Arlington Loop with my Buddy

Today I woke up early and was on the road with my favorite riding buddy by 7:00. That’s right Jenny and I went for a bike ride this morning. Today we rode from Marysville down to Arlington then over to Granite Falls and back to Marysville again. It was a great 30 mile bike ride through some very rural roads with some great scenery.



Fresh Riders




We started the ride in our jackets but after 4 miles and the first hill of the day both of us shed then and in my front carrying case they went and stayed for the rest of the ride. The weather for the ride was nice and warm but not too hot. This is such a nice change from the winter riding that we did only a couple of months ago with cotton stuffed in our ears just to endure the cold. I’ll take warm weather over that any day.

The ride into Arlington is my favorite part of the ride. It’s about 10 miles to get there and the last mile or two is all down hill. Because it was so early in the morning there weren’t any cars on the road on the descent so I was able to get in the center of the lane for much of the down hill. This makes me feel a lot more comfortable when you’re going 35 miles an hour. Once we got to Arlington they were setting up for a street fair but it wasn’t open yet. We rode our bikes through the middle of the street fair checking out the vendors as they set up their booths.

The ride out of Arlington into Granite Falls is very beautiful but there are a lot of up hill sections where I did a lot of huffing and puffing. On steep hills when I get to my lowest gear and can’t go any lower that’s my cue for the pain to begin. A number of times I had to stop to wipe the sweat of my eyes because it was stinging so bad I couldn’t see anymore. I’m not a big fan of hills but I guess you have to climb them in order to enjoy the downhill sections.

By the time we got to Granite Falls the weather was starting to heat up but we only had a few miles left to go at that time. This section of the ride is basically up 84th St. back to Marysville. From the beginning of this section it looks like a lot of nasty hill climbing but the ascent is pretty gradual so it’s not as bad as it seems. You just put your bike in the low gear and grind away for 3 miles and before you know it you’re back to the car and the ride is over..

Today was a great ride. The weather was nice and warm, no dogs chased us, the route was fun, and most of all I got to go with my favorite riding partner. Jenny and I have a blast riding together because when there isn’t much traffic we get to just ride and talk. It’s amazing the great conversations you can have in the middle of nowhere on your bike with your buddy.



Triumphant Jenny at the end of a successful ride!




Ride Stats
Miles: 30
Avg Speed: 12.6
Max Speed: 37
Total Ascent: 1318 Ft.