Today we present the final installment of Riding in the Rain Shadow. Tim Hennings describes his bicycle adventure on the Olympic Discovery Trail between Port Angeles and Sequim Bay.
Sunday Breakfast: Nutritious!
The morning brought blue skies, but we took our time getting going. Top priority was a first rate Sunday breakfast. We picked First Street Haven. It was as good as promised by the glowing reviews. They even include a fresh pastry with their tasty omelets. That is probably over the top, but we could reasonably claim a calorie deficit for the weekend.
Sunday Riding: Olympic Discovery Trail (ODT) to Sequim Bay
The amazing thing about the Olympic Discovery Trail is that it exists at all. Hats off to the heroes who have accomplished so much already, with many more miles in the works. It is so striking because Port Angeles has a mostly industrial waterfront with paper mills dating back about 100 years. It is not the first place you think of when considering where to go for a scenic bike ride.
We wondered what to expect as we headed east out of town. The ODT starts out going past a gritty former mill site, and for about a quarter mile is rough gravel (hopefully temporary). It looked iffy. We were glad to see the trail quickly evolve into a nice, paved path. It goes for 4 miles along the Strait of Juan de Fuca. For the first half mile or so, there are lots of benches and tree plantings on the water side of the trail. The ODT is well-suited to road bikes.
This first flat stretch on the ODT out of Port Angeles is recommended for anyone looking for a short, easy ride with great views.
Then the trail turns inland for a couple miles, zig zagging for a climb of about 200 feet, nothing noticeable. Then it suddenly plummets 100 feet to a covered bridge over Bagley Creek, requiring a climb (or walk!) back up. Over the course of our day on the ODT we encountered a few of these ravines along the trail. Each of them was a small challenge, but also scenic and interesting with cool bridges. Variety is a good thing!
Before starting out, we were worried that some of the trail might go along 101. That was not at all the case. It came close a couple times, but hardly worth mentioning. Mostly it meanders through woods and farms. It has stretches of gradual incline or decline — punctuated by the ravines.
The trail uses some residential roads when passing through Sequim. This wouldn’t really be a big deal except that it is not well marked. More than once we missed a turn. You have to keep a sharp eye out for the small signs. The locals were happy to point us in the right direction, and they also commented about the poor markings. It seems strange that the community would invest so heavily in the trail itself, but then cut corners on budgeting for trail signs. Maybe some merchants could be persuaded to help with signage in exchange for some exposure. It would certainly make the ride more fun if it was always clear which way to go!
One other interesting note about the ODT concerns moss on the trail. This happens on some of the forested stretches and is quite picturesque — but disconcerting to a road cyclist with skinny tires. Isn’t moss slippery? However, neither Catherine or I had any problem at all. And that was after a day of rain. It seemed to be a non-issue.
We rode past Sequim to Sequim Bay State Park. It has nice views of the Bay, plus drinking water and places to relax. That was a turnaround point for us.
On the way back, we lunched at the Black Bear Diner in Sequim. It is very close to the trail. I wonder if the manager there has thought about adopting a trail segment, and pulling in more riders? It sure seems like a natural supply of ravenous travelers! The food was good, too!
Our ride back to Port Angeles was quick, and seemed even easier than coming the other way. Maybe it was because we didn’t stop so often, and we were more relaxed because we knew the trail. We did make one notable stop on the way home at the Railroad Bridge State park. It is an unusually impressive bike/ped bridge. It crosses over the scenic Dungeness River west of Sequim. As a bonus, Catherine spotted a pair of Wood Ducks on the river, which are among the most beautiful waterfowl in North America. We wished we’d had time to visit the Audubon Center, which is supposed to be terrific. Next time!
“What you see is all we have. We’re just about wiped out.”
Not what you want to hear from the woman behind the showcase of amazing deep-dish pies with names like Caramel Lush and Cherry Almond Crunch — unless you’re happy to hear that bicycling really means business for Enumclaw.
“Is it the bike race?” I asked.
“Yes, they come pouring in. We love it.”
I asked if she got business throughout the year from other bike travelers. “All the time,” came the reply.
It’s only about a 4-1/2 hour bike ride from Seattle so this pie ride is under serious consideration at our house — just as soon as we finish the whole apple pie we bought that must have weighed five pounds.
This past weekend Enumclaw hotels, motels, campgrounds, restaurants, pubs, coffee shops, and the Pie Goddess (yes, yes she is) did a brisk business selling calories galore and a place to rest a tired body to a pack of hungry bike racers and their family members in town for the annual Mutual of Enumclaw Stage Race.
We packed the racing gear for my sweetheart and camped at Kanaskat-Palmer State Park. If you’re not in town for the racing you could camp out, bike to town for treats, and bike back to sleep among the pines by the Green River; it’s just over 9 miles one way to the quiet, walkable streets near Pioneer Park.
My personal Driver Courtesy-O-Meter gave Enumclaw gold stars for the drivers who stopped to let us cross when we hadn’t even stepped off the curb and their generally slow pace through the part of downtown with lots of little shops and people walking around.
Cat 3 racers start Sunday’s road race in the face of rain and a killer climb up Mud Mountain–4 laps, 4 climbs.
Racers ranged in age from 37 junior racers ages 10-16 up to master’s class 50+, with family names showing up in more than one category to highlight traditions of bicycle competition.
Boys and girls, men and women — around 270 racers gave it their all through the time trial and criterium on Saturday and the road race up Mud Mountain in the rain on Saturday.
Oh — and the adorable kidlets on their push bikes and spider bikes tore it up in their own special races before the start of the road race on Sunday. Categories: Up to 6 years old, 6-8, and 8-10.
Low Share the Road plate numbers are a point of pride for many bicyclists in Washington state.
