Middle Fork and MORE!

We will meet at the Tibbetts Valley Park Parking Lot (west parking lot across from the Issaquah Transit Center) in Issaquah at 7:45am for our pre-ride safety briefing, with a departure at 8:00am.  Restrooms (Porta-Potty) are available at the start.  We will begin our climbing immediately with a climb up the Issaquah Highlands.  We will then make our way out to Fall City.  After another climb, we will have a quick photo/rest stop at Snoqualmie Falls.  From here, we will travel to North Bend and take a rest stop at the North Bend QFC (Mile 28).  After the break, we will ride out and back along the "awesome" Middle Fork Road.  If you have not been on this stretch before, you will love it!  Be aware that there are no places to refill your water bottles along this stretch (Miles 28 through 59) including no water available at the turn around at the Middle Fork Trailhead Parking Lot.  We will stop for our second rest stop at the same North Bend QFC (Mile 59).  After our break, we will start making our way back to Issaquah with a climb up Snoqualmie Ridge and an adrenaline fueled descent back into Fall City.  We will ride to Preston on the paved Preston-Snoqualmie Trail which turns to gravel when it merges into the Issaquah-Preston Trail.  This is a fairly fast gravel section of trail.  It is downhill all the way to Issaquah.  The gravel section is approximately 4 miles long.  It is smooth and firm packed gravel.  You will be fine with regular road tires (even 25s).  Make sure you have a spare tube just in case!  This is an 80.6 mile ride at Brisk Pace (16-18mph).

We will climb and descend hills at our own pace, and our goal will be to try to stay together and we will regroup at the tops of climbs if we get separated. We'll also limit our speed on any multi-use paths to the legal maximum (usually 15 MPH).

There is no water at the start.  Water availability is limited along this route.  Be prepared for up to 30 mile stretches between water refill opportunities.  It is expected to be warm on Saturday.

Riders should bring tools & knowledge to repair flats or minor mechanicals and be prepared to complete the ride on your own should your bike require repair. Please have a backup plan (someone to call or an ORCA card) if your bike will not get you to the finish.

Fenders are requested if it is wet or expected to be wet.  Plan to ride at the back if you do not have fenders. 

Note: If weather conditions meet the weather cancellation criterion listed above or if there are unforeseen hazardous riding conditions, the Ride Leader will post a ride-canceled note in the Comments section below at least two hours prior to the start and Ride Leader(s) will not be at the start location.

We hope you can join us!

Ride With GPS route link is below. Please print a cue sheet if you want one.