In continuing last year’s Thanksgiving Family Group Ride tradition, we took a fun bike ride around Lake Union Thanksgiving morning. This year there were 42 riders! (Or so. I didn’t think to count.)

To accommodate families working around naps and cooking, we had a timeline. The only bad part is that now everyone knows when I say “firm,” I don’t really mean it. We’ll wait for you if you’re on the way! But our littlest riders appreciate an on-time departure. Thankfully we didn’t lose any riders before the start.

Rough timeline:
10:00 – Start gathering at Gas Works (near the play barn)
10:30 – *Firm* depart
11:00-12:00 – Playground by Daniel’s Broiler
12:30 – Starbucks warm-up stop
1:30 – Back to Gas Works

My six-year old rode the whole thing on his 20-inch-wheeled bike with three speeds, but I opted to carry my four-year old and his 16-inch-wheeled single speed bike as he’s not so capable on even small hills. However, there were kids on small bikes, including a balance biker who passed me twice! There’s a variety of riding surfaces for the Lake Union Loop and it’s all pretty kid friendly, with sidewalk options for all the busy parts. I added photos of the ride to my saved map to show most of the different parts, indicated by yellow pushpins:

The day started out very foggy, but no rain! And relatively warm (mid-forties, I think). It was a great day for hanging out with friends new and old. The ride was relatively flat, though many had to walk up the steep half-block at Hamlin. Perhaps next year we’ll coast along a floating esplanade in its place!

Many of my photos are posted here, but see the Flickr set for even more.

By the way, for bicyclists interested in a bigger Thanksgiving Day ride, check out the Annual Seattle Thanksgiving Day Ride to benefit Northwest Harvest.

I was thankful my two kiddos wanted to ride/walk their bikes home (which lasted for a bit over one of our last two uphill blocks).

Happy Thanksgiving!