The parking filled and emptied for the various stages, with licenses from British Columbia and Oregon sprinkled among the many Washington plates. Among them: at least half a dozen Share the Road plates, including this low-number treasure.
Bicycle racing relies on dozens of volunteers who plan and mark the course, officiate, drive lead and follow cars, tally registration and results, and more. That means a single race brings perhaps 200-400 or more racers plus family members and support to town.
A stage race or omnium like the ones in Walla Walla, Wenatchee, Enumclaw, and elsewhere with their three race types (time trial, crit, road race) bring people to town for at least two nights and two days — a good-sized impact in the towns that play host to these events.
Women line up waiting for their start, while the follow and wheel cars take their places behind and spectators line the street by the downtown park.
Watching a crit provides great viewing, with racers sweeping around tight turns in downtown every few minutes. The loud whirring of the wheels warns you they’re coming back around. (Don’t stand close to the edge on corners — they really lean in.) It’s over pretty fast — they go as many laps as they can in the time allotted, perhaps 30 minutes.
After a road race pack takes off, by contrast, family members have 3 or 4 hours to kill depending on the distance — maybe more, if your racer wants to cheer on team members coming in with other packs after he/she finishes.
Fortunately, downtown Enumclaw offers — in addition to that killer pie — a variety of shops and restaurants in which to pass the time. They’re all just a block or two from the downtown park where the race starts, making it easy to support your racer and local businesses.
Check out Kelly’s Mercantile — the Merc — for local food, vegan and gluten-free offerings, a line-up of beers and wines, espresso and sandwiches, and free wi-fi, with open mic Thursdays and live music on weekend evenings.
The Sequel Bookstore & Espresso sits on the same block, also offering up free wi-fi and plenty of reasons to hang for a while if you’re a reader.
As I read menus posted in windows I made a mental list of the places we could eat when we ride our bikes back to Enumclaw another weekend. Possibilities within about 3 blocks from Pioneer Park:
The Mint Alehouse and Restaurant, serving up local produce and mac & cheese made with Beecher’s cheese from Seattle along with steaks and coconut curry noodles
Rendezvous Wine & Brew with a 2-6pm “Happier Hour” and what feels like the standard menu of soups, salads, burgers, wraps, pizza, and pasta
Rendezvous Wine & Beer
Rainier Bar & Grill, with quite a line-up of appetizers (mostly fried), burgers, wraps, and other pub food; vegetarians might try the black bean burger with sweet potato fries (two of my personal favorites anywhere)
Europa for Eastern European comfort food — German, Polish, Russian — with strong ratings on Yelp as some of the best food in Enumclaw
Sweet Necessities for ice cream and housemade salted caramels. Say, get some ice cream, stop at Pie Goddess, and you’re a la mode!
Enumclaw Day Spa Salon & Boutique sits just a block from the race starting line.
I also took note of the calming back yard of the Enumclaw Day Spa on the same block as the starting line, which gave racers a coupon for a discount on post-race massage. Hey, honey, if you’re not using that coupon….
If you have kids in tow who aren’t racing, you may want to check out Station 082 with its social space for gaming and the great handwritten welcome sign on the door.
Welcoming sign for bikes at game stop Station 082 in Enumclaw.
I didn’t have time to check out the shops selling home decor, antiques, consignment clothes, and other funky items. I know I could spend the day poking around pretty happily.
Now that I’ve been to Enumclaw I’m playing with the map to put together a little weekend jaunt. From Seattle we could head to Issaquah, stop there for lunch, be in Enumclaw in time for dinner, spend the night, and come back the next day.
Your advice needed:
— You folks in south King County, how would you get back to North Seattle without retracing the route for day one?
— What other towns do we want to ride through, and does this turn into a three-day weekend? (Will brake for pie.
Guest blogger Tim Henning’s bike exploration of the Port Angeles region continues with a ride to Lake Crescent. This is the second of three installments.
Saturday Riding: Zig-Zagging to Lake Crescent
We headed west the next morning on the should-be-famous Olympic Discovery Trail (ODT) out of Port Angeles. More about this when I talk about Sunday’s ride, but this trail needs to be on everyone’s checklist. The eventual vision is for it to go all the way from Port Townsend to the ocean, but what already exists is amazing.
To get on the ODT westbound, go along the waterfront trail to Hill St — aptly named. You climb up the trail on the south side of the street. It continues on residential streets for a few blocks before reaching the separated trail on an old railway. It goes another few miles to the beautiful Elwha River. If you are out for a short ride, say, with kids, this is a worthwhile destination in itself. There is an impressive ped/bike deck under the bridge over the Elwha, which is a cool place to hang for a while. The views of the river are spectacular.
For now, the west end of the ODT is the Elwha bridge. But thanks to some local knowledge shared by the proprietors of our bike cottage, we had heard about some road bike-friendly roads to explore.
From the Elwha bridge, we followed the Elwha River Road to 112. We turned right on 112 for about 100 yards, then left on Dan Kelly Road — a nice, low traffic, paved road. It goes for 3 miles until it meets Eden Valley Road, for a gain of about 600 feet on a steady climb. Nothing steep. We had planned to turn right on Eden Valley in order to head back downhill, but we were surprised to see that it was paved in both directions. So we continued left on Eden Valley on some rollers, past more farms and forests, for another 2 miles until it dead-ended on a dirt road.
This was a good little side trip, because it gave us the opportunity to ride the full length of Eden Valley Road all the way back to 112. It is a beautiful paved road, all downhill from the junction with Dan Kelly Road. Nice views, pretty farms, low traffic, just what you want out of rural cycling.
