Day 8 of 30 Days of Biking

Today's ride ended up being a little longer and hillier than I originally planned, but the weather was so amazing I just couldn't resist. I decided to ride to one of my favorite coffee stops, Mercurys Coffee. Despite being one of the many roadside drive-through kiosks often found dotting the roads in this area, Mercurys serves some of the best coffee I've tried anywhere.

Coffee Break

The most direct route from my house to this particular Mercurys (at Highway 202 and 236th Ave NE) is ~9 miles, but instead I took the scenic ~16-mile route via Union Hill Road and Ames Lake Road.

I discovered my Revelate Designs Mountain Feedbag makes a rather nice coffee cup holder:

Coffee to go

On the way home, I made a detour through an east facing neighborhood on Novelty Hill. If memory served, the view of the Cascade Mountains from NE 108th St was simply stunning the last time I cycled this area.

Indeed, it still is.

Yet Another Beautiful View of the Cascades

One of these days, when I have a grand harmonic convergence of a) the weather, b) my alarm clock, and c) my motivation, I'll ride to this street in the early A.M. and photograph the sun rising behind the mountains. I never tire of the scenery in this area!

Distance:         31.58 miles
Clock Time:     2:45:47
Elevation Gain:    1803 feet