Cycle The Gap 2025 #5: Magnuson-Everett (Brisk)

The CYCLE THE GAP TRAINING SERIES (CTG)  is a five-week series of rides to help folks get in shape for Cascade's Ride from Seattle to Vancouver and Party (RSVP) -  Aug 23-24 and other late summer events. CTG will run for five Saturdays, from July 19 to August 16.  CTG is designed to build endurance and strength. The rides will incrementally increase in distance and elevation gain starting with 41 miles with 1,752’ of elevation gain and concluding with a 79-mile 3,400’ route.

Let's meet at the Cascade Bicycle Club Headquarters in Magnuson Park at 7:45 a.m. 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.

Today’s ride: A 79.7-mile, 3244’ route from  the Cascade Bike Club Headquarters in Magnuson Park at the Brisk Pace (16 - 18 mph when flat with no head or tail winds). It travels to Richmond Beach, Edmonds, Everett, Snohomish (lunch), Maltby, Woodinville and Bothell before returning to the start. This ride includes flats and a mix of climbs and descents, including rollers and some hills that are long and/or steep. Click on the Route Map link and view the route's elevation profile. 

NOTE about the start:  There may not be any bathrooms or water at the start. (Normally there are portable toilets near Sail Sand Point.) Please, come prepared to get to the first stop at mile point 17 (Edmonds City Park).

Rest Stops: The rest stops will be at Edmonds (Edmonds City Park), mile 17; Everett (Paine Field Community Park), mile 27.2; Haggen Market, mile 51.9; Logboom Park, mile 72.6. All stops should be 10 minutes or less except for the lunch stop which will be a 20-minute stop. 

The Basics:  These rides are not supported. Riders should be able to sustain the pace, carry nutrition/water, a cell phone to call for assistance, and have the know-how and equipment to fix a flat tire.  We will pause briefly to assess any mechanical problem, but will not delay the group for an extended time.  We will regroup at the top of long hills. We will observe posted speed limits on multi-use trails (usually 15 mph, but sometimes 10 mph).

Be considerate and have full fenders including mud flaps if roads are wet or a prediction of rain is in the forecast. If you don't have fenders, you will be asked to ride at the rear of the group.  

The Route: A link for the route is listed as the Route Map. There can be changes to the route up until ride time. So it is best to check back for the most current version of the route or, if you are using Ride With GPS simply choose to PIN the route. By pinning the route, you should automatically have a link to the most current route in your pinned ride folder.

New Riders:  We are very happy to have you with us.  Please read the New Rider link (“Read our newcomer information”), above, and keep in mind that a helmet is required for all Cascade rides. 

Weather - If on the evening before the ride Weather Underground predicts more than a 50% chance of more than .2" of rain or showers between 10:30 am and 1:30 pm, the Ride Leader will cancel the ride. Additionally if weather conditions meet the weather cancellation criterion listed above, or if there is poor Air Quality Index (above 125 on the Airnow.gov website), 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 canceled at least two hours before the start, Ride Leader(s) will not be at the start location. Please check before leaving for the ride.