Getaway to Lake Stevens and Beyond, Day Four: Back to Seattle

By Barb Chamberlain | Published January 8, 2015

Snohomish County Bikes: an ongoing series highlighting great Snohomish County bike rides. Share your own great ride with us!

Bed, Breakfast & Biking: Lake Stevens Getaway

Day 4, Lake Stevens to Seattle: 37+ miles

Oh my, such pie! Snohomish Pie Company apple crumb pie.

Oh my, such pie! Snohomish Pie Company apple crumb pie.

After 3 days of riding the prospect of another 37 miles sounded like nothing to my racing/training husband. These rides were all in Zone -2 for him, or something like that.

For me it meant a little mental preparation (you can do it, legs!). Adding up the total mileage for these 4 days brought me to over 117 miles. That’s as much as I might ride in a week if I did my entire 22-mile round-trip commute by bike every day, and I don’t always do that.

Thus I planned to break the ride in Snohomish for pie and in Woodinville for lunch and a rest before the final 10+ miles. Granted, the 10 miles to Snohomish wouldn’t take more than an hour, but when you’re biking for all your transportation you won’t feel much guilt stopping for something delicious whenever you want to.

Interior, Snohomish Pie Company, Snohomish, WA

Relaxing place to rest a while in downtown Snohomish, amazing pastry: Snohomish Pie company.

We decided to take a different route home to avoid the strange configuration over the highway of Day One and to experience something new. Once we got on our route we discovered it was popular with other riders, as we saw both bike travelers and people out on what looked like training rides and group rides with friends.

“You can usually tell which are the best roads for cycling from just looking at a map — the roads connect two inconsequential places, and are never the fastest route to major population centers.” –David Kroodsma, The Bicycle Diaries: My 21,000 Mile Ride for the Climate

By now this refrain should sound familiar: We started out riding on the Centennial Trail. Why am I so high on this? Watch this video we created to get an idea (some of the food shots are at Mirkwood, our Arlington lunch stop from Day Three).

[Tweet “Snohomish Centennial Trail: Plan your bike vacation around it. #bikesnoco”]

Railing outside Snohomish Pie Company makes for a handy bike rack.

Railing outside Snohomish Pie Company makes for a handy bike rack.

In Snohomish we stopped at the justifiably famous Snohomish Pie Company for pieces of apple and berry pie with melt-in-the-mouth crust (my standards are high — my mom made outstanding pies) and coffee before refilling our water bottles and heading out of town.

Although this route involved some climbing, we enjoyed the quiet back roads and seeing other riders along the way added to the pleasure.

The Commons in Woodinville is a frequent destination for a weekend ride to breakfast thanks to its position close to the East Lake Sammamish Trail and the bike rack out front. I had planned for us to stop there but we ended up thrashing around a bit (in a way not reflected on the map below — I missed a couple of key turns and climbed extra hills) so we kept going.

The flat miles on the trail helped, although it was a longer push than I was fueled for. I had a granola bar, which helped, but was sorry I hadn’t packed something to provide faster fueling when I needed it.

Bikes mean business: The long line at 192 Brewing on the Burke-Gilman Trail proves that.

Long line on a nice day at 192 Brewing on the Burke-Gilman Trail.

It also helped that this last stretch is very familiar territory. We ride this often and I loved seeing so many people out enjoying the trail: couples, families with kids, people walking slowly to accommodate a grandma or grandpa. The intersection of the East Lake Sammamish Trail and Burke-Gilman Trail was so busy I literally couldn’t shoot fast enough to get a picture of everyone riding through in just a short 5-minute span.

When we got to 192 Brewing in Kenmore my empty fuel cells and I called a halt for some black bean dip, chips, and a cold beverage. The place was packed, with locals and bike travelers alike lined up at the counter to order and the bike rack on the side of the building overflowing. Location, location, location!

Another easy 6 or so miles more and I was home, ready to rest my legs and decide where we might ride for our next bike vacation.

My Takeaways

You’ll get a lot more great bike touring advice from someone like Ellee Thalheimer in our Cycling Sojourner Washington book or Russ and Laura at Path Less Pedaled. These are my personal takeaways for planning our next adventure:

  • A route that lets me take a break every 15 miles or so is just about right.
  • If we were going for a vacation beyond 4 days I would build in some non-riding days for the break.
  • I need to remember to carry something for quick energy and fuel before I feel like I’m bonking, not once I’m into it. That’s a basic lesson I learned long ago but I didn’t take 35 miles very seriously. All depends on the fuel on board.
  • If the forecast says rain, bring the rain booties. Wool socks are a given if it’s going to be cool.
  • My Nuu-Muu bike dresses (made in Bellingham) are really fantastic for bike travel and eating out along the way. (I really already knew that — just wanted to put in a plug for such a great product made in Washington.)
  • Check to see what days most things will be open or closed in a location. Riding is always an attraction so lack of open stores etc. isn’t a showstopper — just good to know (and lost revenue for store owners).

Map: Lake Stevens to North Seattle Bike Route

Note on leaving the Burke-Gilman Trail: I designed this route to start/end at a transit stop in Lake City, which is my home neighborhood. For route ideas to/from downtown (specifically, the Washington Bikes office) see Seattle to Edmonds — Trip to the Salish Sea.

For my “dismount” from the Burke-Gilman southbound I take 42nd Ave NE rather than the much steeper 123rd. I’d rather climb those switchbacks than get off and push my bike up that steep grade at 123rd (because, let’s face it, that’s what I do).

Bed & Breakfast & Biking: Getaway to Lake Stevens by Bicycle. Another great bike tour in our Snohomish County Bikes series.

Related Reading & Riding

Your Turn

  • Write your ride! What bike trip have you taken that you want to share with others?
  • What did we miss in the round-up of possible activities?
  • Your favorite places to eat, drink, play, and stay in Lake Stevens, Marysville, Arlington, Snohomish, or somewhere nearby?

 

Posted in Adventure, Food, Kids, Lake Forest Park, Lake Stevens, Rural, Seattle, Snohomish County, Tourism, Trails, Travel, Woodinville | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Getaway to Lake Stevens and Beyond, Day Three: Arlington via Snohomish Centennial Trail

By Barb Chamberlain | Published January 7, 2015

Snohomish County Bikes: an ongoing series highlighting great Snohomish County bike rides. Share your own great ride with us!

Day Three: Lake Stevens to Arlington and back, 35 miles

Bicycle rider with two bikes outside entrance to Mirkwood Shire and Cafe, vegetarian restaurant in Arlington, WA, open 7 days a week

Important to know if you’re fueled by calories: Which restaurants are open 7 days a week, like the Mirkwood in Arlington.

Day 3 of our getaway from Seattle to Snohomish County offered us plenty of  sunshine to make up for the soggy ride to Marysville on Day Two. Where to now? That was easy; I’d been to Arlington weeks earlier for the ribbon-cutting of a project that filled a gap in the Centennial Trail and wanted to head back. After chatting over breakfast with Swiss visitors who were heading off to hike Granite Falls, we rolled out around the lake.

Once again, those flat miles on the Centennial Trail made it easy to plan, since it took us straight from Lake Stevens to downtown Arlington.

With such a pleasant trail section in place, if I were mayor of any other town in Snohomish County I’d be working as hard as I could to get my area’s connection to the regional trail network finished, complete with good signage, so I could lure our wallets on wheels into my downtown, too. (Like, say, Oso and Darrington on the Whitehorse Trail.) 

Coming into Arlington you’re greeted by banners designed by local artists on streetlight poles, along with tile art set into an attractive stone wall.

At the intersection of the trail and the parallel street 67th Ave. NE with Lebanon St., you can choose to stay on the trail, which has one little interruption at a set of railroad tracks where you’ll want to ride with care. Or take the on-street curve at the tracks right and you’ll end up on Olympic Avenue, which runs through the heart of downtown straight toward our destination: Mirkwood and Shire Café.

[Tweet “Vegan/vegetarian fare at @MirkwoodShireCafe in @ArlingtonWA. #biketravel”]

This vegetarian/vegan restaurant/coffee shop/bar features kitschy Tolkienesque décor, a big venue for live music, some jewelry and art prints and notecards for sale — a funny and appealing mix. We sat outside on the wrought-iron furniture where we could see our bikes and look straight down the main street.

Curried vegetable soup, falafel, Mirkwood Shire and Cafe, vegetarian restaurant in Arlington, WASoup of the day, curried vegetable, was creamy and delicious and my falafel came piled high with tomatoes and lettuce on fluffy pita. My husband enjoyed his panini sandwich with fresh basil, tomato, and mozzarella, and we topped off the meal with strong, hot coffee.

