Cascade Headquarters to Mercer Island, Arboretum and UW Cherry Blossoms (Steady)

Let's meet at the parking lot in front of the Cascade Bike Club headquarters. 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.  

We will take the Burke Gilman Trail to the 520 and cross over to Medina and then south to Bellevue.  From there we will take the I90 trail over to Mercer, do the loop clockwise with a diversion for coffee, food and bathrooms at Einstein Bros Bagels in the Mercer Island business district. After the break we will travel along Lake Washington, cut through the Arboretum, over the new Montlake lid bike trail and then take in the Cherry Blossoms at the University of Washington. Due to the expected crowds, we will dismount and walk through the Quad.  There are at least 2 photo ops available - Drumheller fountain with a likely to be fantastic Mt Rainier background and the UW Quad with the cherry trees.  Then it is only a short ride back to the CBC.

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/end at Magnuson Cafe and Brewery (opens at 9 am for breakfast), in Bellevue, at our stop on Mercer Island and near the Quad on the UW campus (honey buckets).

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!