Ride around Seattle, literally!

IMG_9074A few years back, Seattle riders (and former WA Bikes board members) Gary Strauss and Dan Wakefield had an idea for a ride that would, as closely as possible, trace the outline of our city. Across neighborhoods, from urban to residential, through parkland reclaimed from military bases, over waterways, along beaches, and of course over (rarely around) our many, many hills.

Now having matured a few years, this ride has drawn a growing legion of fans. Besides the ups and downs, one remarkable set of memories you’ll take home with you is the remarkable collection of vistas Seattle boasts, whether it’s across the Sound towards the Olympics, or looking back towards the city from any number of vantage points found around the edges. While the entire ride is about 80 miles, thanks to Seattle’s slim waistline, there is a wonderful escape route for anyone wishing to do an abbreviated version. You can take a shortcut back at the halfway mark that will nearly halve the distance.

This ride is put on in grassroots fashion by Cyclists of Greater Seattle (COGS) and so you’ll find not only warm, supportive faces at the food stops, but assorted artisanal (OK, home-made at least!) snack items made with love and imagination. Because the ride is volunteer driven, proceeds go directly back to Washington Bikes!

Observe Labor Day with some labors of your own. Monday, September 1st, meet up with the rest of the riders at the Discovery Park north parking lot. Morning-of-ride registration will be $40. You’ll finish the day with the rich experiences of so much that Seattle has to offer, in that special way that it can best be experienced from the seat of your bike.

Posted in Rides, Seattle | Comments Off on Ride around Seattle, literally!

Poll: Washingtonians Want Safe and Healthy Routes to Schools

New statewide polling shows strong support for state investments in Safe and Healthy Routes to Schools

According to a new statewide poll a full 88% of likely 2014 Washington voters polled say that we should plan our communities and schools to make sure children can walk or bike to school and stay safe from traffic.

Children from Broadway Elementary in the Spokane Valley practicing our Safe Routes to School bicycle/pedestrian safety curriculum.

Children from Broadway Elementary in the Spokane Valley practicing our Safe Routes to School bicycle/pedestrian safety curriculum.

The poll commissioned by the statewide Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition (COPC) – of which Washington Bikes is a member – released these exciting and encouraging results from their statewide telephone poll showing 84% of Washington State voters believe that funding to keep children safe from traffic and physically active should be a part of transportation spending in the state.

Even after voters are told about limited state dollars, an overwhelming three-quarters continue to say it is important to have safe and healthy routes to school funding as part of statewide transportation spending.

These findings show that Washington voters want smart state transportation investments that go beyond status quo solutions. Following two years of failed transportation funding debates in Olympia over spending proposals that lacked adequate investments in biking and walking, it’s illuminating also to see that 68% of Washington voters are more likely to support new transportation funds if dollars for safe routes to school programs are included.

Washington Bikes continues to advocate for the heavily oversubscribed state Safe and Healthy Routes to School grant program that increases physical activity by getting kids walking and biking, improves safety and reduces vehicle citations, and improves concentration in academics and thus contributes to school performance. In each grant cycle far more school districts apply for the program than can receive funding.

While Washington Bikes successfully advocated for all-time highs in active transportation investments in the 2013-15 state budget, new federal and state funding uncertainties make the 2015 legislative session a critical test for the Governor and Legislature’s support of safer, healthier communities and better biking and walking.

As of 2013 Safe Routes to School projects had brought new infrastructure and safety improvements, along with reductions in motor vehicle citations. Washington state Safe Routes to School investments added 75,000 feet of new sidewalks near schools, and reduced motorist speeds and traffic citations. For completed projects, so far no collisions involving bicyclists or pedestrians have been recorded at Safe Routes to School locations after project completion.

[Tweet “88% of WA voters polled want towns/schools w/#saferoutes now so kids bike/walk to school safely.”]
[Tweet “# collisions at #saferoutesnow school bike/walk safety project sites in WA: 0. As in zero.”]
[Tweet “WA voter support for new #WAtranspo $$ MUCH higher if #saferoutesnow school safety $$ incl. #WAleg”]

Walking School Bus. Courtesy of Ped Net

Walking School Bus. Courtesy of Ped Net

Go to COPC for more information about voter attitudes toward making safe and healthy routes to school a reality in Washington state and on the survey conducted by the independent research group, EMC Research.