Our wait staff said she sees lots of bicycle business, noting, “All the bike people sit outside.” She drives from Darrington to get to work and sees more and more bikes on the road all the time. When we visited they were planning some modifications to the layout that may be complete by now to have two spaces, one aimed more at the music-and-bar crowd, the other at the eat-good-food-and-talk crowd.

Stop by Skookum Brewery for locally brewed beer when you visit Arlington, WA.

Stop by Skookum Brewery for locally brewed beer when you visit Arlington, WA.

I was sorry to see that The Local Scoop was closed as we rode down Olympic Avenue, as I’d had my tastebuds set for ice cream. Most of the shops were closed, as it was Sunday.

I saw something similar in Walla Walla and Yakima over Memorial Day and wonder why more retail businesses don’t stay open extra hours on long weekends to capitalize on the tourists coming through. If stores had been open we would have lingered in downtown, potentially long enough to have a second meal in town (I had my eye on Bistro San Martin thanks to lots of word of mouth recommendations.)

[Tweet “Planning #biketouring #biketravel to @ArlingtonWA. #bikesnoco”]

Things to Do in Arlington, WA

  • Shopping and strolling: Arlington has a cute little downtown strip visible from and paralleling the Centennial Trail with several thrift stores and assorted other shops. I’m one of those people who loves secondhand stores; I’d much rather look at the items that embody the stories of people who’ve already lived than a rack or shelf full of identical brand-new things. And any town with a massage therapy school right in downtown has something to offer the passing bike traveler.
  • Stop for food: Restaurants, saloons, and the aforementioned ice cream. Highly recommended by several locals and on our list for another day: Bistro San Martin, referred to as simply “the bistro.” Another option very close to the trail on Olympic: the Blue Bird Cafe, which gets high marks for breakfast in particular (expect a weekend breakfast crowd). Hubb’s Pizza and Pasta, at an intersection as you come into town, was the mustering point for the Centennial Trail ribbon-cutting June 2014.
  • Local beer: A stop at Skookum Brewery before you head back to Lake Stevens takes you just a few blocks out of your way. Not a brewery, but a place to rub elbows with locals and shoot pool: Whitehorse Saloon next to the Blue Bird in downtown.

[Tweet “Bike to beer: @skookumbrewery in @ArlingtonWA. #biketravel #WAbeer”]

  • Park, farmers’ market (and public restroom) on Centennial Trail: The Legion Memorial Park on the Centennial Trail in downtown provides a place to stop and hang out for a while with a pleasant gazebo and that essential trailside service: a public restroom. Saturdays July 1-September 1 it’s also home to the Arlington Farmers’ Market, 10am-3pm.
  • Disc golf: If you’d like to get a different type of circular device flying besides your wheels, the Arlington Rotary Disc Golf Course awaits within a mile of downtown at Twin Rivers Park.
  • Arlington Velo: Local bike shop in case you need any supplies or just want to check out the merchandise and talk bikes.

[Tweet “Local bike shop @ArlingtonWA: @velo_sport. #bikesnoco”]

[Tweet “Kangaroos in @ArlingtonWA?! Yep. #biketravel”]

[Tweet “Bike travelers love locally grown food. @RedRoosterRoute @arlingtonWA farms. #biketravel”]

  • Local history: Stillaguamish Valley Pioneer Museum. Check their site to make sure it will be open when you’ll be there. Currently they’re open March-October, Wednesday-Saturday-Sunday, 1-4pm, closed certain holidays.
  • Fly-In and Festivals: Experimental aerobatics are on display the second full weekend in July and area farms offer various festivals as their crops come into season. Make your reservations now if you want to catch the fly-in July 9-11, 2015.

[Tweet “Putting July @ArlingtonFlyIn on my #biketravel calendar. #bikesnoco @ArlingtonWA”]

  • Fishing: Arlington sits where the North Fork and South Fork of the Stillaguamush River come together. Mountain rivers offer cutthroat, Dolly Varden, salmon, and summer/winter runs of steelhead for spin or fly-fishing. (Don’t forget your fishing license, available at Arlington Hardware in downtown.)
  • Keep riding! Head north of Arlington to the Nakashima Farm before turning around to come back.
  • Snohomish County Tourism information on Arlington

[Tweet “Planning to bike @LakeStevensWA to @ArlingtonWA. Centennial Trail! #biketravel”]

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Trail etiquette note: As we left Arlington headed back to Lake Stevens a rider startled me by appearing suddenly with no warning that he was overtaking, and on a narrow enough stretch that I felt crowded. This is a pet peeve of mine. Don’t do this. (We caught him and I said something politely so he was aware it startled me.)

Dinner that night back in Lake Stevens: Sahara Pizza. I hadn’t realized from their website that they were takeout/delivery only, so we hung around a while waiting and my husband window shopped the fishing store next door. My Northwest Territory was an interesting and delicious combo I’d get again: apples, walnuts, gorgonzola, pesto, mushrooms, cinnamon, onions. (Sounded weird but I like all the ingredients so I took a chance on it — glad I did.)

We also considered riding around Lake Stevens to the other side, where we would have had additional restaurant choices. Another incredibly quiet night’s sleep on a comfortable bed at the Mansion Inn Bed & Breakfast.

[Tweet “Planning bike trip to @LakeStevensWA. #bikesnoco #biketravel”]

Map: Lake Stevens to Arlington Bike Route

 

Snohomish County Bikes: Bed, Breakfast, & Biking Getaway to Lake Stevens

Have your own bike travel experience to share? Write your ride — we’d love to publish it!

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Posted in Adventure, Arlington, Darrington, Food, Kids, Lake Stevens, Oso, Snohomish County, Trails, Travel | Comments Off on Getaway to Lake Stevens and Beyond, Day Three: Arlington via Snohomish Centennial Trail

Getaway to Lake Stevens and Beyond, Day Two: Marysville

By Barb Chamberlain | Published January 6, 2015

Snohomish County Bikes: an ongoing series highlighting great Snohomish County bike rides. Share your own great ride with us!

Day one of our B&B&B (bikes & bed & breakfast) trip to Lake Stevens we arrived in Lake Stevens with plenty of time to find dinner and settle into our room. We slept soundly on a wonderfully comfortable bed after the day’s mileage (36 or so total, which is more than my usual commuting).

Saturday dawned bright and early and I realized the one tiny change I’d make in our room — one set of small windows didn’t have really dark shades and the light woke us earlier than what I would have planned, given that this was a vacation.

Well, “bright” is an overstatement — the sky held a bit of an overcast. After enjoying our breakfast and plenty of coffee we packed rain gear into our bags before setting off to bike to Marysville with plans to see a movie and have lunch.

Good thing we had the gear, as it started to drizzle not long after we got on the road and kept up for most of the ride. I wore wool socks so even when the rain crept through my bike shoes my feet weren’t freezing, but would have liked to have my waterproof shoe covers.

Bicycling from Lake Stevens to Marysville meant more easy miles on the Snohomish County Centennial Trail  before turning off to cross Highway 9. We rode through peaceful farming acreage with beautiful fields of flowers, corn, and other crops. While the road didn’t always have good shoulders, traffic was minimal and drivers gave us plenty of room.

Why did I plan a trip partly around the Centennial Trail as a key connection? Watch this video we created to get an idea (some of the food shots are at Mirkwood, our Arlington lunch stop from Day Three).

We came into Marysville following Google Map’s recommendations, which involved some major roads but got us onto a quiet street paralleling an arterial wherever possible. (See Lake Stevens to Marysville bike route map below.)

One particular stretch of road gave me that mix of delight and dread familiar to anyone who rides a bike: We had a wonderful long coast downhill, which meant we’d have to climb it on the way back. At least the newly surfaced street had bike lanes on both sides all the way — thanks, Marysville!

We had one of those small-town moments when we arrived at the movie theater to find an empty parking lot and a dark, silent building. At first we thought it might have closed but their site had shown a full roster of movies.

This made me wish I’d done a little more planning to have some back-up options handy. On the other hand, when you’re on a bike you’re already doing something so you can just keep riding and see what you find. But that advance planning would have told me Willis Hall Winery lay just 3 miles farther and I would have checked on the possibility of a little tasting stop.

