lap through the lakes
Six wheels, six eyes, four pedals, two lakes, nothing but sweat.
lap through the lakes: 23 miles
It was a little warmer than usual on this fine Sunday in mid-December. The mountain was out, too. So I loaded up forty pounds of assorted ebullient valuables into a bike trailer and headed to Smith and Bybee Lakes.
It was appropriate, too, that I heard Hagfish’s “Herve” that morning: I’ll be your locomotive / I’ll take you anywhere you want. I sure felt like a steam engine, chugging up the rise of the Interstate Bridge and back down again.
Marine Drive has a nice lil’ multi-use path that parallels it all along Smith and Bybee Lakes (which, incidentally, is the largest protected wetlands within an American city). And the trail will take you right to Kelley Point Park, too: perfect spot for a handful of trailmix and a little river-watching. You can see both the Columbia and the Willamette where they meet— Lewis and Clark blew right on by the Willamette on their way to the Pacific, but found it on the return trip.
Back along the railbed trail and east along a little waterway, and I found that by the time I landed at Esther Short Park, I’d racked up 23 miles and quite an appetite.