They're going to have to rename this event if there are many more days like Sunday in the future for the Chilly Hilly bike rides.
Check out these cyclists basking in the sun as they ride along Rockaway Beach Road on Bainbridge Island Sunday afternoon. That's downtown Seattle, with the famous Space Needle on the left, across Puget Sound with the snow-capped Cascades in the background. In many previous years, much of these scene would be hidden behind a cloud bank.
The Chilly Hilly bike ride is a 33-mile loop around Bainbridge Island. It has been sponsored for 35 years by the Cascade Bicycle Club, which named it for the usual cold, wet, and windy weather that greets cyclists coming out of their winter hibernation.
Regardless of the weather, the hills are always abundant.
See more 2008 Chilly Hilly pictures
and Washington bike ride calendar
You can tell from the smiles that most people didn't even mind the hills; it just provided a chance to slow down and take in the scenery and take deep breaths of the fresh air.
Here cyclists attack the first long hill, that hits at about the 12-mile mark. That's quickly followed by lunch at Battle Point Park, then another long hill. In addition, there are smaller hills too numerous to mention that add up to 2,675 feet of climbing for these bikers.
The Chilly Hilly usually draws upwards of 4,000 bicyclists (4,260 rode in 2007). Here thousands pour out of the ferry that carried cyclists across Puget Sound from Seattle. (The ferry ride is included in the registration fee.) I would expect a record turnout this year with the warm, sunny weather.
Local entrepreneurs provide plenty of excuses for cyclists to stop and help the local economy while they load up on cookies, brownies and bottled water. Local groups also sponsor chili feeds at Battle Point Park halfway point and at the finish line. There's also a cider stop at the American Legion Hall at mile 19.
This is a very friendly ride for kids. Although the bicyclists fill and roads and can be a little loopy at times, Bainbridge motorists must either leave the island or wait in their driveways as I saw very few cars on the route on Sunday. Here one child pedaled a trailer bike while another rode in a trailer.
Heading home aboard the ferry Puyallup.
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