Turned out the theater just hadn’t opened yet because the first showings started after noon and it was only about 11, so we went for an early lunch. We ended up at Applebee’s; a chain isn’t our first choice but we got great, friendly service and decided we were hobbits and should have second breakfast.

I was glad I’d brought a bag with me even though we weren’t planning to do any shopping. I often have leftovers to carry (couldn’t finish my second breakfast) or want to shed some gear. Our jackets and rain pants came on and off multiple times on this trip.

We came out of the movie to clearing skies and a mostly-dry ride home, warming to sunshine toward the end. After the long haul up that hill in Marysville, I was glad to get back on the Centennial Trail for easy bike miles back to Lake Stevens, where we stopped at the grocery store to get a bottle of Whidbey Island port for a treat along with some chocolate bars.

For dinner that night we ended up raiding the snack shelves for yogurt, granola, fruit, and hot cocoa. The Mansion Inn provides wine glasses and corkscrews, which made it easy to enjoy that port, too.

Other options considered for Day 2:

Everett: We could have gone to Everett to the Future of Flight Museum, which would have made about a 35-45-mile day (depending on the route taken) with a lot of walking at the museum.

Granite Falls: This would have been less mileage — around 17 miles round trip. If it hadn’t been raining we might have done this to see the ice caves. The catch could have been that our bike shoes aren’t hiking shoes and we didn’t know whether we could find secure bike parking at a trailhead.

Map: Lake Stevens to Marysville

 

 

Snohomish County Bikes: Bed, Breakfast, & Biking Getaway to Lake Stevens

Have your own bike travel experience to share? Write your ride — we’d love to publish it!

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Posted in Adventure, Food, Lake Stevens, Marysville, Snohomish County, Trails, Travel, Weather | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Bed, Breakfast & Biking: Getaway to Lake Stevens and More, Day One

By Barb Chamberlain | Published January 5, 2015

Snohomish County Bikes: an ongoing series highlighting great Snohomish County bike rides. Share your own great ride with us!

Bridge-coming-into-Snohomish_Loaded-bikes_forweb

The bridge coming into Snohomish for a pastry stop.

Whether we realize it or not, we all bring some mental checklist to our vacation planning. Some of us are looking for a quiet place to relax and unwind, others for lots of sightseeing and shopping. My husband’s checklist includes the phrases “I can’t just sit around all day” and “I can’t sleep when it’s too noisy,” while mine includes the words “pastries”, “cute downtown,” and “coffee shops.”

Our four-day bike getaway to Lake Stevens with side trips to other small towns in Snohomish County checked all the boxes for both of us — quite a trick!

We did this trip in fall, over the Labor Day weekend, and based on our experience will plan more trips like this. I briefly considered planning a big loop with a stay in a different town every night. The reality check for my checklist: I was planning this in the last couple of days before leaving and we were heading out on Labor Day weekend so many places were already booked.

I opted for a “hub and spoke” design—ride to one place, then go out and back from there each day—rather than the bike touring multi-day loops we’ll explore in the future.

Friday: North Seattle to Lake Stevens, 35 miles

We headed out mid-morning Friday, which put us ahead of those taking a 3-day weekend rather than a 4-day — a tactic I’d definitely use again to miss some of the heavy traffic volume of a holiday weekend.

The Mansion Inn Bed and Breakfast in Lake Stevens provided the perfect hub. At around 35 miles from our starting point in northeast Seattle, it was a comfortable distance for me with that all-important pastry and coffee stop along the way in downtown Snohomish, which has lots of wonderful places for flaky confections.

Bike-Friendly Lodgings: An Essential Attraction

When I checked with the Mansion Inn owners about bike storage before booking the room, I got this welcoming and reassuring answer: “We have secure bike storage in our garages. A couple of weeks ago we had around $50,000 of bikes here for our guests who did the Ironman Triathlon.”

Note to hotel owners everywhere: If I had gotten an answer that didn’t welcome us on bikes, we would have gone to a different town.

[Tweet “Bike-friendly lodgings: Offer only if you want my travel $$ in your town. #biketravel”]

After an easy start on the Burke-Gilman Trail to Kenmore, we rode in new bike lanes for quite a bit of the route to and through Bothell. Alternatively, we could have routed through Woodinville and made a stop at some wineries for tasting.

Scroll down for maps for both routes. If you’re starting farther south and need a break along the way, you may want to check out Honey Bear Bakery in Lake Forest Park along the way. See options for routes from downtown Seattle in Seattle to Edmonds: Day Trip to the Salish Sea.

For us the ride itself was the primary point of the trip, but I found plenty of reasons to stop along the way if we wanted to.

Things to See and Do in Kenmore and Bothell

Log Boom Park on Lake Washington: You’re heading to a lake destination but if you want to stop for some fishing or just staring at water and boats, this is your spot. Watch a float plane or two landing or taking off from Kenmore Air, the world’s largest seaplane-based airline, and check out the Kenmore History Walk (PDF).

Family biking — playgrounds and toy stores: Log Boom has a playground so if this is a family biking trip, stop here to let them run and shriek and climb on things. If you feel the need for takeaway entertainment, hunt down Snapdoodle Toys after you cross 522 just a little farther on or Toys that Teach in a little mall farther north on the route.

Bike to beer at 192 Brewing: This popular stop right on the Burke-Gilman Trail is just north of the traffic light at 73rd Ave. NE, where our route turned off the trail. Lots of outdoor seating.

Bothell Bike and Ski: Bike shop on the route in case you need to stock up on anything.

Things to do in Bothell, WA: This list of businesses in Bothell will give you more ideas, although remember that pastry awaits in Snohomish.

Things to Do in Snohomish, WA

Fields of flowers in Snohomish County farmland, WashingtonLocal farms: On your way into Snohomish you’ll ride some of Snohomish County’s beautiful farmlands. Bailey’s Vegetable Farm was on our route as we came into Snohomish via springhetti Road; we passed by this time but another time would make a stop for some freshly grown fuel. The Snohomish County Farm Trail guide will come in handy (PDF); they have a mobile app that will alert you when you’re near a stop, too.

Craft beer, wineries, distilleries: For fuel of another kind all over Snohomish County, this list of the liquid arts — breweries, wineries, and distilleries — will have you mapping out plenty of stops and side trips. In Snohomish stop at Skip Rock Distillers or Mt. Pilchuck Brewery. (Note that it doesn’t list every last craft beverage maker but it makes a great starting point.)

Hot air baloons over Snohomish River, Washington stateHot air balloon ride: You’ll have to plan around this, as the best times for ballooning are at sunrise or close to sunset. If you opt for the sunset ride and full dinner from Airial Balloon you’ll have an evening ride on to Lake Stevens but it’s an easy route almost entirely via the Centennial Trail.

Skydiving: If you’d like to move through the air but quite a bit faster, go for the thrill of skydiving. TravelChannel.com named Snohomish one of the 6 Best Places to go Skydiving in the world, the only location named in North America!

Rider with two bicycles and panniers outside Snohomish Bakery Creations, Snohomish, WABakeries: Snohomish checked off both “cute downtown” (lots of antique stores) and “pastry” (lots of bakeries) on my list—so much so that we made plans to stop there again on our way back.

At Snohomish Bakery Creations this first time around Eric’s sandwich on fresh, fluffy bread more than satisfied his hearty race-training appetite and my apple strudel satisfied my sweet tooth, although plenty of other things tempted in that case. We didn’t make it to Snohomish Pie Company this time but that was okay — it was on our list for the return.

Antiquing: Snohomish’s short downtown stretch invites you to lock the bikes up and walk a while to explore the antique shops and other specialty shops.

From Snohomish we rode an easy 10 miles more on the Centennial Trail through quiet pines and past a Little Free Library. As beginning birdwatchers we appreciated the sightings of hawks and a Stellar’s jay, among others.

[Tweet “Plenty of reasons to ride my bike to Snohomish! #bikesnoco”]

 

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As we came into easygoing Lake Stevens we saw kids swimming in the lake. With rain in the forecast we hadn’t packed our suits, but definitely would on a summer bike tour.

Mansion Inn Bed & Breakfast

Mansion Inn Bed and Breakfast, Lake Stevens, WAThe Mansion Inn, which is all of 5 minutes away from a grocery store and a few places to eat and 10 minutes away from the Centennial Trail, made for a delightful stay. Rod and Tracy are welcoming hosts, and with shelves full of snacks available 24/7 they’re more than ready for the hearty appetites bike-touring travelers bring in the door.