Funding for the survey was made possible through a grant from Voices for Healthy Kids, a joint initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and American Heart Association, empowering advocates to take action in their communities and improve health of children across the nation.

If You Agree, Sign Our Petition to the Washington State Legislature

It doesn’t take a lot of words to make our point: We want an emphasis on safety and increased investments in the connections that make people want to bike and walk.

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(Optional) Providing your street address lets us identify your legislative district and send you information about issues and votes in which your state legislators play a key role when they come up.

 

Posted in Advocacy, Education, Funding/Policy, Health, Infrastructure, Issues & Advocacy, Kids, Legislature, News, Safe Routes to School, Safety, Transportation, WSDOT | 4 Comments

Cascade Bicycle Club and Washington Bikes: Growing Bicycling and Improving Lives Together

By Barb Chamberlain and Elizabeth Kiker

The two of us agree: It’s no accident that the #1 Bicycle-Friendly State is home to the nation’s largest bike club. The people of Washington savor the beautiful outdoors, a history of citizen activism and more miles of trails than any other state in the West.

Put those together and you have all the necessary ingredients for improving lives through bicyclingCascade’s new motto—and growing bicycling statewide—Washington Bikes’ motto. That winning formula is why Cascade Bicycle Club has recently become a Gold Wheel organizational member of Washington Bikes, aligning themselves with the statewide mission of WA Bikes.

Elizabeth KikerSuccess depends on working well with others and we know how important it is to have strong local and regional bike organizations working closely together and speaking in a unified voice when they go to the legislature. As we transform the region for bicycling, we are grateful to have a strong partnership with WA Bikes to ensure a coherent voice in Olympia is speaking up for cycling. –Elizabeth

[Tweet “Partners for better bicycling: @CascadeBicycle + @WAbikes”]

Cascade and WA Bikes have complementary programs in areas such as bicycle safety education and we’re constantly exploring new opportunities to join forces. A few examples:

  • We’re working together to plan a statewide bike conference to be held in 2015.
  • Washington Bikes volunteers now staff a booth each year at the packet pick-up for Cascade’s sell-out Seattle-to-Portland (STP) ride.
  • As WA Bikes works to promote bike tourism, Cascade’s great organized rides such as the Ride Around Washington and the new Cascade Bicycling Center all boost Washington’s profile as an incredible destination for bike travelers.
  • For a while in 2012-2013, we even had a board member in common—Joe Platzner served on both boards, then stepped down to serve as the interim executive director at Cascade.
  • The two of us meet almost weekly to compare notes so that more gets done for bicycling and we don’t miss an opportunity to work together.
  • We were simultaneously but separately working on the same idea: business cards that biking customers could leave behind to show business owners that bikes mean business for them. Now we have cards with both logos.

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Chamberlain-Barb-June2012_1crop120The partnership with Elizabeth and Cascade just keeps growing. We collaborate on grant proposals, we visit elected officials together, we talk about the strengths each organization brings to the partnership and how we can leverage those. The work that Washington Bikes does to grow bicycling statewide builds on the strong foundation of Cascade’s years of bike advocacy in the greater Seattle region. –Barb

Just as a bike ride can be more fun when you ride with friends, Cascade and Washington Bikes are rolling together into the future of bicycling.

[Tweet “Send message w/new #bikesmeanbusiness cards available from @cascadebicycle or @WAbikes”]

Cards with statistics about the value of biking customers that you can leave at businesses you patronize by bike are available from Cascade Bicycle Club or WA Bikes. Spread the word: Bikes mean business!

Cards with statistics about the value of biking customers that you can leave at businesses you patronize by bike are available from Cascade Bicycle Club or WA Bikes. Spread the word: Bikes mean business!

 

 

Posted in Advocacy, Bike Clubs, King County, News | Comments Off on Cascade Bicycle Club and Washington Bikes: Growing Bicycling and Improving Lives Together

Bikes Count–Help Count Bikes!

We’re always working for more and better data on how many people are bicycling to demonstrate the growing need for more and safer connected networks. Every fall under a program for the state Dept. of Transportation volunteers turn out to count you as you ride by — an “old-fashioned” data collection method that still helps us understand who’s riding.

