Ride recap: CycloFemme 2013

Despite a drizzly morning and meeting atop a hill, 26 riders came out for Seattle CycloFemme 2013! The ride was a joint effort of Familybike Seattle, Coolmom, Cascade Bicycle Club, and Critical Lass to celebrate mothers as the powerful forces we are in our families and communities. We rode to celebrate our commitment and choices in creating healthy, sustainable, stress-reducing, safe, community-building, congestion-free and enjoyable ways of living.

Here’s the 7.7-mile route from the Bullitt Foundation on Capitol Hill to Bicycle Sunday in Seward Park:

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We enjoyed lovely conversations and a free picnic lunch, featuring sandwiches, fresh fruit, and cookies at the park. I missed out on getting bike portraits or a group shot, but see our Flickr set for some shots from the ride.

CycloFemme 2013

Critical Lass and Kidical Mass come together for CycloFemme 2013, celebrating mothers as everyday activists!

Join Familybike Seattle, Coolmom, Cascade Bicycle Club, Critical Lass, and more to celebrate mothers as the powerful forces we are in our families and communities! Let’s celebrate our commitment and choices in creating healthy, sustainable, stress-reducing, safe, community-building, congestion-free and enjoyable ways of living.

The ride starts at the Bullitt Foundation (1501 E Madison St), and winds along mostly back-streets and proposed Neighborhood Greenways to Lake Washington Blvd, where it joins the second Bike Day for car-free riding along the lake to Seward Park. At Seward Park we’ll enjoy cookies, drinks, and sandwiches donated by Whole Foods and Madison Market, and hang out in the grass. Kids will play, moms will chat, dads will be supportive, and everyone will be happy . Join us!

When: Sunday, May 12th, 11am-2pm
Where: Starts at the Bullitt Foundation, 1501 E Madison. Ends at Seward Park.
Who: Moms and families (bring your kids and/or partner….or not)
Why: Celebrate each other and sustainable lifestyles

RSVP on Facebook

About CycloFemme
CycloFemme is a Global Women’s Cycling Day created TO HONOR THE PAST and the emancipation of our grandmothers and great-grandmothers, for the freedom to choose and the chance to wear pants. TO CELEBRATE THE PRESENT and the riders who keep it rolling, bringing women’s racing to the forefront, pushing the limits, breaking down barriers and sharing the love of the bike with everyone along the way. TO EMPOWER THE FUTURE of women in cycling and the opportunity for positive social change. Encourage women to ride and they will change the world.

About Familybike Seattle
Our mission is to increase access and decrease barriers to bicycling for families of all income levels, for the purpose of social transformation and environmental sustainability.

About Seattle Neighborhood Greenways
Seattle Neighborhood Greenways are residential streets generally one off of main arterials with low volumes of auto traffic and low speeds where people who walk and ride bicycles are given priority.

About Bicycle Sunday
Lake Washington Boulevard will be closed to motorized traffic south of Mount Baker Beach to Seward Park’s entrance.

Read a bit more about Harriet Bullitt, entrepreneur and environmental conservationist.

Ride recap: Critical Lass rides to Pedaler’s Fair

Critical Lass took a marvelous ride to Pedaler’s Fair on April 20th. We met at the Locks in Ballard and took a scenic ride along the Elliott Bay Trail and over the West Thomas Street Overpass.

We took the flattest/quietest route possible to the Seattle Center and stopped for lunch at The Armory before heading down into Belltown.

Outside we discovered valet bike parking courtesy of Bike Works and Bikelava.

Inside was too dark for decent pictures, but was packed with exhibitors displaying bikes, clothing, accessories, and more.

Bike portraits are here and this was our route:

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See you next month for CycloFemme!

Upcoming: Critical Lass rides to Pedaler’s Fair

Saturday, April 20th, 2013
10:00am
Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, Ballard

Meet at the Ballard Locks (3015 54th St NW, Seattle, WA 98107) at 10am. WALK YOUR BIKE (to avoid a hefty fine) when you arrive to the gate and we’ll meet up at the water’s edge.