We rode west on 112 for 4 miles. Riding on 112 was not great, not terrible. The shoulder was sufficient. We’re not fans of riding on highways, but it is a fact of life when bike touring. You have to get from one back road to another, and often a highway is the only choice. Once again, it helped that we were doing this before tourist season.
We turned right off 112 onto Camp Hayden Road. This road is said to get significant traffic in the summer, but on this day it was empty and delightful. We mostly coasted about 4 miles to Salt Creek Recreation Area. If we’d had bike locks, we would have stayed to explore. It looks like it has nice trails and a fun beach. In fact, it would make an excellent place to terminate a ride, if you could figure out the shuttle back to Port Angeles (hint to local bike shops — how about offering do-it-yourself cycling tours around Port Angeles, including a pick-up service at a few locations?).
We continued west on Crescent Beach Road, which goes along the unspoiled, scenic Crescent Bay for our flattest mile of the day. We heard that you could pay a small fee to go out on the private beach, but did not verify that. If true, that might be a good deal for cyclists, provided that they lock up your bikes for you. Hopefully they will read this and realize there’s an opportunity!
By this time, lunch was on our minds. So we continued west on Crescent Beach Road, which soon turned south back towards 112. The road starts out fairly steep, then is gradual for the next 2 miles. You gain about 350 feet.
Our destination was the Blackberry Cafe in Joyce, recommended by a chatty new friend we met at the park (that sure happens a lot on bikes!). To get there, we turned right on Agate Beach Road for about half mile, then left on 112 for a couple hundred yards. It was classic diner fare and met our needs exactly.
By this time the rain had settled in, so Catherine and I contemplated our next move.
Option A: Ride 112 back to the Elwha bridge
Option B: Take the bus back to Port Angeles (it carries up to 2 bikes)
Option C: Ride Joyce-Piedmont Road to Lake Crescent, and maybe take the bus back on 101.
We opted for (c), which turned out to be an excellent call. Joyce-Piedmont is another great cycling road, paved and low traffic. You do some significant climbing, about 600 feet over 3 miles. Then it is downhill for a mile or so to Crescent Lake.
You reach the lake at Log Cabin Resort, which is closed until May 23. Its closure made for ideal riding along the shore of Crescent Lake. It is about 3 fairly flat miles on East Beach Road to 101. The road is narrow and beautiful, but you would not want to share it with an RV. There are no shoulders. My guess is that East Beach Road would not be fun or safe on a busy day. On this day it was just Catherine and me on our bikes. Very nice. (Another hint to local bike shops: A pick-up or drop-off at Log Cabin Resort might be great too!)
Once on 101, we rode 7 or 8 miles to Olympic Hot Springs Rd. Again, we’re no fans of riding on 4 lane highways, but this was fine. The shoulder was wide, the pavement was smooth, and we dropped about 500 feet. Even though it was raining, that stretch zipped by in no time.
In less than a half mile, we turned left off Olympic Hot Springs Road to Little River Road. True, we had just done this road (see yesterday’s ride report above). But we were chilled from the wet and fast ride on 101. So a climb up Little River (and yes, we walked the steep part this time), followed by a cruise down Black Diamond Road to Port Angeles made a perfect capstone to our day’s ride.
Catherine jumped on Trip Advisor and researched a number of good possibilities for dinner. We chose the Kokopelli Grill, and loved it. I had the Crab Chile Relleno, which was one of the more original and delicious meals I’ve had in a while.
Tim Hennings is the founder and President of the software company Catalog-on-Demand. A lifelong cyclist and member of our board, Tim is a proponent of bicycle tourism as an economic generator for rural communities. He and his wife Catherine recently spent several days exploring the Port Angeles region by bike and shares his experience with us. This is the first of three installments.
It was the start of April and Catherine and I were itching to get out of town for our first biking weekend of the year. Trouble was, the weather forecast for the Puget Sound region was worse than bleak. And we couldn’t go east of the Cascades because of lingering ice and snow.
What to do? Well, it seemed like a great time to check out the north side of the Olympic Peninsula. This area is the big winner of the famous rain-shadow effect. The Olympic Mountains block the storms coming in from the Pacific. The clouds dump their moisture on the south and west sides of the Olympics. This leaves the northeast side comparatively dry. The numbers tell the story. Port Angeles gets 25 inches of rain, Sequim gets only 16. Compare that with Seattle, which gets about 38 inches. Or the places we like to ride in the Cascade foothills, which get about 60 inches. We knew we wouldn’t escape the rain entirely; after all it was April. Still, we liked the odds.
Shoulder Season = Light Traffic
Our other big consideration was the promise of fewer cars this time of year. The shoulder seasons are excellent for visiting the Olympic Peninsula.
We left Seattle early afternoon on Friday, and headed for Edmonds. The ferry line was inconsequential, as expected this time of year. Any trip involving a ferry ride is more fun. No matter what the weather, you’re sure to get amazing views.
The drive from Kingston to Port Angeles was easy with no traffic. The best part was crossing beautiful Hood Canal, noting the awesome safety improvements to the bike lanes on the bridge. There is now a comfortable 5 foot shoulder with an excellent riding surface. Before, the grated sections were scary narrow with slippery steel plates. I had ridden the bridge a couple times back then, and swore I’d never do it again. Now it is safe and fun — vastly improved. This is one of the most significant, but unsung, success stories for cycling in the state. Huge thanks to Washington Bikes and the local clubs for their tireless advocacy efforts!
Accommodations: Simple and Tasteful
We checked into a fun bike cottage in a quiet, working class neighborhood in Port Angeles. It is one bedroom with a living room, kitchen, locked storage for your bikes, and good wi-fi. It has a highly imaginative cycling motif. The best part is the bathroom vanity, but you have to visit to see it! If you have more than two people in your group, you might consider the bike-friendly Downtown Hotel: “Bikers are welcome to take their bikes to their rooms, or leave them in our store room for retrieval in the morning”. We did not see any other hotels in Port Angeles put out the welcome mat for cyclists in this way. Hopefully that will change soon!
