Cascade in the Media: "The Best Bike Club"

Building a stronger bicycling community and advocating for safer cycling means communicating with the wider world via the news media. Here are some of our favorite TV news stories, newspaper and magazine articles, podcasts, and bike blog posts of 2023.

Passport to the Northwest

Fox 13 was incredibly supportive of Cascade in 2023, featuring us three times on their Passport to the Northwest series. Host Carly Henderson joined us for a ride on the Centennial Trail, sipped wine with us on the Woodinville Wine Ride, and experienced the superpower of e-bikes during a group ride on Seattle's Burke-Gilman Trail.

Seattle to Portland Stories

The Kaiser Permanente Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic Presented by Alaska Airlines is our biggest ride of the year. Revenues generated from registrations provide funding for our bike advocacy, bike education, and community programming. 

One of our favorite STP stories of 2023 featured Tom Ahearne, a Bainbridge Island man with leg paralysis who trained for--and completed--STP on his hand cycle. King 5 reporter Chris Cashman did a heartwarming story about Ahearne, whose tenacity and determination inspire us.

Many groups ride STP to support good causes. The Seattle Bike Blog did a story about the diverse organizations, bike clubs, and individuals who ride STP to build a better world. 

A growing number of people riding STP on electric bikes. Bill Swartz of Northwest News Radio spoke with us about e-biking STP, and how the ride supports our mission.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. If that’s true, this Bike Portland photo gallery of smiling STP riders coming into Portland is worth a bajillion.

Tours and Rides

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We are always eager to invite journalists on our Tours and rides. Bike journalist Dan Shryock accepted our invitation to ride the Walla Walla Tour, and he wrote this piece for Northwest Travel and Life Magazine about the joy of touring eastern Washington wine country on an e-bike.

If you’re on the fence about registering for Chilly Hilly in February, this fun photo gallery of Chilly Hilly riders pedaling the hills and waterfront roads of scenic Bainbridge Island will win you over. Thank you, Kitsap Sun.

The Kitsap Color Classic, held every autumn, is “An Ode to Fall’s Beauty,” the Kitsap Daily News said in a story featuring Cascade's Rides and Events Producer Allison Pringle.

Policy

An informed public is key to winning support for policies that make it safer for everyone to cycle. That’s why we talk to reporters about the laws, infrastructure, and policy objectives we support.

Unfortunately, we often get called by reporters in the aftermath of a crash. That was the case in this story when Seattle Policy Manager Rachel Schaeffer spoke to King 5 about the urgent need to safeguard people biking and walking from motor vehicles.

We frequently talk with reporters to celebrate new bike infrastructure. The Urbanist interviewed Policy Director Vicky Clarke about the new Northup Connector that links the SR 520 Trail to Eastrail. 

Helping to repeal King County’s mandatory helmet law due to racist and inequitable enforcement was one of our most profound policy wins of 2022. One year after the repeal, David Kroman of the Seattle Times quoted Executive Director Lee Lambert discussing the fact that--as we predicted--people are still wearing helmets at a high rate even after the law was abolished. 

Lambert often steps up to the podium to speak at news conferences, including when he discussed the need for better traffic safety laws to combat rising fatality rates. 

One of our important bike infrastructure wins of 2023 was Seattle’s decision to pave over the dangerous railroad tracks under the Ballard Bridge, a move that Lambert celebrated as a big safety improvement--and a step toward closing the Burke-Gilman Trail’s infamous "Missing Link."

Cycling Podcasts

One of our favorite new bike podcasts is Cycling Over Sixty. Host Tom Butler is an STP Ambassador, Cascade member, and gregarious conversationalist who wants to help people of a certain age take up bicycling--as he did--to improve their health and happiness.

In this episode titled "The Best Bike Club," Butler talks with us about Cascade's huge scope of work, our history, and our efforts to, in his words, "make the world a better place."

In a more recent episode in December, Butler talked with us about our 2024 Tours, with an eye toward figuring out which one he plans to attend. This episode is highly informative for anyone considering registering for our Walla Walla, Winthrop Gravel, Port Townsend, or Lake Chelan three-day Tours. Butler also discusses his effort to combat insulin resistance by improving his health through cycling.

Diane Jenks–aka the Outspoken Cyclist–is another great bicycling podcaster who interviews a wide range of people in the bike world. In this episode, she invited us onto her show to talk about STP, RSVP, and much more.

A few months later, Jenks invited us back for a conversation about our Pedaling Relief Project and its mission of supporting food banks and fighting food insecurity with pedal power.

Building a Bikable Future

Our annual Bike Everywhere fundraiser is a “who’s who” of the Seattle and Washington state bicycling community. Watch the Fox 13 live interviews with us from the fundraiser, where we spoke about efforts to build a more bikeable Washington state and discussed safety improvements coming thanks to the Move Ahead Washington legislation. 

Chyna from Fox 13 followed up with an in-studio interview about the donuts, coffee, treats, and swag available during Bike Everywhere Day. 

Pedaling Relief and Cranksgiving

The Pedaling Relief Project turns bicycling into community service. Liz Duwieke of Fox 13 invited us onto the program Good Day Seattle to brag about the more than one million pounds of food and essential goods the initiative has transported by bike.

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The Seattle Bike Blog is essential reading for anyone who cares about bicycling in Seattle. Founder Tom Fucoloro attended our news conference with Mayor Bruce Harrell to celebrate the 1.2 Million Pounds of Food transported by Pedaling Relief volunteers. 

In October, Fucoloro joined us on Fox 13 to promote the annual Cranksgiving Seattle food bank ride. Bonus: our good friend Carly of Passport to the Northwest was the interviewer.

Fucoloro followed up with a Cranksgiving story about the record amount of food collected. “I’m still riding high on the caring and happy vibes,” Fucoloro wrote.

E-Bike News

Cascade wholeheartedly supports the growing popularity of electric bikes, which make it possible to pedal rather than drive. Read the Urbanist story “E-Bikes Are Taking Off in Seattle.”

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