View of Lake Stevens from window of Mansion Inn Bed and Breakfast.Rod told us they had been stuffed to the gills for the Lake Stevens Ironman a couple of weeks before, with people willing to sleep on sofas and floors just to have a place to stay. The Ironman is a boon to business for lodging owners, with nothing available for 50 miles around because registration nearly doubled this year. If I lived anywhere along the Centennial Trail I’d be looking seriously at whether I wanted to sign up as an Air BnB host, given the opportunities created by major events like this and the daily attraction of the trail.

Our room at the top of the inn offered all the peace and quiet we wanted. It also featured a jetted tub — I hopped right into that after we unpacked to soak away the mileage. Then it was time to go find dinner.

Jetted tub in our room in Mansion Inn Bed and Breakfast.Places to Eat in Lake Stevens

This side of Lake Stevens offers small local places and a couple of fast-food chains — nothing fancy but we weren’t dressed for or interested in “fancy.”

We chose the Adriatica for our first night’s dinner. With fast, attentive service and delicious food, it more than satisfied, although we made the mistake of skipping the baklava so I can’t report on that. Portions weren’t gigantic so if the first day had burned a lot more calories we might have ordered an additional entrée.

Other options:

Soft mattress, smooth sheets, and well-deserved sleep rounded out Day One of our bike trip to Snohomish County.

North Seattle to Lake Stevens: The Map

Route notes:

The one dicey part came when the nice bike lane in Bothell ended with us on a bridge over 405 looking for signs. We had to stop to understand a strangely angled curb-cut/sidewalk configuration with cars coming off the freeway on a ramp that we had to cross. This very short segment is not for the faint of heart.

In Bothell Google Maps for bikes shows a connection from 23rd Ave SE to Seattle Hill road. It isn’t a street connection; we added a little more mileage thrashing around, asking people who were out for a walk, and pulling out my smartphone for navigation. We should have realized that a Dead End sign means for cars, not necessarily for bikes; Google Street View shows a path that continues at the end of what appeared to be a cul-de-sac on 23rd.

 

Alternate Route: North Seattle to Lake Stevens via Woodinville

If you take this route, you may want to plan time to stop at the wineries and distilleries for some tasting, or check out the protected wetlands around University of Washington Bothell for birdwatching. We came back this way, as I’ll report in Day Four.

 

Distilleries: Craft distilleries in Woodinville offer handcrafted vodka, whiskey, grappa and more.  Check out these fine Washington state distilleries:  Pacific Distillery, Woodinville Whiskey Company, Soft Tail Spirits, and Project V Distillery and Sausage Co.

Birdwatching: Interpretive trail in 58 acres of protected wetlands at the University of Washington Bothell, one of the largest and most complex floodplain restorations in Washington State. Fall to late spring you’ll see one of the state’s largest area for roosting crows.

Hot air ballooning: You’ll have a couple of chances on this trip if you take this route. Over the Rainbow in Woodinville has a post-flight session at Matthews Estate.

Snohomish County Bikes: Bed, Breakfast, & Biking Getaway to Lake Stevens

Have your own bike travel experience to share? Write your ride — we’d love to publish it!

Want to make sure you get other bike travel stories from us? Sign up for our e-news.

 

 

 

Posted in Bothell, Food, Lake Forest Park, Lake Stevens, News, Seattle, Snohomish County, Trails, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

#BikeIt: What’s On Your List?

By Barb Chamberlain | Published December 31, 2014
My New Year's Resolution: Ride More! Text below Washington Bikes logo "W" bike

Right-click to download, save, and share this in your social media accounts to tell your friends you’re working on your #BikeIt list in 2015. While you’re at it, invite them to join in one or more of the ideas below. And if you’re taking this seriously as a New Year’s resolution, research shows that telling other people increases the likelihood you’ll follow through.

You know what a bucket list is — the things you want to do before you die. We’re not looking quite that far ahead with our #BikeIt question. We just want to know what kinds of things you want to do to enjoy and expand your riding.

Some of the ideas listed here came from Twitter and we have a Facebook poll that collapses the detailed list below into broad categories (see bottom of this page). We’ve also been inspired by similar lists from partner organizations and people making New Year’s resolutions.

Some are big, bold, and year-long, others more easily done. Some may already be routine for you, others seemingly out of the question. That’s the beauty of a list for all kinds of riders who have all kinds of reasons for riding.

Add your ideas here in the comments or in social media and we’ll keep this list growing over time to share inspiration. Don’t forget to come back and tell us when you’ve accomplished one of your dreams.

[Tweet “Working on my #BikeIt list in 2015 w/ideas from this. What’s on YOUR list?”]

And yes, we deliberately mixed the list up instead of grouping by any sort of categories. Enjoy stumbling across something you wouldn’t have thought of.

  1. Bike for all trips of two miles or less.
  2. Get groceries by bike.
  3. Try a cargo bike. (What do you need to haul?)
  4. Recruit a friend to go for a ride.
  5. Tell your state legislators you want them to support bicycling.
  6. Thank your state legislators and other elected officials when they do support bicycling.
  7. Ride a trail near your home.
  8. Ride a trail somewhere else in Washington that you’ve never ridden before. (Which one?)
  9. Donate to help build a trail you want to ride.
  10. Attend the new Washington Bike Summit (coming March 16-17 in Olympia in conjunction with Transportation Advocacy Day).
  11. Go on a bike tour.
  12. Go on one of the tours in Cycling Sojourner Washington.
  13. Support your local bike advocacy organization. (Let us know if it’s not on our list.)
  14. Start a local bike advocacy effort. (Tell us if you do; we’ll help spread the word.)
  15. Test-ride an e-bike.
  16. Test-ride an adult tricycle. Better yet, get someone who shouldn’t be driving much longer to test-ride an adult tricycle.
  17. Participate in an Open Streets event.
  18. Ride to school with a kid (mine, a grandkid, the neighbor’s child — you can probably borrow one if you have to).
  19. Get neighbors together to talk about how you can make yours a more bikeable, walkable part of town and start something rolling.
  20. Work in your community for a bike master plan, 20MPH neighborhood speed limit, or other improvements to policy and infrastructure. (What does your town need? Tell us in the comments.)
  21. Look at your community efforts with an awareness of your privilege and figure out how you can include people who aren’t currently at the table when improvements are being planned. Then do that.
  22. Try mountain biking.
  23. Try bike commuting.
  24. Participate in your local Commute Challenge.
  25. Participate in one or more of the fun, informal challenges like 30 Days of Biking or coffeeneuring.
  26. Participate in the National Bike Challenge.
  27. Take your bike on the bus or commuter train.
  28. Try road racing.
  29. Try track racing.
  30. Try cyclocross.
  31. Win races.
  32. Volunteer in the annual bike count.
  33. Get your workplace to apply for Bicycle-Friendly Business recognition. (Application deadline: Jan. 15, 2015)
  34. Ask your employer to support bicycle commuter benefits if they’re already doing parking and transit. (This would look great on their Bicycle-Friendly Business application.)
  35. Get your town to apply for Bicycle-Friendly Community recognition. (Application deadline: Feb. 11, 2015)
  36. Get your college/university to apply for Bicycle-Friendly University recognition. (Application deadline: Aug. 20, 2015)
  37. Try randonneuring.
  38. Try gravel grinding.
  39. Try a fixie.
  40. Try fatbiking in sand or snow.
  41. Do one of Washington’s famous major rides like STP, RAW, or RAMROD. (Which one[s]?)
  42. Do some other famous major ride: RAAM, Ride the Divide, Paris-Brest-Paris…. (Which one[s]?)
  43. Ride your bike every day for a year.
  44. Ride in cold weather.
  45. Ride your bike at night.
  46. Ride in the rain.
  47. Plan a vacation based on the quality of the bicycling in the destination area.
  48. Test-ride a tandem.
  49. Learn how to repair a flat tire. (Bonus points if you actually use what you learned if you get a flat.)
  50. Learn how to tune up your bike.
  51. Understand gear ratios.
  52. Volunteer with a local program that helps kids learn to ride and get bicycles.
  53. Volunteer with a local community bike shop or bike repair program.
  54. Join a local riding group.
  55. Review state laws and local ordinances about bicycling so you really know the law. (We can send you a pocket guide to WA state bike law to help.)
  56. Attend the National Bike Summit. (Let us know if you’re going; we help organize visits to congressional offices for the Washington state delegation.)
  57. Get a Share the Road license plate for your car to make streets more bike-friendly when you drive.
  58. Write a blog post about something you tried from this list. (We’d love to publish it. If you blog regularly about biking you belong on our list of Washington state bike blogs.)
  59. Ride a certain number of miles per week, on average.
  60. Ride as many miles as you are years old.
  61. Set a new personal best for one-day mileage. (What would that be for you?)
  62. Achieve a target total mileage for the year.
  63. Stop tracking your miles at all because it’s just about the ride.
  64. Adopt a mile of trail or bike lane and clear the trash regularly.
  65. Support Washington Bikes with your tax-deductible donation. to help us advocate for more funding for bike facilities; work for laws that improve safety, education, health, and justice; and use the power of bike tourism to build support among businesses and local leaders. (You knew this would be on the list, right?)
  66. Ride some or all of USBR10 across Washington.
  67. Try bikeshare. In Washington: Cycle Pronto in Seattle and the state’s first bikeshare, the Green Bikes system for students, staff, and faculty at Washington State University Pullman.

