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Hey - new to the forum and fairly new to Seattle.
Wondering if any of you our there are roadies and have some good recommendations for riding out of the city. I hate hate hate the traffic - I've just moved from Boulder, CO and we're nothing like this.. and I'm not really a big fan of the Burke Gilman (too many dogs, rollerbladers and strollers).. so how can I get out of town onto a fairly quiet road for a nice 50 mile ride?
Welcome to Seattle. I've been here for almost 30 years but have fairly recently gotten back into cycling.
I used to go to Vashon Island (I eventually lived there for 10 years) and ride. It is pretty popular with folks because it is so rural yet close. It is a ferry ride from West Seattle. I believe there is still a downtown Seattle walk-on ferry. It is best to get a map and stay off the main road Vashon Hwy.
Have you check out the Cascade Bicycle Club yet? They have tons of rides.
Have a great time exploring the beautiful areas.
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/
Carole
Well... there's a book on local rides that I like the looks of (Bicycling the Back Roads of Puget Sound), but I'm not much able to get out and try any of the rides in it - their starting points are often unreachable for me, since I don't have a car. They claim to go out of their way to avoid heavy traffic.
Hi rthoma4,
Not sure if you're still looking for some rides out of the Seattle metro area - maybe you've found them by now. I do quite a bit of riding from Wallingford into Snohomish, Issaquah, Renton, North Bend, etc etc. Routes are out there but unfortunately you do have to access them using either the bumpy burke or hitch a ride with a friend. I would say to truly get out of the city - by bike of course - you're looking around 60-80 miles round trip. Are you still looking for routes?
Some of us are coming up from the Bay Area to do this ride. We're planning to stay Saturday night in Vader. Any of you planning to do this ride????????
My plans as of right now are to be there and I don't think that it falls on the same day as any of my planned races so it doesn't look like that will change. The hubby and I stay in Centralia.
If the weather is good, I'll probably wear my Amici Veloci jersey that the women on this forum designed! It's way cool!
I'll also have my Benicia Bike Club wind jacket (yellow- how can you miss that!). Do you know Slo Joe Recumbo and the "bent riders"? A lot of them are going as well.
Not sure where we are staying Friday night- a friend's house is what I know. Maybe we could do a pre STP dinner like we do in California before the Cinderella ride.
If you race, I trust you have a goal for MPH, yes?
It would be fun to meet some of you NW gals from this forum!
I will of course be in my Group Health kit - they like for us to come to their other events :rolleyes: (I likely will not be the only one in a GH kit, but on the other hand I will probably be the only one riding with a 6'4" guy in a green and white Mobile Money kit)
STP is not really a good place to set MPH goals - Its waaaaay too crowded on the roads for the first 25 miles or so to do much besides go with the flow unless you like to be particularly pushy or really enjoy road rash. We generally try to leave fairly early and hit a good tempo after the Puyallup hill and the lunch stop. The second day is not usually so crowded as there are more starting places/times.
Of course there is lots of time to think about a pre-ride dinner - but maybe more fun if it would work out -post ride dinner - get to see how everyone liked it. The hubby and I stay overnight in Portland, rent a car and drive back the next day. It just seems more calm than going back the same night.
Eden- Not a bad idea. Post dinner would be good because no matter how late anyone gets in, we still have to eat!
When it gets closer to the ride date I'll start a post STP dinner thread (or someone else can). That will be loads of fun. Now we'll need some suggestions from our Portland TE gals as to a good place to eat.
I also find the 2nd day more spread out. After Puyallup hill it does seem to get a little less crowded as you said.
What kind of bikes do you all ride? I'm probably going to ride my Scott CR1 (black). Often when I pass someone I look at their bike- always curious as to what others ride! OR at rest stops!
The hubby has a red/white/blue Fuji Team with green bar tape - hard to miss as its a 64cm and you don't see too many of those out and about. My current ride is a light blue and white Fuji Provence, but I'm on the waiting list for a Ruby Pro. The shop said they only made about 9 of them in my size (44cm) so It's looking more and more like it'll be the next model year before I can get my hands on one though....
photos of me, the hubby and the steeds attatched
I'm still waffling on whether I want to do the STP, but whether I do it or not you guys are more than welcome to crash at my house in Portland if you need to. :)
Hi, rthoma4! Welcome to town. See the below link for some ride ideas:
http://www.cascade.org/Community/for...&threadid=4282
My husband and I will be doing the STP on a bright blue Burley tandem with a plastic figure of Gamera on the back of the rack, so if any of you guys see us, please say hi!
(If you all need to know who Gamera is, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamera. Guardian of the Universe and Protector of Children, a turtle who flies, spins in the air, and spits fire. What could be more fun?)