Category: Northwest Cycling
Google Maps is looking for help in selecting places to send its StreetView trike.
Noting that some of the most interesting and scenic locales are not accessible by car, Google is accepting suggestions on what else should be featured on StreetView.
Of course, I'm thinking of nominating the most-used or most picturesque bike trails in the Pacific Northwest.
The Olympic Discovery Trail on the Olympic Peninsula comes to mind first, as it winds along between the Strait de Juan de Fuca on the north and the snowy peaks of the Olympic Mountains on the south. That's a picture of the trail east of Port Angeles where it skirts the seawall ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/10/16/tell-google-about-your-favorite-bike-trail-for-streetview/
Washington state bicycle advocates are pushing for a law to make it illegal for a motorist to seriously injure or kill a vulnerable roadway user — such as a bike rider — in a crash caused by ordinary negligence.
All too often, motorists receive mere traffic tickets and don't even have to appear in court when their inattentive driving results in a bicyclist's or pedestrian's death.
The Cascade Bicycle Club, among others, is sponsoring a Traffic Justice Summit from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Seattle City Hall's Bertha Knight Landes Room to discuss changing the law.
Bike riders, pedestrians, and motorcyclists can be the most vulnerable when a motorist commits a simple traffic violation.
When a car driver changes lanes into another car or makes a left turn in front of an oncoming vehicle, for instance, a couple of crumpled fenders is usually the worst result. Put a bicyclist into that equation, however, and a death or serious injury results….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/10/12/seeking-justice-for-bike-riders-in-washington-state/
A scenic auto tour through Washington, Idaho and British Columbia is seeing new life as a 280-mile bicycle touring route.
The International Selkirk Loop links the small towns and recreation spots at the foot of the Selkirk Mountains. Because the route follows river and lake valleys, the grades are gentle to moderate with only a few steep climbs.
The newly published “A Cyclist's Guide to the International Selkirk Loop” includes 52 route and elevation maps divided into 50 to 70-mile sections. In addition to the 280-mile main loop, the bike tour maps include six side trips encompassing another 450 miles of riding …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/10/07/bike-tour-maps-published-for-northwests-selkirk-loop/
Friday morning I biked down to City Hall to help tabulate the results of a bicycle-pedestrian count made earlier in the week.
Instead of planting volunteers on street-corners with clipboards and pencils, the Bellevue transportation planners had downloaded footage from the city's wide-ranging network of traffic cams to cover the locations they wanted to count.
So, after keypunching some survey results, I sat there for an hour in climate-controlled comfort watching cars and figures passing through the videostream on the computer screen. During the 7 to 8 a.m. time period on Tuesday, I counted scores of pedestrians, and just one lone cyclist. And he was riding on the sidewalk. (The other volunteer, known on Twitter as VeloBusDriver, counted just one cyclist as well.)
Although this isn't a prime cross-town route for bicyclists, it kind of illustrated the problem for bike commuting and Bellevue: Most streets in Bellevue are not bike friendly. …..
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/10/02/bellevue-trying-to-meet-the-needs-of-bike-riders/
Those of you heading to Wenatchee, Washington, for Saturday's Dam2Dam charity bike ride should consider paying a visit to the Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail if you have any extra time.
I explored the trail earlier this month on an overnight camping stay in the Wenatchee area during my bicycle tour from Cle Elum, over Blewett Pass and up the Columbia River. The trail passes through natural wetland settings and urban parkland and offers spectacular mountain views from both sides of the river.
The paved loop is a wonderful 10-mile trail that hugs both shorelines of the Columbia River with bike-only crossings at the north and south end. It's heavily used by commuters and recreational cyclists, and it's also an excellent way for visitors to get a feel for the Columbia River environment. ….
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/09/25/biking-the-wild-and-tame-sides-of-the-wenatchee-loop-trail/
Volunteers are needed at the end of the month to count people bicycling or walking to their destinations in 25 cities across the state of Washington.
The information is being collected to track the state's progress toward its goal of getting more people to commute or run errands by bicycling or walking.
This is the second year that data has been collected. Last year, 130 volunteers made counts at 96 locations during two-hour time blocks in the mornings and evenings in 20 cities.
The busiest location, except for Seattle, was the Sammamish River Trail at North Creek Trail in Bothell …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/09/22/volunteers-needed-for-washington-state-bike-count/
If you can't get enough bicycling during the day, then the upcoming Moonlight Ramble in Bellingham might be for you.
The Oct. 3 event is the first Moonlight Ramble-style bike ride in Washington. It starts with a festival featuring live music on the Western Washington University campus at 9 p.m. followed by the bicycle tour at 11 p.m.
Under the light of the next full moon (barring clouds of course), the 7-mile ride starts on the university campus and swings through Fairhaven, Boulevard Park and downtown.
The organizers, Bike Bellingham …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/09/15/moonlight-ramble-bike-ride-in-bellingham/
The Bicycle Film Festival rolls into Seattle this Friday and Saturday on its 39-city tour around the world.
More than 30 films can be viewed at the Henry Museum Auditorium on the UW Campus. Most are short releases, although nearly every program features a full-length bicycle film.
An after-party at the Flowers Bar and Restaurant runs from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.
The first feature film is “Where Are You Go”, the story of two brothers from Canada and their American friend who take on the Tour D'Afrique, the world's longest bicycle race and expedition. Shown in the trailer above, one rider tells the essence of his experience ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/09/10/bicycle-film-festival-plays-seattle-this-weekend/
With a few days available for bike travel and rainy weather forecast for Western Washington, it shouldn't have taken me too long to decide on a destination east of the Cascades.
The eastern slope of the mountains is also known as the dry side.
Yet, it was an agonizing process until I realized that it was just me and my bike and some gear. I didn't have to worry about anyone else's needs or keeping someone else happy.
I really couldn't make a bad choice.
So I chose a route that started in Cle Elum, about 90 minutes by freeway, and climbed up and over Blewett Pass on Highway 97 and eventually down to Wenatchee on the Columbia River …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/09/05/taking-a-bike-vacation-over-the-mountains-to-wenatchee/
Fall is in the air up here in the Pacific Northwest. The days already are getting noticeably shorter and many school districts are opening their doors next week.
There are still plenty of good bicycling days left this year, however. I've just updated more than 60 charity and recreational bike rides on the West Coast states through the end of the year.
The bulk of the bike rides — 40 — are in California, where the break in the hot summer weather means more comfortable bicycling weather. More than 20 rides are scheduled in Washington state, mostly in September, before the winter rains set in. (This doesn't include the randonneur rides, which have a crowded fall schedule.)
One of the newest entries on Washington's September bike calendar is the 2nd annual “Pedaling the Muse” on Sept. 12. The amusing poster shows Vincent Van Gogh …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/08/27/dozens-of-west-coast-bike-rides-this-fall/
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