Taylor McKenzie Gerlach set a goal for herself: For the darkest month of the year, she would bike every trip that was 30 minutes or less. She was new to bike commuting during a Seattle winter, but she found inspiration and help from middle school science teacher Jessica Levine. Levine was featured in an excellent Commute Seattle video in 2022.
Taylor documented the experience for Outside, and it’s wonderful. It sounds a lot like my first winter biking in Seattle, which was the experience that inspired me to start this blog. There are challenges, of course, but the rewards are plentiful and perhaps unexpected.
I won’t lie, traveling exclusively by bike during Seattle’s winter sounded questionable on paper. But once I tried it, it wasn’t all damp leggings, waterlogged socks, and sweaty puffy jackets. My month-long experiment kicked off with some rules: if Apple Maps told me a location was accessible in 30 minutes or less aboard my nineties steel frame mountain bike, then I’d be biking, rain or shine.
The end of daylight savings time hit hard this year. As sunsets marched back towards 4 P.M., my energy levels sank. Prying myself from bed each morning felt like an Olympic event, and and my productivity surfaced in fickle waves throughout the day. Perhaps mandated movement and fresh air would break up my days and unlock consistent energy. If anything was going to save me from the deep winter blues known in the region as the “Big Dark,” I told myself, maybe it was bike commuting.
Seattle’s new City Council held its first Transportation Committee meeting Tuesday, and every member in attendance was a new Councilmember. The only returning Transportation Committee member is Dan Strauss (D6), but he was excused Tuesday because he was in Olympia on city business. Chair Rob Saka (D1), vice-chair Joy Hollingsworth (D3), and members Bob Kettle(D7) and Tanya Woo (interim citywide) were there to hear an introduction to SDOT’s work from SDOT Director Greg Spotts.
The meeting was an opportunity to get a sense of the committee’s early dynamics. Only Saka and Kettle spoke at any length from the dais about their transportation opinions. Councilmember Woo asked questions about community outreach and Sound Transit station siting, but did not pontificate. CM Kettle’s bike lane misinformation ended up being the most notable takeaway from the committee’s first meeting, unfortunately. More on that below.
Saka opened reiterating some things he told Seattle Bike Blog recently, namely that he has “a heavy focus” on bridges and streets. “Representing District 1, which includes West Seattle, one of my goals is to make sure no other community in Seattle experiences what we experienced with a protracted closure of a critical bridge,” he said. “I also want to focus on safety and comfort of pedestrians and making real tangible progress on our Vision Zero goals in part through a once-in-a-generation investment in new sidewalk infrastructure.”
Before turning the mic over to Director Spotts, Saka also acknowledged the $1.2–$1.7 billion elephant in the room. “I look forward to a spirited discussion about the size and direction of the upcoming transportation levy with you all and members of the public.”
After years of major supply issues and high demand pushing the price of bikes out of reach for many people, prices have come crashing back down. This trend has been going on for much of the past year, which is one reason why so many bike shops in town are having a tough time or are closing entirely. But the extent of the price drop was on full display during Cascade Bicycle Club’s annual Seattle Bike Swap at Seattle Center over the weekend.
In fact, prices were dropping before our eyes during the swap, especially in the e-bike area. Vendors from a number of e-bike shops and makers were there to give people a chance to test ride bikes and get a deal on stale stock. But many of the price tags had hand-written price drops on them as the vendors tried to stay competitive with each other for similar products. It was like an old-fashioned gas price war between neighboring filling stations, except for e-bikes. The Bike Swap just so happened to coincide with a major sale from Rad Power Bikes, the budget e-bike industry leader in the U.S., who were selling bikes for some rather ridiculous prices. The RadTrike, an electric cargo tricycle, is currently listed on their website for $1,500, for example. A RadWagon longtail cargo bike is $1,800. A vendor for a different e-bike company near the Rad Power table told me they went ahead and marked some of their bikes down to the wholesale price.
Of course, this isn’t great news for the industry. But if you’ve been thinking about getting a bike, there are legitimately some great deals to be had at essentially every price level. My advice is to start by heading to a local bike shop to see what deals they have on the floor or what deals they can get from their wholesale suppliers. You may be surprised.
But the Bike Swap didn’t just show that e-bike prices are down. The price of a functional used pedal bike has also come back down to earth. As the supply of new bikes dried up during the early years of the pandemic, demand for used bikes also increased significantly. At points, it seemed like the price floor for any bike in riding condition was $500 or more. “Quality” used bikes, which I would define as any fully serviceable bike in decent condition (excludes many department store bikes and bikes with outdated proprietary parts), started even higher. But the consignment area at the Bike Swap showed that those days are over. I saw many quality bikes starting at $350 or so, which is much closer to the direct-sale price we were used to before the pandemic (buying from a shop, which includes professional service and a warranty, usually costs more). Quality used bikes are the lifeblood of urban cycling, providing an affordable entry point for a bike that is reliable and maintainable. For less than the average cost of owning a car for one month, you can buy a bike that will last for many years.
