Over the weekend (well, from Saturday August 17 to Monday August 19) Emee and I took a quick trip to our neighbor to the north, Seattle. The main reason was to visit her kids at a camp outside the city. It was a whirlwind couple of days, but we managed to make the best of it, taking in the city skyline from Smith Tower on Saturday night and devouring delicious pizza on Sunday.
We did take our three speeds up with us (my Raleigh Superbe, her Raleigh Sports) so we can have a little ride. After a late breakfast on Saturday, we took off from Capitol Hill on a Three Speed Bike Date!
The big reason why three speeds was I’m testing out a three speed route for a later date (see below.) A three speed is not the bike one thinks of for riding in Seattle, due to all the hills. Thankfully this ride missed most of those hills, since it hugged the water from the U-District west to Ballard and then back again.
The highlight of the ride was the Ballard (Hiram Chittenden) Locks. This is one of my favorite places to visit in the Emerald City, but this was Emee’s first time. We spent a good while at this busy attraction, watching salmon in the fish ladder, harbor seals and gulls fighting over said salmon, and boats passing through the locks.
We rode east to Fremont and had some refreshing drinks at Fremont Brewing, then continued further east on the Burke-Gilman Trail to the Central Link light rail terminus at the University of Washington. The train would bring us one stop to the Capitol Hill Station (known amongst some cyclists as “The Capitol Hill Bike Elevator”) so we could get to the van and drive home.
And yep, I am planning on a special Three Speed Ride in Seattle! It is tentatively set for Saturday October 19th. This ride will be open to all bikes. Stay tuned for details. Seattle folks should mark their calendars and get their three speed ready!
Seattle from Smith Tower 
Seattle from Smith Tower 
Seattle from Smith Tower 
Smith Tower observatory bar 
Smith Tower lobby 
Smith Tower observatory 
Ballard Locks 
Ballard Locks 
Ballard Locks 
Ballard Locks 
Ballard Locks 
Urban Adventure League 
Reblogged this on Society Of Three Speeds.