Getting Ready to Ride Eastside #2: Carnation - Fall City (Leisurely)
KEEPING RIDERS SAFE
- Advance registration required. If you decide not to ride, please click Cancel My Registration below to open space for others. (How to cancel)
- Attendance at the pre-ride safety briefing is required to participate in the ride.
- All participants must follow Wash. state guidance on masking, distancing and vaccination for indoor and outdoor activities.
- If you have tested positive for COVID or have been exposed to someone with COVID, follow the CDC quarantine and isolation guidelines. In general, if you have COVID or are displaying COVID symptoms, you should not participate in group rides.
- Some rides stop at indoor venues. All riders should have face coverings available in case a business or public transit requires their use.
- A CPSC certified helmet is required to be worn to participate.
Click here for more Details
If you are new, please read our newcomer information.
Are you new to bicycling, or just been off your bike for a while? Is 2023 your year to get active, begin commuting, take part in Cascade's Free Group Rides, tackle your first century (100-mile ride), the STP, or another personal challenge? Are you a bit unsure about your biking capabilities, riding in groups, or cycling during winter? If so, then the Getting Ready to Ride Series (GR2R) is for you. GR2R is an early season, eight-week, progressive series that begins with a trail ride and then adds a bit of elevation gain, distance or technical difficulty each week.
GR2R rides are free and open to anyone. You will ride with others who share your pace and enthusiasm for riding. All rides will be led by Cascade Ride Leaders; experienced volunteers who enjoy riding, are knowledgeable about bike safety and the rules of the road, and who know the routes.
During the Eastside series, we will explore different neighborhoods (often with great views) and take advantage of some of the trails and quiet roads in the area. These will be social rides with waits at the top of hills (which we will climb at our own pace) and at all critical turns, along with some photo-op stops.
In addition to steady rain, ice/snow and any other hazardous conditions will cancel a ride. If a ride is canceled due to hazardous conditions, a notice will be posted here, in the comments section below, by 8:00 a.m. on the day of the ride. If that notice is posted, the ride leaders will not be at the start.
Ride Notes: All riders should bring ID; spare tube, tools, patch kit, pump, and skills to fix flats; a phone and a plan for rescue if your bike fails; and snacks and water. Waiting for mechanical issues will be at the discretion of the ride leader. It’s winter, so please dress appropriately and use fenders with long mudflaps on your bike or you will be asked to ride at the back of the group. Please download or print the Ride with GPS route if needed, ride leaders will not have copies.
Ride #2 meets at Tolt McDonald Park in Carnation and please be ready to ride at 10:00. We will start with a required safety briefing, and roll out when that's done. If you miss the briefing you will not be able to ride with the group. This week's ride will be 19 miles and will take us south to Fall City along the Snoqualmie River. A port-a-potty is available at the start but no water is available so please fill up at home.
We hope you can join us!
Comments
Fixing Flats
I would like to join these rides but it says you need to know how to fix a flat. The fix a flat class is not coming until March. I am new to group rides and recently widowed. My husband always fixed my flats and I do not have any of that skill. Please advise. Thank you!
Fixing flats, etc
Unfortunately, especially if it's a large group, it's not really fair to the group to spend a lot of time helping fix mechanical issues, so a commitment can't be made. That's why those requirements are there. That said, there is frequently someone who wouldn't mind staying with you to help with fixing things and getting back to the end of the ride, but it can't be guaranteed. Or, if the group is small enough and the issue is quickly fixable, then it's possible that the group could stay.
For now, you can make sure you have the equipment needed to fix a flat (e.g. spare tube, tools, patch kit, pump) and do some checking online to find info about fixing a flat. For example, https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bicycle+fix+a+flat shows a number of videos - Park Tool is usually pretty good for cycling maintenance related work. It helps to practice doing it, but be careful not to disable your bike...play with a spare wheel if you have one or have a friend handy who can help you put it back together.
But, in the end, if you can't fix it and it's not practical for someone to stay & help, then it falls to the requirement of having "a phone and a plan for rescue if your bike fails" :(.
Scott
Fixing Flats etc.
Everything that Scott said is correct.
I suggest also doing some flat prevention before coming to the ride.
Today...pump your tires full of air today. The required tire pressure range is shown on the side of the tire.
Friday....check to see if your tire is still full of air. If not you have a slow leak and should change your inner tubes. If you are a member of REI, they will fix your flat tire for no charge. You must purchase a new inner tube to get this deal.
Saturday...before the ride pump your tire full of air. Tires full of air have less chance of developing flats. I will have a bike pump at the ride start.
Being prepared is always the
Being prepared is always the best option. That being said...I always stop to help anyone in the rides I do.
This ride is a go!
Be ready to ride by 10:00 AM...Arrive at the ride start at least 15 minutes before so you are ready to ride by 10:00 AM.
This ride is a go!
Be ready to ride by 10:00 AM...Arrive at the ride start at least 15 minutes before so you are ready to ride by 10:00 AM.