seattleDIRT

[REPOST from Cascade Bicycle Club]

In this issue:

1. Restore Our Waters Cascade Spawning Cycle
2. Cascade Bicycle Club Open House
3. Back to School. Bike to School!
4. 1-5 Colonnade Grand Opening
5. Volunteers needed for bicycle count
6. Trail Alert

Restore Our Waters
Cascade Spawning Cycle
Sunday, Sept. 14
Myrtle Edwards Park

Come out for the Restore Our Waters Cascade Spawning Cycle! It’s the best way to see the most beautiful corners of the city. This bike ride is Seattle’s only organized urban cycling event and offers route options for every rider. Experienced cyclists can take on the 55-mile Cedar River Special or the 33-mile Fit for a King, while the families will enjoy the 4-, 8- or 14-mile routes.

The route is based loosely on the Pacific salmon spawning cycle and takes riders past beautiful waterfront viewpoints throughout the city. The Restore Our Waters Cascade Spawning Cycle is an opportunity for cycling enthusiasts to pledge their commitment to biking and to protecting aquatic habitat.
Fun, food and some shwag, too!

• The first 50 kids under age 13 to register for the Spawning Cycle will receive a free pass to the Seattle Aquarium.
• We’ll have an art table set up for kids to decorate their bikes for the event.
• After the ride, we’ll have the popular Bike Skillz & Thrillz course set up for kids to try from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Free for all kids!
• Restore Our Waters and Cascade will be onsite at the finish line with a free drawing for a rain barrel, stainless steel water bottles, tickets to the Beach Boys concert on Tuesday and more!
• Ballard Brothers will be selling salmon burgers and salads from 11 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.
• Registration is open on sunday from 8 a.m. to noon on Sunday. Kids 5 and under ride for free! Ages 6-12 is only $5 and adult registration is $25. Cascade members get a $5 discount. This event benefits the Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation.

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Mark your Calendars!
Cascade Bicycle Club Open House

Wednesday evening, Sept. 17 is the official Cascade Bicycle Club Open House. Stop in from 5 to 8 p.m. for beer, wine, soft drinks, snacks and music.

Kick back to live bluegrass music by The Shed Boys, get fired up for mini bike races and take a spin with the bike blender, mixing up tasty drinks. Meet the Cascade staff, learn about the latest news in bicycle advocacy, commuting and education and find out about future Cascade projects and events. Bring your friends and family and join us!

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Back to School. Bike to School!
Cascade Bicycle Club helps teach 12,000 youth how to ride safely

There is no off-season at Cascade Bicycle Club. Our education staff instructs people of all ages year round how to ride safely through classes and camps and in schools. Right now, we are delivering bicycles to PE teachers in Seattle, Lake Washington and Highline school districts for our Group Health Basics of Bicycling. And, we are reaching out to provide bike helmets to kids in need.

Want to support our work? Donations to the Cascade Bicycle Club Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, are tax deductible. [make a donation...]

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I-5 Colonnade Grand Opening
Saturday, Sept. 13
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Join Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance (formerly BBTC) to celebrate the opening of I-5 Colonnade Mountain Bike Park. [more...]

• Great prizes will be raffled from Shimano, Transition Bikes, REI, and many more
• Visit booths to collect some great shwag
• End-of-summer BBQ
• Check out the trail sponsored by Cascade Bicycle Club

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Volunteers Needed for Bicycle Count
City-Wide Bicycle Counts
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
6:30 a.m. – 9 a.m.

We have 25 locations where we will be conducting counts. If you are willing to help, please call or email Gina Coffman: 206 684-3902, virginia.coffman@seattle.gov; or Peter Lagerwey: 206 684-5108, pete.lagerwey@seattle.gov

All volunteers will receive a packet with full instructions and counting forms. Results will be used to monitor progress toward increasing the number of bicycle trips as called for in the Seattle Bicycle Master Plan.

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Trail Alert
Burke-Gilman Trail Repair

Starting this week SDOT crews will repair the Burke-Gilman Trail at several locations between 40th Ave. NE and NE 143rd St. where the trail has been damaged by tree roots north of Magnuson Park and south of Lake Forest Park. Check our website for updates.