Well I've been in Washington for a month now.  I'm living in Auburn, about 25 miles south of Seattle.  New house, new job, new bike, new commute, new blog.  I'll give more details about each in the coming months.  I'll get some pictures on here too.  First a little about my commute.

Most days I bike to the train station from home and then from the train station to work, about 2-3 miles total.  two weeks ago I biked from Auburn to Tukwila (about 13 miles) and caught the train from there.  Last week I decided to bike the whole way up to Seattle to work which is just under 30 miles.

I tried to wake up at 4:45 to get out in time to make it to work on but did not roll out of bed till about 5:10.  Then I took a lot longer to leave than I thought, so I didn't leave till 5:40.  It was cold, about 40 degrees or so.  Luckily I was prepared with all my thermal bike clothes.  I was excited to take my new bike on its first long ride.  The first half went really quick.  It's a straight shot to Tukwila and got there in about 50 minutes.  The last half took a lot longer.  Why?  I got lost.  The Green River Trail winds along the Green River.  Sometimes it cuts out on to a street for a little and then back to a path.  Sometimes it will cut from the main path to a street.  The only way to tell the difference is if the main path is pretty obvious or if there are signs.  But when the main path takes a weird sharp turn over a bridge that can't be seen in the dark and another part of the path cuts on to a road, you don't realize that you are off the main path.  Especially when just a couple block away on the road is another part of the path.  I thought that that was to continuation of the path I was on, but it was really another part of the path that was going in the opposite direction that I was.  But that part of the path was closed so I followed along roads until I could find where the path open again.  Finally I decided that I could not go that way so I asked someone what the heck was going on.  So I turned around and headed back the way I came.  Found a map, talked to some old guys about the way the path went and headed back down the path again.  This time it was a little light out and could see where the path took a weird turn an over a bridge.  Apparently there was a sign there, but it was small and brown and can't be seen in the dark.  Finally I was on the right path but still had a ways to go.  It was nice rid into Seattle and when I went on the bridge from West Seattle to Seattle there were a lot more cyclists.  There where five or more of us following each other through the streets of Seattle until we went our separate ways.  And I was only an hour late to work.  Not to bad for biking through an area I had never been in at all in the pitch black of the early morning.  Next time will go a lot better.

    Pictures

    Click on the Home link to see a slideshow of some pictures I've taken around some of the bike paths in Eugene and a few from Portland.  I'll add some of Seattle when the weather is a little nicer. 

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    Ryan

    I began cycling in Eugene, OR where I got a Master's in Economics.  I now live in Washington with my wife and one and a half kids. My commute, which I split between cycling and train, is about 30 miles one way.

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