Counting bicyclists and pedestrians helps more accurately measure demand, gauge the results of investments and plan for future improvement projects. The count will also help measure WSDOT’s progress toward the goal of increasing bicycling and walking while reducing the number of vehicle miles driven. It’s that time again so consider taking a turn.

A volunteer helps with the bike count in Spokane. Image from Spokane Regional Transportation Council

A volunteer helps with the bike count in Spokane. Image from Spokane Regional Transportation Council

WSDOT is working with Cascade Bicycle Club to coordinate volunteers to participate on September 30, October 1 and 2, 2014. Registration for volunteers is open now. If you’re interested sign up on this form or contact Paula Reeves, WSDOT, or Jeff Aken, Cascade Bicycle Club.

*Please note: The following cities will be coordinating their own volunteers. If you would like to volunteer in one of these cities, please email the person listed as the city contact:

If you’re not able to help with the count on those dates and want to volunteer in some other way, contact Louise McGrody. We’re compiling information on the state of bicycling county by county and would love to identify local experts — or experts-in-the-making — to help.

Cities Conducting a Bike/Pedestrian Count in 2014

  • Bainbridge Island
  • Bellevue
  • Bellingham
  • Bothell
  • Bremerton
  • Burien
  • Ellensburg
  • Everett
  • Federal Way
  • Ferndale
  • Gig Harbor
  • Issaquah
  • Kelso
  • Kent
  • Kirkland
  • Lake Forest Park
  • Lakewood
  • Longview
  • Lynden
  • Mercer Island
  • Milton
  • Mountlake Terrace
  • Oak Harbor
  • Olympia
  • Orting
  • Parkland
  • Pullman (ADDED thanks to efforts of WA Bikes member Jaime Brush)
  • Puyallup
  • Redmond
  • Renton
  • Richland
  • Seattle
  • Shoreline
  • Spokane
  • Tacoma
  • Tukwila
  • University Place
  • Vancouver
  • Walla Walla
  • Wenatchee
  • Yakima
Posted in Events, News, Research, Transportation, WSDOT | Tagged | 1 Comment

Gigantic Bicycle Festival Rolls through Snohomish County and into Snoqualmie

Snohomish County Bikes: an ongoing series highlighting great Snohomish County bike rides and issues.

If you didn’t register for the Gigantic Bicycle Festival ride and music festival this weekend you missed a gorgeous ride of 77 or 100 miles that took off from Seattle and looped through Snohomish County before landing in the town of Snoqualmie.

The ride had well-supported aid stations and provided shuttles back to Seattle, although plenty of riders had family meet them at the park for the music festival and camping. A long line-up of bands played in the beautiful surroundings of Snoqualmie, with vendors selling bike art, clothing, bags, and more.

It’s not too late to enjoy the beautiful ride but you’ll have to wait until next year to get a line-up like this again at such an affordable price. (Along with beverages by Snoqualmie Brewery and others in the beer garden, food carts with burgers, gyros, tacos, and smoothies, free samples from Honest Tea and Kind bars, camping in the field by Centennial Park…. How could you have missed this?!)

The ride left Saturday from Magnuson Park in Seattle and headed up into Snohomish County, rolling through Bothell, Woodinville, Maltby, Cathcart, Snohomish and Monroe. Those who rode the 100-mile route had an extra loop that headed from Monroe around Lake Roesiger.

We had a petition in our booth asking the legislature to emphasize bike safety and fund better bike connections when they work on transportation funding; the lack of shoulders on some of the stretches of road had people eager to sign but one and all said they enjoyed the ride. (If you want to sign the petition, look for it at the bottom of this page.)

We had fun hanging out in our booth listening to the eclectic mix and inviting people to pick a sign and pose for a photo. We’re sharing a slide show of the happy faces we talked with, maps of the routes if you’d like to try them yourself, and a couple of videos from groups that played.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

77-mile route, Seattle into Snohomish County and back into King County to the town of Snoqualmie

Create Maps or search from 80 million at MapMyRide

Menomena played Saturday along with lots of other great bands.

100-mile route, Seattle into Snohomish County to Snoqualmie

Create Maps or search from 80 million at MapMyRide

Anomie Belle played Sunday, again with other great groups. The ticket price? $30 for both days of great music, $110 if you did the ride and got the cool jersey. Don’t miss it next year.

Great ride, great food, great music, great vendors like Bikeworks, Cycle Pronto bikeshare, and many more. Glad we were there!

