Bike Happy: Profiles & Trails

| Posted

January 18, 2018

EDITOR’S NOTE: Thanks again to Brock Howell of Bike Happy for putting together this comprehensive weekly newsletter.

TOP THINGS TO KNOW & DO

This past week’s newspapers and blogs profiled Mike Radenbaugh, Mike Boussom, Andy Hampsten, Steve Gluckman, and Leah Tran. Plus, there’s a Legends of Cyclocross panel discussion tonight.
There were two more profiles about people working with the Bellevue and Marysville police departments to send unreclaimed/abandoned bicycles to African communities.
The southern 1.2-mile portion of the East Lake Sammamish Trail opened on Tuesday. The middle 3.6 miles is stuck in a City of Sammamish v. King County standoff.
The Seattle hearing examiner will soon rule on the EIS lawsuit brought by the opponents of the Burke-Gilman Trail Missing Link project. Pro-trail businesses and organizations held a happy hour & action party last night, hoping Mayor Jenny Durkan is ready to be the hero by being the mayor finally able to complete the project.
The Stinky Spoke ride is on Saturday, benefiting Outdoors for All.

Seattle needs more fun on bikes! That’s why we’re organizing “Bike Happy Month” — a month of crowdsourced, DIY bike fun to close-out the 2018 summer in the vein of Portland’s Pedalpalooza — with a huge street party in Ballard to cap it off.

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We need your financial and volunteer help to make it a reality, which is why we’re launching a crowdfunding campaign. Help us reach our initial goal level of $2,500, which assures we can at least fund the bare bones of the events.

You will receive rewards at designated contribution levels. For $30, you’ll receive an event poster. At $50, you’ll also receive t-shirt. At $100, you’ll receive a beer glass.

SOCIAL, LIFESTYLE, & ADVENTURE

UPCOMING ACTIVITIES

Thursday, Jan. 18
- 6:30-8pm, Friends on Bikes’ & Bike Works’ ABCs of Bikes & Maintenance
- 7pm, Point 83 Ride
Saturday, Jan. 20
- 6-8pm, Vintage Bike Night with Bob (North Bend)
Monday, Jan. 22
- 7-8:30pm, SEA TRI KAN Info Session – Ballard
Thursday, Jan. 25
- 7pm, Point 83 Ride

ARTICLES & POSTS

“Biking while fat: 4 things I wish I had known when I started riding” (Ella Cycling Tips).
“Myth #3: Fenders Slow You Down” (Jan Heine’s Blog).
Quick guide for the bike equipment you might want for bikecamping (Recycled Cycles).
Mike Radenbaugh (28 years old) has built up his Ballard-based fat-tire e-bike company, Rad Power Bikes, to 50 employees, $30 million in revenue, and new markets in Europe and for delivery services (PSBJ).
Mike Boussom, Recycled Cycles staffer, gets the spotlight (Recycled Cycles).
Dennis Crane, who photographs racing at the Jerry Baker Velodrome and on the cyclocross circuits, receives a nice profile (NW in Motion).
Andy Hampsten, who won the Giro d’Italia in 1988 and started his bike making company Hampsten Cycles in Seattle but is now living in Boulder, Colorado, is opening a hotel in Santa Rosa, California (Bohemian).
Steve Gluckman, creative director of REI’s Novarra bike brand and Bike Works board member, has ridden more than 200,000 miles in his life (REI).
Leah Tran, a participant in Cascade’s Major Taylor Project, writes about her experience completing the STP ride last summer (Cascade).

FATALITY

On Sunday, a driver killed a person who was biking along Seaview Ave NW near Golden Gardens Park (SPD, Stranger, MyBallard, KOMO, Q13, Patch).

POLICY & INFRASTRUCTURE

ACTION

UPCOMING EVENTS

Thursday, Jan. 18
- 7-8:30pm, Cascade Presentation Series: “The Netherlands: The Most Bike-Friendly Place on Earth- But WHY?”
Friday, Jan. 19
- 1:30-3pm, Biking in Vietnam & Laos: Slideshow & Talk by Claire Petersky
Saturday, Jan 20
- 2-3pm, Central Greenways Social Event: Futurama Redux
Sunday, Jan. 21
- 9am-1pm, Lid I-5 Collaborative Charrette & Kickoff
Tuesday, Jan. 23
- 6:30-8pm, Queen Anne Greenways meeting
Wednesday, Jan. 24
- 5-7pm, Tacoma Downtown on the Go Fundraiser
- 6:30-7:30pm, Tennant Trailhead Park Planning – Community Meeting (North Bend)
Thursday, Jan. 25
- 4-6pm, Tacoma Rail Crossing Improvements Community Meeting
- 6-7:30pm, Beacon Hill Safe Streets meeting

