Timberland Regional Library: Lacey

Lacey Timberland Library

Today I got to check another library off my list of libraries to visit on my bike. I had a meeting nearby so I left with enough time to pay a visit to the library where I worked for fifteen years! It's funny the things you notice when you've been away from a place. The tree behind the sign has grown much taller, and the sign itself, something that I'd pushed to get added, has recently been repainted and touched up. It looks good!

I gave myself plenty of time to get there so I didn't have to push too hard before the meeting. It's dark this time of the year, but the sun was just starting to come up as I climbed the hill to leave Rainier.

The picture doesn't do it justice, but Mt. Rainier looked awesome

Since I had a meeting I had my clothes in the handlebar bag, I just changed when I got there. The ride to the library I took Rainier road down to where the Chehalis-Western trail joins it just at the border of Lacey. I got on the trail at that point and took it on into Lacey.

The small section of the trail that's unpaved

I turned at the junction with the Woodland trail. The last time I was here the Woodland trail wasn't complete, this section was nothing but gravel.

New, Improved Woodland Trail

After a very good day of training for all staff working in the libraries I changed back into my bike clothes and headed right back out, crossing the street to rejoin the Woodland Trail and head home.

Woodland Trail, Along Pacific

It's great that we have such fantastic trails around here, but as I mentioned in my last post, there are reasons to take to the roads too. I rode the trails through the main part of Lacey, but then took Rainier road back home. It does mean riding next to traffic doing 50 MPH, but there's a generous shoulder. There are more hills, but the main reason that I went that way today was because sticking to the Chehalis-Western trail would have added several miles each way to my ride. I ended up with ~32.5 miles round-trip as it was, and that's enough for today. All things considered I feel pretty good, but I can also feel that I worked my legs today! I might take tomorrow as a rest day.