Cycling on Whidbey Island

Seattle may rank on par with Mogadishu and Karachi in the global city rankings of quality of life, and I have to assume my hometown's poor showing is driven by the gridlocked traffic, constant rain, Mariner pitching, high suicide rates, etc. However when it comes to cycling, I am even more convinced that the area is among the best in the world.

Last week I took a 20-minute ferry boat ride from my parent's home in Mukilteo to Whidbey Island and rediscovered miles and miles of quiet, almost car-free roads.

Here is a rough map of my approximately 50-mile route.

Most of the ride was through forests of Douglas Firs, past small farms and along the waterfront. My ride included the town of Langley which seems to be composed almost entirely of bed-and-breakfasts and art galleries. This being the Seattle area there was no shortage of cafes selling organic coffee.

In addition to the Whidbey Island ride, I rode for 40 miles along Seattle's most popular route, the Burke-Gliman Sammamish Trail. This is a 41-mile dedicated bike path that runs from the center of the city out to Seattle's eastern suburbs. I joined the trail near Lake Forest Park and followed a huge pack of cyclists north along Lake Washington. The trail becomes quite rural, leading past wineries and houseboats before it terminates near the Death Star (Microsoft Headquarters) in the town of Redmond.

Unlike Australia or Tokyo, most of the riders on the trail seemed rather casual, and not the least bit competitive. In fact I observed an unusually large number of cyclists pulling dogs in carts, and at least a third of the other cyclists were on tandem bikes.