My advice for anyone looking for an affordable used bike, especially if you are new to cycling, is to buy from a local used bike shop rather than an online marketplace. Not only will the bikes be professionally maintained and warrantied, but they can also help you figure out the right size for your body. You can also test ride several to see what feels best.
After being closed for two weeks for construction, the 520 Bridge Trail reopened on schedule Friday.
The trail still has some temporary pavement and fencing, and there is still work to do before the walk/bike overpass is complete. But after many years of construction, the end is in sight. WSDOT’s 520 project website still lists 2024 as the completion date for all the Montlake area work. Accessing the Arboretum and the Lake Washington Loop bike route will be much easier. Aside from the immediate area, all this has significant implications for bike access across the city and region.
But for now, it’s just nice to be able to bike across the lake again without detouring all the way to I-90. And I wasn’t the only one who felt this way this afternoon. There were already a bunch of people biking across the lake while I was there. I don’t know how so many people already heard the news it was open. Perhaps they all heard the latest song from WSDOT:
Cascade Bicycle Club’s annual Seattle Bike Swap is Saturday (February 3) at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. The flea market is a treasure trove of bike stuff from local bike business and DIY bike geeks. You can find rare and odd stuff as well as deals on used bikes and parts.
Doors open for general admission at 9 a.m. and close at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door or $8 if you buy online by the end of today (February 1). If you want a chance to get the first crack at everything, you can pay $25 at the door (or $20 online) to get in at 8 a.m. Kids 15 and under are free.
Cascade will also host an expanded “E-Bike Expo” during the Bike Swap to give people a chance to check out and test ride a wide range of e-bike options. This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in an e-bike because there’s no better way to know which bike will work for you than to try it yourself. Seattle has some great brick-and-mortar e-bike shops, some of which will be at the swap, but some online-only (and online-mostly) companies will be there, too. I get asked about budget e-bikes all the time, and I am reluctant to advise someone to buy a bike without trying it first. But I also understand how appealing the prices can be, especially right now when many are on significant discount for the first time in years. Well, here’s your chance to try them out.
Even if you’re not looking for anything in particular, the Bike Swap is a fun bike community space. Just try not to take on any projects you can’t actually finish. Yes, I’m talking to you.
If there were any concerns that a controversial push to kill the planned protected bike lanes on Eastlake Ave might succeed, Senator Patty Murray and Mayor Bruce Harrell just put that idea to bed for good.
“When we’re done here, we will new and upgraded stations, miles of new transit-only lanes, as well as new protected bike lanes, which will all help connect the U District with Eastlake and South Lake Union neighborhoods all the way to downtown,” said Senator Murray during a press event Friday. “And when we’re done, this won’t just mean fewer cars on the road and less time spent in traffic, it is also going to help us lower greenhouse emissions while creating 250 jobs.”
Construction is scheduled to start “as soon as” this year. Bus service should begin in 2027, though the bike lanes will hopefully be operational before then. A more detailed construction schedule is not yet available.
The joint press conference between Seattle and federal officials celebrated the $64.2 million in Federal Transit Administration funds that will go to the project, which will also replace a water main under Eastlake Ave and repave roadways. The budget for everything, including the water main and King County Metro station services, is about $167 million from seven sources, according to the Mayor’s Office:
“$64.2 million from the FTA Small Starts Grant and an additional $9.6 million from the Federal Highway Administration. In addition to the federal funding, the Washington State Department of Transportation and the University of Washington will each contribute $6 million to the project. The City will provide $43 million, mostly from the Levy to Move Seattle. Seattle Public Utilities also plans to invest an additional $28 million to build a new water main, which will be completed at the same time but is considered a separate project. In addition to providing daily bus service, Metro is contributing over $10 million toward station amenities and staff resources.”
To receive the Zoom link and meeting agendas, visit Central Seattle Greenways’ website at http://centralseattlegreenways.com to subscribe to our Google Group or email us at centralseattlegreenways@gmail.com.ShareMastodonTwitterFacebookRedditEmail
Details from Squeaky Wheels: A fun and informative evening with Tom Fucoloro, author of the new book Biking Uphill in the Rain. Tom’s book details the long history of bicycles and transportation policy in Seattle,[…]
Meet up in the center of the park at 7ish. Leave at 730. Every Thursday from now until forever rain or shine. Bikes, beers, illegal firepits, nachos, bottlerockets, timetraveling, lollygagging, mechanicals, good times.ShareMastodonTwitterFacebookRedditEmail