Petition: Fund Bicycle Safety & Better Bike Connections

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Posted in Bike Culture, Events, King County, News, Snohomish County | 2 Comments

Take the Lane, Veronica

This post was first published on Marc’s Medium page.

My friend, Veronica posted on Facebook:

I feel like I’m a respectful cyclist. I use hand signals, wear a helmet and road ID, I ride during the daytime and have lights for dusk, I stay on the shoulder or as far over to the right as possible to allow for passing cars even though I technically can take the whole lane as a moving vehicle. I can’t understand people who drive within inches from me, at normal speed, and don’t give any space when there are NO cars in the oncoming lane. I know you might not care for cyclists and think that you’re invincible in a car… But you’ll be singing a different tune if you kill somebody’s sister, daughter, mother, or wife (or anyone). Please take a few extra seconds of your day to be conscientious and create a chain reaction for the cars behind you to do the same.

take the lane

This cyclist is positioned to take the lane.

The problem isn’t that motorists aren’t conscientious—most are. It’s that they don’t know. They often don’t know how close they are. They don’t know what it feels like to be passed by a car so close when you’re on bicycle. They don’t know how dangerous it is. They don’t know they should get over much farther.

And we don’t do ourselves any favors riding so far to the right. It invites close passes by motorists who really don’t intend us any harm and would be surprised to discover how their close passes unnerve us.

Take the lane! That means riding far enough left in the lane to ensure passing motorists have to change lanes to go around.

When I take the lane I’ve discovered I get far fewer close passes. Do I get angry shouts from motorists who think I should be riding farther right? Surprisingly, no more shouts than I get when I am riding farther right. And they are the same shouts, “Get off the road!” Never, “Ride to the right!”

Why? Because the typical motorist, seeing there’s no room to pass in the same lane, does what they’re supposed to do—they get in the other lane to pass, slowing down and waiting for oncoming traffic if necessary. And knowing they have to get in the other lane, they get all the way over.

When you’re riding farther to the right, many motorists approach thinking there’s adequate room to pass. Even if they realize there’s not enough room to pass safely, they may not realize it until it’s too late, until after they’re committed and slowing or moving left would seem an even more dangerous move to them—a swerve or dangerous brake jamming maneuver. So they pass within inches. Afterwards, many are as unnerved as the cyclists.

This is especially true when there is oncoming traffic. The motorist approaches the cyclist from behind. It looks like there’s enough room to get by, so they don’t slow down. Suddenly, there’s oncoming traffic and they’re going too fast. In this situation, they often speed up in an attempt to get around sooner, increasing the danger.

When you take the lane, the same motorist sees from a distance they can’t pass without changing lanes. They slow to accommodate oncoming traffic. And they change lanes, passing with plenty of room.

It’s counterintuitive to think cyclists politely riding to the right result in worse behavior by motorists than the seemingly less polite and more disruptive practice of taking the lane. But in my experience, it doesn’t. Taking the lane is the safest practice and results in the best motorist behavior.

In general, I encounter three types of dangerous motorists while riding. There’s the hostile motorist most cyclists fear. This driver doesn’t want bikes on the road. Doesn’t matter whether or not you ride far right or take the lane. This driver’s response is the same: pass close, shout, or worse.

When a cyclist is riding far right, it lets the hostile motorist buzz by dangerously close, with ease. When you take the lane, it forces the hostile motorist to move over and go around. And the mere fact they have to move over means they’ll usually, even if unintentionally, give you more space! It’s not so easy for them to line up from half a mile away to buzz you. If they can’t see far enough ahead to change lanes, for their own safety they’ll slow down and wait. They’ll cuss and fume and shout when they go by—just like they would if they didn’t have to move over!

So even the worst behaved motorists actually behave better when you take the lane.

The second type of dangerous motorist is the inattentive driver. This driver doesn’t even notice you’re there until they’re too close. This driver kills and injures more cyclists than any other. And this driver is much more likely to hit you when you ride far right. They tend to only be looking straight ahead. They drift right without realizing it. They aren’t aiming for you—they just don’t see you.

The only thing you can do to protect yourself from this motorist is to be more visible! Taking the lane makes you more visible. It puts you directly in their line of sight. Taking the lane, a flashing tail light, wearing bright colors, and anything else that makes you more visible is the best way to handle this motorist.

