Reviewing my bicycle calendar listings, it occurred to me that the naming of bicycle rides for the Pacific Northwest winter season is definitely a case of truth in advertising.
There's no glossing over the weather, which is wet and cold this time of year. That's why the name of so many bike rides embraces the misery and folly of riding into the rain. If you're going to be cold and wet, make the most of it.
The first such ride that comes to mind is Saturday's Stinky Spoke – Stinky Weather Poker Run in Woodinville. What a great name for a ride along some wet, muddy trails. Picture above are some cyclists emerging from the fog last year on the Sammamish River Trail; below is a typical bike after the ride.
The ride is a poker run, with cyclists getting cards for a poker hand along the 16- and 18.5-mile route options on the Tuscany and Tolt Pipeline trails. In addition to prizes, everyone also gets a beanie and a Red Hook Brewery glass to be filled at the finish with beer or a soda drink.
The ride starts between 9 and 10 a.m. Saturday at the Red Hook Brewery, 14300 NE 145 St., Woodinville. Online registration is available through Friday, with onsite registration Saturday morning for an extra $10.
The mountain bike ride is a fund-raiser for the Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center. The organizers say they pick the Jan. 15 date because it has the highest probability of the worst day of the year for weather. Although the temperatures this year are forecast in the relatively balmy low 50s, a steady rain is also predicted.
Worst Day – Oregon
The next suitably named ride is the Worst Day of the Year Ride in Portland, whose mascot for the 10th anniversary is a penguin.
Some 4,000 people usually ride their bicycles on the 18-mile ride around downtown that starts Feb. 13 at the Lucky Labrador Brew Pub at 915 SE Hawthorne. This is a benefit ride for the Community Cycling Center.
Chilly Hilly
Next in line is the aptly named Chilly Hilly bicycle ride on Bainbridge Island on Feb. 27.
This Cascade Bicycle Club ride is considered the first big ride of the year. For most, it starts at the docks in Seattle for a ferry ride across the Puget Sound to the 33-mile route around the island. With unseasonable pleasant weather last year, the ride broke a record in 2010 with 6,028 cyclists participating.
While the eather can range from nice to cold and rainy, the terrain always calls for 2,675 feet of climbing.
Bend
The last aptly named ride is the Wet 'n' Windy 50 on March 21 that is sponsored by Hutch's Bicycles in Bend, Oregon. The weather can be unpredictable in March, hence the name of this 50-miler from Bend to Powell Butte and back. Check out details at the Hutch's Bicycles calendar.
As the season officially changes to spring, the ride names up here also change. There's the Tulip Pedal, the Daffodil Classic, and the Rhody Tour.
But this being the Pacific Northwest, the weather can still be stinky.
If you're still interested in riding, here are monthly bicycle ride calendars for Washington, Oregon and California this year. I'm still in the process of updating.
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