For Our Twitter Fans

Have fun with our formatted tweets: Throw in the numbers of specific items you’re putting on your list.

[Tweet “On my #BikeIt list: Major rides like….”]

[Tweet “On my #BikeIt List: Get involved! Neighborhood, town, state, US.”]

[Tweet “On my #BikeIt list: Work for #bikes4all, inclusion, equity.”]

[Tweet “On my #BikeIt list: Vacation by or with my bike! #biketravel #biketouring “]

[Tweet “On my #BikeIt list: Learn new things, try new bikes.”]

Skip the Detail, Take the Facebook Poll

Your Turn

  • Which ones are on your list?
  • Which ones made you realize, “Hey, not everyone rides the way I do”?

 

 

 

Posted in Adventure, Advocacy, Attitudes, Bike Blogs, Bike Clubs, Bike Culture, Bike to Work, Commuting, Education, Encouragement, Equity, Events, Funding/Policy, Gear/Maintenance, I Bike, Issues & Advocacy, Kids, Legislature, News, Politics, Racing, Rides, Seniors, Shopping, Trails, Transit, Travel, Volunteer, Weather | 1 Comment

11 Trends that Are Good for the Growth of Bicycling

By Barb Chamberlain | Published December 30, 2014
Mary Anderson and Izzy roll in Bellingham. Mother and daughter on bike with trail-a-bike behind.

Mary Anderson and Izzy roll in Bellingham.

Bicycling is on the rise across Washington state, the nation, and the globe, across all ages, abilities, and ethnicities. All the indicators tell us that the future of transportation is increasingly two-wheeled. What originally served as our 2013 auction theme, “All Kinds of Riders for All Kinds of Reasons,” now describes both our ongoing commitment and the future of bicycling.

The Trends

The indicators below tell us more and more people are riding for more and more reasons, and that our hometowns are changing in ways that will encourage and accelerate growth in bicycling.

Our list touches briefly on topics being written about in greater depth here and elsewhere and we haven’t captured everything. Tell us in the comments: What trends do you see that tell you bicycling is booming?

Want to know a(bout the latest bike trends and news in Washington? Sign up for our e-news.)

[Tweet “Reason #1 biking booming in WA/everywhere: #familybiking on the rise.”]

Family biking is really rolling! Washington state bike blogs like Family Ride and Car Free Days show how it’s done. The Seattle Family Biking group on Facebook shares tips and wonderful pictures. Kidical Mass rides take place from Spokane to Tacoma.

[Tweet “Reason #2 biking booming in WA/everywhere: Cargo bikes haul people and goods.”]

Yes, you can make a Costco run by bike. Glen Buhlmann of Kirkland does it every week.

Yes, you can make a Costco run by bike. Glen Buhlmann of Kirkland does it every week.

Cargo bikes are big — as in, you can haul a lot by bike! You can buy the bicycle equivalent of a minivan with room for 2-3 kids and several bags of groceries. People move by bike (in fact, that’s one of the books we sell in our store) and go to Costco.

[Tweet “Reason #3 biking booming in WA/everywhere: #womenbike growth. Spokane Valley #1!”]

Women are riding in increasing numbers. And the #1 place in America for women commuting by bike, according to the League of American Bicyclists? The town of Spokane Valley.

[Tweet “Reason #4 biking booming in WA/everywhere: Fastest increase=people of color. #bikes4all”]

Riders at STP.

Riders at STP.

Biking is on the rise among people of all cultures and ethnicities. In fact, the most rapid increases in riding are among Latinos, blacks, and Asian Americans and the highest use is among Native Americans (“The New Majority: Pedaling Towards Equity” from the League of American Bicyclists lays out the data). In the next 3-4 decades these demographic groups will also become the majority in Washington state.

[Tweet “Reason #5 biking booming in WA/everywhere: Biking=transpo independence for seniors.”]

senior-on-trike
Senior cycling skyrocketing: New trips by senior citizens account for 22% of the growth in bicycling. Time to give up those car keys? Bicycling will help maintain health and transportation independence.

[Tweet “Reason #6 biking booming in WA/everywhere: Young people riding more, driving less.”]

Young people ride bikes, walk, take transit, use car-sharing: Young people (“young” in this case meaning 35 and under) are driving less and bicycling more.

The Millennials are the biggest generation in human history. As a writer said in Motor Trends magazine, no less, they’re more likely to spend their money on cell phones and bikes than on cars, with the former giving them the social connections and freedom of movement that used to be attributed to driving. A Washington Post headline said they’re “shunning” cars.

Put this shift in habits of consumption and transportation alongside accelerating trends in bike infrastructure and bikes themselves and there’s little reason to think they’ll all abandon bicycling when they turn 36. When they do drive it’s apt to be with a car-sharing service like Zipcar, which gives them the utility of a car for occasional use without the ongoing burden of ownership.

[Tweet “Reason #7 biking booming in WA/everywhere: Bike advocates work for equity/inclusion. #bikes4all”]

Equity on the agenda: Bike advocacy leaders are working to address issues of privilege and inclusion to build a pro-bike movement of, for, and by everyone. I was privileged to participate as a speaker in the opening session when the League’s Future Bike initiative launched. Dr. Adonia Lugo heads the League’s equity initiative; she lived in Seattle while working on her PhD and we helped supported her research into bicycle justice.

These girls at a Bike Works Kid Bike-O-Rama represent the future of bicycling.

These girls at a Bike Works Kid Bike-O-Rama represent the future of bicycling.

[Tweet “Reason #8 biking booming in WA/everywhere: Neighborhood activists demand safer, better streets.”]

Neighborhood activism remaking streets: People are uniting in groups like Seattle Neighborhood Greenways, Kirkland Greenways, Yakima Bikes and Walks, and others to say that neighborhood streets with fast traffic and fatalities are unacceptable. Through traffic calming measures, street redesign, buffered bike lanes, and other changes aimed at creating streets for all, not just for drivers, cities are responding to pressure from these citizen groups to make safer and more livable streets for people.

[Tweet “Reason #9 biking booming in WA/everywhere: Slower speed limits make safer streets. #20IsPlenty”]

20 Is Plenty: One of the tools for these changes is the move to slow speed limits in residential areas evident everywhere from London to New York City.

Just a 5mph slowdown makes a dramatic difference in injuries and survivals, which is why groups from AAA to AARP to the Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition to public health agencies supported the Neighborhood Safe Streets Bill we got enacted in 2013. Washington cities can now slow speeds on non-arterials without the expense of a traffic engineering study. As streets feel safer, more people bike and walk.

[Tweet “Reason #10 biking booming in WA/everywhere: Places for people, not cars, taking off.”]

People live in places, not in cars: “Placemaking” is all the rage, but people have always made places. It’s just that the traffic designs of the past made places for cars, not for people. As someone said on Twitter:

Many of the headlines about placemaking refer to walkability without mentioning bikeability. But any town focused on increasing foot traffic to its Main Street businesses and improving health in its neighborhoods will be redesigning streets to slow motor vehicles and encourage active transportation to replace driving alone, making conditions better for bicycling too.

Walking and bicycling are distinct ways of getting around, each with its own needs, but when you see “walkable” think “walkable/bikeable” and you’ll recognize the improvements under way for all of us who use people-powered movement.

As for this being a “trend”: We’ve been celebrating these types of places for a long time without labeling them. Every brochure you’ve ever seen that made you want to visit a place showed you slow-paced streets with lots of things to do inviting you to linger, not four-lane high-speed roads through a downtown core.

