bikes 'n' books

 Yea, ok, so Tuesday is the only reasonable day to go to Skykomish and it's supposed to get up to the 90s next week so I may have to postpone but look where we've been so far...! and how many miles we have covered!: Home -Broadview – Greenwood – Green lake - University – Wallingford – Fremont- Queen Anne – Magnolia- Ballard:  .3 + 2.5 + 1.5 + 1.3 + 1.3 + 1.2 + 1.9 + 4.7 + 3.1 = 17.8 Home - Northgate – Lake City – Northeast – Montlake – Capitol Hill – Madrona/Sally Goldmark – Douglas/Truth – International District/Chinatown - Downtown: 3.2 + 2 + 3.3 + 3.4 + 2.5 + 2.2 + 1.4 + 1.3 + 1.1 = 20.4 Home - Beacon Hill – Columbia – Rainier Beach – NewHolly – South Park – Southwest – High Point – Delridge - West seattle – 12 + 2.5 + 2.9 + 1.8 + 3.6 + 3.3 + 1.9 + 1 + 2.8 = 30.8 Home – Shoreline - Richmond beach – 3.5 + 3.8 = 7.3 [May 3] Home – Lake Forest Park – Kenmore – Bothell – Kingsgate – Kirkland- Bellevue – 6.1 + 1.6 + 3.2 + 3.9 + 5.7 + 4.5 = 25 [May 11] Home – M.I – Newport Way – N

 So, now I only need to descend down steep wide sidewalks under the near shadow of Mt. Si,  and then turn east on busy 202, and as I come into North Bend how nice that there are multiple signs proclaiming "Library" for me, and here I arrive! & how lovely here is Julie inside  and yes, she certainly could help me as to where the bus stop is  and I found the main drag for a bakery quick stop before jumping on the hour-long bus ride (along with a gold prospector!) retracing my steps back to my car in Issaquah..... & that, folks, is library #49!!!! I only have Skykomish left -- will I ever make it there? We shall see but there is at least one more blog post to go....(!)

 Now, backtracking a little on Fall City road then turn off and big uphill, Lake Alice Rd, then onto Preston-Snoqualmie trail road and then finally google maps truly fails me as it tells me to turn off onto Deep Creek Trail which is not really a bike trail at all but a hiking trail and quite steep uphill, seemingly not the ".7 mile" but seems more like 2 miles, and I rode it a little way but man it got steep and I was now thoroughly exhausted, hard enough just to keep walking up, up, up.....(am I even going the right way?!)... But then a funny little sanctuary just off the trail... and once I ascend to the top, I actually come out next to a children's playground with jungle jim etc. -- have to ask a dog walker for directions but it's pretty straightforward (and level) to Snoqualmie!: & there's Michelle who was happy to show me the special 'spell yr name with raindrops' sculpture by Trimpin inside       but I used to be so proud hearing from some Britis

 Soooo, a swift drive to Issaquah transit center -- how nice that Wendy P is there to greet me & chat a bit etc.! -- and now I start, but waitaminnit!: no internet on my phone??? Oh well, guess I can manage with my crude black & white print outs from google maps, but NO: now part of the bike trail is closed and I have to make a detour?: This sign is fine but as you can see, the actual green line marking the road that I am supposed to detour on is covering up the name of the road!!! And then I discover my phone doesn't even work to call them....luckily I see a couple of hardy bicyclists go by with big backpacks on their bikes so I figure that MUST be the right way...! And now I climb but then discover once again, a quite nice and oh-so-hidden-from-car-traffic bike trail paralleling I-90, this one not even paved but still a good hard trail and I nearly all alone on it... And now since I am not using my phone for directions I can take more photos than usual....once I got to Pr

