Olmsted Parks tour (Steady)

Let's meet at the 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.

Frederick Law Olmsted was among the country's first landscape architects and he designed Central Park along with a slew of other city parks throughout the country. His two sons, John Charles Olmsted & Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., carried on in their father's tradition and in 1903 they were commissioned by Seattle to create a comprehensive plan for a greenbelt throughout the city. On this ride we will bike through or by many of the parks contained in that plan including Green Lake Park, Ravenna & Cowen Park, Woodland Park, Interlaken Park, Volunteer Park, Cal Anderson Park, Madrona Park, Frink Park, Colman Park, Mount Baker Park, Jefferson Park, Seward Park, and the Washington Arboretum. For fun, we'll also visit the mysterious Valley of the Gnomes, which isn't associated with the Olmsted Brothers. The existing Seattle Parks and Recreation system is known as "one of the best-preserved Olmsted park systems in the country" and in 2016, the Olmsted parks system was added to the National Register of Historic Places. 

We will climb and descend hills at our own pace, and we will stay together. This route has several steep climbs so if you're looking for a flat route this ride is not for you. Being an urban ride, it will take between 5-6 hours to finish the route (including a food stop) so please park across the street from Gas Works Park or on one of the side streets near it as we will exceed the four hour limit for parking in the park's parking lot. 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 will stop along the way for restrooms/water at miles 15 and 23. We’ll also stop for coffee/snacks at the Leschi Market/Starbucks at mile 15.

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 in the Weather Status 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!