Seattle area bicycle rides and Events | The Bicycle Fixer

The Bicycle Fixer
 

Chilly Hilly, Seattle to Portland bicycle ride

RSVP and Ramrod
Seattle area Bicycle rides

Is your bike ready?

253-486-7468

joe@thebicyclefixer.com

A tune-up before Chilly Hilly or any early season bicycle ride is a great way to get your bicycle ready for the rigors of regular usage and skip the spring rush!.   If you're pulling your bicycle out of the garage after several months or years of not riding, the tire pressure will be low or the tire sidewalls might be dry and/or cracked. If your most recent bicycle maintenance was last year, now is the time to inspect your bike and fix anything before the rubber meets the road of Bainbridge Islands Chilly Hilly. If you purchased a bicycle or parts at the Seattle Bike Swap, The Bicycle Fixer would be available to make your bicycle safe, efficient and an enjoyable for bicycle rides. Call or text (253) 486-7468 or touch base with me at joe@thebicyclefixer.com now. With the Seattle to Portland bike ride happening in July and the RSVP bike ride in August, your bike should always be inspected and serviced before any long bicycle rides. Even if it's tuned for STP and you plan to ride RSVP and you ride regularly in-between, plan on basic service. If you ride several events/yr plus commute or are a regular rider, your bike will need upwards of 2 of the Performance Service packages:

Includes brake/shifter/derailleur adjustments, minor wheel truing and chain lube
$90

Seattle area bicycle rides

No matter what type of bicycle riding you like, there's a wealth of events, rides, trails and races to suit all bicycle riders. If you're just starting out or have young ones in tow, Bicycle Sunday in Seattle sponsored by the Cascade Bicycle Club is a fun way to enjoy your day. It's takes place during the summer on a section of Lk Washington Blvd that is blocked to vehicular traffic. If Bicycle Sunday sounds a bit hectic then Seward Park has a playground for the kids, picnic areas and a walking/biking trail around its perimeter that's not quite as busy as Lk Washington Blvd. Parking for Bicycle Sunday is located at Seward Park, the Genesee Park area or Mount Baker beach. For more bicycle rides and events sponsored by Cascade Bicycle Club, there's several inks below in the events calendar.
If you're interested in starting racing you can always go to Seward Park on Thursday nights in the upper parking lot and talk to folks there about getting started. Races start around 5pm and run from April to early Sept. For more information on local and regional racing events, click the link below.  The schedule is set up for monthly viewing. Includes all disciplines (road racing, mountain bike, track, cyclocross, and gravel rides ). 

A fantastic program for school age kids, is the Washington Student Cycling League This was founded to give kids from middle school to high school a chance to participate in low key mountain bike races with their peers on safe and fun courses around the Puget Sound region and other Washington state locales.
 

https://www.facebook.com/washingtonmtb/

http://www.wsbaracing.org/calendar.html

https://parkways.seattle.gov/?s=bicycle+sunday

Burke-Gilman Trail / Sammamish River Trail / Seattle rides  

There are many notable bicycle rides and trails throughout King County, Seattle and other nearby areas. The Rails to Trails Conservancy made it possible for many bicycle riders and other users to experience safe and redeveloped rail right-of-ways. Most notably is the Burke-Gilman Trail (or BGT) from Seattle to Log Boom Park in Kenmore. The Burke-Gilman trail starts in Ballard and meanders through the Fremont, Wallingford, University neighborhoods before turning north near Sand Point to parallel the west side of Lake Washington and ending in Kenmore at Log Boom Park with a direct connection to the SRT. There are views of Mt. Rainier and the Cascade foothills along the way. For those that travel from the north, there's parking at Log Boom Park (north terminus of the Burke-Gilman trail). From here, ride east to along the Sammamish River Trail (SRT) that through Woodinville, Redmond and on to Issaquah.

 Below are links to bike route maps for the above trails including the Burke-Gilman trail.  http://snohomishcountywa.gov/Facilities/Facility/Details/Centennial-Trail-33 https://www.alltrails.com/us/washington/rails-trails  

Riding in Seattle can be a bit hectic (it is big of course) but if you want a leisurely bicycle ride with spectacular local views, head to Alki. You'll be sharing the path with walkers, skaters, other cyclists and gawkers. It's Seattle's version of a boardwalk. The views of the Olympic Mountains are inspiring and the views of Seattle's skyline along Harbor Ave SW are something to take in. There's also a great selection of eateries along Alki Drive so you won't go hungry.

Bainbridge Island is the location of the long-running Chilly-Hilly bicycle ride which occurs every February as a kick-off to the local cycling season!  You can catch the Seattle-Winslow ferry on the Seattle waterfront. 

Another ferry option is to board a Washington state ferry in West Seattle just south of Lincoln Park on Fauntleroy Way. From here a ferry will take you to Vashon Island (note: there's also a direct ferry to Southworth). It's a bit of a climb up the hill into town but it's worth the effort! If you would rather, you can continue on the ferry to Southworth in Kitsap County. If you want a weekend camping getaway by bicycle, there's 35 tent sites at Manchester State Park, https://parks.state.wa.us/542/Manchester. It's about 7.5 miles to the park from Southworth. Reservations are required for May-mid September camping. Otherwise Sept 16-May 14 dates are on a first come/first serve basis.  Washington State generally runs a very consistent ferry schedule with the worlds largest ferry fleet traversing many bodies of water around the state. Edmonds to Kingston and Mukilteo to Clinton on Whidbey Island are some other local favorites for cyclists. Washington State ferries, https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/, schedule is posted online. Tickets for bicyclists are very reasonable. 

Seattle to Portland bike ride / RSVP bike ride and RAMROD.  Every July is the big ride, STP or the Seattle to Portland bike ride to be more exact. This ride promoted by the Cascade Bicycle Club is sold out months in advance every year which should give an indication of it's popularity. You can ride it in one day if so inclined or take both days averaging about 100 miles/day. This mass start bicycle ride actually started as a bicycle race in 1979 and has run contiguously since except for 1980 when a certain Mt. St. Helens blew it's top. The STP is fully supported with food and bicycle mechanic stations along the way. There are many small towns along the way so if you're short on food, please patronize the local establishments. 

Mountain bike trails

The best info for the local scene is the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance

Evergreen is a great group advocating for trails and leads trail building groups, classes for everyone and a mountain bike festival. Their site will have a comprehensive list of mtn bike parks and trails.

https://www.evergreenmtb.org/

The following list are some of the more established westside trail areas 

Duthie (Sammamish Plateau)

Paradise Conservation area (Maltby area)

Maple Valley/ Henry's Ridge and the Black Diamond trails

Tiger Mountain and Preston Railway mtn bike trails (Issaquah)

Sun Top (Hwy 410)

No matter what ride you choose to do, be safe and enjoy the local scenery and say Hi as you go!