Kasia wanted to do some shopping at Flower World today, so I decided to make this a "coffeeneuring opportunity" and ride to the Snohomish Bakery in nearby Snohomish, WA.
I also took advantage of another opportunity: with very little forecast rain (allegedly 10% for most of the day) and temperatures near 60, this may be the last chance I get to ride without full-on rain gear for the rest of the year.
Thankfully, Mother Nature cooperated and I had a dry, pleasant ride. Well... pleasant from a meteorological perspective; more on this below.
The ride to town was mostly uneventful. I planned to take a slightly scenic route (one I've never ridden before) but I missed a turn somewhere along the way. In the end, I rode mostly my usual route (Broadway to Springhetti Road to Airport Road to town).
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| Snohomish River Valley |
In about 20 minutes I was in Snohomish's cutesy antique district -- home to dozens of antique shops, as well as one of my favorite bakeries anywhere.
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| Today's destination |
Surprisingly, the bakery was packed, with almost all interior tables filled to capacity. One outdoor table was available, so I setup camp there. It was actually a great place to sit -- the weather was pleasant, and it afforded me a mostly unobstructed view of my parked bicycle. A few minutes later I had my latte and Russian tea cake.
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| Latte & Russian Tea Cake |
N.B. I bought two tea cakes in a to-go container; I didn't actually eat the one in the photograph. I took both back home so Kasia & I could share them with (surprise!) more coffee.
With my caffeine fix in my bellah, I headed back to Flower World. En route, I stopped by Harvey Field, one of the cutest little airports you'll ever see.
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| Picturesque Harvey Field |
After leaving Harvey Field, I crossed the valley, then climbed back up Springhetti Road to Broadway. I decided to take the scenic route back, so I headed over to Bob Heirman Wildlife Preserve. Kasia (and our friend Jason) and I have stopped here many times on our rides through this area. It has nice picnic tables, a porta-potty, a decent view, and just makes for a good place for a pit stop.
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| Bob Heirman Wildlife Preserve at Thomas' Eddy |
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| Preserving an old tradition |
Heading back to Flower World, I unfortunately preserved another tradition: a visit from the Flat Fairy. The roads in this area cause more than their fair share of flats. It doesn't help that my tires (Grand Bois Cerf Greens) seem to be "flat magnets". I was not in the mood for a roadside flat repair (especially knowing I'd need to deal with my newly installed fenders) so I topped the tire up a bit and carefully headed back.
If anybody has recommendations for relatively flat free (but also relatively smooth riding) tires, I'm all ears.
1 comment:
I love that bakery. I always get the sunrise muffin. Good stuff. I've never got a flat with Specialized Armadillos. They aren't the fastest tires but they are bullet proof.
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