[Tweet “Reason #11 biking booming in WA/everywhere: Bikes mean business! #bikenomics #biketravel”]

Bikes mean business: Elly Blue’s book Bikenomics makes the case eloquently — people on bicycles return both direct and indirect benefit to local economies. With the rise of Bike-Friendly Business Districts, Bicycle-Friendly Communities found in all 50 states, and a growing interest in bike tourism as a tool for economic development particularly well suited for small towns and rural areas, our “wallets on wheels” are more welcome than ever.

Your Turn: We got to 11 and didn’t even talk about health, the environment, or the affordable nature of bicycling in difficult economic times. What other trends should be on the list?

Don’t fall behind: Sign up for our e-news to learn what’s happening for better bicycling, events in your area, legislative action and more.

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Posted in Accessibility, Advocacy, Complete Streets, Economic Impact, Encouragement, Equity, Family biking, Infrastructure, Issues & Advocacy, Kids, Legislature, News, Safe Routes to School, Safety, Seniors, Transportation, Women | Tagged | 2 Comments

13 Ways Bicycling Got Better in Washington in 2014

By Barb Chamberlain | Published December 29, 2014
Mom Tonya shared this with us, saying, "Kids out of school, cold & rainy, time to ride!"

Mom Tonya shared this with us, saying, “Kids out of school, cold & rainy, time to ride!”

Before we look ahead to 2015, let’s pause a moment to celebrate all we accomplished together for better bicycling in 2014

The list of milestones is long! Washington Bikes couldn’t make any of this happen without the support of people like you: People who care about safer streets, better bike networks, bike-friendly towns, and laws that improve education, safety, health, justice, and our local and state economies through biking.

13 Bicycle Milestones for Washington State in 2014

[Tweet “Reason #1 bicycling in WA awesome: 7th yr @bikeleague says WA #1 Bicycle Friendly State.”]

For the seventh year in a row the League of American Bicyclists named Washington the #1 Bicycle Friendly State in America.

[Tweet “Reason #2 biking in WA great: @peopleforbikes says we have 2 of US’s 10 best new bike lanes.”]

Protected two-way bike lanes grew, with two in Seattle named among America’s 10 best new bike lanes by People for Bikes. New approaches to infrastructure get more people riding, and with examples on the ground we can expect more cities to build these.

[Tweet “Reason #3 biking in WA fantastic: Bicycle-Friendly Communities like Wenatchee.”]

The Greater Wenatchee Metropolitan Area became the state’s first multiple-jurisdiction Bicycle-Friendly Community. The application included Wenatchee, East Wenatchee, Rock City, Chelan County, and Douglas County, and was energized by the efforts of Wenatchee Valley Velo Club and area trail groups, among others.

For a complete list of Washington state’s Bicycle-Friendly Communities, Businesses, and Universities from Sequim to Seattle to Spokane, see our Bike-Friendly Washington page.

To get your community on the list, start working on your application first thing in the New Year: Next round of applications due Feb. 11, 2015.

Apple Capital Loop Trail, East Wenatchee.

Apple Capital Loop Trail, East Wenatchee.

[Tweet “Reason #4 WA biking great: Small towns, breweries, scenery, local food–WA bike touring rocks!”]

We celebrated the release of Cycling Sojourner: A Guide to the Best Multi-Day Bike Tours in Washington. Around 3,000 copies are already in circulation to get more people exploring Washington by bike with the first multi-day bike tour guide for Washington to come out in over a decade.

One of the mountain views you'll find (earn!) if you ride the tours in Cycling Sojourner Washington.

One of the mountain views you’ll find (earn!) if you ride the tours in Cycling Sojourner Washington.

[Tweet “Reason #5 WA biking rocks: 1st @usbicycleroutes on West Coast, USBR10. Put it on #bikeit list!”]

Working with WSDOT, WA Bikes rolled out US Bicycle Route 10, our state’s first entry in the US Bicycle Route System (a nationally recognized interstate bike network), with a ribbon-cutting featuring State Transportation Secretary Lynn Peterson. USBR 10 is the first US Bicycle Route in the Pacific Northwest and on the West Coast.

Anacortes Mayor Laurie Gere and WSDOT Sec. Lynn Peterson cut the ribbon in Anacortes for USBR10.

Anacortes Mayor Laurie Gere and WSDOT Sec. Lynn Peterson cut the ribbon in Anacortes for USBR10.

[Tweet “Reason #6 WA bikes: 1000s of WA kids walk/bike to school thx to safety educ. #saferoutesnow”]

We trained teachers in 8 new school districts to use our Bike and Pedestrian Safety Education Program: Cascade (Leavenworth), Deer Park, Kettle Falls, La Center, La Conner, Newport, Riverside and Tumwater.

Over 56,000 students have learned to bike and walk to school safely and responsibly with our program, with 15,000-16,000 more each year. The program is supported by WSDOT and involves the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction — biking to school is healthy transportation and good for waking up brain cells and preparing kids to concentrate and learn.

Children in White Salmon enjoying the bikes they got through the Safe Routes Bicycling/Walking Safety Education Program run by Washington Bikes with funding through the Dept. of Transportation. Photo by Amber Marra, White Salmon Enterprise.

Children in White Salmon enjoying the bikes they got through the Safe Routes Bicycling/Walking Safety Education Program run by Washington Bikes with funding through the Dept. of Transportation. Photo by Amber Marra, White Salmon Enterprise.

WA Bikes partnered with Snohomish County, the Centennial Trail Coalition, and others to rally support for the 27-mile Whitehorse Trail connecting Arlington to Darrington through the stunning Stillaguamish Valley. The trail and the tourists it will attract will aid the region’s recovery from the devastating Oso mudslide.

[Tweet “Reason #7 biking in WA=fantastic: trails like Whitehorse & Centennial.”]

Centennial Trail and Whitehorse Trail

A large sculpture marks the intersection of the Whitehorse and Centennial trails. Photo courtesy of Debora Nelson

[Tweet “Reason #8 WA biking great: 1000+ @railstotrails miles–most in the US!”]

When the Whitehorse Trail is completed it will connect to the Snohomish County Centennial Trail. From there, a growing network of trails connects the Puget Sound region. The Cross-Kirkland Corridor, part of the Eastside Rail Corridor; Burke-Gilman Trail; East Lake Sammamish Trail; Interurban; Ship Canal; trail mileage continues to grow, inviting more and more people to ride to more places.

With over 1,000 miles of rail-trails, Washington is #1 in the nation for rail-trail miles and has the single longest such trail, the John Wayne Pioneer Trail.

Trail projects keep rolling, from the Prairie Line Trail in Tacoma to the final “Bridging the Gap” project in the Chehalis-Western Trail to the Olympic Discovery Trail.

[Tweet “Reason #9 WA biking rocks: Local advocates who show up, speak up, ride the talk.”]

With support from Empire Health Foundation, Washington Bikes opened an office in Spokane. We tripled the number of League of American Bicyclists Certified Instructors in the Inland Northwest by hosting a training, developed a network of PE teachers who collaborate to get kids biking, and piloted a Walking School Bus program (since kids walk before they ride) that will continue under the auspices of the Spokane Regional Health District. Local advocates including members of Spokane Bicycle Club, Belles and Baskets, Swamp Ride, and others volunteer in our programs and with all the great bike events in the area. WA Bikes (then the Bicycle Alliance) helped found Bike to Work Spokane in 2007; advocacy in the region has grown steadily ever since.

Around Washington in 2014 more and more local people became bike leaders.

  • Seattle, Kirkland, and elsewhere: Activists started pushing for Vision Zero traffic safety measures to reduce fatalities to zero for pedestrians and bicyclists.
  • Wenatchee: Advocates energized the effort to get elected officials from five jurisdictions on board for the Bicycle-Friendly Community application and are working for the “Fruit Loop,” a proposed link between Wenatchee and Leavenworth.
  • Port Angeles and Clallam County: A similar effort is under way for Bicycle Friendly status, with Port Angeles Likes Bikes bringing people together.
  • Vancouver: BikeVanWa advocates for completion of critical trail segments and on-street improvements.
  • Pullman: Advocates are hard at work on a number of fronts. They got Pullman added to the statewide bike count, got the city to support installation of bike racks around downtown and identified the best locations, and worked to keep the possibility of a rail-trail between Colfax and Pullman alive.
  • The list goes on!
LCI Seminar in Spokane, August 2014.

LCI Seminar in Spokane, August 2014.

[Tweet “Reason #10 biking in WA keeps getting better: Elected officials at all levels who get it.”]

