South Hill to North Bend

Sunday, June 15, 2003

Westbound: Tacoma to South Hill Eastbound: North Bend to Ellensburg

South Hill to North Bend via Hobart and Issaquah

Like the ride from Tacoma back to the house, this is a path I’ve seen before. South Hill to North Bend offers several options.

One can go north from Puyallup to Renton, across to Issaquah, and then to North Bend. Puyallup to Renton can be on a bike path, secondary roads, or the shoulder of SR 167. Renton to Issaquah can be on SR 900 or incomplete bike paths via Bellevue. I’ve done the bike path to 900 northbound and 900 to 167 southbound. My preference is for the highway, but the bike path—with its frequent unprotected intersections and occasional twists—is ok at 8 mph or slower. I avoided the Renton route because—in very slight deference to my wife’s concerns—I did not want to get on the freeway sooner than necessary. The Interstate was unavoidable and what I did outside the state was beyond her sight, but taking the same highway on which she commutes would too clearly raise fears, even if my jaunt would be on a Sunday morning.

Alternatively, one can go via Hobart in rural King County. Puyallup to Hobart offers two choices and Hobart to Northbend offers two choices for a total of four possible routes. The car route would be to take SR 167 to SR 18 diagonally to I 90 and then to North Bend. It’s the shortest but faces a bigger climb over Tiger Mountain than going via Issaquah. Worse, SR 18 loses its good shoulder east of Hobart so that the climb would be on the fog line and not in one’s own lane. I was tempted but yielded to reason. SR 18 would be worse than SR 167 would have been. So Hobart to North Bend would be via Issaquah. The highways from Puyallup to Hobart would have been shorter and I think safe, but for the reasons mentioned above, I elected to go via Enumclaw.

Even Enumclaw from our home offers two choices: one via Orting and South Prairie and the other via Bonney Lake. Having done the Orting route in 2001, I elected for the shorter, steeper Bonney Lake option.

Last minute fussing. Notice all the spare tires: Four on the bike and several on me.

After a delicious breakfast of French Toast and ham, and a thorough reading of both the Tacoma News-Tribune and the New York Times, I got away from the house a little after 9, later than the desired 8 am but earlier than my more typical 9:45 first day. But then this was the second day!

Ready to roll at last.

The ride begins on level terrain for a few miles. South Hill is a glacial moraine. The Puyallup River cuts through. The 500 foot drop is always fun. Shaw Road is the straightest drop down to the River but it includes a few twists. I like it because the turns it has are comfortable for me at the 35 mph speed limit. If I let traffic pass me before starting down the hill—and I have some shoulder just before the drop to give me that option—then I can take the lane without seriously impeding traffic. People have always been kind about hanging back for the mile or so I might prevent them from speeding.

My major concern was how the loaded bike would feel at 35 mph or more. It was fine. After I crossed the Puyallup River I needed to climb the eastern hill up to Bonney Lake and Enumclaw. SR 410 has a very good shoulder up the hill. Thereafter it has two miles or so of strip malls and then a two lane road with shoulder to Buckley. I got to Enumclaw around 11:00 or 11:15 and looked for the Burger King I knew was there. Didn’t find it and instead went to a regular restaurant in the city. I didn’t want to abandon the bike and the layout really wouldn’t let me bring it inside so I asked them to make me a burger to go and sat down in the park across the street.

I got out my book but hardly read a paragraph before folks entering and leaving the restaurant asked about the bike—recumbents are good conversation starters regardless how they climb hills—or, after seeing the luggage and extra tires, my destination. Only 20 miles from home, one is reluctant to say I’m going to Washington, D.C., but hey, that’s the destination and anything else would be a mis-statement. The first gentleman knew all about RANS airplanes but had never seen a RANS bike. The next gentleman was a cyclist, in mufti today. Then a young woman with baby on her hip said hello and recalled passing me on the long hill up toward Bonney Lake. Eventually my burger was ready and I ate, cleaned up, and got going.

On the way north out of Enumclaw, I stopped at my usual gas station on this road and restocked on Gatorade. Shortly after that, I turned right, guided by the excellent King County Bicycling Guide Map, and left the bustle to enjoy the bucolic.

While generally flat, the next few miles did have some gentle climbs. The bike seemed heavier but I chalked it up to my lack of conditioning. The last few miles before Hobart have a couple of tougher hills. I took some solace from noticing that the diamond frame weekend riders a few hundred yards in front of me did not pull away from me until they crested the hill. The rest of the ride into Issaquah was uneventful. I knew that the Interstate near Issaquah had been under reconstruction for years so I wanted to use the on ramp at the east end of the city rather than go straight north. I turned right at the center of town, and eased the longer way toward the highway.

Sunset Way becomes the on ramp. As I approached the ramp, I saw it was still under construction and the retaining wall blocked my access to the shoulder. I stopped, had some cookies, and drank some Coca-Cola^®. I really didn’t want to ride up hill on the access ramp when local drivers would be accustomed to accelerating down the street and around the curve. Then I saw the good news: a sign seemed to announce a bike path.

What about my shoulder?

It wasn’t very wide for a bike path but at least I was shielded from faster traffic. When I rounded the curve, my misunderstanding became clear. The trail was a foot trail and led to steps up into the woods. I lifted my bike back over the wall and joined the highway. I wish I’d gotten a picture of the steps, but I was a little annoyed and more focused on solving my dead end than journalism. Once on the highway, my mood improved.

Eleven years and a few other trips through Issaquah later, I suspect that the "trail" was the space between the Jersey barrier and the fence.

A Bike Trail? How nice.

The ride from Issaquah to North Bend climbs the northern end of Tiger Mountain. I just went to a low gear and took my time. It was around 3 pm at Issaquah and around 4 pm at North Bend. Given the choice between the AAA rated and the non-rated establishments, I elected for the less prestigious. The non-smoking rooms were all upstairs. I took a look; no way I could the bike up the stairs with a tight 180 halfway. I asked for the best of the smoking rooms. It was ok. And on the ground level.

For dinner, I walked a few yards back to the town crossroads. Try to remember the diner in Twin Peaks. I had supper there, Twede’s Cafe. Tasty BBQ and maybe too much food for my situation that day. I’ll go by Roslyn, the setting for Cicely tomorrow.

Got back to the room in time for the sixth game of the NBA finals. As a native of Newark, I was rooting for the Nets. Alas, it wasn’t to be. Even with that disappointment, it was a good, first day on the road.

65.28 miles in 5:55 on the bike for an average of 10.9.

Westbound: Tacoma to South Hill Eastbound: North Bend to Ellensburg