Our leisurely-paced six mile ride will take us through the Magnolia train year and along the beautiful Elliott Bay Trail. We’ll use the new West Thomas Street Overpass (where we’ll pause for pictures if the weather cooperates) and then make our way to the International Fountain where Robin Randels from Cascade Bicycle Club will give us a quick overview of her Urban Cycling Techniques course that we’ll then put into use for our descent into Belltown.

Our destination is Pedaler’s Fair, at the Underground Events Center (2407 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98121), an annual marketplace for Washington based, bicycle-inspired small businesses. Check out all the exhibitors! We hear there will be beer for suggested donation of $3.

RSVP on Facebook (optional)

Ride recap: Critical Lass goes to Bike Expo Fashion Show!

Saturday morning’s unexpected fog burned off just in time to reveal unbelievably blue skies for our Critical Lass/Spokespeople ride to Bike Expo.

11 riders met outside Hub and Bespoke for a pleasant five-mile ride to the Smith Cove Cruise Terminal at Pier 91.

We made our way through Fremont via the contraflow bike lane by PCC:

over the Fremont Bridge, and onto the Ship Canal Trail where the real fun began. Here we are weaving our way through the S-curve over the train tracks:

To avoid the two busy, uphill blocks of Emerson at the end of the Ship Canal Trail, we turned right on 16th Avenue West to enter Fishermen’s Terminal. West Thurman Street took us west along the water and we paused for a group shot by the Polar Lady:

It doesn’t show on the Google map, but the BIKE TRAIL skirts the west edge of terminal (just east of 21st Ave W).

There are a couple pesky bigger-than-necessary cement blocks to keep motor vehicles off the bike trail, but we got around them without incident. I think a bike trailer could fit around, too, but there were none along today.

Thanks to Spokespeople for organizing this lovely ride. Here’s our full ride, more or less:

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Critical Lass Seattle will celebrate our first anniversary with a CycloFemme ride on May 12th and perhaps we’ll sneak in an April ride, too! More details about future rides forthcoming.

Upcoming: Critical Lass goes to Bike Expo Fashion Show!

Saturday, March 9, 2013
11:00 a.m. @ Hub & Bespoke

Check out the moves of FamilyRide’s Madi Carlson and Madison Greenways’ Bob Edmiston as they strut down the runway modeling the practical yet alluring commuter cycling clothing at the Hub & Bespoke fashion show at Cascade’s Bike Expo!

Critical Lasses will gather at the Hub & Bespoke Fremont store (513 N 36th St, Seattle, WA 98103) at 11:00 a.m. That will give us plenty of time to travel to and wander around Bike Expo in Smith Cove–and still get good seats for the fashion show from 1:15 to 2 p.m. We’ll regroup at 2:30 p.m. after the fashion models have finished signing autographs. Maybe they’ll even join us on our return trip back to our starting location in Fremont no later than 3:30 p.m.

Please come to Hub & Bespoke early, by 10:45 a.m., if you are new to riding in groups or if you need help with adjusting your helmet or bike. All ages and skill levels welcome! This is a Spokespeople ride which means we will ride together slowly. Our trained leaders include expert commuters who accompany us to offer encouragement and model good road riding techniques. Please join us! **Children are Welcome!**

• Details on Cascade Bicycle Club ride calendar
• RSVP on the Facebook event page

Bike Expo admission
Adults: $10 – single-day pass, $12 – two-day pass
Kids 15 or younger are free
CASH ONLY at the door (an ATM will be available)
Cascade Bicycle Club members can receive a $2 discount by showing a membership card.

Ride recap: Critical Lass and Friends Ride to Candy Cane Lane

Oh the weather outside was frightful (cold, heavy rain, off-and-on wind), but Candy Cane Lane with friends was so delightful! As mentioned in the Seattle Times article, One healthful thing we love: Spice up your bike ride with holiday-themed events with the Cascade Bicycle Club this week: “Steady rain, ice or snow cancels most rides, the Candy Cane Lane ride is an exception and will go in the rain.” We’re not gluttons for punishment–we just really wanted to ride as a group to more holiday lights. But still, extra points to everyone who showed up tonight!

Eleven lasses and friends on eight bikes (originally fourteen participants on nine bikes, but one family headed home early) met at the Wallingford Center for the 3.5-mile ride to Candy Cane Lane in Ravenna.

