Administrator and author of Biking Bis. Currently live in the Seattle area; previously Texas, California, Maryland, Georgia and Ohio. Own a Lemond road bike for light riding and Rockhopper for poor weather riding and touring.

Most commented posts

  1. How to enforce 3-foot passing law to protect bicyclists — 51 comments
  2. Washington state lists parks with bike/hike campsites — 20 comments
  3. 10 longest rail-trails for bicycling — John Wayne Pioneer Trail in Washington leads the list — 19 comments
  4. Indiana town says “No” to bicycle tourism — 18 comments
  5. Are bike path bollards an unnecessary hazard? — 17 comments

Author's posts

30 days of biking: That hill next to Peterson’s Bicycle Shop

Although many novice bicyclists avoid hills on their bike routes, sooner or later they’ll decide to put those gears to work and challenge themselves on a steep climb.

Suffering through the experience, many will go back to avoiding hills. But some who enjoy the suffering or the relief that comes when the ordeal is finally over, will be drawn to steep climbs.

One of the steepest in my neck of the woods is SE 76th Street between Lake Washington Boulevard and 116th Avenue SE. …

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2012/04/16/30-days-of-biking-that-hill-next-to-petersons-bicycle-shop/

Biking for Baseball is a big hit for youth mentors

Friday’s home opener might have been a loss for the Seattle Mariners, but it was a big win for five friends from Denver.

The five are happy to be starting their own season of bicycling to all 30 major league baseball parks and raising awareness for youth mentoring programs at baseball camps they’re holding in each city.

Calling this Biking for Baseball, Adam Kremers, Tim Sherman, Rex Roberts, Chase Higgins and Steve Lunn are taking their mentoring experiences with Big Brothers Big Sisters on the road to 30 cities. …

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2012/04/16/biking-for-baseball-a-big-hit-for-youth-mentors/

30 days of biking: I-90 bridge bike trail

This being a picture-perfect day in Seattle, I figured I’d head out to a perfect picture-taking location for the halfway point of 30 Days of Biking.

I chose the overlooks for the Homer M. Hadley Memorial Bridge, aka the westbound span of the Interstate 90 floating bridge.

At left, you can see a cyclist in yellow jersey admiring the view after completing the 1.75-mile crossing. Those are the snow-capped Cascade Mountains in the background. ….

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2012/04/15/30-days-of-biking-i-90-bridge-bike-trail/

30 days of biking: Quiet roads

Some heavily trafficked roads put me on edge when I’m bicycling. That’s OK if they take me to a wide open road like this one.

This is the scene I see in my eyeglass mirror after I turn onto Cedar Grove Road near Issaquah, although I rarely see such a blue sky.

That’s Tiger Mountain in the background. The road is smooth and the grade is gentle. There’s plenty of room on the shoulder …

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2012/04/14/30-days-of-biking-quiet-roads/

Caution: Rumble strips installed on May Valley Road (WA)

Bicyclists need to use extra caution on May Valley Road after road crews milled rumble strips into a curvy section between the Squak Mountain Park and Issaquah-Hobart Road sometime in the past week.

There are no signs to alert the many cyclists who use this portion of road to the new hazard.

This section is typically where bicyclists can pick up some speed on a nice downhill if they’re heading east. I’d expect it would be difficult to control a speeding bike that hits these.

Even so, as you can tell from the photo, they appear to meet standards …

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2012/04/14/rumble-strips-installed-on-may-valley-road-wa/

30 days of biking: Lucky Friday the 13th

Everyone says that Friday the 13th is bad luck, but after tonight I’m going to revise that old superstition.

I couldn’t get out on my Day 13 bike ride until after dinner, and I chose to buzz over to the Blockbuster in Renton to drop off a movie.

It was getting dark on the way home, but I realized I didn’t have a photo for today’s ride. I made a lucky snap judgment to turn right from Coal Creek Parkway onto Newcastle Golf Course Road to get a photo of the sunset from the hillside. …

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2012/04/13/30-days-of-biking-lucky-friday-the-13th/

Seeing the world on loaded bicycle and $8 a day

Finding herself suddenly unemployed in England, Jilly Sherlock loaded her panniers with 50 pounds of gear and hit the road on her bicycle.

That was a year ago. So far she’s traveled more than 8,000 miles in an easterly direction through 23 countries.

She celebrated her 1-year anniversary on the road in Thailand this week.

Sherlock may be traveling solo, but she is by no means alone. She keeps in touch …

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2012/04/13/woman-sees-the-world-on-loaded-bicycle-and-8-a-day/

30 days of biking: Lake Boren Park

A short detour off my usual route to the grocery store took me to the fishing pier at Lake Boren Park in Newcastle this afternoon.

Three fishermen were trying their luck with hook and line when I showed up in between a series of showers.

I’ve ridden a lot of miles under the guise of running errands to the grocery store over the years. It’s not uncommon for me to add between 1 and 20 or 30 miles to a trip to the store.

The ride by bike takes about 10 minutes. So on bad-weather days …

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2012/04/12/30-days-of-biking-lake-boren-park/

Faulty suspension fork prompts recall for GT, Giant and Trek

A faulty suspension fork manufactured by SR Suntour has sparked a recall of 17,000 GT, Giant and Trek mountain bikes that use the fork.

Owners should stop riding bicycles that are mounted with these forks. They can be returned to any GT, Giant or Trek retailer for free repair.

The fork’s internal support tubes can break, causing the rider to lose control. SR Suntour has received 12 such reports …

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2012/04/12/faulty-suspension-fork-prompts-recall-for-gt-giant-and-trek/

Judge dismisses cyclists’ suit against SLUT tracks

A judge has thrown out a lawsuit by six bicyclists who claimed the city of Seattle created unsafe conditions when it opened a streetcar line.

As soon as Seattle’s South Lake Union Trolley (S.L.U.T.) opened for business in 2007, Seattle cyclists started crashing around the tracks at a regular rate.

It turns out the gap in the street for the trolley tracks — 44 mm — was just wide enough to catch their tires and flip their bikes.

Reacting to the epidemic of crashes and a protest ride by cyclists …

Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2012/04/12/judge-dismisses-cyclists-suit-against-slut-tracks/