Clipless in Olympia

Every January I put together an unofficial list of road cycling events taking place around the Pacific Northwest (most in our home state of Washington). It's culled from a variety of sources, including personal experiences, suggestions from friends and the huge but frequently outdated list at BikingBis.com . This list covers recreational road events only; it does not include races, gravel/MTB events, fondos or rides organized by bike tour companies. Originally Posted 1/19/25 | Updated 9/12/25 Events that have not set a date for 2025 are listed with a mm/??. If there is no link, it means the web site/page is currently inactive. The list will be updated as new information becomes available. February 2/23 — Chilly Hilly (Bainbridge) | Cascade BC March 3/?? — Worst Day Ride (Portland OR) | Oregon Bike April 4/13 — Ride for Major Taylor (White Center) | Cascade BC 4/26 — Tour de Lopez Island 4/27 — McClinchy Mile (Camano Island) 4/27 — Monster Cookie Metric Century (...

Every January I put together an unofficial list of road cycling events from around the Pacific Northwest (most in our home state of Washington). It's culled from a variety of sources, including personal experiences, suggestions from friends and the huge but frequently outdated list at BikingBis.com . This list covers recreational road events only; it does not include gravel/MTB events, bike races, fondos or rides organized by bike tour companies. Events that have not set a date for 2024 are listed with a mm/??. If there is no link, it means the web site is currently inactive. I'll update the list as new information becomes available. Originally Posted 1/2/24 | Updated 10/25/24 February 2/25 — Chilly Hilly (Bainbridge) | Cascade BC March 3/24 — Worst Day Ride (Portland OR) | Oregon Bike April 4/21 — Ride for Major Taylor (White Center) | Cascade BC 4/28 — McClinchy Mile (Camano Island) 4/28 — Monster Cookie Metric Century (Salem OR) May 5/4 — Tour de Cure Pac...

This article was written several years ago by Olympia's Bill Stevenson. It originally appeared in the newsletter of the former Capital Bicycling Club. At several key junctures in my early days of cycling people went out of their way to teach me the inner workings of road riding.  Two of them, Jerry Baker and Bob Kaye, were particularly influential and important to me.  Both men are local legends. Neither they nor the uncounted others who helped me learn the ropes of cycling had any good reason to spend their valuable time coaching a callow youth from Olympia.  But they did, and their help opened the mysteries of road cycling to me, providing one of the greatest joys of my life in the process.  It is in memory an appreciation of this help that I sit down today with paper and ink to try and pass on the wonderful gift they provided. To the uninitiated, road cycling can seem like a province of some secret society inhabited by a strange race of Lycra-clad humanoids. Many ...

After serving up pouring rain and some snow at daybreak, the weather gods took pity on us during the First Sunday Meetup Ride April 2. Eleven folks turned out for a 23-mile ride to Cooper Point and around The Evergreen State College that was mostly dry and even featured some sun breaks. We finished up with tasty food and beverages at Vic's Pizza Westside. Thanks to all who joined us!

More than a dozen folks turned out for the second First Sunday of the Month Meetup Ride and Social Gathering. We had a somewhat chilly but dry ride out to Steamboat Island and back with a side trip around scenic Schirm Loop. And the after-ride social time at Tipsy Whale was especially delightful. Thanks to all who rode with us!

We had a dozen folks turn out for the inaugural "First Sunday" Social Ride on Feb. 5, including one rider who drove all the way from Port Orchard! The ride started pretty dry but got showery by the end of the 25-mile route. No matter, all were in good spirits as we finished up at the Briggs Taphouse for beverages, bites and some social time. Thanks to all who took part; Denise and I plan to do a social ride like this on the first Sunday of each month. We averaged just over 12 mph on this one, which is what we'll aim for every time.

A very nice turnout of about 14 riders for the Jan. 28 Beginner Friendly Gravel Ride around the Kennedy Creek Loop above Summit Lake. For once the weather forecast was wrong, but oh, so right -- no rain! Many thanks to Bill and Courtney Cundiff for organizing a great meetup ride. Here's a one-minute video of folks having a great time on gravel (plus few random photos).

Updated 6/5/23 Every January I put together an unofficial list of road cycling events from around the Pacific Northwest (mostly in our home state of Washington). It's culled from a variety of sources, including our own experiences, suggestions from friends and the huge but frequently outdated list at BikingBis.com .  The list does not include races, fondos, MTB/gravel events or rides organized by bike tour companies. Events that have not set a date for 2023 are listed with a mm/??/yy. I'll update the list as new information becomes available. February 02/26/23 - Chilly Hilly (Bainbridge) | Cascade BC March 03/19/23 - Worst Day Ride (Portland) | Oregon Bike April 04/23/23 - Ride for Major Taylor (White Center) | Cascade BC 04/28-30/23 - Lake Chelan Tour Lite | Cascade BC 04/30/23 - McClinchy Mile (Camano Island) May 05/07/23 - Monster Cookie Metric Century (Salem OR) 05/13/23 - Skagit Spring Classic (Burlington) 05/13/23 - Inland Empire Century (Kennewick) 05/13/23...

What a fantastic turnout for the WHT Fans January Group ride -- 36-plus cyclists! Perfect weather, a great course and a delicious refreshment stop with the fabulous folks at Jones Creek Brewing. Many thanks to Chris Brewer for organizing and leading the ride. Check out the photos !