We grabbed snaps of a couple riders as they arrived, but it’s just too dark so bike portraits are on hiatus until our next daytime ride.

We rode the Wallingford Greenway (N 44th Street) and kept mostly to proposed Greenways until we got to Ravenna Blvd’s separated (just by paint) bike lane. Then, to avoid heavy car traffic, we took a dark and lovely (and gravelly) ride all the way through Ravenna Park. Here’s the map of our route:

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Candy Cane Lane is a drive-through experience for most, so we formed a small group between cars:

 

We took some daylight pictures during the route-testing ride to give a better feel for the place:

There’s even a food donation bin at the end. We donated

We decided to skip the post-ride party and riders peeled off in small groups as we headed back to the Wallingford Center. We were all still together to traverse 20th Ave NE Bridge–a wonderful closed-to-motor-vehicles bridge with a breathtaking view (when it’s not pitch dark and rainy).

20th Ave NE Bridge during the day:

Big thanks to Cathy and Bill for leading the ride and taking group photos at the end. The second shot is from Bill’s fancy rain-capable camera…did we mention our next ride will be during daylight hours?

If you’ve got photos to share, stick them on Facebook or email us: seattlecriticallass[at]gmail.com.

Happy holidays!

Ride recap: Critical Lass Rides to Olympic Manor Holiday Lights

My nighttime (well, 4:30pm) photos didn’t come out so great, but trust me–there were some awesomely decked out bikes in attendance. We had about two dozen participants, ten of whom were children.

Squint at the Flickr set of photos.

Arianne took a great little video that shows things much better:

Kevin of Bike Dreams wrote a recap of our Family Holiday Light Ride and shared his GPS recording of the ride so I could create a map:

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Point C on the map is this Flying Spaghetti Monster:

I thought that was pretty neat in the sea of Christmas decorations. (Though the monster was sporting a Santa hat).

We used 23rd Ave NW to head north to Olympic Manor, one of the most festively decorated neighborhoods in Seattle. Almost every house on our big loop through the community had holiday lights and inflatables, some even with music.

We closed out the evening at Grumpy D’s Coffee House, where the kids hit the toy corner and the adults relaxed with peppermint hot chocolates.

We’ll ride again on Sunday, December 16th, this time to Candy Cane Lane in Ravenna. It’s a Critical Lass and friends ride so everyone is welcome! Details here.

Upcoming: Critical Lass and Friends Ride to Candy Cane Lane

Sunday, December 16, 2012
4:00pm
Meet at Wallingford Center (1815 North 45th Street, Seattle, WA)

Meet at the Wallingford Center–outside in the courtyard at the northwest corner if it’s dry/lock up your bike and come inside if it’s raining hard. Be sure your bike is equipped with lights and feel free to decorate with extra lights and extra decor if you’re feeling especially festive–we’ll be part of the holiday light display. The brighter and more colorful, the merrier (and safer!). We’ll ride to Candy Cane Lane in Ravenna and then make our way up to Green Lake to warm up at Forza (6900 East Green Lake Way N, Seattle, WA).

Bring family and friends on this **Critical Lass Plus Friends** ride. We recommend children ride in trailers, bike seats, or on attached trailer bikes.

We’ll meet at 4pm while it’s still a bit light out and hit the road by 4:30.

As always, helmets are a must for every head on our rides.

Optional: RSVP on Facebook

Upcoming: Critical Lass Rides to Olympic Manor Holiday Lights

Sunday, December 9, 2012
4:00pm
Meet at Loyal Heights Community Center (2101 NW 77th St, Seattle, WA)

We’ll ride to and around Seattle’s festive Olympic Manor, checking out nearby fabulous light displays on our way there. It will be dark out, so make sure your bike is equipped with lights. Extra lights are even better if you want to glow with holiday cheer–we’ll be part of the holiday light display. The brighter and more colorful, the merrier (and safer!).

We’ll wrap up at Grumpy D’s (7001 15th Ave NW, Seattle, WA) for warm drinks. Children in trailers, bike seats, and on trailer bikes are welcome!

We’ll meet at 4pm while it’s still light out and be on the road by 4:30.

As always, helmets are a must for every head on our rides.

Optional: RSVP on Facebook