I’m sure I’m not alone in being basically consumed with memories of listening to David Bowie’s music throughout my life.
Aside from simply enjoying his brilliantly and consistently pioneering music, Bowie taught me and so many others to recognize, respect and enthusiastically support people fearlessly expressing themselves.
Basically, all I want to do is ride my bike around Seattle listening to Bowie. And you are all invited to join. Bring your friends. It will be a slow cruise, and nobody will be left behind.
And if you have a battery-powered radio (like, old school airwaves radio, not streaming), bring that, too. If the ride is big, we may just tune into KEXP’s Bowie tribute if it’s still going.
Meet at the Cal Anderson fountain at 4:45 p.m. Leave at 5. End at ??
We’ll be biking during and after sunset, so bring bike lights.
UPDATE: Shortly after posting, Cascade Bicycle Club announced the formation of the Eastside Greenway Alliance, a group of seven organizations that will “will dedicate time and resources to move forward with the goal of a multi-use corridor that will provide our greater Eastside community with wide ranging benefits from improved mobility and public health to economic development and a decreased carbon footprint. Through community engagement, fundraising and advocacy, the Eastside Greenway Alliance will advance the multi-use development of the Eastside Rail Corridor.”
That trestle will be part of the Eastside Trail in Bellevue. Really. From a King County video (watch below)
The rails are coming out. King County Executive Dow Constantine removed the ceremonial first rail spike Friday, a major step in developing the most important stretch of regional trail since the Burke-Gilman.
The work to remove the rails south of Kirkland will continue through 2016 and into 2017, funded by the scrap value of the steel rails themselves.
It will still take more work after rail removal before the trail will be easily bikeable. The existing railbed needs an upgrade to hardpack gravel — like the existing Cross Kirkland Corridor section — before it will be easily usable by bikes not designed for offroading. The busy street crossings will also need upgrades.
The exact timeline for when you will be able to bike on the trail is not yet clear, but a King County press release says the section connecting to Kirkland’s trail will be first:
It is expected rail removal will begin at the ERC segment south of Kirkland, which has already removed rail and developed a trail through its portion of the corridor. It is likely King County would begin developing an interim gravel trail at that location, extending the length of usable trail within the corridor.
But the real eye-opening section will likely be this incredible high trestle in Bellevue, captured in a short drone video by King County: (more…)
S Hinds St/York Rd S stairway. Before and after photos from SDOT.I can hardly believe it. It kinda works!
Seattle has finally done it. They figured out how to build a functional stairway “runnel” that also includes railings required to meet accessibility guidelines.
What’s a runnel, you ask? It’s a somewhat weird name for a straight and usually grooved guide next to a stairway so people can go up and down without having to lift and carry their bikes. You just guide your bike wheels into the groove and push it up or squeezed the brakes and walk it down.
It’s pretty simple, and not all that new as a concept. But the city has tried several times to include runnels that simply do not work. Accessibility rules requiring handrails often conflicted with runnel design, which is perhaps most apparent on the N 41st Street walkway over Aurora. The handrail gets in the way of handlebars, wide bikes, baskets or even simple bags. If really just doesn’t work: (more…)
For local mountain bikers, the year started off on a somber note. Dedicated trail builder and founding member of Evergreen MTB Len Francies passed away New Year’s Day.
“Len’s heart came to rest on one of his favorite trails,” Evergreen wrote on their website memorial for him.
For the past couple decades, Len has been a force in the huge advancements in mountain biking across the region, Evergreen notes. From developing training programs to serving on the Evergreen Board to getting out on the trail and chainsawing trail blockages himself, Len earned the nickname “The Legend.”
The MTBR forum is also filled with stories and photos from mountain bikers memorializing him.
“He was a one man ambassador for the sheer joy of mountain biking. Or sawing. By which I mean, life!” wrote one person.
Boasting a secret-for-now route that “involves a state route bike riders have never been able to use,” Cascade Bicycle Club announced an all-new major ride for 2016: The Emerald City Bike Ride.
Scheduled for April 3, a Sunday, the new addition to the club’s major rides line-up aims to be “an amazing urban ride that this city deserves” with “relatively flat” routes and “views that can’t be beat.” There will be 22-mile and 8-mile options.
Like the club’s other major rides, there is an entry fee: $30 for members or $50 for the general public. It falls on the club’s schedule between the February 28 Chilly Hilly and the April 16 Ride for Major Taylor.
There are only a couple state routes in Seattle where bikes are legally not allowed: SR 520, I-5, a section of SR 99 (including the Battery Street Tunnel and the Viaduct) and I-90 (though most parts of I-90 have an adjacent trail). Below is a map we made back in 2010. Note that city-owned bike-free roads — such as the West Seattle Bridge — are not included: (more…)
I’m sure I’m not alone in being basically consumed with memories of listening to David Bowie’s music throughout my life.
