Our First Long Ride
It’s been ten years since I last pedaled the Foothills Trail
It’s been ten years since I last pedaled the Foothills Trail
Some of my readers will know that I recently purchased a bicycle. A Brompton. A folding bike. No, it is not electric. I also purchased a trailer, a sag wagon, for Liddy.
For the past week and a half, Liddy and I have been training for a longer ride. Liddy learned her TRAILER commands, and I was getting my pedal pushers back into shape. I felt ready.
I dallied and dithered for most of the morning. Excuses like weather and such. I was anxious because once started, this ride was going to happen. Ready or not.
My anxieties were mainly on account of the first four or five miles of this twenty-six-mile loop. During this segment, we would drop over six-hundred feet. Some of the grades exceed ten percent. Great on the way down. Not so great for pushing a bicycle and trailer up while stupid drivers try to pass.
And we’re off
Right then. We left the house and hit the first little rise coming out of our subdivision. OMG. I’m thinking this is hard. I’m going to pedal twenty-five-plus miles? I’m not ready. Maybe I should turn left at Rhodes Lake Road. Stay up on the plateau. Do a short loop and call it good. Courage won out. I pointed the Brompton right, towards the abyss.
Some dork thought he would be smart and pulled wide left into the oncoming lane to avoid us without slowing down. I’m sure the two drivers coming up and around that first blind corner were not impressed to see him there. Fortunately, he was able to swerve back without hitting us or anyone else, but it was close. Stupid dork!
Well here we were, not even half a mile from home and my fears of riding Rhodes Lake and McCutchen Roads were being realized. These roads are not wide. The shoulders are soft. There is no way I could pedal our rig on them. My greatest fear was that some yahoo would run us down with a gimongous pickup truck before we even got started.
I waited at the top of our first steep descent to allow all the traffic behind me to clear. Pushing off, I moved us out into the middle of our lane. Anyone coming up behind could wait. Besides, we were exceeding the speed limit.
Next problem. This descent is short but steep. Fourteen percent Komoot and Garmin claim. The blind corner at the top is matched by a similar one at the bottom. I weigh over two hundred pounds. Liddy clocks in at forty. The bike and trailer — I guess twenty to twenty-five. The Brompton is designed for a two-hundred-pound rider with sixty pounds or less of cargo. Damn, I hope we can slow down enough to make the curve.
The brakes did cry a bit, but we navigated the curve. I pedaled us up to a driveway and pulled over. The traffic passed politely.
A sigh of relief
We continued across the bench towards our next descent. This one was complicated by a left turn on the hill. The oncoming traffic is blind as they start to climb toward us. There was an SUV behind me. I took ownership of the lane after signalling my intent. This hill is not quite as steep as the first one. The brakes didn’t have quite the same workout and there was no traffic coming up.
Now on McCutchen Road, winding down the side of the hill, I kept our position in the roadway until there was a safe place to pull over. The grade wasn’t excessive, but the ride was fast. Again, the traffic passed without complaint.
Passing over Fennel Creek, the road widens a bit. There have been improvements to support a gravel pit on the high side. I didn’t complain that this included wider paved shoulders to keep us out of the traffic. I could begin to relax and enjoy the ride.
McCutchen Road becomes 128th Street as we cross the Puyallup River. Half a mile further on and we are at the traffic lights controlling access to State Route 162. I wait for the walk signal and push us across the highway. We turn left here to follow the Foothills Trail for the next fourteen miles. Liddy gets released from the trailer to enjoy a cookie and some water.
The Foothills Trail
The outdoor recreation community in Western Washington is strong. Seattle is home to the Mountaineers and the Cascade Cycle Club. REI was born and continues to grow here. There is a lot of pressure on the local and state governments to provide safe hiking and biking paths here. The Foothills Trail is a classic example.
Formerly a railroad line servicing the coal mines and sandstone quarries of Carbonado and Wilkerson, the rails have been replaced with a wide paved path. The Foothills Trail is one segment of a network of similar paths that you can follow up to Seattle and beyond. These trails are used by pedestrians and cyclists alike. Here are links that feature the Foothills Trail on the Komoot and the Washington Trails Association websites.
We followed the trail south. At McMillin, we cross the Puyallup and begin following the Carbon River. Orting is a sprawling bedroom community. Subdivisions and golf courses are on either side of the tree-lined path. We ride next to the highway. The traffic noise degrades this very pretty ride. On a clear day, the views of Mount Rainier are spectacular.
I asked Liddy to trailer up as we passed through Orting. She is getting used to the trailer. I think she understands that she has protection and can rest. To me, it means I can move faster without worrying about leaving her behind.
From Orting, the trail continues to follow the Carbon River northwest to South Prairie. The grade gets a bit steeper, but not hard. Liddy walked a lot of this stretch because she wanted to. I had her ride when the path was easy and we could improve our time. We crossed the Carbon River and began to follow South Prairie Creek into the village of South Prairie.
Liddy was rewarded with cookies while I rewarded myself with a strawberry smoothie.
Up to the Plateau
From the moment we joined the Foothills Trail, we had been climbing. The grade increased between Orting and South Prairie. Now we began the steepest ascent up to the town of Buckley. This was once a rail line, so you can imagine that this is a gentler grade than those we hurtled down at the beginning of our journey. Still, we would be climbing three hundred feet in four miles. Komoot shows the grade to be about 4%. Yep, Liddy is going to walk this segment.
The trail follows State Rout 165 into Buckley. We turned left onto 112th Street before reaching the town. From here it was an easy ride west with a couple of major crossroads and a constant headwind. I had forgotten about the westerlies blowing across the plateau. Fortunately, they were not strong today.
Again, the shoulders on these roads are non-existent. Pickup trucks are the favoured means of travel. I must get a rearview mirror.
We did do a push-bike up two short but steep hills before reaching home by seven. Liddy was famished. Didn’t take her more than a minute to fetch her dish and demand that it be filled.
The Foothills Trail is a very pretty ride or walk, at any time of the year. Should you be in the area, do take a moment to enjoy it. Liddy and I will be travelling this route often. It makes for a good workout while enjoying the fantastic scenery.
First Long Ride | bike Tour | Komoot
Komoot user Dave recorded a bike Tour: First Long Ride. See this route and plan your own adventure with komoot!www.komoot.com
About the Brompton
I bought the Brompton because I am finding that walking and hiking are losing their appeal. The creaky knees start to become vociferous complainers after three or so miles. I don’t want to slow down yet and I have no desire for knee surgery unless absolutely necessary.
The Brompton folds up into a nice tight package. It fits nicely beside Liddy’s trailer in the back of our Prius. It will be no effort to drive up to the north end of Lake Washington to enjoy a ride. Or Stanley Park in Vancouver BC for that matter.
Unlike most other bikes, the Brompton can be folded down into a package that qualifies as regular checked baggage on airplanes. People have been known to take them carry-on. It is this portability that finally decided me on it. I’m no longer interested in go-fast go-hard adventures. At my age, they have lost their appeal. Let me take my camera, enjoy the journey, and push maybe fifty miles in a day.
About Rover Dave
Dave Scott is a travel and nature photographer who loves to explore. Or is that an explorer who loves to do travel and nature photography?
I squandered my youth providing for my family. Now, I have recused myself from the rat race. I can invest my time in finding those places that inspire me. The Pacific Northwest provides many opportunities that are close to home.
Follow my journeys. I hope to engage you and inspire you to get out and begin your journey.
The world is a beautiful place. Share the beauty. Leave only footsteps.
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