NEWS

Burke-Gilman Trail Missing Link. With the city hearings examiner expected soon on the opponents’ appeal of the Missing Link environmental impact statement, Cascade Bicycle Club, Friends of the Burke-Gilman Trail, Stimson Marina, Olympic Athletic Club, and Seattle Farmers Market held a happy hour party at Peddler Brewing and took action to call on Mayor Jenny Durkan to move forward with the project as soon as the litigation is complete (MyBallard, Seattle Bike Blog, Urbanist).
Bikeshare. The allegations of ofo’s poor working conditions get a closer examination (GeekWire, KIRO); and SDOT extended Lime, ofo, and Spin’s permits through this coming summer and raised the allowable number of bike for each company to 5,000 bikes. Currently, between the three companies, there are 10,000 bikes on Seattle streets and sidewalks. (KOMO)
Downtown Tolls. To prevent drivers from avoiding the new SR99 Tunnel tolls (tunnel opens this coming fall), the City is studying whether to toll the other streets into downtown, and transit advocates love the idea (Seattle Transit Blog).
Transportation Equity. With a stronger commitment to equity in transportation planning and the creation of a Transportation Equity Program, SDOT is overhauling it’s outreach strategies to rely more on liaisons and ambassadors within trusted community-based organizations to have more genuine and deeper relationships with underserved and historically underinvested communities (Next City).
Compassionate City. In a well-written and illustrated article, the case is made for how to make a “compassionate city” by changing hearts and minds, designing out appropriation, creating adornable public spaces, and thinking about how to leave a legacy (Urbanist).
Safe Routes to School. Parents at Madrona Elementary wore chicken costumes to raise awareness about street safety (SDOT).
Bainbridge. The Bainbridge Island Review’s editorial board was not thrilled with the Bainbridge City Council’s reversal that will now let a key bridge get designed and built for the Sound-to-Olympics Trail (BI Review).
East Lake Sammamish Trail. On Tuesday, King County reopened the southern 1.2 miles of the East Lake Sammamish Trail with 12′ wide pavement. Only the middle 3.6 miles of the 11-mile trail remain to be paved, although it’s currently in litigation (King County, Seattle Bike Blog, Cascade).
Kenmore. Kenmore secured $28 million for the West Sammamish Bridge Replacement Project, which will include bike lanes from NE 170th to 175th Streets (Kenmore-Bothell Reporter).
Edmonds. The superintendent of the Verdant Health Commission writes, that among other things, Edmonds’ new bike network is a good way to help keep kids safe and healthy (MyEdmonds).
Bike Security
- Bicycle Security Advisors. In 2017, the organization held a panel discussion, participated on a city council bike theft stakeholder group, reviewed and improved bike parking code updates, reviewed draft bike parking guidelines, started creating five bike parking plans, and worked with Seattle bike shops to incorporate bike registration on Bike Index at the point-of-sale (Bicycle Security Advisors).
- Abandoned Bikes Go to Africa. A volunteer for the Bellevue Police Department tracks down abandoned bikes and either returns them to their rightful owner or donates them to an African charity program (Bellevue Reporter); and abandoned bikes in the Marysville Police Department’s evidence locker are being donated to an orphanage and Christian camp in Zambia (Everett Herald).
- Hostile Bike Racks. Mayor Durkan and three councilmembers expressed opposition to the bike racks installed under a Belltown bridge to block a location for people to set-up tents as shelter (Stranger).
State Legislature
- E-bikes, trails, and multimodal funding are on Washington Bikes’ legislative agenda (Seattle Bike Blog).
- A bill that would reduce funding for the ST3 transit projects has stalled (Seattle Transit Blog).

SPORT

UPCOMING EVENTS

Thursday, Jan. 18
- 6-8pm, Rapha’s Legends of Cyclocross Panel Discussion
Saturday, Jan. 20
- 9am-Noon, Rocket Ride (Metier)
- Noon-3pm, Outdoors For All’s Stinky Spoke
- 6-8:30pm, Trek’s MTB Night Ride at Tapeworm (Renton)
Sunday, Jan. 14
- 1-4pm, U.S. Cyclocross National Championship Live Streaming at Rapha
Wednesday, Jan. 24
- 6-8pm, Beginners’ Bike Polo Night (Cal Anderson)
Thursday, Jan. 25
- 5:30-7:30pm, Burlington BMX Racing League Open House

ARTICLE

“High Performance Cycling Kicks Off 2018 Season” (Cascade).

SAVE THE DATES

Critical Mass Ride – Kickoff the New Year, Jan. 26
Cascade’s Seattle Bike Swap, Feb. 3
Cascade’s Big Ideas Festival, Feb. 3
Cascade’s Chilly Hilly, Feb. 25
2018 Gorge Gravel Grinder, Apr. 8
Washington Bike Summit, Apr. 29–30
Bicycle Sundays: Twelve Sundays, May 20 – Sept. 16

RECENTLY STOLEN BIKES

In the last week, seven bikes were reported as stolen to the Seattle Police Department. In case your bike is ever stolen, make sure you’ve registered your bike on Bike Index. Bicycle Security Advisors provides information on how to keep your bike safe.