RAPSody Volunteers Needed Aug. 22

About four BIKES Club volunteers are needed to prepare and serve food at the Allyn

Waterfront Park rest stop on Saturday, Aug. 22 during the Ride Around Puget Sound. Help is needed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and especially from 11:30 a.m. on. Volunteers get a cool t-shirt and the satisfaction of supporting the Bicycle Alliance of Washington while enjoying the company of hundreds of cyclists from all over the state and country and

listening to a community band. Oh, and doing the Chicken Dance. To round out the day, many volunteers also work in a 30-mile ride to Shelton (or 40 from Southworth?). Allyn is located on Hwy 3, a few miles south of Belfair on the Kitsap Peninsula.
Contact Kristi Knodell to volunteer at kknodell@aol.com or 360-658-2462.

Plan ahead for Birch Bay  Weekend Ride on September 19th—20th. 
Watch the website for more information

OTHER AUGUST RIDES THAT
SUPPORT BAW

 Aug 1-3:  Courage Classic - Snoqualmie, WA—Mary Bridge Children's Hospital—www.courageclassic.org

Aug 1:  8 Lakes Leg Aches Bike Ride - Spokane, WA—Lutheran Community Services NW—www.lcsnw.org/events.html

 Aug 9:  TRYBR (Tenino-Rainier-Yelm-Bucoda Rally) — Capital Bicycling Club—www.capitalbicycleclub.org

Aug 22:  Tour de Lentil - Pullman, WA—Pullman Chamber of Commerce—www.lentilfest.com

1. Rides in Review

  By Debby Grant

July offered up plenty of dry sunny days for club rides and leaders staged a variety of outings ranging from the 47-mile McClinchy route through Arlington to a Three-Ferry Myrtle Edwards – Port Orchard loop to Wednesday evening travels thru Everett, Snohomish and Lake Stevens. On Warren’s ride through Port Orchard we cruised around Alki and arrived at the Fauntleroy ferry terminal in time to catch a late-departing 9:15am boat to Southworth.

We left the fog behind and made the gentle climb up and away from the shore before turning back toward the water and clear views of Blake Island and the mainland. The guidebook descriptions of the route usually say “moderately hilly” and that’s pretty accurate. There’s enough climb to keep it interesting but not so much to overly-challenge a weekend cyclist. And the long easy stretches along the water let even those that don’t generally ride a brisk pace pick up some speed.  The Port Orchard Farmers’ Market provided lunch before we boarded the foot ferry to Bremerton. A few of us poked around a second-hand store in Bremerton and then dispensed with shoes and socks at the fountain park while we waited for the ferry to Seattle. We envied the kids their waterplay and wished for swimsuits.

Earlier in the day when we rode along the Seattle waterfront the street was quiet other than cruise ship busses and an occasional truck – not so when we returned at 4pm.  In two groups, we “took the lane” on the ride from the Seattle ferry terminal to Myrtle Edwards Park and caught almost every red light. We were leaving town as a couple of cruise ships were doing the same and I’m sure that all those on board would agree it had been another cycle-perfect Pacific Northwest day.