Dogs on the Bridge! An Emerald City Ride Photo Album

  • 3,000 humans and a dog named Sprout biked over the West Seattle Bridge during Cascade's Emerald City Ride supported by Western WA Honda Dealers on May 5.
  • Check out our photos of the happy riders–and good dogs–who joined us for this unique opportunity to pedal car-free over one of Seattle's most iconic highway bridges. 
Riding my electric cargo bike is my favorite thing

Paul Tolmé

Sprout the wonder pooch!
Riders pedaling up to the West Seattle Bridge
People on bikes heading up to the West Seattle Bridge
Volunteer photographer Marvin Yamaguchi captured the excitement of riders cruising up to and over the West Seattle Bridge in the two photos above. 

May 5 marked the return of a historic and iconic Cascade event–the Emerald City Ride, last held in 2019 and canceled for multiple years due to the pandemic. Upwards of 3,000 people pedaled over the West Seattle Bridge car-free thanks to the hard work of our Events Team, which worked long hours to get the many permits and permissions from the state and City of Seattle to close a segment of SR-99 and one side of the West Seattle Bridge to traffic.

The start line was a sea of people in rain gear

The weather was overcast and drizzly but everyone had a great time–including Sprout and a handful of good dogs who got a front-row seat in their baskets and trailers.

Sprout leads the way on the Emerald City Ride
Eyes on the road, Sprout! 
Who's a good boy? This doggie in a basket!
Dog in basket on ECR
West Seattle Bridge closed sign

People rode all kinds of bikes--including this guy on a BMX bike who was all smiles despite working extra hard with those small wheels and just one gear.

BMX bike on the bridge

Washington State Department of Transportation traffic cameras captured the scene best from their high vantage points. Look how many bikes you can fit onto a highway, and how few cars were using the bridge in the early hours of Sunday morning.

biking up to the bridge summit
Pedaling up to the bridge

After crossing the West Seattle Bridge, riders pedaled to Alki Point in West Seattle. The WSDOT cameras again provided an amazing aerial view of the scene in the photo below.

Pedaling through Alki

Hanoch Yeung of Best Side Cycling captured the entire ride in this 10-minute video that is worth watching to see the route from the perspective of a bicycle saddle.

The 20-mile loop ride started and finished in SODO, where participants exchanged high-fives and hammed it up under the Finish banner.

High fives at the finish

To our delight, we saw Sprout again at the finish line with his buddy and happy humans.

Sprout and friends!

Learn more about the history of the Emerald City Ride in our previous post: Pedal Car-Free Over the West Seattle Bridge. Cascade hopes to resume the Emerald City Ride as an annual event next year and every year because it shows the beauty of Seattle and offers people the rare opportunity to pedal without stress over a segment of highway that is typically closed to bicycles.

Happy riders

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