Elected officials at every level of government, from local to state to federal, demonstrate great leadership in making biking safer and more accessible for all. This list doesn’t begin to capture everyone — it’s just a sampling of some of the people we’ve worked with over the past year:

[Tweet “Reason #11 biking keeps getting better in WA: Open Streets parties take over our streets!”]

Open Streets events based on the original Ciclovia in Bogotá, Colombia empower people to experience their streets in a whole new way: without cars! Once people have felt that freedom, they see the possibilities of the street with new eyes. These events can inspire people to work for redesign and other changes to make streets friendlier for all.

Does your community hold an Open Streets event? Note it in the comments below and we’ll add it to the list here.

Want to start an Open Streets event? Check out the Open Streets guide brought out by the Alliance for Biking and Walking and NACTO (PDF).

[Tweet “Reason #12 WA bikes: Fun challenges from #coffeeneuring to #biketowork to #30daysofbiking.”]

Some people ride alone. Some people ride no matter what. Some people need a challenge, team spirit, or a reasonably entertaining excuse to motivate more time in the saddle. This year all kinds of group rides and challenges from formal to informal got the people of Washington riding in every season. Among them:

  • 30 Days of Biking: Simple, really — just ride your bike every day. Every. Single. Day. Takes place in April and again in September.
  • #Coffeeneuring: Ride 7 places in 7 weeks for coffee. Quite a few Washington riders went for coffee–imagine that!
  • Bike to Work Week: From Olympia (where Thurston County has the longest-running commute challenge in the state) to Spokane and everywhere in between, people rallied their coworkers. Check out some of the winning categories in the giant Commute Challenge put on by Cascade Bicycle Club — good thing participation in this workplace challenge is so big, considering that the Puget Sound is home to over half the entire state’s workforce. If your area has a Commute Challenge that isn’t on our list, let us know.
  • National Bike Challenge: This gets bigger and better every year. Miles per capita measures let people in really tiny places (Dixie, WA, we’re looking at you!) match their mileage of all kinds against the big cities. All kinds of riding count and you can log miles May-September.
  • Solstice Ride: Among those out on their bikes on the shortest day of the year — Seattle Randonneurs and Tacoma Kidical Mass. Did you go for a ride to chase the sun back into the sky?
  • Local challenges: In 2014 City of Spokane staff created the “Commute of the Century” — 5 maps of 20-mile routes designed to have people ride in every quadrant of the city and provide input on conditions for bicycling. Promoted as a series of lunchtime rides during Bike to Work Week, the challenge is available any time you want to download a map. In Wenatchee the Pybus Kids Century challenged kids to ride the 10-mile Apple Capital Loop Trail to rack up the miles.

Did your town or group put on a creative local challenge that isn’t about biking to work? Will you be repeating it in 2015?

Mom and baby take a break for snacks during Spokane's Commute of the Century.

Mom and baby take a break for snacks during Spokane’s Commute of the Century.

[Tweet “Reason #13 we love biking WA: Recognized as part of huge outdoor rec economy in the state. #bikesmeanbusiness”]

In 2014 Gov. Jay Inslee appointed a Blue Ribbon Task Force on Parks and Outdoor Recreation. The outdoor recreation economy in the state is worth over $20 billion (that’s with a B) and puts 226,000 or so people to work all over the state. With strong support for trails expressed at every meeting, the task force recommendations that Washington Bikes will be supporting include funding for the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program.

Bicycling contributes to the state’s economy: We have major bicycle manufacturing and supply companies headquartered here, retail sales, bicycle tour guides, and every form of riding from bike touring to mountain biking to major events, charity rides, day trips, and biking downtown for coffee.

Bonus support for bicycling in 2014: We celebrated record-breaking attendance for this year’s Annual Auction and Gala! Thank you to our sponsors and organizational members: Cascade Bicycle Club, John Duggan Cycling Attorney, Ortlieb, SvR Design, Sound Transit, UW Transportation Services,Biking Billboards, Zipcar Seattle, Todd Vogel and Karen Hust, House Wine, Schooner Exact Brewing Co., DRY Soda Co., Foro Tasto Design, and H4 Consulting.

The funds we raise through the auction help support our lobbying in Olympia and our policy work with state, regional, and local agencies. If you’d like to make a tax-deductible donation to support our work for better bicycling all across the state, use our online form. You’ll help us make next year’s list of milestones even longer.

Be part of the success: Sign up for our e-news to learn what’s happening for better bicycling, events in your area, legislative action and more.

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Posted in Auction, Bike to Work, Chelan County, Economic Impact, Education, Encouragement, Events, Funding/Policy, Infrastructure, Issues & Advocacy, Kids, King County, News, Olympia, Olympic Peninsula, Safe Routes to School, Snohomish County, Spokane County, Tacoma, Thurston County, Tourism, Trails, Travel, USBRS, Vancouver, Wenatchee, White Salmon | 1 Comment

SeaTac Airport: Getting There By Bike

By Guest Blogger | Published December 23, 2014

Airport makes improvements, but the ride is not for the faint of heart

Guest blogger Lisa Enns is a Seattle cyclist earning a Master of Urban Planning from the University of Washington.

Last year, I was on a team of students that produced a Bicycle Facility Plan for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. I had heard that the airport was starting to make some improvements, and I wanted to check them out.

Getting to the airport is a little bit stressful. You can check out my bike route here. That said, I’m the slowest person on Dexter every day, and the worst part for me was the hills, not the traffic and roadway infrastructure. You do have to be comfortable taking the lane, as there are a few four lane roads with no bike lanes.

SeaTac Airport Bike SignMy journey started in downtown Seattle. I’d seen one lonely “to Sea-Tac Airport” sign downtown.  I ignored it, because I had no idea where it pointed to (After a bit of street view sleuthing later, I found that it points you through the International District and onto Airport Way.) and utilized Google maps to pick a route. I took the West Seattle Bridge to the Duwamish trail, and then up through residential neighborhoods in Des Moines and Burien.

The worst part was climbing the hill. I came through Des Moines on 24th Ave S, which has bike lanes. It dumped me out on Air Cargo Road, a four lane road with no bike lane, sidewalks, or shoulder. Luckily traffic was light enough that everyone could go around me easily. International Blvd was no picnic either, but it at least had a bus lane that I could use. The Port of Seattle doesn’t control roadways in the surrounding jurisdictions, but they have been considering adding bicycle facilities on the roadways under their control. A few bike lanes or separated paths would make the connection much easier. There are already bike lanes on S 154th St, connecting to Burien, but they end at 24th Ave S.

Google maps is now reporting the information we gathered when producing the bike plan — the best (and possibly only) way to access the airport from the north is through the light rail station and parking garage. If you’re coming from the south, you have a much nicer, quiet ride up Air Cargo Road and through the tour bus loading area.

[Tweet “Work by @UW students on biking to @SeaTacAirport now in @GoogleMaps.”]

At the Airport

SeaTac Bike Racks 2

The old bike rack has been replaced with an awesome new one made in Woodinville, WA by Sportworks!

[Tweet “Check out bike repair stand, @sportworksracks #bikeparking at @SeaTacAirport.”]

Once you get past all of the hills and traffic and want to park your bike, there are much better options than there were a few months ago. There are new, high quality bike racks in the parking garage by the northernmost sky bridge. The old racks were not bolted down, and did not allow you to securely lock a wheel and the frame with a U-lock. There are new bike racks at the south entrance as well, as opposed to the old wave racks.

Bike rack and tool stand in SeaTac Airport

Bike rack and tool stand in SeaTac Airport

For the hard-core bike tourist who is taking his/her bike on the plane (or the airport employee who needs a quick tune-up), there is a maintenance stand in the baggage claim area, near the middle of the airport. This makes it easier if you’re planning on taking apart your bike and checking it. You can buy a bike box at Ken’s Baggage on the baggage claim level — I’d recommend calling ahead to make sure they have one available.

Bike racks inside the terminal, on the baggage claim level  by the maintenance stand, may provide a longer-term storage solution if you’re leaving your bike at the airport. Currently, there is no signage regarding longer term bike storage, but it should be up in a few weeks. Ken’s Baggage will store your bike for around $12/day if you want a super secure solution.

[Tweet “Yay for new bike repair stand, #bikeparking options at @SeaTacAirport!”]

