Archive for the ‘Guest post’ Category

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Ride of the Week: Blue Angels Ride

Monday, July 30th, 2012 by

by Sandie Smith, guest blogger

Seafair is upon us, and with it the annual Blue Angels airshow.  Join us for a unique ride which will take you to the best private viewing spot in all of Seattle.  Bruce Zunser has a rooftop deck that he built specifically for optimal viewing of the airshow.  The jets buzz directly overhead, almost as if they were performing solely for you.  

The ride begins at the South Bellevue P&R at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 3.  This steady paced ride will circle Mercer Island, make a stop for food, and then roll up to Bruce’s house for the show.

This is a stay-together, steady paced ride (12-14mph) with a few hills.  Steady rain will cancel…but it would probably cancel the airshow too.  So we are planning on sunshine!

Questions?  Contact Bruce Zunser at 206-459-5990.

Looking for more riding opportunities?  All Cascade free daily rides are published online.  Everyone is welcome, but if you’re new, please read through our information for newcomers and parents.  

Posted in Daily Rides, Guest post, Ride of the Week | No Comments »

Seattle company shares off-season secrets

Tuesday, June 5th, 2012 by

Bike Month may be over, but Synapse Product Development, a downtown Seattle company, is just getting started — painting a permanent bike map on an office wall; providing deluxe bike parking, showers, lockers, and tools for last-minute repairs; and operating a winter commuting contest (extra points for rainy days!). Read on for more from Synapse…

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At Synapse Product Development’s downtown headquarters, local muralists Matamuros are in the beginning stages of painting a useable Seattle bike map that will measure roughly 10’ x 18’ when completed. This is just one example how a local company is promoting bicycling and bike culture among its employees beyond the awareness-raising Bike Month and Bike to Work Day campaigns.

Artists paint a Seattle bike map on an office wall at the Synapse headquarters. If that's not commitment, we don't know what is.

Biking has been at the core of Synapse’s office culture since its inception 10 years ago. Now a 200-person global engineering innovation firm, Synapse recently expanded its support for bicyclists by building out a 20’ x 20’ space for bike parking, plus an assortment of tools and a lift for last-minute bike repairs. Synapse also provides large lockers and showers to its commuting employees allowing them to wash up before important meetings or just starting the day.

Last winter, Synapse launched Synapse Winter In The Hard(er) Rain Commute Ultimate Party or “Synapse Wither Cup”, a four-month competition to reward Synapsters who commuted to or from work via bicycling, running, or walking. The competition spanned from November 1 to February 29, with bonus points given for severe weather commutes. Winners received only bragging rights, but “frequent commuters” were given a biking/running jersey bearing the Synapse logo.

Collectively, Synapse logged over 4,000 miles during the WITHER Cup with 60 percent of participants commuting by bike. Even with the increasingly limited accommodations available to bicyclists at the office, Synapse continues to promote bicycling as a transportation alternative as the company grows.

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Is your workplace ramping up its post-Bike Month support for those who show up for work on bikes? If so, we want to hear about it! If not, what would help you keep the momentum going during the other 11 months of the year?

Posted in Bike Month, Commuting, Guest post | 3 Comments »

UW Fixit stations welcome bikes to campus

Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 by

The following is a guest post from David Amiton, Transportation Analyst | MURP with Commuter Services | Transportation Services at the University of Washington

This might come as a shock, but as a government employee I don’t receive a lot of fan mail. So you can imagine what a pleasant surprise it was when appreciative emails began trickling into my inbox in December.

One read, Thanks for one of the most useful things to ever be installed as a resource on UW’s campus! Another was more concise: This is so cool – thank you!

What were people going so gaga for? A new cycletrack on campus that someone forgot to tell me about? A fabulous new covered bicycle parking area? Had Red Square been converted into the world’s largest roller skating rink?*

Think smaller.

A Fixit station in action at the Law School

Late last year, UW Commuter Services installed bicycle repair stations at five popular campus bicycling destinations. Each station features an air pump and essential tools like tire irons, screwdrivers, and a hex wrench set. Manufactured by Dero, the stations are clean, simple, and functional. And the best part? The project was entirely funded through a grant from the University’s innovative Campus Sustainability Fund.

The bicycle repair stations give UW students, employees, and visitors convenient access to the tools that keep bicycles on the go. They also send a clear message that bicyclists belong on campus. This might seem like a small gesture, but it’s an important one, because generally speaking people who bike don’t receive many visual cues that invite them to use public spaces.

Consider some of the things you encounter on your bicycle errands and commutes: body-less bike symbols, wet leaves in the bike lanes, honking cars; sound familiar? Now, when was the last time you spotted a bicycle radar sensor, display counter, or waiting rail while pedaling around Seattle? These are also small gestures, but they add up to create an environment that welcomes people on bikes. Judging from the feedback I’ve received, the bicycle repair stations are definitely helping the University of Washington roll out the bicycle welcome mat.

*Apparently the honor goes to this place. But still, a guy can dream.

Posted in Around town, Complete streets, Guest post | No Comments »

More than I bargained for

Friday, July 8th, 2011 by

This guest post was submitted by Jennifer Fields, a club  member who participated in the Cascade Training Series and is riding the Group Health Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic for the first time this year.

