Monthly Archives: August 2021

by | August 24, 2021 · 1:17 pm

Chehalis Western Trail Construction

Contributed by Josh Morse

Thurston County is improving a section of the Chehalis Western Trail (CWT) between Lacey and Rainier. The CWT is closed now between 89th Ave SE and 103rd Ave SE with a scheduled reopening on September 15, 2021.

Thurston County Project Site

There was not an obvious detour instruction on the trail.  When riding from the north (away from Olympia/Lacey) the following route will bypass the construction and rejoin the trail:

  • Ride east 1 mile on 89th AVE SE to right turn on Rainier Rd
  • Go 0.9 miles to Right/south on Stedman Rd
  • Ride 2.8 miles on Stedman Rd to left turn to rejoin CWT. 

The reverse works for the return. The detour adds about 2 miles each direction. 
There is a good size shoulder on Rainier Rd, less so on Stedman Rd but traffic is lighter than on Rainier Rd. 
Olympia/Lacey Area Trails Update- Impact on:

  • 100k Permanents 2985 and 3056
  • 200k Permanent 749

Comments Off on Chehalis Western Trail Construction

Filed under Notable Detours, Permanents

by | August 18, 2021 · 11:52 pm

Summer 400 km Pacific Beach Brevet Pre-Ride Report

Pre-drive by Bill Gobie

This ride starts and ends in Bremerton. If you have not been to the Seattle ferry terminal recently give yourself plenty of time to find the entrance. You can buy your ferry ticket online. The “mobile delivery” option will give you a bar code that can be scanned from your phone. If you are riding onto the ferry you can use the bike scanner to the right of the vehicle lanes at the fare booths.

The route is final pending a final review. The link (same as on the SIR ride page): https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37118933

The biggest changes from the previous running of this route are:

  • Massive rerouting of the southwest corner of the route due to horrible construction on WA-109. I think the inland route from Copalis Beach is nicer anyway.
  • Slight rerouting in Hoquiam and Aberdeen.
  • The grill at You & I Market in Pacific Beach is not operating. The store has the usual convenience store items, but fresh teriyaki or burgers are not available.
  • All intermediate controls are info controls.

Other points:

  • The gravel portion of Cougar-Smith Rd is in very good condition. There are no large holes. Stretches are extremely rough, however.
  • Slower riders will have to cover the final 125 km from Montesano without resupplying.

Full disclosure: The picture was taken about 5pm near Union. Only very fast riders will get to view this scene… perhaps make this a stretch goal!

Comments Off on Summer 400 km Pacific Beach Brevet Pre-Ride Report

Filed under Brevets, SIR Rides, Uncategorized

by | August 13, 2021 · 9:24 pm

Permanent Route Updates

Robert Hendry designed a new route, 04176 PTQ-Pretty Flat for this Side, 100 km. Flat Earth Randonneurs will be disappointed to learn the route is in Jefferson County, which is mostly unflat.

By popular demand (well actually one person asked for it), the canceled Summer 400 km brevet from Issaquah to Yakima Valley & back was turned into a permanent, 04180 Wet Side-Dry Side, 403 km. About half of this route is on the gravel Snoqualmie Valley and Palouse to Cascades Trails. Intermediate controls on the brevet were removed to allow one to free-route on even more gravel on the PTC east of Cle Elum.

Comments Off on Permanent Route Updates

Filed under Permanent Change, Permanents, Uncategorized