Chilly Hilly is a fundraiser for Cascade Bicycle Club, a 501(c)4 organization. Cascade has been dedicated to creating a better community through bicycling since 1970. Thanks for riding – we appreciate your support!

Here’s some important information:

Weather

With the recent cold and snow spell across the region, many are wondering about the status of the event. Chilly Hilly will not be canceled. If the roads are slick, the start will be delayed until they thaw out. However, Saturday’s forecast is for clear weather, and Sunday looks to be in the 40s, with a chance of rain. Please use good sense and ride according to the conditions.

Ferries

For your safety, fast riders will ride from ferries onto the route first so there is less conflict on the roads. Riders will be staged in different ferry lines for loading according to the following categories:

• Fast (18 + mph and above)
• Medium (13 – 17 mph)
• Leisurely/slow (below 13 mph)

Remember that cycling cleats cannot be worn on the passenger deck of the ferry.

Are you a first-timer on the event? Later ferries offer several advantages. The 9:35 and the 10:30 ferries are less crowded. Your ride will be warmer. Since the course is open until 3, there is no need to rush.

[Ferry schedule... 7:55, 8:45, 9:35, 10:35]

Food stops

Chilly Hilly has one official food stop, located at mile 19.3, and stocked to the brims with homemade cookies and hot cider.

Don’t forget to bring some cash! The other stops along the route are fundraisers for a wonderful group of Bainbridge Island charities. At mile 14.6, theBainbridge Island Rope Skippers will have hot food and drink for sale. Don’t miss the Finish Line Festival with fantastic chili feed to support the Squeaky Wheels. This is a great way to give back to the local community.

Once on the Seattle side, come warm up and enjoy a free beer or soft drink at the Pyramid Brewery & Alehouse. The drink ticket included on your bib can be redeemed for one free post-ride beverage. And if you’re craving that post-ride burger (meat or veggie), check out their full menu of delicious pub food.

Pyramid Brewery & Alehouse is located at 1201 1st Ave, just under a mile south of the Bainbridge Ferry Terminal. They also have a large lot with free parking behind their building, so it’s a great location to start and end your ride!

Reminders about safe riding on Bainbridge

Last year’s event was a new record, with just over 6,000 riders. We may not hit that level again, but with thousands of riders on the roads, it’s important that everyone ride safely.

Remember: Roads are open to ALL traffic.

Headphones are not allowed during the ride. Riders must be able to hear approaching traffic clearly, or other riders calling out.

Complete the emergency contact information on the back of your bib. Attach your bib to your shirt and your bike. This allows us to keep track of your gear should you become separated from it.

Make your intentions known through signaling or calling out. If you dismount on a hill, pull over to the right and walk single-file uphill. Walking several abreast in the road forces other riders out to the left.

Do not cross the center line! Riders, drivers and residents report seeing people who do this, and it’s unsafe and risks the event for all involved.

Riding single file is safer, especially when on a narrow road where cars or other bicyclists might want to pass you. Please be courteous to other riders and Island residents.

All riders must follow the rules of the road and RIDE SMART:

• Stay Alert – watch for cars, other riders, and hazards.
• Move off the road when stopping – pull completely off the road or trail to let cars and riders pass; please do not block driveways or intersections.
• Act like a car – OBEY ALL TRAFFIC LAWS, stop at stop signs, and use hand signals.
• Retain space between yourself and others – leave room to dodge obstacles.
• Tell others when passing on the left (don’t pass on the right).

Ride Referees

Wave to our “Ride Refs,” wearing black-and-white jerseys, who will be on the course to ensure people ride safely. At rest stops, Ride Refs will be on-hand to answer questions about safe riding skills.

Hats, T-shirts and more

Chilly Hilly apparel will be for sale at the finish line across the street from the chili feed.

As always, our volunteers and staff will be on site to assist you as much as possible. Have a safe, enjoyable ride. Thanks for supporting the Club.

Last year I rode the Chilly Hilly for the first time. I’d heard stories about the event for years and had an image of something so daunting, so challenging as to be beyond my limited cycling credentials. I could feel the gray howling wind bite my skin with iciness. I could see the hills, rising before me, larger and larger, as my leg muscles turned to wobbling brick.

But last year, with a new road bike and the encouragement and company of a posse of cycling friends, I decided to give it a go. It certainly didn’t hurt that the morning of the event dawned with warm temperatures and only high cloud cover. My buddies and I met in downtown Seattle, had some coffee, got in line to register and then hopped aboard the ferry to Bainbridge Island.

The ride? I concur with M.J., who wrote last year of the Chilly Hilly: “It’s a blast!” Yes, there are hills. A lot of them. But they’re manageable. And if you need to, you always can get off your bike and walk (no shame). At one particularly steep incline, there were even words marked on the pavement giving riders permission to dismount and push. We did.

Mostly, though, I didn’t think about the hills. The island course was too beautiful—always something to look at. My favorite spot came near the beginning of the ride when we rounded a corner and found ourselves pedaling alongside the water, with a view of the city, the choppy waves, the sun and clouds, the other happy cyclists (more than 6,000 rode last year!) There was a sense throughout the Chilly Hilly—inspired partly, of course, by the fine weather—that spring was everywhere up-springing and that the long winter was indeed soon to end.

Okay. So the weather isn’t shaping up to be quite so pleasant this year. The current weather report, three days out, calls for a high of 44 degrees and rain on Sunday. Mother Nature, it seems, is ready to put the Chilly back into Chilly Hilly.

But don’t despair! Take to the hills! Facing the elements will impart upon you awesome cycling street cred. Plus, there’s warm food for purchase at Battle Point Park, a benefit for the Bainbridge Island Rope Skippers; free cookies and hot cider midway through, courtesy of the Girl Scouts, at the American Legion Hall; and a big bowl of chili at the Finish Line Festival, a fundraiser for the Squeaky Wheels Cycling Club.

And there’s this: Last year’s weather may have been a delightful harbinger of spring, but it also meant that pollen counts were THROUGH THE ROOF. I spent the last portion of the Chilly Hilly with itchy tears falling from my eyes, a case of the perpetual sneezes and a need for great amounts of facial tissue. Was the ride still worth it? Absolutely. But allergies are probably not going to be much of a problem this year—at all!

Details:

38^th Annual Chilly Hilly
Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011
Course open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The course, 33-miles long with 2,675 feet of climbing, begins on Winslow Way at the end of the ferry off-loading ramp. Day-of-race registration is available in Seattle for $35, including ferry fare, under the Alaskan Way Viaduct across from the Coleman Ferry Terminal, or for $30 in Winslow at the B.I. Cycle Shop. Cascade Bicycle Club members get a $5 discount.

Once on the Seattle side, come warm up and enjoy a free beer or soft drink at the Pyramid Brewery & Alehouse. The drink ticket included on your bib can be redeemed for one free post-ride beverage. And if you’re craving that post-ride burger (meat or veggie), they’ve got a full menu of pub food that you’ve surely earned after so many hills.

The event, sponsored by Group Health, REI, Raleigh and nuun, is a fundraiser for Cascade and 10 Bainbridge Island charities.