I just completed my very last ride with the Cascade Training Series (CTS) group and wow, have I come a long way!

We rode the “around the lake loop” which is a 50 mile ride around Lake Washington with a few small climbs and lots of fun. I remember the first time we took this ride – it was after only week 4 of our training series and I couldn’t imagine riding a whole 50 miles in one day. But the CTS training program started out slowly and gradually added miles and hills to each ride so it wasn’t as scary as I had imagined.

Turns out that 10 weeks later, the last ride is the “around the lake loop.” It was so rewarding to excel on this last ride! After all the training, skills classes and encouragement from our ride leaders, everyone in the group rode this last ride with strength, determination, and success. Who knew that we would ride a 50 mile ride and still want to ride more?

Previous to signing up for the CTS, I had never ridden my bike in the road or with a group of people. When I first signed up I did it so that I could learn how to properly ride a bike with groups, learn traffic signals, and all the other basics like how to fix a flat. What I got out of the series was more than I ever bargained for.

I can’t imagine another program in which you are taught all the skills you need to ride your bike with confidence, where you make long-term friendships, and where you have the most amazing time riding your bike. This was a great experience and I will recommend it to all my friends.

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Posted in Cascade Training Series, Guest post, Trip reports | 1 Comment »

Biking from Seattle to Spokane

Friday, June 10th, 2011 by

Trip report: Seattle to Spokane
submitted by Cascade member Larry Goerss

The long, straight trail east of Marengo.

On a sunny morning last September, we left Seattle’s Green Lake with the intention of riding to Spokane, off-road, by linking a series of bike trails. The total length of the ride would be about 330 miles with close to 10,000 feet of climbing, and we planned six days to do it. Since much of the trip was on dirt roads and old railroad grades we were riding mountain bikes; I carried panniers, Neil (riding partner) towed a BoB trailer.

We left Seattle on the Burke-Gilman Trail, connecting to the Sammamish River Trail. In Woodinville we left the paved Sammamish Trail and rode the Tolt Pipeline Trail into the Snoqualmie Valley. After a short road segment we got on the Snoqualmie Valley Trail, through North Bend, and up to Rattlesnake Lake. Here we picked up the start of the John Wayne Trail which we rode, with numerous detours, to near Lamont, Wash., where the ride ended because of time constraints. We had initially planned to connect to the Columbia Plateau Trail (a.k.a. Fishlake Trail) off the John Wayne Trail for the final ride into Spokane, but the ballast on the old rail bed was so large we had to divert to roads. Near Cheney, Wash. the trail is maintained and rideable, but we didn’t make it that far.

We rode through some spectacular country: The John Wayne Trail up to Snoqualmie Tunnel, along the Yakima River, followed by a 15-mile descent through the Yakima Training Center to the Columbia River at dusk. There was an unexpected oasis as we rode along Lower Crab Creek. We saw a lot of this state that most people never get to see. And we met some really friendly locals, nothing like loaded bikes to start a conversation.

Lower Crab Creek, east of Beverly

One of the closed tunnels between Cle Elum and Ellensburg

Because of numerous tunnel and bridge closures there were some unpleasant detours onto I-90. These included riding I-90 up to Snoqualmie Pass and over the Columbia River at Vantage (the most dangerous part of the ride). Other detours make road riding required near Ritzville and Othello, but the roads are good and traffic is light. [Ed note: Snoqualmie Pass Tunnel is scheduled to reopen on July 5.]

There were numerous challenges planning this ride, mostly due to the lack of available information about sections of the John Wayne Trail. Permits are required for the trail sections east of the Columbia – and must be gotten in advance from either the State Parks or DNR depending on the section you want to ride. The army base also requires a permit but it is self-issued at the trail head.

Another issue is lodging/camping. There are good spots to camp along the trail between Rattlesnake Lake and the Snoqualmie Tunnel, and a few spots along Lake Keechelus. Then nothing until Wanapum State Park. On the east side of the Columbia, the trail is a narrow corridor through private land; the only legal camping spot is at the ORV park just east of Beverly. We ended up in motels in Othello and Ritzville.

Neil having lunch in the shade on the bridge over the Lower Crab Creek

A few other words of caution. Much of this trail is very isolated, most days we saw no one else on it. Cell phone coverage is limited. There are no bike shops between Ellensburg and Spokane so be prepared to be self-reliant. There are goat head thorns along the trail near Smyrna, Wash., with really no way to avoid them. Slime Super Thick tubes worked OK but regular Slime tubes just got shredded. There are also electric fences here, don’t try to leave the trail.

Water can be an issue too. We each rode with three-liter hydration packs and two water bottles and we carried a filter. It is good practice to refill whenever you can, especially east of the Columbia.

Riding on the rough rail beds in eastern Washington is slow going. Anticipate a pace of less than 10 mph, probably closer to 6 to 7 mph on average. But you’re on vacation, take your time and enjoy the ride.

Below is our map. Click through to see the details.

Are you a Cascade member with a bicycle trip report to share? Send it to me, and we’ll publish it on the blog.

Posted in Guest post, Touring, Trip reports | 1 Comment »

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