The Seattle area does not lack for “classic” rides that are standard parts of our route repertoire. One of my favorites is the May Valley-Tiger Mountain combo. It can be done in a variety of ways, with options to add mileage and hills in a large loop starting from Seattle. A basic out and back to Tiger Mountain from Seattle is ~40+ miles.
For Sunday’s ride our group was three of us from High Performance Cycling–two buddies I’ve ridden with for years–Adam Morley (who joined me on a cycling trip to China last year), and Charles Caswell.
The basic plan was to head out to Tiger Mountain via May Valley, then decide about the rest of the ride after we had had our way with Tiger. To get to May Valley from the I-90 bike tunnel we crossed over the north end of Mercer Island, then took the Lake Washington Bike Trail to “McDonald’s (or Hamburger) Hill.” That first climb of the ride gets the legs and lungs warmed up nicely for the road ahead.
The terrain on May Valley Road is undulating and has moderate traffic, which makes it perfect for relatively uninterrupted pace lining and group riding. With only three of us I felt a bit shortchanged by the small size of the group, but the camaraderie of pedaling with familiar riding partners more than made up for the lack of bodies. There are a couple stop lights along the way, and we had to stop for a traffic control at a recent washout about a mile west of the Issaquah-Hobart road intersection.
The west side of the Tiger Mountain climb starts about ~21 miles from Seattle and rises to an elevation of about 650′. Not huge, but there are a few steep ramps that can make the thighs sting. Although it was merely overcast when we left Seattle, the roads got wetter as we moved east, and as we ascended into the clouds on Tiger the mist condensed enough to soak through winter-thickness lycra.
After climbing from the west and descending to the southeast, we turned around at the Issaquah-Hobart Road and did a repeat of the climb from the other direction. By the time we descended to the base of the climb on the west side we were wet, cold, and hungry. We decided it was time for a hot beverage and a snack at Issaquah Coffee.
On this particular variation we returned from Issaquah to Seattle the most straightforward way via Newport, but between Issaquah and Seattle there are numerous climbs you could add to the loop: Squak, “Zoo,” Montreaux, and 164th. Or, if you wanted to add mileage with little climbing you could do a counterclockwise lap around Lake Sammamish.
To finish our ride, Adam and I opted for a spin around the south end of Mercer Island, another Seattle “classic.” The Mercer Island lap goes ~10 miles without a stop light and includes exciting s-curves on the east side of the Island that are simply a ton of fun whether you are alone or with friends.