 & now a long windy road down to the ferry dock, a bit of a wait -- and then loading on after cars? -- but the glorious sunny crossing from Fauntleroy to Vashon Island! SO many had warned me of the long steep hill after landing and boy, were they ever correct ( puff, puff!) & then a few miles more and here is Vashon! And exuberant enthused staff inside (though too bad Lara not there) -- not sure I had ever been inside here before.... though they did not seem to know that the brewpub across the street isn't even open except at the end of the week, but I found a drink and bite to eat up the hill, a stop at thriftway for plenty of goodies and then the long haul back to the ferry ending with the thrilling steep downhill glide...! Somehow I didn't put together that I should have taken some different (passenger only?) ferry back to downtown Seattle so returned to Fauntleroy but how can one complain with views like this?!: And it was then 2 more long bus rides to get home thou

 Very close to White Center (and methinks, not too far from some of the SW Seattle branches I had biked to which now seemed so long ago already!) I came upon Greenbridge! Not only one of the only branches without their collection online, but also having no music CDs to check out (what sacrilege!) but also about the only branch without a bike stand outside to lock up to...! But at least one staffer inside recognized me from the occ. post about this bike venture I have been putting on the KCLS staff association facebook page!

 Another short jaunt, and again over such untraveled roads that some sidewalks are so overgrown with weeds leaning over from side beds that I can hardly make out a path to bike on! But finally discovering some real rural unbusy roads, biking like the 'good ol' days, with only the occasional car to bother me... And there she is -- think it must also be a remodeled or even new location since last I ever visited... But here at least another old veteran from the Burien days, Jean, DID remember me and we reminisced a bit on those ancient nights of library craziness... And all too soon after I found myself pedaling past the a White Center dance hall that Wendy had convinced Bernice and I to hoof a few steps at not so long ago...!

 Again following new paths winding o'er the backside of Burien and suddenly popping out and here is Boulevard Park!: Friendly folks inside happy to write messages for me to pass on to fellow staff later on, at Vashon! Kind of a psychedelic mural inside too:

 So, finally they've reopened and I can revisit the very first KCLS branch I started working at a long 26 years ago...! But first to bike to Northgate and light rail to Tukwila -- foregoing returning to that  branch on another nice sunny day....again discovering 'hidden' roads like biking around the airport all alone except for the steady stream of cars....arrive again even before their 1pm opening... but somehow so distraught that Barb (who i worked with long ago here) didn't even remember me, didn't even remember my ESCAPE! program bringing in rock bands and tattoo artists and fire eaters and fortune tellers to attract teens to the library until midnight every Friday -- geez, I remembered her! -- that I failed to even take any photos....so here's a generic one: Humbug! and naturally there was the same plebeian range of folks both inside and out milling about....

 But no time to waste: back on the one same road, pedal pedal pedal, flat at least and before one knows it, here, in the very southeastest part of the county is Enumclaw!: Big bulls as guarding sentinels outside the branch, and actually a number of these big bold historic monuments to the past though the town is all swanky and a bit too cutesy like everywhere....(!) But Philis is inside as well as noble children's area murals & I'm already done for the day except to find my bus back -- a bus that follows exactly the route i just pedaled from Auburn...& thankfully the rain only begins just as I climb aboard this bus..... but 41 down, 9 libraries to go (& rumor has it that Burien will finally be reopening soon!)

 Well, it's been awhile: hello! Wondering how good an idea it was to resume my bike riding adventures so soon after contracting the dreaded C(ovid),  especially as I begin pedaling up my first hill wheezing and weary I wonder how much I am actually over that dreaded disease now....and then figuring out that my route from Auburn was to be the same whether on bike or car or anything: there's only one -- too busy -- road out here!  Lucky I had a bit of a shoulder most of the time at least....& quickly entering the good ol' Muckleshoot reservation, nice to see the so quickly abandoned fireworks shacks at least came up with some clever advertising...!: Road flattened out and there were some occasional breaks between whooshing pickups and giant semis.... and then here comes Muckleshoot! Another new branch! & believe I was the only patron inside this day...but nice to reconnect with Brandi at the front desk, and some swell artworks on the walls too