Another impromptu ride...South Lake Washington Loop

I started out thinking I was just going to go do the Mercer Island loop and return home.  Because I had to drop one of the cars downtown for service, I was out of the house pretty early and finished the loop before 11am.   My schedule was clear (a rarity which I am sure surprises some of you) so instead of returning home I decided to cross over to the east side of Lake Washington and head around the south end of the lake through the city of Renton and then north as the way home.

It was a great ride that I would do again but with one big challenge.  Safe cycling, it turns out, is an anathema to the city of Renton.  If you look at this map of bike trails provided by King County, Renton is made up of mostly "Caution Areas" roads.  It is the typical suburban car-centric city.  There is no good way to get across the city (to Tukwila where the Green River trail heads north) without lots of sidewalk travelling.  Until I figure out a better way through this city, my suggestion would be to just turn around at the south end of the lake and head back rather than try your hand at vehicular dodge ball.  Or you could try heading around the Renton airport to Rainier Ave S and head north along the west side of the lake (eventually getting to Lake Washington Blvd) back to Seattle.