EDITOR’S NOTE: Thanks again to Brock Howell of Bike Happy for putting together this comprehensive weekly newsletter.

TOP THINGS TO KNOW & DO

1. Bike Month has begun. Have you taken the challenge?
2. It’s also Womxn’s Bike Month.
3. And Bike to School Month.
4. The mayors of Everett & Mukilteo are challenging one another to see which of their communities bikes the most to parks, libraries, boats, and more during Bike Month.

Every year, a bike theft epidemic rages from May through October, claiming thousands of bicycles in Seattle.

If your bike is ever stolen, you will need a record of its serial number, a description, and photos — and a community of caring people looking out for your bike. That’s what Bike Index provides.  It’s independent, free, and easy.

More than 70% of returned stolen bikes in Seattle is thanks to Bike Index.  If enough bikes get registered, we can both recover more bikes and prevent the bike theft epidemic. List your bike on BikeIndex.org.

SOCIAL, LIFESTYLE, & ADVENTURE

UPCOMING ACTIVITIES​

• All Week
  • Bike Everywhere Month
  • Womxn’s Bike Month
  • Bike to School Month
  • Inky Spokes Bicycle Art Show at the Vera Project (all month)
• Friday, May 4
  • 6-8pm, Free Basics of Bicycling Class, at Chainline brewing hosted by the Kirkland Downtown Association
  • 6-8pm, 2nd Cycle Tacoma’s Ladies’ Night (Demos + Open Shop)
• Saturday, May 5
  • 9am-1:30pm, Cinco de Mayo Ride (Lacey)
  • 11am-1:30pm, Tacoma Velofemmes Women + Girls Ride
  • 4-8pm, The Pollinator Alleycat: Cinco De Mayo Edition
• Sunday, May 6
  • 9am, Cascade’s Seattle Bike-n-Brews Ride
  • Noon-4pm, West Seattle Fixers’ Collective DIY Bike Repair
  • 1-4pm, HeadStrong’s & Outdoors For All’s Adaptive Bicycle Day
  • 1-4pm, Kingston Bike Rodeo
  • 3-6pm, Tacoma STEEL WHEEL Alleycat
• Monday, May 7
  • 6:30-9:30pm, Moxie Monday Monthly Ride
  • 5-8pm, WTF Adventure Happy Hour
• Thursday, May 10
  • 7-9pm, Get Lost Academy: Intro to Bike Camping by Swift Industries
• Friday, May 11
  • 5:30pm, WA Bikes’ Bike Month Challenge Captain’s Bash

ARTICLES & POSTS

• Bike Month
  • For Bike Month, Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin and Mukilteo Mayor Jennifer Gregerson are challenging each other and their communities to see who can achieve the most of five challenges, including riding to parks, libraries, fire stations, boats, and historic landmarks, and posting the most selfie photos to social media. Everett Post.
  • “Sun & Bikes Out!” SDOT.
  • “Get ready to ride,” Bellevue Reporter.
  • Bike to school day is May 9. Redmond Patch.
• E-Bikes
  • “What to know when you’re buying an electric bicycle,” Seattle Times.
  • “E-bike craze officially hits Seattle,” Crosscut.
• More
  • Kids rent three Lime bikes and take turns riding up & down their street. Biking in the Rain.
  • A new 17-mile Raging River State Forest mountain bike trail system will open May 19. Everett Herald.
  • “Do you travel to or from the Eastside? You gotta give biking the 520 Bridge a try,” SBB.
  • “How to Test Tire Performance,” Jan Heine’s Blog.
  • Prince of Peace Preschool Trike-a-Thon raises funds for Seattle Children’s Hospital. Everett Herald.
  • “Start your summer biking the right way at Bike Rodeo,” Kitsap Daily News.
  • “How to keep your bike safe, secure,” Cascadia Times.

POLICY & INFRASTRUCTURE

ACTION

• • Apply to have your building named best for bicycling parking in the Seattle region.
  • Tell the King County Public Health Board to repeal the bicycle helmet law.
  • RSVP for the May 18 Ride & Rally in Seattle.