The third, and most common dangerous motorist is the driver who just doesn’t know. Doesn’t know how to pass a cyclist. Doesn’t know the pass is too close. Doesn’t know how dangerous it is. Would be surprised to learn how you feel after a close pass.

This motorist does know how to pass another automobile. When you take the lane, this motorist will know there’s not room to pass without getting over. Will get over. Won’t be bothered by getting over. Would have gotten over anyway had they known! They just didn’t know. And by taking the lane, you make it clear.

Although it’s dangerous to draw generalizations along gender lines, I’ve noticed a pattern. When riding far right, it is often women who pass too close. They pass within inches of me, even though there’s no oncoming traffic and they could get over. Often, I even get a little I’m sorry hand wave from these ladies after they’ve passed.

I think that’s because women, more than men, tend to follow the rules. These particular ladies don’t want to cross that double that yellow line. If they can get past without hitting me and without crossing over the yellow line, that seems the best compromise to them. When I take the lane, these ladies choose to pass safely. I get a friendly smile and wave instead of theI’m sorry wave.

In a followup comment to her Facebook post, after I’d suggested she take the lane, Veronica said:

I ride more in the lane while riding with groups Marc, and I know it sounds pansy-ish, but as a girl riding alone without the same strength in numbers I just don’t have the same cahones. Literally.

I think female cyclists often have an advantage here. I notice when riding with my wife motorists generally give us more room. And when I ride with my five year old granddaughter on the Trail-a-Bike, we get plenty of room. Many people, men and women alike, give women and children on bikes more room on the road.

There are even more reasons to take the lane! Watch this visualization to see some of them. When you ride far right, leaving enough room for an automobile to pass you in the same lane, that vehicle blocks you from the view of oncoming traffic. Suppose an oncoming vehicle is preparing to make a left turn. They see the car passing you, but they don’t see you. They start their turn as the car, now just ahead of you clears the intersection, and BAM!—there you are! If you take the lane, you are clearly visible to both the car behind you and the oncoming vehicle preparing to turn left.

Of course, some motorists will be irritated when you take the lane. They’ll insist it’s rude and disrespectful to do so, that it’s your duty to ride as far right as possible. In fact, in the comments to Veronica’s Facebook post, one did just that. But which behavior is more rude and disrespectful: taking the lane forcing faster traffic to go around, and perhaps wait a few seconds; or pass dangerously close risking the death or injury of a cyclist?

A few words to motorists

The irritation you feel when a cyclist takes the lane, potentially delaying you a few seconds is misplaced. Most of the time, you won’t be delayed at all. You’ll be able to change lanes and continue on your way, without delay. When you are delayed, it will likely be a very short delay. You’ll just arrive at the next red-light a few seconds later than you would have otherwise, and you’ll wait just a bit less at that light. And because there was a bicycle in front of you that you were able to get around, instead of a car, you’ll have one less vehicle ahead of you at that light so you’ll get through it sooner. When you arrive at your destination, there might just be one more available parking space.

When cyclists take the lane, it isn’t to cause you irritation or delay. It isn’t to be rude, disrespectful, or arrogant. It’s for our own safety. It’s because whether you know it or not, without taking the lane, we unintentionally invite close, dangerous passes. Perhaps you would give us the room we need if we rode far right, but many others would pass too close endangering us.

So, please, don’t be irritated. Smile and wave. We’ll smile and wave back.

 

Posted in Attitudes, Education, Safety | Tagged | 3 Comments

I LOVE MY COMMUNITY!!

bike lanesBike Lanes on Devon Ave.

“I LOVE MY CITY!”

This was the first sentence in my August 7th Facebook post. Why do I love my city? There are many reasons, but among the top is the newly resurfaced/restriped road in front of my house. As I left for work on the morning of August 7th I noticed the street crews preparing for, what I assumed was “striping day” for the street upgrade project in my neighborhood. I remember making a mental note to myself, “Ugh!! I should have called the Planning Department to ask about the possibilities of striping bike lanes on this new surface.” I did not act on that intuition, yet arrived home that evening to discover my thought turned into reality! On the street, in front of my house, next to my driveway are honest to goodness markings that designate space for me and my bicycle. Specifically, the street now has a bike lane in the eastbound, uphill lane and sharrows in the westbound, downhill lane. For rural North Central Washington, this is progress!!