For the general public, riding a bike to the airport for a routine trip, with luggage is a bit of a stretch unless you are an avid bike tourist or live close by. The real benefit that I see is for employees. The airport employs around 17,000 people, making it a fairly large regional employer. A fair amount (17.8%, according to 2012 American Community Survey Data) live in the immediately adjacent zipcodes, making a bike commute a short one. Driving to work at the airport may be expensive, and odd shifts may make taking the bus a challenge. As a large regional employer, Sea-Tac has a responsibility to provide different commute options for its employees. If they continue to implement elements of the Bicycle Facility Plan, Sea-Tac is well on its way to making bicycling an attractive option for getting to the airport.

[Tweet “Bike access, parking upgrades at @SeaTacAirport good for workers & tourists.”]

Check the airport’s Bicycle Resources page for more information.

seatac bike commuter

SeaTac employee bikes to work in the rain

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The Bicycle Facility Plan was prepared by the Sea-Tac Airport Bicycle Access Studio, a specialized graduate course in the Urban Planning department at the University of Washington. Students in this course performed the role of a small consulting firm. In early 2013, Prof. Dan Carlson with the University of Washington, Steve Rybolt, Environmental Management Specialist, and Leslie Stanton, Manager of Environmental Programs, in Aviation at the Port of Seattle, and Barb Chamberlain, Executive Director of Washington Bikes, initiated conversations about bicycle access to Sea-Tac. Those conversations eventually led to the formation of this studio as a part of the Master of Urban Planning program at the University of Washington.

 

Posted in Accessibility, Bike Parking, Commuting, King County, Seattle, Transportation, Travel | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on SeaTac Airport: Getting There By Bike

It’s Official: Greater Wenatchee Is Bicycle Friendly!

By Deb Miller | Published December 19, 2014

Greater Wenatchee Metro Area Earns Bronze Level Bicycle Friendly Community Status

I LOVE THE GREATER WENATCHEE METROPOLITAN AREA!

Greater Wenatchee earns a bronze level as a Bicycle Friendly Community

Greater Wenatchee earns a bronze level as a Bicycle Friendly Community

In August I wrote a blog post sharing my love for the city where I live. I was so excited to come home and find a bike lane and sharrows painted on the street next to my driveway! Having served on the Regional Bicycle Advisory Board (RBAB) for the Greater Wenatchee Metropolitan Area for a number of years, the lane and sharrows represented another step in progress for the bicycling community in the Wenatchee Valley.

Today I’m expanding the love for my city to love for the Greater Wenatchee Metropolitan Area. Earlier this summer, after another gentle nudge from Wenatchee Valley Velo board member Ace Bollinger, Wenatchee Valley Transportation Council (WVTC) and the RBAB began working on an application for Bicycle Friendly Community status from the League of American Bicyclists. The energy and enthusiasm around gathering the information necessary for the application was high! Several folks helped in the effort, which resulted in an application being submitted to the league on August 13.

[Tweet “Thx @WenatcheeVelo & others who got Wenatchee @bikeleague Bronze!”]

On November 18 the next step of progress was announced. The press release opened with this news:

“Today, the League of American Bicyclists recognized Wenatchee, East Wenatchee and Rock Island along with Chelan and Douglas counties, collectively as the ‘Greater Wenatchee Metropolitan Area’ with a Bronze Bicycle Friendly Community (BFCSM) award, joining more than 325 visionary communities from across the country.”

As an RBAB board member, I was thrilled to share my thoughts in the press release along with the mayors of the two larger cities in our metropolitan service area.

“The award solidifies the work and efforts of the Regional Bicycle Advisory Board over the past few years. This national recognition provides another step toward reaching the vision set forth in the Greater Wenatchee Bicycle Master Plan. I am excited to have the award report card to share with the WVTC Board members and community partners for additional planning efforts,” said Deb Miller, a member of the Regional Bicycle Advisory Board.

“I am thrilled the League of American Bicyclists has recognized the hard work of the transportation community in our region,” said Wenatchee Mayor Frank Kuntz.

“The bicycle plan is a great new tool for cities and counties that we can use every time we look at our priorities for funding,” said East Wenatchee Mayor Steve Lacy following adoption by WVTC of the Greater Wenatchee Bicycle Master Plan.

[Tweet “Mayors of Wenatchee/East Wenatchee praise regional bike plan.”]

Bicycle Friendly WenatcheeThis award has instilled newfound enthusiasm for continuing the work that started with the efforts to draft a new Greater Wenatchee Bicycle Master Plan (GWBMP) when I first joined RBAB. We now have an additional action plan in the form of a report that will supplement the work lined out in the GWBMP. It seems that bicycle enthusiasts are popping up around the valley showing interest in bicycling in the valley. I’ve been participating in meetings with folks interested in increasing bike tourism in the valley; the Complete the Loop Coalition and their efforts to sign the Fruit Loop route from Wenatchee to Leavenworth; agencies wanting to bring more bike education into the schools; and Wenatchee Valley College looking at steps to become a bicycle friendly college, to name just a few!!

All this new interest is captured by Andy Clark, President of the League of American Bicyclists: “Visionary community leaders are recognizing the real-time and long term impact that a culture of bicycling can create.”

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Greater Wenatchee Metropolitan Area becomes the 14th community in Washington state to earn a Bicycle Friendly Community status. Washington state has been named the #1 Bicycle Friendly State in the nation for seven years straight by the League of American Bicyclists. Visit our Bicycle Friendly Washington page to learn more.

Posted in Advocacy, Chelan County, Douglas County, Wenatchee | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Representative Rick Larsen Champions Biking and Walking Safety

By Blake Trask | Published December 18, 2014

Thanks to Representative Rick Larsen’s leadership, we’re about to learn more about the trends and causes of collisions involving pedestrians and bicycles and to make recommendations about improving safety on our streets.

Rep Larsen PhotoWhile most transportation fatalities and serious injuries in Washington state have been on the decline, our most vulnerable road users — those who walk and bike — have not been enjoying this safety dividend. In some cases fatalities are up. From 2009-2011 15.5% of all transportation-related deaths and 16.7% of all transportation-related serious injuries in Washington state come from those who walk and bike.

[Tweet “In WA 15.5% of transportation deaths, 16.7% transpo serious injuries=people who walk/bike.”]

As most who walk and bike can attest, many streets and roads can be unfriendly places. It’s a reason that new design guides and innovative best practices around street engineering are beginning to take hold. Still, the majority of new street and road designs in Washington state take a conventional engineering approach, which leads to unsafe vehicle speeds and numerous biking and walking safety and mobility problems.

[Tweet “Time to change road designs to increase bike/walk safety. Thx @RepRickLarsen for GAO study!”]

To begin to get to the bottom of these issues, Washington Bikes thanks Representative Rick Larsen (2-Washington) for spearheading a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and supported by Representatives Norton (Washington DC) and DeFazio (4-Oregon).

“The safety of everyone on the road should be our top priority. Thanks to coordinated efforts, motor vehicle accident deaths are declining. But the same is not true for the most vulnerable people on our roadways – pedestrians and bicyclists. The GAO can give us a better idea of the reasons behind why pedestrian and cyclist fatalities are going up. We want to know what more Congress can do to ensure the highest level of safety for all of those using our roads,” said Larsen, DeFazio and Norton.

[Tweet “”The safety of everyone on the road should be our top priority.” -@RepRickLarsen”]

GAO will now conduct research to examine:

  • trends in pedestrian and cyclist crashes (including causes of such crashes), fatalities, and injuries in the last decade;
  • challenges that states face in improving pedestrian and cyclist safety (including roadway design speeds and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) guidelines for road design), and the initiatives states have undertaken to address this issue — with a focus on the effects of the common road engineering standard that sets speed limits at the rate 85% of drivers use under regular conditions;
  • the extent that federal initiatives and funds have been made available to assist states in improving pedestrian and cyclist safety, and additional federal actions that may be needed.

[Tweet “GAO to study bike/walk crashes, effect of engineering standards. Thx @RepRickLarsen!”]

This GAO report will help inform US Department of Transportation and FHWA as recommendations and policy are developed as part of the “Safer Streets, Safer People” initiative.

Washington Bikes looks forward to the results of this GAO study also informing next steps for the Washington State Department of Transportation (particularly its Highway Safety Improvement Program) and Washington Traffic Safety Commission (and its Strategic Highway Safety Plan, Target Zero) as both agencies seek to become more multimodal and grow their focus on protecting the most vulnerable on Washington state’s streets and roads.
[Tweet “GAO study of bike/walk crashes, design issues will help @WSDOT improve practice.”]

Posted in Alert, Complete Streets, Federal, Funding/Policy, Issues & Advocacy, News, Politics, Safety | 2 Comments