Riding the Interurban

One night last week when I left work a bit after eight in the evening, it was getting dark by the time I got to Ferndale. Dozens of Canadian geese were flying south in V-formation over town and the air was brisk and damp. Already I'm feeling my usual autumn skittishness.

All through August I have been working two jobs (more about the new one later), six days a week, and on my one day off I'm still dragging my dirty laundry on the bus to Bellingham to the coin-op laundromat.

With the extra paychecks, I hope to afford a vacation soon, as soon as I have time, but I think I might want some time off from my bike. In the meantime, here are some photos from a ride on the Interurban Trail last October.




The Interurban railway used to run between Bellingham and Mount Vernon. Now parts of the rail route have been converted to bicycle and hiking trails in the south part of town, and on the hillside above Chuckanut Drive as far south as Larrabee State Park.


The bike trail through Fairhaven Park, next to Old Fairhaven Parkway, connects to a section of the Interurban that runs straight and flat as far as Arroyo Park on Lake Samish Road. When I lived near the University this was one of my favorite summer evening walks, to the remains of the rail bridge over Samish Road. There is a pretty walking trail across the road along Chuckanut Creek, but I don't like to bike there because it's narrow, muddy, rooty, rocky and shared with walkers, runners, horses and even alpacas.

It's a little tricky to pick up the Interurban Trail from this point. You have to turn right downhill on Samish Road, ride to the stop sign at Chuckanut Drive, where you turn left, then ride on the roadside for a short distance to 21st Street. Here you make a risky left turn across Chuckanut Drive, to a short but very steep hill-climb up to the gravel trail turn-off on the right. Last time I rode this way, the trail had just been thickly re-covered with gravel, making the ride a bit of work, but at least riding slowly is courteous to pedestrians, and allows plenty of opportunity to enjoy the scenery and take lots of photos.

Looking down on Chuckanut Drive

The uphill side of the trail -
rock and mud slides are common in winter

Driveways cross the trail in several places, connecting to Chuckanut Drive if you'd rather ride on the road. And there is a turn-off to Teddy Bear Cove, a small, secluded (and at one time clothing-optional) beach on Chuckanut Bay. The beach is named for the pale, pudgy, herbally inspired college students who visited the cove in the happy hippie days of the '70's.

The trail is mostly flat, but it crosses some creek gullies, so there are short, steep dips and rises in a couple of places.

The trail side is lovely, woodsy and ferny with interesting rock bluffs and peek-a-boo views of the bay through the trees.

From Bellingham it's a twelve-to-fifteen mile round-trip to Larrabee Park, where the rail trail ends. From there you can continue riding on Chuckanut Drive, connecting to Highway 11 in to Mount Vernon. Bay views from roadside turn-outs are stunning, deer graze on the hillsides and eagles glide level with the road. There are oyster farms in the shallows of the bay, and two or three restaurants along the way (some may be closed because of low traffic and slow business).

4000 Miles More

Today on my way home from work, just as I crossed the bridge over the Nooksack River, the odometer on my one-year-old Surly Cross-Check turned 4000 miles.

The sixteen mile round-trip commute burns about 400 calories, according to my not-too-precise bike computer, which works out to 100,000 calories per year. No idea how many tall mochas that equals.

Beach Reads

Summer weather arrived on schedule on July 4th, but between my work schedule and the bureaucratic hassles required to stay on good terms with the Employment Security Department, which pays a bit of unemployment comp. sometimes, and DSHS, which reloads my EBT card, I still haven't had a chance to do anything very fun so far this summer. I'm working on plans, though.

In the meantime, here are some good summer reads by two bicycle-riding women named Heather - which I actually read over the winter, but any time is good.

Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs, by Heather Lende, gets the prize for literary merit and redeeming social value. The author lives in a small town in Alaska and writes obituaries for the local newspaper. While out for a first-of-spring bike ride, she was run over by a truck driven by a local boy running a stop sign. She was almost killed, but was airlifted to Seattle for a long period of rehab. Then she receives word that her mother is dying of leukemia. She writes about the deaths of other close friends in her small town, and touches on the unevenness, or possibly injustice, in our health care and social service systems, raising the question of whether this is sometimes a matter of choice. There is one very dark passage about a bear hunt, but mostly the book is surprisingly cheerful and uplifting.

I Never Intended to Be Brave is written by Heather Andersen, a former Peace Corps worker. During her two years in Lesotho she was told not to travel alone or go out at night, and continually warned about areas that weren't safe and towns or neighborhoods she should avoid. But when her time with the Peace Corps was over she wanted to see more of Africa. After trying to organize a group bicycle tour, she ended up travelling with only one man. When personality conflicts arose, they split up and she continued alone, discovering that most of the fears for safety instilled by the Peace Corps were exaggerated. The book provides a good description of her route and the camps and hostel accommodations she found along the way, but it's a little sketchy in other ways. Sometimes she just lists animals she sees along the way, or describes people without really making them vivid characters, and I didn't really understand the conflict with her riding partner. Late in the book she makes mention of finally understanding something from his perspective, but doesn't reflect on it much. But otherwise it is a good account of a challenging adventure, one I wouldn't be brave enough to attempt.