I moved to East Wentachee in 2006 and it didn’t take very long for me get involved in bike advocacy. I joined the newly re-energized Greater Wenatchee Bicycle Advisory Board (which eventually became the Regional Bicycle Advisory Board) because I was interested in increasing bicycle safety and awareness in the valley. I knew my new communities (the collective valley) had much to offer cyclists, after all, this is the home of the Apple Capital Loop Trail (the envy of my former Eastern Washington community) and bicycles are a visible component of this valley. Yet, the valley had a long way to go to become a Bicycle Friendly community. Bicycles are an accepted “norm” on the loop trail, yet haven’t always received the same warm fuzzy welcome out on the streets and roads of the communities.

One of the early tasks of the Regional Bicycle Advisory Board was to update the previous Bicycle Master Plan, a long and arduous task for me personally, yet a necessary step to get to the work I am interested in. The Greater Wenatchee Bicycle Master Plan was adopted by the Wenatchee Valley Transportation Council in May of 2013 and since its adoption I am beginning to see road improvements that accommodate bicycles, such as the street upgrade project in front of my house and the newly extended Eastmont Avenue that includes the valley’s only buffered bike lanes.

Today I am celebrating the Greater Wenatchee Metropolitan Area application to the League of American Bicyclists to be designated a Bicycle Friendly Community. After reviewing the application that was written and submitted by the Wenatchee Valley Transportation Council, I feel a sense of pride for the time and efforts so many bicycle enthusiasts have contributed and continue to contribute to balancing transportation options in the valley. The progress we have made, and which are noted in the application, in the few years I have lived here are gentle reminders to me of the value of these efforts, no matter how big or small, simple or arduous, that are truly making a difference! I LOVE MY COMMUNITY!

Deb Miller is a bicycle advocate extraordinaire in Wenatchee valley. Watch for future blog contributions from her.

Posted in Advocacy, Douglas County, Infrastructure, News, Wenatchee | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Snohomish County Bikes: WSDOT Advisory – Stay Safe SR 530

Snohomish County Bikes: an ongoing series highlighting great Snohomish County bike rides and issues.

Snohomish County offers numerous great riding opportunities – from trails to country rides. One highlight includes enjoying SR 530 up the Stillaguamish Valley to Darrington and beyond.

SR 530

WSDOT is working hard to reconstruct SR 530. In the meantime, no stopping or pulling over. Photo courtesy of WSDOT, some rights reserved.

Since the tragic SR 530 landslide this spring, the state road – and WSDOT’s ongoing construction activities to rebuild the damaged roadway – travels directly through the landslide’s devastation. Unfortunately, WSDOT is receiving some reports that bicycle riders are stopping in locations that lack shoulders. WSDOT would like to remind all riders that without shoulders, the road isn’t wide enough for motor vehicles or bicycles to stop safely.

More from WSDOT:

State Route 530 between Oso and Darrington is a popular spot for summertime cycling, but with the highway reconstruction project in full swing, riders should be extra cautious. Please be aware that there are no shoulders through the slide area. For the safety of all roadway users, no stops are allowed unless directed by flaggers or law enforcement. Project information and upcoming traffic detours can be found on the WSDOT SR 530 project website. Please contact SR530SlideInfo@wsdot.wa.gov with any additional questions.

Keep on visiting the Stillaguamish Valley and be safe out there!

Sign Up to Receive Updates on Biking in Snohomish County

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Posted in Accessibility, Adventure, Alert, Arlington, Darrington, Infrastructure, News, Oso, Safety, Share the Road, Snohomish County, WSDOT | Comments Off on Snohomish County Bikes: WSDOT Advisory – Stay Safe SR 530

Bringing Kidical Mass to Tacoma

By the spring of 2012, I had a 1st grader and a pre-schooler that were both riding solo on two wheels when they weren’t hitching rides on our cargobike for daily errands. I knew a few other pedal parents through our school and neighborhood who liked to ride with their kids, and when I pitched them the idea of Kidical Mass, they agreed that Tacoma was ready for an organized group ride for kids and families. There was talk, but another summer came and went.

