Beaucoup de parcs (Steady)

Let's meet at the east end of the Gas Works Park parking lot. Be there, ready to go at the time listed above. We will start with a required safety briefing, and roll out when that's done.  All riders must attend the safety briefing to participate.

Seattle ranks among the top 10 park systems in the country (Seattle Times, 7/2/23) and has nearly 500 parks of various types scattered across the city. This ride will visit approximately 45 of them as we will ride by, walk through, and occasionally ride in parks in Queen Anne, the downtown, Capitol Hill, the International District, Fremont, and the U-District. We won't be visiting "the usual suspects" of parks (Volunteer Park, Magnuson, Cal Anderson, etc.) and will explore pocket parks, mini parks, parklets, and other smaller and lesser known Seattle parks. We will also stop at several viewpoints which highlight the city's various vistas including the downtown skyline, neighborhoods, the Sound, and combinations of these views. We'll bike on some tightly packed gravel roads so plan accordingly. We will climb several hills so if you are looking for flat terrain this ride is not the one. I'm listing the ride as being five hours so if you're driving to Gas Works Park I suggest you park in the plentiful parking spaces across the street from it as the park has a four hour parking limit. We'll stop for lunch at mile 25 so please feel free to bring a snack(s) if you want to munch on something before lunch.

We will climb and descend hills at our own pace, and we will regroup frequently. We'll also limit our speed on any multi-use paths to the legal maximum (usually 15 MPH, occasionally 10 MPH).

Restrooms are available at the start. We can stop along the way for restrooms/water at miles 10 and 25. We’ll also stop for coffee/snacks at the Off the Rez Cafe at mile 25.

Bring a spare tube and tools to fix a flat, just in case. Other things to bring: phone; ID; cash and/or credit card; ORCA card; water and a small snack. Please have full fenders if the roads are wet, or you may be asked to ride at the rear of the group.

Note: If weather conditions meet the weather cancellation criterion listed above or if there are unforeseen hazardous riding conditions or other unexpected events, the Ride Leader will cancel the ride and all registered riders will be sent a notification email. If the ride is cancelled at least two hours before the start, Ride Leader(s) will not be at the start location. Please check before leaving for the ride.

We hope you can join us!