Friday Riding: Picturesque Calorie Burner
It stays light till past 7:30 this time of year, so we had plenty of time for a short bike ride before dinner. We headed out of town on Pine Street, which quickly becomes Black Diamond Road. This road is made to order for rural cycling. It has it all — farms, forest, and vistas. It is also low traffic — at least this time of year. Even in the drizzle, the mists drifting over the farms, valleys, and forested hills are just beautiful. And partly cloudy or sunny weather gives you spectacular views of the Olympic peaks.
It is mostly steady climbing for about 5 miles to the top of the hill, which is about 1000 feet above sea level. There are no steep pitches. Then it becomes Little River Road and you fly 4 miles down to views of the gorgeous, rushing Little River. There you meet up with Olympic Hot Springs Road. For us, that was a turnaround point. Little River Road was so beautiful we decided to head back the way we came. The first hill is seriously steep, but short. It can be easily walked if necessary. Other than that, the climb is reasonable back to the hilltop. From there it is an easy downhill all the way into Port Angeles.
Most cyclists will agree that their sport is as much about eating as it is riding. Everything tastes better after a ride. Plus you can claim the moral high ground to indulge in something special. After giving thought to a surprising variety of choices in Port Angeles, we headed to Sabai Thai. It had excellent dishes, nice ambiance, and reasonable prices.
In keeping with the popular hashtag theme #ThrowbackThursday, or #tbt, we’re republishing a blog post from May 20, 2010. Author Ted Inkley still serves on our board and continues to ponder on things related to bicycling.
“Bike culture.”
How many times have you heard this buzz-phrase? Bike enthusiasts and advocates talk about it. They all seem to want it. Alternative transportation advocates in New York City even considered the topic important enough to merit a “Bike Culture Summit” earlier this month.
But what is bike culture, anyway? Does it mean anything, or is it just one of those terms-of-the-moment that sound good rolling off the tongue, like “paradigm shift” or “synergy”?
But if you cruise through North American-based bicycling websites, you do get the idea that when people talk about “bike culture,” what they’re really referring to is the subcultures of bicycling that exist here—that amalgam of groups, from fixie fanatics to weekend warriors to hard-core commuters, that makes up the bicycling scene on this side of the Atlantic.
Contrast this kind of self-conscious group identification with North America’s car culture. When most Americans get in their cars to go to work, they don’t consider themselves to be part of a cultural phenomenon. And when they drive to the supermarket, they’re just going to the store. That’s because car culture is so mainstream that it isn’t a separate culture at all—it’s an inherent part of American culture. We built the infrastructure for motor vehicles, and the rest came naturally.
That’s the way it is with cycling in countries where two-wheeled transport is considered mainstream. Take Denmark, for example. If you go to a dinner party in Copenhagen, chances are good that every guest will have arrived on a bicycle. And if you marvel at this phenomenon, the Danes will be amused and a bit puzzled. It’s just how they get around. And the reason they do is thanks in no small part to official transportation policy and infrastructure that favor the bike over the motor vehicle.
So maybe we North Americans should be less concerned about bike culture and more concerned about just making cycling a safe, convenient and comfortable option for transportation and recreation. And not just for road warriors and cycling enthusiasts, but for everyone. Then the bike culture will take care of itself.
1) Ride the new north bank section of the Spokane River Centennial Trail
A view from the Spokane River Centennial Trail looking at the Monroe Street Bridge from the newly completed trail segment through Kendall Yards.
This newly completed missing link on the north bank of downtown Spokane through Kendall Yards gives you access to stunning views of the Spokane River falls under the Monroe Street bridge, It’s worth it for the ride alone because you can now ride a great loop of trail all around the river through downtown and Browne`s Addition.
You also want to ride this for easy access to some great new restaurants:
Central Food with cycling chef David Blaine (open 7 days a week; locally sourced foods; plenty of gluten-free choices; and meat lovers take note — he makes his own bacon, sausage, prosciutto….);
Yards Bruncheon (who wouldn’t want to eat brunch 7 days a week? Locally sourced comfort food);
and rumor has it they’ll be joined at some point by Veraci Pizza, a long-time wood-fired favorite at the South Perry Farmers’ Market (gluten-free crust available).
You’ll pass the bike-friendly Elk Pub in Browne’s Addition with its big multi-bike parking spot out front. Vegetarians, try the black bean burger.
Rotary Fountain in Spokane’s Riverfront Park, at Howard and Spokane Falls Boulevard.
Start this ride from anywhere along the trail in downtown. Riverfront Park’s Rotary Fountain makes a great spot to cool off with a quick dash through the spray and you can hop on the nearby Looff Carousel for a grab at the brass ring.
Key resource: Centennial Trail map (While you’re at it, you might donate a few bucks to Friends of the Centennial Trail for all their work over the years to develop this fantastic connection through the heart of Spokane that runs all the way to Idaho, where it connects with the North Idaho Centennial Trail)
2) Ride Your Mountain Bike 24 Hours Round the Clock May 24-25
This team relay mountain bike ride will be held May 24-25 this year. The experienced race organizers at Round and Round Productions say, “Anyone who can ride a bike can do this….your team decides how many laps each person does…one or a whole bunch. So bring your camping gear, bike gear and whatever else will keep you going for 24 hours… then come on out and get dirty with us!”