At the beginning of 2013, my wife and I decided to launch Kidical Mass Tacoma ourselves that spring with a kickoff ride in May as part of the City’s Bike Month promotion. I put up a placeholder on my personal blog and started brainstorming ride ideas. We needed fun places to start and finish with a calm and flat route in between.

The only minor complication with Bike Month is that the City requires a certificate of liability insurance for any event that is promoted on their calendar. The Tacoma Wheelmen’s Bicycle Club was sponsoring several of the Bike Month rides with a special event rider on their own policy by having a club member act as ride leader. I had recently renewed my family membership and they we’re happy to cover our event, too.

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Our first ride was a huge success. We had nearly 60 riders, including a few volunteers to help as arterial crossing guards and Jeff’s Ice Cream, a local small business. Jeff had built his own bicycle ice cream trailer which he pedaled through Tacoma neighborhoods peddling made-in-Washington ice cream bars. It was a scorcher of a day and the free ice cream (paid for by a few families) was a huge hit. I asked Jeff if he could be available for our monthly rides for the rest of the summer and, it turns out, a tradition was born.

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The TWBC liked what they saw. Getting the youngest demographic involved in biking is tricky and there simply wasn’t always a venue to support it in Tacoma. Kidical Mass was a program that fit well with their club goals so they offered to continue insuring the events for the rest of the first summer at the club’s expense. It was important that the ice cream remain free to our participants and a few parents quietly volunteered to pay for everyone’s treats.

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We rotated the rides through various neighborhoods that summer, blogging the details and placing posters in bike shops and libraries and community centers. Each ride brought 20-40 folks and more free ice cream. We learned how to make spoke cards! Even MetroParks Tacoma was hearing good things about our rides, so they asked us to lead a short ride for kids and families during Downtown to Defiance, a first-of-its-kind event for Tacoma. It was a very wet and rainy day, but 100 riders of all ages and abilities still showed up to ride a brand new section of trail near Point Defiance Park. Tacoma families were more eager to ride than anyone expected.

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I presented the results of our first Kidical Mass summer at the quarterly TWBC meeting to say thanks for their support. Club members were blown away at our attendance numbers and smiling heartily at all of the anecdotal things I’d heard from kids about how much they enjoyed riding together in the street. And Jeff’s Ice Cream! Club members understood the importance of the ice cream as a snack, a reward and an element of fun.

The Tacoma Wheelmen’s Bicycle Club wanted Kidical Mass Tacoma to continue under their banner of sponsorship. Our cost proposal was quickly approved at their winter board meeting. Not only were they going to pay for ice cream and promotional items like spoke cards, but they wanted to grant complimentary club memberships to participating families so that we could continue to have additional liability insurance coverage for our rides. The need for insurance coverage isn’t a large concern to a group that only rides four or five miles each month, but the TWBC board members have logged thousands of miles and have too many stories to leave this issue to chance.

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For the 2014 season, we started a separate Kidical Mass Tacoma blog where we post details for upcoming rides. We promote those rides through Facebook, Twitter and Bike253.com, a local bike event calendar. Jeff continues to ride along with us and we’ve also partnered with other organizations and businesses in the neighborhoods where we ride. The Tacoma Public Library did a thorough job of helping us with a ride to promote summer reading and an appearance by FabLab Tacoma’s FabLorean pedal car time machine at the end of our Hilltop ride was fantastic.

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Parents seem understanding of the insurance requirement when they sign-in at the beginning of each ride. As they take a clipboard, the kids grab an I Bike Tacoma bandana to decorate, some of the leftover Bike Month swag donated by the City of Tacoma. The bandanas are handy for keeping riders cool on hot days, and for wiping the melted ice cream from a grinning chin.

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For more information about how you can organize a Kidical Mass family bike ride in your community, visit kidicalmass.org.

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#wabikes on Instagram

Beat the Heat!

It’s been a hot and smokey summer in our state and we have some Instagram images to prove it. Bicyclists found all sorts of ways to beat the heat as they biked in Washington.

Cyclists in the Methow Valley escape to the shade for a sparkling cider after a hot day of adventuring.

Other cyclists beat the heat with a swim in Medical Lake.

These hot cyclists rest in the shade next to a trail.

And in hot and smokey Wenatchee, a bike commuter shares his solution for staying in the saddle.

Are you an Instagrammer? Follow us @wabikes and tag your cycling images #wabikes to share with us!

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