For my second full day in the city, I decided to try biking from my place in Bellevue to downtown Seattle. I biked south from Bellevue and across Mercer Island and Lake Washington towards the city. The trail system I used Tuesday was much clearer than Monday’s, and I was able to get to downtown with minimal map checks. The I-90 bridge was also quite scenic, offering great views of the lake and Mt. Ranier.
After a lot of painful uphills (the roads are very steep in Seattle), I parked my bike downtown and ventured into Pike Place Market. A very historic landmark in the city, Pike Place has literally hundreds of shops, restaurants, bars, etc. After walking around for a while and enjoying Seattle’s best clam chowder, I went for a ride along the waterfront and headed north, where I got a great view of the harbour, downtown, and of course the epic Mount Ranier.
My bike ride ended with me heading back to the market and getting an iced coffee at the original Starbucks (now I know why their popular brand is the Pike Place Roast). Feeling too tired to bike home, I took the Bellevue express bus. The Seattle downtown transit system is really cool because both the LRT and the busses go underground, making it much more efficient to get people into and out of the city without having to build extensive rail infrastructure.
My total cycling distance for Tuesday was 29km.
Beyond the Automobile 