King County (WA) is getting closer to filling some missing links in its countywide bicycle route network.

The latest proposal is a 17-mile trail that links four other bike paths as it rolls between the Puget Sound and Lake Washington south of Seattle.

Dubbed the Lake-to-Sound Trail, the bike path is designed to intersect the Cedar River Trail, the Green River Trail, the Westside Trail and the Des Moines Creek Trail. It will pass through Renton, Tukwila, Burien, SeaTac, Normandy Park and Des Moines. The trail also visits the Tukwila light-rail station ...   more »

A Seattle bicycle rider was killed about 6:30 a.m. Thursday in Renton when a motorist made a left turn in front of him, according to Sheriff's deputies.

The 56-year-old cyclist has not been identified; neither has the 79-year-old Renton man who was driving the car.

No charges have been filed against the driver of the 1997 Lincoln Town Car, although the investigation is continuing ...   more »

Probably the first bicycling resource I used when I moved here 8 years ago was the King County (WA) Bicycling Guidemap.

I downloaded sections of the online version that directed me to regional trails and lightly traveled rural roads over here on the Eastside. For the most part it helped me spend my cycling time riding confidently along, instead of trying to figure out where the hell I was.

The staff is asking cyclists to take a quick survey to tell how they use the map. The bike map survey is available here and takes about two minutes. The deadline is Dec. 19.

The picture pretty much says it all.

These lovely ladies are featured in a calendar that benefits Bike Works and its earn-a-bike program.

Entitled "Lovely Ladies on Beautiful Bikes," the calendar features some of the Emerald City's many female cyclists riding their mountain and road bikes around town.

You can order the calendar online at Bike Calendar Girls 2009, or show up at the release party at 8 p.m.,  Dec. 12, at Conor Byrne Pub, 5140 Ballard Ave., NW, Seattle ...   more »

That tired old proposal about bicycle license fees has been broached again, this time from James F. Vesely, editorial page editor at the Seattle Times.

He proposes that bicyclists pay a $25 annual fee for owning a bike. It would make us members of the world of transportation, he writes, "rather than free riders on the tax rolls."

Like so many of the previously misinformed, he writes about the benefits of  bicycle pathways and bicycle lanes that are bestowed upon bicyclists by "the remarkable generosity of Puget Sound taxpayers." ...   more »

Even though I still take frequent bike rides, this is the time of year that I'm not so interested in laying down a lot of mileage. This is when I slow down to explore and poke around, maybe learn some roadside or trailside history.

Cougar Mountain, which lies a few miles east of my house, is a good destination for this. I've written about the old coal mining industry that thrived there at the turn of the century; this past week I've been learning about its role in the Cold War defense of Seattle.

Today the mountain is a mix of flashy, big box homes and golf courses and the 3,000-acre Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park. Although the park's trails are closed to bicycling, the two Cold War-era military bases are accessible by short dirt roads from residential streets ...   more »

The loss of the Tour de Georgia for next year was sad news. But the Oregon Pro Cycling Classic is setting out to prove that there's good news for the sport of cycling as well.

Known for the past six years as the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic, the race is undergoing a makeover that will expand it to seven days and raise its difficulty in an attempt to rival the Amgen Tour of California.

The $50,000 event is listed on the USA Cycling National Racing Calendar from May 11 - 17, 2009 ...   more »