Seattle Bike Blog

Your guide to biking in the 2016 Fremont Solstice Parade

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

June 15, 2016

Optional ride around Ballard before the parade.

Will 2016 be the year you finally go for it and ride in the Fremont Solstice Parade?

The iconic tradition where everyone is invited to strip down “as bare as you dare,” paint their bodies and bike ahead of the official parade continues to grow with an estimated 1,500 participating in 2015.

In essence, all you have to do to ride is get painted and show up with your bike at NW 39th and Leary Way NW between 2:30 and 3 p.m. Saturday. You do not need to register (see below for an update on the Fremont Arts Council’s decision to back off their registration plans).

Some people get painted at home or private paint parties. For anyone else looking for a spot to get painted, volunteers are again hosting their popular painting party at CSR Marine on Shilshole Ave in Ballard. Bring $10 to donate at the door, along with some extra bucks if you also want to borrow paint.

More details on the Solstice Cyclists website. Here’s the day-of schedule:

9:00-1:30 Painting at CSR Marine or satellite locations.

1:30-2:00 Clean up and organize for ride.

2:00-2:30 Ride to parade.

2:30-3:00 Enter the parade route.

3:00-?? Loop back through the parade route as often as you like, always keeping ahead of the parade, and always keeping to the right side of the street.

(more…)

tags: fremont, fremont arts council, fremont solstice parade 2016, solstice bike ride

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CM Johnson will join community walk for a safer NE 65th Street Thursday

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

June 14, 2016

Image from a 2013 community walk to discuss the dangers of NE 65th Street. Photo taken during rush hour. There is plenty of space for safe bike lanes.

From the Bike Master Plan (blue=protected bike lane, green=neighborhood greenway). This plan represents a significant compromise formed after lots of community debate.

It’s well past time to make NE 65th Street safer for everyone. A community walk Thursday plans to call for exactly that.

The #Fix65th Safety Walk starts 8 a.m. Thursday at 12th Ave NE and NE 65th St. Councilmember Rob Johnson (District 4), who has been leading efforts within City Hall to improve safety on the street, will also be there. You can also sign this petition calling for changes.

We wrote pretty extensively about this street back in 2013 when there was a significant backlash against the Bike Master Plan’s vision for protected bike lanes on the entirety of NE 65th from Magnuson Park to Green Lake.

There has been a ton of difficult community building and neighborhood debating about this street. It hasn’t always been pleasant, but that’s sometimes what change looks like. It’s hard, and not everyone agrees.

Then Lucas McQuinn chose to drive drunk and killed Andy Hulslander at NE 65th Street and 15th Ave NE in July of last year. A protected bike lane on NE 65th would likely have placed Andy out of McQuinn’s path. A ghost bike stands on the corner as a harsh reminder of what happens when we see a known danger like NE 65th and choose to do nothing about it.

Since then many people have been seriously injured on the street, including a man critically injured in May in a collision with someone driving a Metro VanPool. NE Seattle Greenways put together this image showing just the number of serious injuries on the street in the past three years: (more…)

tags: #Fix65th, 2013 bike master plan update, andy hulslander, ne 65th, rob johnson

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Support safe Eastlake bike lanes this week

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

June 13, 2016
Community members were asked to “design” their own Eastlake Ave during a December open house

Seattle has the chance to finally build a safe and comfortable bike route from the University Bridge to downtown. But more than that, the city also has the chance to create a safer and more inviting main street for the Eastlake neighborhood and improve local transit service.

But this won’t happen without your strong support. SDOT is hosting a new set of open houses Wednesday and Thursday to discuss their latest updates on the Roosevelt-to-Downtown High Capacity Transit Project (meeting content will be the same at each open house):
- Wednesday, 6 – 8 p.m. at TOPS School, Cafeteria
- Thursday, 6 – 8 p.m. UW Tower, Cafeteria North
You can also comment online.

Community support for protected bike lanes on Eastlake Ave is very broad. The Eastlake Community Council endorsed including protected bike lanes in a series of letters to SDOT this winter (here and here), noting that alternative route options would likely not be used as well as Eastlake Ave itself. They also suggest that the city include more and better bike parking in business districts so that the new people biking on the road can more easily stop and patronize businesses there (great idea!). (more…)
tags: eastlake, eastlake community council, fairview ave n, rapidride j, roosevelt, roosevelt to downtown hct, stewart

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Watch: BMX on a Pronto with Steven Bafus

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

June 10, 2016
To most users, Pronto bikes are just a convenient way to cruise from point A to point B.

But for BMX rider Steven Bafus, it’s that and so much more.

Is BMX against the rules of Pronto? Probably (depends on how you interpret this: “You must not use a Pronto Cycle Share bicycle for racing, riding off road, or any use other than safe operation on public or private roads or property and designated bicycle routes.”)

Should people who don’t know what they’re doing stay away from skate parks while on a Pronto? Yes, please. (Someone died riding a BIXI bike share bike in a Toronto skate park in 2013.)

Is this video by Nicholas Soloninka awesome? Absolutely.

Two big events this weekend

In unrelated news, be sure to check the Seattle Bike Blog events calendar for fun bikey stuff to do this weekend. Two highlights include:
- 5th Annual Lake to Lake Bike Ride – Saturday in Bellevue
- Streets+Beets 2016 – Sunday on Bainbridge
tags: Nicholas Soloninka, pronto emerald city cycle share, steven bafus

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Your boss should go to this bike summit Friday

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

June 9, 2016

Tell your boss to spend tomorrow at Cambia Grove downtown learning all about how to help your workplace be more bike-friendly. Encouraging biking is a great way both to improve employee morale, attract more customers and cut down on your business’s dependence on car parking. So it’s a win-win-win.

Cascade Bicycle Club’s 2nd Annual Seattle Employers Bike Summit is your chance to learn from the experiences of major employers in the city, learn best practices for encouraging biking and discuss how employers can help close the city’s cycling gender gap.

Oh, and it’s free.

More details from Cascade: (more…)

tags: cascade bicycle club, commuting, seattle employers bike summit

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The Girls of Summer take to the streets Saturday for 6th annual ‘all-girl alley cat’

By

Tom Fucoloro

| Posted

June 8, 2016

The Girls of Summer Alley Cat was created in 2011 as “an adventurous romp through the Seattle city streets celebrating the best thing ever, GIRLS ON BIKES.”

Well, it must be working because the sixth annual ride is Saturday (invite your friends), and Menstrual Monday has more prizes and categories than ever (including a new 45+ prize).

90 women showed up last year. You don’t have to be into racing to join or win prizes (though if racing is your thing, you can definitely win stuff that way).

Registration starts 2 p.m. Saturday at Gas Works Park. Race starts at 3. $8.

More details from Menstrual Monday: (more…)

tags: girls of summer 2016, menstrual monday

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