3) More Mountain Biking: Beacon Hill & Camp Sekani, Mt. Spokane & Riverside State Park
Imagine hopping onto single-track just a few miles from the heart of downtown Spokane — or a few minutes from the heart of downtown if you head downstream to Riverside State Park. Climb hills or mountains and enjoy the pine scent.
The Eastern Washington chapter of the Evergreen Mountain Bike Association (formerly the Fat Tire Trail Riders Club) has worked on the Beacon Hill trails — 30 miles of trails through 1,000 acres of public and private property — for years. Get out and enjoy the fruits of their labors, and consider throwing in some volunteer time to help make the trails even better. Riverside State Park has 50 official miles in 10,000 acres — go get away from it all.
You’ll spot this old trestle in Riverside State Park.
Thanks to the Olmsted Brothers, all of Spokane boasts beautiful neighborhood parks, so you can ride your bike to any/all of them. One loop offering food stops and a nice mix of park environments: On the upper South Hill you can ride a mix of quiet streets and bike lanes connecting Comstock, Cannon, Manito, and Lincoln Parks.
Ice cream at The Scoop will fuel your pedaling.
Start from any of these or, more strategically, start at The Scoop and finish there with ice cream!
Striking overlook views of the city if you make sure your route includes Summit Drive and Lincoln Park;
Beautiful homes along Summit, Rockwood Boulevard, and other streets — if you don’t live in Spokane you’ll want to move here after you ride this area;
The chance to jump in the pool at Comstock if the day is warm (which it often is in sunny Spokane);
The gorgeous gardens of Manito Park — from lilacs (ride in spring! Spokane is the Lilac City, after all) to the Japanese Gardens to the Gaiser Conservatory Greenhouses — and the duck pond (just don’t feed the ducks);
Peace and quiet at Cannon and Lincoln, which get less traffic than the larger Manito and Comstock;
Delicious made-in-Spokane Brain Freeze ice cream at The Scoop on fresh waffle cones they make right there, along with sandwiches and soups, strategically located about 4 blocks from Comstock Park;
Lunch/snacks at the Park Bench Cafe in Manito (open Memorial Day to Labor Day;
Pastries, quiche, and more at Rockwood Bakery close to Manito Park on 81th (note — extremely limited gluten-free offerings)
… because a bike is the only vehicle that makes sense in the narrow streets of historic Browne’s Addition when it overflows with thousands of people who love art, music, hands-on art for kids, and kettle corn.
7) Ride the Centennial Trail from Spokane or Spokane Valley to Liberty Lake
Depending on where you live or where you’re staying as a visitor, two great options:
What a peaceful route along the water! Spokane River Centennial Trail on the south side of the river near the Riverpoint Campus.
From Spokane: Start anywhere on the trail in downtown and ride all the way to Liberty Lake and back.
While you’re at it see if you can spot all the pieces of public and private art along the trail. You’ll rack up art points big time if you stop in at the Jundt Art Museum on the campus of Gonzaga University (look for its copper spire on the north bank), and check out the sculptures on the Riverpoint campus operated by WSU Spokane right across the river (south bank), both on the east end of downtown.
From Spokane Valley: Rally your friends at Mirabeau Park and go from there (maybe check out Discovery Playground, the multi-sensory accessible play place for people of all ages and abilities). It’s about 14 miles round trip from Mirabeau to the Starbucks in the shopping plaza you’ll see just after passing over I-90 — or for more local flavor, the Twisp Cafe & Coffee House just a little bit farther along Appleway.
You can also head into Liberty Lake proper and check out their trails and parks. The Spokane Symphony plays an outdoor concert in Pavilion Park each Labor Day weekend; in 2014 it’s on Aug. 30, the day before their Comstock Park concert.
That four-park loop we recommend above? Check out a piece of it with the annual Spokane Summer Parkways June 18, 2014, when people-powered movement takes over the city streets. This Ciclovia/Open Streets event brings out grandmas and grandkids, strollers and scooter, unicycles and hula hoopers and a Zumba class or two along the way. Oh, and did we mention lots and lots of people on all kinds of bikes?
The streets are shady, the neighbors bring out lawn chairs to wave at you as you pass, and you’ll find lots of information tables in the park staffed by volunteers interested in helping you find fun, healthy, and interesting things to do in Spokane. (Look for the WA Bikes booth and say hi!)
Father and daughter enjoy Spokefest 2012. (Photo by Hank Greer)
This family-friendly fall ride (and Spokane’s largest bicycling event) offers loops of various length from the one-mile “just getting rolling” flat route and bike rodeo in Riverfront Park to routes of 9, 21, or 50 miles. This year it takes place Sept. 7, 2014.
The stunning Spokane Falls loop takes you along the route for Bloomsday, Spokane’s iconic road race, where you’ll see gorgeous fall colors (and ride up “Doomsday Hill”–but hey, those runners do it and they don’t have a granny gear). The ride ends at Riverfront Park, where volunteers watch your precious while you cruise through SpokeFair (say hi to the WA Bikes booth!).
The Spokefest Association uses proceeds from the ride to make grants to nonprofit organizations helping improve bike safety in the Spokane area. Here’s a look at a video with scenes from 2008 (first year) & 2009.
We love our fests: Noticing a trend in community event names? Artfest, Elkfest, Spokefest. Spokane has Hoopfest, too — the biggest 3-on-3 basketball tournament on Planet Earth. Ride your bike downtown June 28-29, 2014, and check it out; with 250,000 players, cheering family members, and spectators, you won’t find a parking place anywhere nearby.
10) Inland Northwest Ale Trail
This map of microbreweries developed for drivers will guide you from sips to suds and from Washington to Idaho and back again. We hope to bring the bike-friendly version to you soon.
