Here's a bicyclist gingerly pedaling over a light frost on the Mercer Slough Causeway alongside I-90 in Bellevue late Sunday afternoon.
You can see by all the tracks in the frost that this is a popular route. It's a main corridor between Bellevue and Seattle.
The slough encompasses more than 300 acres of Bellevue along the eastern shore of Lake Washington. The ….
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/12/28/late-afternoon-winter-bike-ride-in-bellevue/
The purchase of a 42-mile railway corridor east of Seattle this week sets in motion an undertaking that could result in a bike trail, or light rail line, or both.
The corridor runs between Renton and Snohomish and serves dense suburban areas on the eastern side of Lake Washington.
Originally envisioned as a bike trail that would link to the regional trail system, it's also being considered as the backbone for a Eastside light rail line.
The corridor passes through woodsy lakeside neighborhoods, above, and over the 975-foot-long Wilburton Trestle (circa 1904) just south of downtown Bellevue, below ….
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/12/23/bike-trail-or-light-rail-or-both-port-buys-bnsf-rr-corridor/
Seattle experienced a 15% increase in bike commuting in the past two years, based on a count conducted in September.
Volunteers stationed at 30 locations around the city counted 2,609 bicyclists heading into the core downtown area the morning of Sept. 16.
Many of those commuters were using bike lanes, routes and paths that were created thanks to the city's Bike Master Plan, passed in 2007.
The ongoing improvements in the Bike Master Plan are aimed at tripling the number of people commuting by bicycle by 2017 ….
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/12/16/big-jump-in-seattle-bike-commuting-the-past-two-years/
Where and when are you most likely to find bicycle riders in Bellevue, Washington? It's the I-90 bike trail in the Enatai neighborhood.
According to the Pedestrian and Bicycle Count Report taken on Sept. 29, bicycle commuters come through there at the rate of 2 per minute between 4 and 6 p.m., and at about 1 per minute between 7 and 9 a.m.
If you commute between the Eastside and Seattle, that I-90 bridge trail is the only way across Lake Washington. The only alternatives are riding through Renton south of the lake or the Burke-Gilman Trail through Bothell north of the lake. [The photo shows bike commuters at that location on a bike-to-work day …..
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/12/12/where-to-find-bike-commuters-in-bellevue/
It's always gratifying to learn that your hometown is making progress toward bicycle friendliness.
That's why I was happy to learn that Bellevue, Washington, has joined Seattle and Redmond by opening a bike station. It's housed inside Bellevue's Commute Connection at the Transit Center on Sixth Street.
That Commute Connection “store” is where commuters can learn about options to driving solo to work or errands. Staff is on-site from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily through the winter to assist in planning commute trips by bike, bus, and car- or van-pool.
The highlight for me is the secure indoor parking at the site for 27 bicycles ….
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/12/07/secure-bicycle-parking-at-bellevues-bike-station/
A former church pastor from Washington will be heading to prison soon to serve his sentence stemming from the 2003 death of a college coed who was riding with a friend along the roadside.
Randall Foos maintained in court that he didn't see the bicyclist, Sara Casey, because the sun was in his eyes. The prosecution maintained Foos had been diagnosed with three eye diseases that hampered his eyesight in the year before the crash.
The Tacoma News Tribune quoted the victim's mother:
“Our goal all along has been to raise awareness that people with severe medical impairments need to be held accountable when they choose to drive and put others at risk ….
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/11/02/pastor-headed-to-prison-for-2003-bicyclist-fatality/
Olympic and two-time world gold medalist Kristin Armstrong is preparing for life after pro cycling.
The 36-year-old from Boise, Idaho, carried out her planned retirement after winning a gold medal in the time trial event at the World Championships in Switzerland in September. That honor went right up on the shelf beside her World gold in 2006 and the Olympic gold in the time trial in 2008.
Now she's working with a speaking coach to possibly launch a career as a motivational speaker and TV cycling commentator. Quoted by the AP:
“If a woman can commentate in the NFL, why can’t a woman commentate for the Tour de France? I have the medals. Now I have to make that happen. ….
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/10/31/commentating-career-for-gold-medal-cyclist-kristin-armstrong/
Bicyclists in Seattle should feel fortunate that the creators of Ride the City chose their town as the latest addition to the online bike-route mapping tool.
Since launching the website for New York City last year, Vaidila Kungys and Jordan Anderson have added Chicago, Austin, Louisville, San Diego and now Seattle to their mapping tool.
Don't blame these guys for the slow roll-out; Vaidila told me that they have full-time jobs and update the website during coffee breaks, lunches and after work.
Essentially, Ride the City is a mapping tool that finds the most direct route between two points, much like Google maps does for car travel [you can give it a test drive on the jump] ….
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/10/28/ride-the-city-directs-bike-riders-to-safest-routes/
Two auctions are on tap this weekend in Seattle to raise funds for nonprofits that support bicycling.
Fortunately, the auctions for the Bicycle Alliance of Washington and The Bikery are on different nights.
First up is the Bicycle Alliance of Washington auction and gala beginning at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the Seattle Center Fisher Pavilion.
The Alliance advocates for bicyclists in Washington. In addition to overseeing what our legislators are up to in Olympia, the BAW runs the Bike Station in Seattle and runs bike commuting and safe routes to school programs, among many other tasks. ….
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/10/22/two-auctions-for-bicycle-nonprofits-in-seattle-this-weekend/
Any plans you had for bicycling the Green River Trail in the next few years are being sandbagged.
Crews are racing to erect a 3- to 4-foot high sandbag wall along the trail to help contain expected floodwaters in Kent and Tukwila if heavy rains strike the area this winter.
The work stems from problems at the Corps of Engineer's Howard Hanson Dam upstream, where engineers are concerned about the structural integrity of the dam. They'll be releasing more water to reduce pressure on the dam, which could mean flooding downstream in the Green River Valley.
The Green River Trail could be closed to bicycles for up to five years, if it takes the Corps that long to figure out how to solve and repair the problem. With the sandbags in the middle of the trail that sits on top of the levee, there's not enough room for safe usage by bike riders and pedestrians.
The less scenic, but more direct, north-south Interurban Trail is slated to remain open. …..
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/10/21/green-river-trail-will-be-closed-to-bikes-for-3-to-5-years/
Adventure Cycling Association Trail biking Rails to Trails Conservancy League of American Bicyclists
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