UPCOMING EVENTS​

Tuesday, May 8

• Noon-1pm, TCC Transit Talks: Ride & Ride
• 5:30-7:30pm, Urbanist meetup with Shaun Scott
• 7:30-9pm, Licton-Haller & Greenwood-Phinney Greenways meeting

NEWS

• Seattle – Downtown & Move Seattle Levy
  • The 2nd Avenue Protected Bikeway Extension has officially opened. Urbanist.
  • You should have a heart attack for a project that improved access and safety for people biking, walking, and driving on 2nd Avenue, says Danny Westneat. Seattle Times, MyNw.
  • Four new blocks of protected bike lanes on 7th Avenue costs $3.8 million. By comparison, Sound Transit has a 550-stall parking garage in Kent that will cost $65 million, more than $30 million over budget. Reason.
  • SDOT seems set to cut bikeway projects from the Move Seattle Levy’s project list. KIRO7, MyNw,
• Seattle – Bikeshare (+ helmets)
  • Ofo warns riders that vandals may have cut brake lines of their bikeshare bikes. GeekWire.
  • Like all biking in Seattle, bikeshare use decreased in the winter rain months. Seattle Times.
  • Long-time helmet activist Dr. Rivara admits risk of head injury on a bike is very low, and much lower for people riding bikeshare bikes. And yet he he cites his own discredited research of helmet efficacy to raise alarm over the risk of increased numbers of people biking on bikeshare without helmets. Oof. KUOW.
• Seattle – E-bikes
  • E-bikes will likely soon be allowed on most of Seattle’s multi-use trails. MyNw.
• Seattle – More
  • Am I a gangster? Dori Monson.
  • Design firms held a community workshop for redesigning the 15th Ave E business district on Capitol Hill. CHS Blog.
• South King County
  • Kent is adding colored LED architectural lighting underneath the Highway 167 / West Meeker Street overpass to improve the aesthetics and the safety of the underpass for people driving, bicycling, and walking. Kent Reporter.

SPORT

UPCOMING EVENTS

• Friday, May 4
  • 11am-5pm, Tour de Bloom, Stage 1: Arlberg Sports Plain Road Race
• Saturday, May 5
  • NW Cup Downhill Series: Dry Run in Port Angeles
  • 7-11am, Tour de Bloom, Stage 2: Mission Ridge Time Trial
  • 2:30-10pm, Tour de Bloom, Stage 3: Biosports Physical Therapy Twilight Criterium
• Sunday, May 6
  • NW Cup Downhill Series: Dry Run in Port Angeles
• Monday, May 7
  • 6-9pm, JBMV Track Beginners Night
• Wednesday, May 9
  • 5:30-8pm, NW MTB: Wednesday Night Worlds (SeaTac)
• Thursday, May 10
  • 5-7pm, Seward Park Crit Series (Seattle)
  • 6-9pm, JBMV Track Beginners Night

ARTICLES

• “Pedal power in Port Angeles as NW Cup returns,” Peninsula Daily News.

SAVE THE DATES

• Bike Everywhere Day, May 18
• Seattle Ride & Rally, May 18
• Bicycle Sundays: Twelve Sundays, May 20 – Sept. 16
• Obliteride, Aug. 11

JOBS

Bike Maintenance & Retail
Mechanics & Retail Staff, Gregg’s Cycles

Bike Product Industry
Sales and Marketing Specialist, Sportworks
Director of Sales and Marketing, Sportworks
Product Design and Development Engineer, Sportworks

Bike Education & Training
Major Taylor Ride Leader/Instructor, Cascade
Summer Camp Head Counselor, Cascade
Summer Camp Counselor, Cascade
Counselor-in-Training (Seasonal), Cascade
Bicycle Specialist – Recreation Leader II, City of Auburn
Specialized Recreation Cycling Assistant – Recreation Leader I, City of Auburn

Commute Services & Other Outreach
Sounders FC Bike Valet Parking Manager & Assistants, Bike Works

Policy, Planning, & Engineering
East King County Policy Manager, Cascade
Designer – Level 1, Alta
Group Leaders – Senior Associates, Alta
Public Space Management Inspector, SDOT
Supervising Project Manager, SDOT
Transportation Planning Intern, Bellevue (5/11)
Multimodal Transportation Planning Specialist 3, WSDOT (5/24)
Corridor Planning Manager, WSDOT
System Wide Planning Manager, WSDOT

Communications, Development, & Management
Development & Communications Coordinator, Bike Works
Program Coordinator, Bike Works
Staff Accountant, Cascade

STOLEN BIKES

In the past week, ten bikes were reported as stolen to SPD, not counting stolen bikes part of burglaries and assaults. Help fight back by (1) registering your bike on Bike Index, and (2) always locking up your bike with a U lock, even inside a bike room. Bicycle Security Advisors provides additional information on how to keep your bike safe.

SUBSCRIBE

Subscribe here to get the Bike Happy newsletter delivered to your inbox every Thursday.