trail riding

I have a lot of friends who like to go to this trail, Duthie Hill, but I wondered why places like Cougar Mountain do not allow bicycles.

I could not find a quick link about this on the King County website (but I only looked for a few minutes). I just wanted to know what the policy was regarding this. I can see both sides of the issue - bikes in parks and bikes not allowed in parks. I just wanted to know what the county criteria was.

Help your park system out! Volunteer!

Our Mayor responds to the tragedy on the CRT

The Mayor of Renton has responded to the tragic accident on the Cedar River Trail.

David Hiller, of Cascade Bicycle Club, has a post on his blog about this incident. He offers the following suggestions to cyclists to be safer.

Simply put, there are things that bicyclists can do to minimize the potential for and severity of collisions:

1) Slow when others are present — you can’t know how other trail users will react when you’re overtaking. Going slower gives you more time to react AND will minimize the severity of a collision should one occur. No one’s heart-rate or wattage is worth endangering others. If you “need to go full-out”, do it on the road, on rollers, or on your trainer — not on a trail.

2) Use bell or voice when passing — just like the ubiquitous signs say. If you’re concerned that there’s confusion among pedestrians as to what “on your left” means, try something else like “passing.”

3) Pass safely. It sounds like a no-brainer, but I see bicyclists passing into oncoming traffic, passing two-abreast, and passing too closely daily. Pass single file. Wait for oncoming traffic to pass before pulling around slower trail users. Works best when combined with 1 & 2.

4) Ride single file when others are present and stay as far to the right as is safe to facilitate overtaking. If you travel at a speed below the posted limit on our regional trails, make it safer and easier for faster riders to pass.

King County Bike Map on the Web

Looks like all the cool kids can now check out the miles of bike trails, bike lanes, and steep hills of King County, Washington via their cellies.

KC Bike Map



A KC staffer announced:
"We are happy to announce that new King County Bicycling Guidemaps have been printed and are available free of charge at all King County Libraries. The new Bicycling Guidemap content has also been posted on the internet and is available publicly at www.kingcounty.gov/bike . The new online map allows users to pan and zoom into their area of interest and print."

*content snipped*

"If you wish to receive hard copies of our map, please send me your mailing address, and I will mail them to you directly."

And the magic snail mail address is as follows:
King County Department of Transportation
Roads Services Division, CIP and Planning Section
201 South Jackson Street MS: KSC-TR-0317
Seattle, WA 98104-3856

Don't overlook the disclaimer, however, at the bottom of the map...
"Disclaimer: This map is intended to aid bicyclists in choosing routes between locations. This map is not in any way warranty or guarantee as to the stability of roadway conditions or the fitness of listed routes for bicycling. Many of the routes identified on this map cross or run along public roads which are exposed to wear and tear and degradation due to weather, traffic, and other environmental concerns. Riders should remain alert as routes may contain pavement rutting, cracks, bumps, expansion joints, natural or other debris on pavement surfaces, and vegetation which may encroach on routes or portions thereof. Riders should also remain alert for areas of visual impairment and other irregularities that may impact rider and motorist ability to see each other or potential road hazards. The chance that one may come into an area of visual impairment or a route irregularity warrants special care on the part of route users.

Government resources limit the capacity to address conditions and irregularities like those described above. Accordingly, route users should maintain a vigilant lookout for these conditions and irregularities. Route users should always ride with care for their own safety and that of other users. King County does not assume liability for bicyclists travelling upon routes shown in this map. Safe route selection includes consideration of motor vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian traffic and roadway or route conditions".

I am sure this is a direct result of the Totten case which settled for $3.5 million rather than the $20 million sought.

facility review: Cedar River Trail

Saturday morning, I rode a portion of the Cedar River Trail (connects Renton, WA and Maple Valley, WA) with a friend for about 28 miles total ride. We were on the trail at 7:00 am and back to our starting point within about 2 hours.

The Cedar River Trail is largely an asphalt paved trail and fairly level grade, though it is a mild uphill climb heading east-bound towards the city of Maple Valley.

A typical view of the Cedar River Trail...


Hazards include: stop signs forcing trail users to stop for a number of driveways along the route, a few signalized intersections, occasional (seasonal) mossy slime or frost in shady spots, other cyclists (some group rides come through here), walkers with iPods, and dog walkers. Note: near where the trail goes under interstate 405, there is a fenced off-leash dog park, so it is an intense area for dog walkers through here. The trail has a posted 15mph speed limit.

I should note a number of those "hazards" are present at any number of regional trails or at shared facilities throughout the country and not necessarily unique to the Cedar River Trail.

Amenities: there are bathrooms near the end of the trail near the Renton Boeing Plant and the mouth of the Cedar River where it meets Lake Washington. There are also bathrooms at the Renton library or Renton Community Center (near the portion which travels under interstate 405). There are bathrooms (port-a-potties) near the dog park and a bit further down the trail in Riverbend(unsure if this is what it is called...?) park.

More info posted to Trails.com.

A map is available from King County.

More maps of trails in the Renton, WA area.

20 miles and 50 degrees

Went out for a 20 mile somewhat casual (averaged 12-13 MPH against the wind) ride with my friend, Bill, yesterday. The weather was clear - no rain while we were out - temps in the low 50s and not much wind. A great ride for sure, especially after so many days (or weeks?) with temps in the 20s around here.

Bill and I even had time to drop by GHY Bikes to look around at the new Felt bicycles they have in-stock including a pretty nice looking carbon-framed model. They also have a special Traitor Cycles' PBR-logo'd fixed-gear (track) frame still for sale.

Looks like this:


Bill and I are trying to get ready for the STP in '10. It'd be out first time doing it. We figure we'll start building up miles over the next few months so doing 200-something miles over 1 (or realistically 2) days is feasible.

Here's where we rode yesterday, the Cedar River Trail. Nice, generally flat, and paved. The only bothersome parts are the stop signs or signals at driveways or streets which cross the trail. You also have to be aware of other trail users, which include dog walkers, human walkers (with MP3 players and earbuds on), kids on trikes, and the insanely fast riders screaming along in an aero tuck position.