sport?
I'm worried about you.
Posted by: Bill Cruchon at July 13, 2006 08:32 AMBill,
Not intolerant. Just discriminating and unapologetically judgemental.
In the fine conservative tradition.
Our judgements happen to not coincide. So be it.
Posted by: Matt Rosenberg at July 13, 2006 11:11 AMHmmm. Wanting to take away something that thousands of others enjoy sounds pretty intolerant to me Matt. You didn't answer my question, either. How come you want to get rid of the hydros?
Be that as it may I invite you to stop by the "pit tours" booth either Friday or Saturday before the race. I'd be happy to give you and your family a tour and show you what it's really all about. Maybe I could even change your mind!
Posted by: Bill Cruchon at July 14, 2006 11:42 AM