cycling / seattle ?

ebola said:

Anyone from around Seattle out there?

I've just had this suggestion put to me to go out there (Redmond) for work (i'm from the uk) for a couple of months to help out on a project .. It means being away from stuff here for a fairly long time, putting something that I'm into at the moment on hold ..

But as an incentive, someone's mentioned, knowing that i'm a fanatic, that it's actually pretty good for cycling out there.. so i could take my CR1 to keep me company 🙂 They mention mountains which i dont have here.

Can anyone back that up and sell the place to me ?
Anyone got any recomendation of any specific routes or places to go there ?
How is it for bike-shops ?
Whats the weather like at this time (august - september ); I'm a fan of warmer climates myself having just enjoyed a 'heatwave' over here, but i can deal with the autumn/winter here..

Traffic: anything i should know about rules other than the obvious fact that you drive on the wrong side of the road?
What about safety? how's it for driver-cyclist abuse etc.

What is the terrain like & for what sort of distances. Of course as an Englishman I have the stereotype that all americans drive SUV's and aren't into push-bikes at all 🙂 but there do appear to be many Americans on this forum so that must be a little unfair. I recall hearing something about it being 'the cycling capital of the northwest' or something.

Well the good news is that Seattle has a very active cycing community, both recreational and racing. Yes there are lots of SUV's too, but probably proportionally no more than you are used to in the UK. People here are used to bikes on the road so *most* of them are pretty good about sharing the road with us. The east side (east of Lake Washington) has its share of "red necks" who can be obnoxious when they come across cyclists, but they are still the minority and it doesn't normally get any worse than engine revving or honking or the typical "hey lance" - I've never had anything thrown at me for instance.

Terrain- you can find everything from dead flat valleys to mountain passes all within biking distance of the city. If you want to drive a bit you can get up into the mountains proper and do some nice passes. (oh yeah - you can put you bike on the bus out here and go to a lot of places as well)

Weather - right now its warm and sunny. Its a close kept secret that its pretty nice around here in the summer. We get a little of the really hot weather, high 80's and 90's, but it generally doesn't last very long. Well have low - mid 80's high 70's for about another month or two. It's usually quite dry in the summer time through about the end of September maybe if we are lucky into October. November through May / June it rains a lot, but it remains warm enough to ride year round if you get fenders and a good rain jacket.

some good links
www.cascade.org

metrokc.govbike.htmOpen ↗

redmondcyclingclub.orgredmondcyclingclub.orgOpen ↗

seattlerandonneur.orgseattlerandonneur.orgOpen ↗

wsbaracing.comhome.aspOpen ↗

Quoted post said:

It's usually quite dry in the summer time through about the end of September maybe if we are lucky into October.

Just thought I'd pipe in to second that... we usually have what I've always heard called "indian summers." they start a little late (IMO) like end of June/early July, but almost always seem to last until late Sept/Oct.

Redmond huh? are you in Software design?

Dustin07 said:

Redmond huh? are you in Software design?

Yup it is indeed Microsoft i'll be visiting.. I work in the games industry; they're the main publisher we work for.

Late summer? .. with our little heatwave over that sounds like good timing..

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?country=US&address=&city=Redmond&state=WA

here's a question then, those big roads across that lake in the centre (520.. 90..) between redmond & the centre of Seattle - are those negotiable by bike or are they big 'motorway' things. (would you have to jump on a bus..)

ebola said:

mapquest.commap.adpOpen ↗

here's a question then, those big roads across that lake in the centre (520.. 90..) between redmond & the centre of Seattle - are those negotiable by bike or are they big 'motorway' things. (would you have to jump on a bus..)

1-90 has a separated bike/ walk lane going across it. 520 on the other hand has nothing so if you need to cross there you do have to jump on a bus. If you've got time on your hands going around the lake top or bottom is a nice ride.

Eden said:

November through May / June it rains a lot, but it remains warm enough to ride year round if you get fenders and a good rain jacket.

Never having lived where it rains a lot, what kind of maintenance do you do on your drivetrain, hubs, BB, and headset?

All that went ahead.. did my first commute in a foreign land today. Seems nice around here. Hopefully at the weekend i'll get a chance to explore toward the mountains before the rain kicks in.

ebola said:

All that went ahead.. did my first commute in a foreign land today. Seems nice around here. Hopefully at the weekend i'll get a chance to explore toward the mountains before the rain kicks in.

Welcome to Seattle! - if you want to see the mountains and get to meet a bunch of local cyclists and are up for a challenge you might check out the Mt. Baker Hillclimb -there are competitive and non competitive categories depending on how you feel about going up hill.
http://www.norkarecreation.com/hcinfo.htm

We are hoping for some nice weather at least until next weekend too!

Also, some important details for you.

RCWs related to Bicycling (local law): bicyclealliance.orgrcwlaw.htmlOpen ↗

That is within Washington State.

Also, WA is one of the few lucky states to have a 'dooring' law. Meaning that each driver and passenger is required to check before opening a door to see if it's safe to do so. If they fail to do so, they are at fault for any accident or incident that they cause.

Eden said:

Welcome to Seattle! - if you want to see the mountains and get to meet a bunch of local cyclists and are up for a challenge you might check out the Mt. Baker Hillclimb -there are competitive and non competitive categories depending on how you feel about going up hill.
http://www.norkarecreation.com/hcinfo.htm

We are hoping for some nice weather at least until next weekend too!

Yeah i'll see if I can make that.
Rode back last night, and was up again this morning with jet-lag having me wide awake at 5am. I get to pretend to be a morning person.

Managing to refine my routes with the garmin a bit better.
I'm quite impressed now - the terrain is great! Plenty of greenery, wide roads, challenging climbs and looong exhilarating descents. And this is still just my 'commute'. On the downside I'm finding I waste much more time at junctions than on my commute back home - where I've got routes that allow me to spend a good 95% of the time 'in the zone' - yup, I keep telling myself 'I miss England'.. Honest. 🙂

DaemonLee said:

RCWs related to Bicycling (local law): http://www.bicyclealliance.org/safety/rcwlaw.html

Thanks for that.. yeah the guy in the shop mentioned the thing about 'reflectors on the rear'. He agreed thats too much like playing Russian Roulette, it's the rear light you're counting on to avoid getting run-down, and sold me some nice bright red tail lights.