Bicycle resource center
18 September 2011
I walked around the city to explore the area and to buy some things that I needed: adequate raingear (my cycling jacket, if it was ever waterproof, certainly wasn't now), and a micro-to-mini USB adapter so that I could charge my Garmin (I had absent-mindedly forgotten to bring one).
I was still undecided on whether to head south/west directly from Seattle. Shasta Mike had suggested going up to Bellingham by train and spending some time in the San Juan Islands. The first available bike ticket was for Tuesday, the 20th, so I bought one. I would have to kill another day, but the San Juan Islands had come highly recommended. (And I thought this would lend some additional legitimacy to this tour. Starting from Seattle, I would skip over nearly half of Washington's north/south extent; but, Bellingham is further north than Victoria, British Columbia— one of the traditional starting points for a Pacific Coast bicycle tour.)
Close to the hostel, I found a "bike resource center" that had, among other things, a bike shop and a bike valet inside it!
I walked over to Pike Place Market, site of the first Starbucks.
Then I headed along the waterfront to the Olympic sculpture garden. The clouds were starting to look pretty ominous, but actual rain was minimal.
I picked up a mini-USB adapter from Radio Shack and a light jacket from North Face. Both would turn out to be good investments.