The Ale Trail extends beyond Spokane to Airway Heights (close to Spokane), Pullman, and Republic, and into Idaho to Post Falls, Coeur d’Alene, and Ponderay. For a day trip loop around a few of them (make sure you stop at River City Red in Spokane’s Carnegie Square and say hi for us — owner Gage Stromberg has supported Spokane bicycling events and organizations for years and authored a great op-ed piece on bikes in the Spokesman-Review in 2013). For a full-on tour of the trail pack your bags (and you may want a copy of Cycling Sojourner Washington for its how-to chapter on planning a bike tour).
11) Bonus: Check Out Local Clubs, Rides, & Races
Spokane Bicycle Club: Open to all ages and abilities, SBC organizes recreational rides with a variety of length, pace, and day/time options. Members are essential volunteers at Spokane events such as Bloomsday, where they run the bike corral at packet pick-up, and are tapped to help with bike events like Summer Parkways, Spokefest, and the new Commute of the Century.
Spokane Bikes: Not a club, this group of volunteers puts together the annual Bike to Work Week celebration each year. Get in touch if you like putting on great parties and motivating others to get out there and ride.
Spokane Belles and Baskets ride April 13, 2014, along the Spokane River.
Ladies only: Belles and Baskets goes on low-key, y’all-come rides twice a month, usually on second Sunday afternoons and fourth Tuesdays after 6. Rides always, always start/end at a place where you can sit, talk, and eat/drink/be merry. They hold a special Spokefest preview ride men are welcome to join; the rest of the time this one is women-only.
Ladies only: WOW Women’s Cycling, a membership club, shares information through its email list; contact wowcyclingspokane@gmail.com for updates. They post very rarely on their Facebook page.
Baddlands: This racing/recreation club puts on the Twilight Series of Spokane bike races throughout the summer and offers a variety of group rides around Spokane County.
Spokane Rocket Velo: This racing/recreation club organizes the challenging Ronde van Palouse race (tagline: “because nobody’s ready in April”) and crits and offers group rides.
Evergreen East: Eastern WA chapter of the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance. Building trails and riding them!
Riverside Alley Rats:On Facebook; the Web site of the same name points to a group in California. The FB page is pretty quiet but if you like what they’re posting, become a fan and see what happens.
The rest of the bike-racing teams/clubs: We know Spokane has more — drop a link in the comments and we’ll update this list.
More to Come!
This list leaves out a lot of great rides, destinations, and activities you can get to by bike in the Lilac City. We didn’t talk about:
Kidical Massrides organized by Summer Parkways; next one is Sept. 11, 2014
seeing how many bike events you can attend that have Roast House Coffee serving up delicious organic, direct trade coffee — it’s most of them! Owner Deb Di Bernardo whips up Gear Grinder Blend to benefit our advocacy work and delivers coffee by bike around Spokane
the ride south from Spokane to Valleyford for a cup at On Sacred Grounds coffee shop because who wouldn’t use coffee as an excuse for a 50-mile round trip on a nice Saturday (or maybe a cheese-making class? This tiny little coffee shop/bookstore occasionally holds interesting events)
riding your bike to every farmers’ market in the city (and beyond, to Millwood and Liberty Lake) — we should create some kind of badge for this
checking out bike connections in every quarter of Spokane by riding the Commute of the Century, 5 loops planned to allow you to survey bike routes and give feedback to the city. Ride every route and you’ve covered 100 miles of Spokane city streets.
riding your bike in the annual Pride Parade, St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Lilac Parade
The list goes on and on; we’re already almost done with our second 10 Fun Things in Spokane by Bike post just with these.
Your Turn
What’s your personal favorite thing to do by bike in Spokane? Add it in the comments below and watch for another round-up to come with your nominations.
Want to write “10 Fun Things to Do by Bike in Your WA Town”? Drop a line to Louise and become a guest blogger. We hope you’ll cover something for all kinds of riders: family biking, women-only, short and long distances, different types of bikes, fun/challenging/competitive, scenic/cultural/offbeat. Give us a taste of the geography and the bike culture where you live.
Tomorrow if you see a line of bicyclists riding slowly in silence wearing black armbands, you are witnessing Washington’s participation in a global event. The Ride of Silence honors those who have been injured or killed while cycling on public roads and highways. Chris Phelan of Dallas founded the event in honor of his friend Larry Schwartz, struck and killed by the side mirror on a bus, to raise awareness of people on bicycles and to ask that we all watch out for each other.
At WA Bikes we work tirelessly on safety issues and funding for better infrastructure so families won’t have to suffer the loss of a mother, father, sister, brother, grandma or grandpa, aunt or uncle, friend or teacher. The Ride of Silence reminds us how much more we have to do.
Gov. Jay Inslee issued a proclamation for the Ride of Silence, noting the importance of bicycling as transportation. Several communities around Washington organize local rides; in the past rides have been held in Bainbridge Island, Bellingham, Everett, Kent/Auburn, Olympia, Seattle, Silverdale/Bremerton, Spokane and Spokane Valley, Tacoma, Vancouver, Walla Walla, Wenatchee, and Woodinville. We don’t have details on all of this year’s rides; add yours in the comments below with details. (Next year, add your event to the Ride of Silence list for Washington and put it on our statewide events calendar and we’ll make sure we get word out in advance.)
Seattle: Gather at Gas Works Park at 6:30pm; ride departs 7pm.
Spokane: Held its ride May 14 during Bike to Work Week
If you want to organize a Ride of Silence for your community, the site has an organizer’s checklist, sample materials such as a news release and ROS logo, and other resources. If you plan to organize one in Washington for 2015, let us know and we’ll help spread the word next year.
