Bicycle Sunday on Lake Washington Blvd June 5
By my best estimate, about 90 percent of Seattle was out riding a bike this weekend. At least it seemed that way. There are tons of shiny new rides on the trails, including one owned by my good friend and first-time bike commuter Courtney.
Courtney has been interested in commuting by bike for a while, but she said she was too scared to ride with traffic. We rode the route from her house to her work together on a slow weekend day a few weeks ago. The week after Bike to Work Week, she rode to her work every day. She said she decided to stop being afraid of it. Way to go Courtney and all of you who are giving bicycle transportation a shot for the first time.
There was a lot going on this weekend for people on two wheels. Bicycle Sunday was hopping with people of all ages riding bicycles, skateboarding or cruising in wheelchairs. It’s amazing how closing a street to motor vehicle traffic empowers people to move to the center of the road and ride with confidence.
You don't see this sign very often. Gotta love Bicycle Sunday!
There were a lot of families who seemed new to family biking, which is great to see. Some parents were clearly nervous about trying to keep their children in line on the road, and sometimes the kids would just get too excited and would take off down the street. Bicycle Sunday is a great place to get some family road riding experience in a safe environment. There was also a tent set up to give people a chance to try out different family cycling setups, such as a Madsen bucket bike and a bike with a long-tail Xtracycle kit installed. This is a great opportunity for interested parents to get an idea of what cycle solution would fit their family’s needs the best.
And, if you are not in the market for a family bike solution, Bike Works’ Davey Oil will play you a song on the ukulele, anyway:
I also went on the Central District Garden Tour, and my friends and I were not the only people who decided to do the tour on bike. I had a wonderful birthday Saturday riding around my neighborhood and wandering through my neighbors’ backyards ogling their incredible gardens. Made me think that there should be a bicycle partnership of some kind for our city’s garden tours (bike rentals or a bike-friendly map or maybe even an organized ride?). There may be a garden tour coming up in your neighborhood. Look it up and see if you can help organize something. I can vouch: Garden tours by bike are a blast.
There was also a bunch of stuff I missed this weekend. If you have photos, stories or anything bike related from the weekend, share them below or email them to tom@seattlebikeblog.com.
