It was good to get back on the bike and ride over 45 miles; it's been a month since I rode that far. I felt very strong for 35 miles and then I was out of gas for the last 10 miles.
I loved the ride in the morning. It was calm on the trail w very few riders and I was hit with all those wonderful smells of western WA in the summer. Everything is lush and it really is the Evergreen State.
I rode around the lake clockwise and enjoyed the "new" look at everything. The trail is now paved on most of the east side of Lake Sammamish. Going south the gravel begins at Inglewood Hill Road and ends at SE 32nd (Waverly Beach) for about 4 miles where you are forced to ride on the road.
The big disadvange of riding clockwise is that there is NO shoulder, let alone bike lane, from just past Vasa Park clear up past Northup Way. I won't do that again. Very unsafe. Happily I had my blinking, high intensity red light on the back of my bike.