“How about if we all just try to follow these very simple Rules of the Road? Drive like the person ahead on the bike is your son/daughter. Ride like the cars are ambulances carrying your loved ones to the emergency room. This should cover everything, unless you are a complete sociopath.”
— Letter to VeloNews from David Desautels, Fort Bragg, California
Tonight we number many but ride as one
In honor of those not with us, friends, mothers, fathers, sisters, sons
With helmets on tight and heads down low,
We ride in silence, cautious and slow
The wheels start spinning in the lead pack
But tonight we ride and no one attacks
The dark sunglasses cover our tears
Remembering those we held so dear
Tonight’s ride is to make others aware
The road is there for all to share
To those not with us or by our side,
May God be your partner on your final ride
– Mike Murgas
“I am someone’s somebody” jerseys sold by carytownbicycles.com.
(Spanish)
Marcha en Silencio…
Somos muchos esta noche, pero marchamos como un solo hombre
en honor de padres, madres, amigos o hijos que ya no tienen nombre…
Con el casco bien calado y la cabeza agachada
marchamos en silencio, prudente la mirada.
En cabeza oigo ruedas su recorrido comenzar,
pero hoy solo marchamos, nadie quiere atacar.
Disimulan nuestras lágrimas las gafas oscuras
recordando nuestros seres queridos con ternura.
La marcha de esta noche es para otros advertir
que las carreteras son y están para compartir.
Para aquellos que con nosotros ya no están:
¡que Dios les acompañe en la marcha final!.
Kris Harper of Intercity Transit offered up a cheery smile and a piece of fruit to all who stopped by.
For me, Bike to Work Week 2014 started off in Spokane for the annual Kickoff Breakfast with its pancakes and coffee, bikes and camaraderie, and the new Commute of the Century: 5 20-mile rides over 100 miles of Spokane’s streets. (Watch for our future post on what it took to pull this off, how the data collection will feed into Spokane’s bike master plan implementation, and how to do one in your hometown.)
After a couple of days at a conference in Grand Mound talking about our bike tourism work my week ended in Olympia, where Intercity Transit supports the Bicycle Commuter Challenge. Staff member Duncan Green spends 6 months of each year organizing and running the BCC.
The coffee never stopped pouring at the Olympia energizer station at Ralph’s Groceries.
The BCC has taken place continuously for 27 years, coincidentally the same age as our organization. We have a hunch this makes Thurston County’s BCC the longest-running commute challenge in the state. Anyone have one older that has operated every year since its founding?
My hosts and I rode the 6.8 miles into town and stopped at the busy energizer station at Ralph’s Grocery, warming up with coffee and some fruit and chatting with Bike Tech shop owner Dale Plant, Kris Harper of Intercity Transit, and others.
Duncan Green (left) has organized Thurston County’s Bicycle Commuter Challenge for years. The boy at left gets ready to put on his reflective slap band with great enthusiasm.
After the coffee stop Maxine and Ray took off in one direction, I went the other to find my first meeting of the day, taking advantage of Olympia’s bike lanes.
Along the way Andrea Bell stopped me to ask if I knew where to find a good breakfast. She’d ridden from Tacoma to Olympia to check out the regional trail network and it was time for some calories. I don’t know downtown Olympia well so I could only suggest Wagner’s, with its beautiful case full of sinful sugar bombs and great deli salads (a stop every time I’m in the capital).
Andrea Bell, bike commuter, rode the trails from Tacoma to Olympia to enjoy the outdoors (and find some breakfast).
We chatted a while and Andrea said something that describes bicycling for many whether you’re riding to meetings, errands, shopping, or the bus stop: “I like my job but when I’m there, that’s work time. This (riding) is my time. It’s my chance to connect with what’s around me and be outdoors.”
At midday I joined 70 or so state employees for the Interagency Bike to Work Day picnic. We rallied in the parking lot of the General Administration (GA) building and biked to Tumwater Historical Park for snacks and a drawing for prizes. Organized by our friends at the Dept. of Transportation along with the Dept. of Revenue, the ride draws people from DSHS, DFW, and other departments and divisions — your healthy state government at work!
Washington state employees gather for the midday Interagency Bike Ride on Bike to Work Day 2014 in Olympia.
After the picnic I rode the trail through the park and around Capital Lake with BTW Coordinator Duncan. We stopped to chat with someone from the local paper there to check out a falcon’s nest high in an old dead snag.
Meanwhile, back in Spokane they were winding up the week with the Wrap-Up Party at River City Red. My commutes to begin and end the week had a beautiful symmetry, with a trail alongside water accessible from city streets to give me some time in Washington’s great outdoors.
Washington State employees at Bike to Work Day picnic hosted by WA Bikes, Tumwater Historical Park, May 16, 2014
A different view of Washington’s state capitol: From the trail around Capital Lake, returning from Tumwater Historical Park. What you can’t see: the falcon’s nest in a dead snag just to the right of the tall chimney stack.
Start to finish, Bike to Work Week educates, celebrates, and inspires. It’s never too late to bike to work or bike to everywhere; the National Bike Challenge keeps rolling through September.
Bikes wait for their riders during the Interagency Bike to Work Day picnic.
Around Washington, Bike to Work Week takes on a different spin (ouch! bike pun!) in each town that celebrates it.
One of the 3 racks at Spokane City Hall that filled up for the Bike to Work Kickoff Breakfast.
Of course, we have plenty to celebrate in the #1 Bicycle Friendly State – and plenty of work yet to do (so register for your local Bike to Work effort and the National Bike Challenge to stand up and be counted).
WA Bikes maintains a list of Washington state Bike Month challenges to help people connect with the effort in their town, and we need your help to keep it complete and up to date. Let us know about a challenge we’re missing and we’ll get it on the list.
During Bike to Work Week I participated in events on opposite sides of the state. I’m sharing my snapshots of the fun and camaraderie from Spokane (today’s post) to Olympia (tomorrow’s post).
Spokane Bike to Work Kickoff Breakfast: (L-$) Kate Johnston of WA Bikes, Sen. Andy Billig, Barb Chamberlain of WA Bikes
Spokanites know we’d had a 6-year streak of rain on kickoff day—snapped the streak at last in year 7. It did become a point of pride to have 200 or so hardy folks on bikes show up every year despite the forecast, though.
What a peaceful commute! Spokane River Centennial Trail
Sen. Andy Billig and Spokane City Councilman Jon Snyder, both great champions who “bike the talk,” rode to the event to celebrate the growth in Spokane bicycling. As always, for those who may have a solitary route to work this event provides the chance to hang out with others who bike. They compare gear, routes, and funny stories and build the bicycling community. As the founding chair I felt as if I were attending a hometown reunion with so many familiar faces.
Monday night I rode from downtown along the Spokane River Centennial Trail to meet with members of the Spokane Bicycle Club. They’re working hard to grow membership and to bring in all kinds of riders and it was great to hear their energy and enthusiasm. You may spot a club member at a trailhead somewhere around Spokane sharing their schedule of upcoming rides; they’re adding rides to appeal to people at various skill levels and invite you to check them out.
City engineer Brandon Blankenagel (standing, green T-shirt) rallies 2 dozen riders for Tuesday’s Commute of the Century short loop up the South Hill.
Volunteers from the club laid down 700 bright arrows to mark the routes for the brand-new “Commute of the Century”: 20-mile rides every day during Bike to Work Week at lunchtime around different parts of the city checking out existing and proposed bike routes and providing feedback.
Even though BTW Week is over, you can ride the routes and get the T-shirt that proves you’ve ridden 100 miles of Spokane’s streets; download maps, explore some neighborhoods, and provide feedback to city planners and engineers. The maps provide short and long options to suit your preference or your time constraints.
I got to ride the Commute of the Century with Betsy Lawrence, friend & co-founder of women’s riding group Belles and Baskets. (Photo by Hank Greer)
Tuesday I rode with over 2 dozen people in the short loop that took us up the South Hill on Adams and around bike lanes and quiet neighborhood streets to end at Hart Field for fruit and cookies. (Thanks for the treats, Brandon and Sara Blankenagel and SBC members!)
I had to leave Tuesday night so I missed Wednesday morning’s Energizer Stations. I know from the pictures that, as always, riders warmed up with coffee, juice, and goodies at various locations and thanked the volunteers who got up early to give them a smile and a treat.
And of course, the Wrap-Up Party on Friday provides another fun tradition, this year at the River City Red brewery owned by Gage Stromberg, a fantastic supporter of bicycling in the Lilac City.
Great to see one of our Share the Road jerseys at the start of the Commute of the Century ride!
After Spokane it was off to a conference and then to Olympia for Part 2 of Bike to Work, Bike to Everywhere.
Mother and son tackled the Commute of the Century together.
Seattle kicked off its Summer Streets events yesterday with the Alki Beach Party. Alki Avenue SW (between 56th Ave SW and 63rd Ave SW) was closed to motorized vehicles and citizens were invited to walk, bike, skate, roll their wheelchairs, and run in the street.
Rain held off long enough for the young and young at heart to stay dry in a bicycle/costume parade organized by the Alki Beach Creeps. There was also a skidding competition, chalk drawing, outdoor chess matches, music and more. Of course, there were plenty of folks biking, strolling, skating, jogging and socializing in the street and adjacent businesses.
Alki is the first of four Seattle Summer Streets events planned in 2014. Events are also lined up for Ballard (May 29). PhinneyWood (August 9), and Rainier Valley (August 16).
Seattle Summer Streets is part of the global open streets movement, or ciclovias. An open streets event temporarily close streets to motor vehicles and transforms them into public places for people to bike, walk, socialize and celebrate their communities. Spokane Summer Parkways is also an open streets event. Tacoma and Vancouver also organized open streets events last year.
Is your community planning an open streets event in 2014? Please use our Event Submission Form to tell us about it and we’ll put it on calendar and spread the word through social media.
Then the trail turns inland for a couple miles, zig zagging for a climb of about 200 feet, nothing noticeable. Then it suddenly plummets 100 feet to a covered bridge over Bagley Creek, requiring a climb (or walk!) back up. Over the course of our day on the ODT we encountered a few of these ravines along the trail. Each of them was a small challenge, but also scenic and interesting with cool bridges. Variety is a good thing!
The trail uses some residential roads when passing through Sequim. This wouldn’t really be a big deal except that it is not well marked. More than once we missed a turn. You have to keep a sharp eye out for the small signs. The locals were happy to point us in the right direction, and they also commented about the poor markings. It seems strange that the community would invest so heavily in the trail itself, but then cut corners on budgeting for trail signs. Maybe some merchants could be persuaded to help with signage in exchange for some exposure. It would certainly make the ride more fun if it was always clear which way to go!
We rode past Sequim to Sequim Bay State Park. It has nice views of the Bay, plus drinking water and places to relax. That was a turnaround point for us.
Our ride back to Port Angeles was quick, and seemed even easier than coming the other way. Maybe it was because we didn’t stop so often, and we were more relaxed because we knew the trail. We did make one notable stop on the way home at the Railroad Bridge State park. It is an unusually impressive bike/ped bridge. It crosses over the scenic Dungeness River west of Sequim. As a bonus, Catherine spotted a pair of Wood Ducks on the river, which are among the most beautiful waterfowl in North America. We wished we’d had time to visit the Audubon Center, which is supposed to be terrific. Next time!
