A change in the weather dampened our turnout this morning but Frank and I were inspired by A.I. to believe we wouldn't get all that wet.  Day Glo full fenders and some Gore Tex made it a pretty nice day.  Took the Duamish and Lake to Sound trail to Renton.  After a brief, unsuccessful hunt for Mama Row's Carmels we settled on a quick stop for mediocre coffee served with a poor attitude at Boom Boona's.  Undeterred, we set a good pace up a deserted Lake Washington Blvd with an inspiring philosophical conversation all the way back to Fremont.   50 miles.

Ten registrants set out from Fremont to what now HAS to be known as the official taco shop of COGS, El Kiosko in Renton.    We reversed the route due to protests on the waterfront.  Southbound through Leschi is a bit more stressful than Northbound, but everyone rode safely and there were no issues. 

It was an eclectic group and everyone kept the pace as advertised.    After a well orchestrated lead out, Sabine pipped Thatcher for line honors at the "official Renton Airport sprint finish".  (if you know, you know) Thatcher "claimed" lack of knowledge of the sprint finish.  He knows now.  :)   

Newcomers to the Taco Ride agreed...Best traditional Fish Tacos in town.

COGS has a ZWIFT CLUB.   Search "COGS Seattle" on ZWIFT.   

Paul H and myself were the only participants in this 60 minute inaugural ride on a route called "Sugar Cookie".   Presumably the name originates from Navy Seals training on the beach.   The ride covers a lot of beach front in Watopia.    

If you have ZWIFT, Watch for more frequent rides starting mid November.  

Six COGS members adorned with lights rode from UW to Redmond along 520 to see the 50th anniversary races at Marymoor Park's, Jerry Baker Memorial Velodrome.   This was the first time most of the group had seen live track racing and a good time was had by all.  

Riding home along the Samm River and Burke Gilman trails in the dark was a fun experience.  Everyone had Outbound lights except me and spoke highly of this US made system.   I upgraded to the Outbound Club a couple weeks later.

Four of us boarded the Kitsap fast ferry for the 8:05 departure from Pier 50 to Southworth on a beautiful Monday morning, arriving in Southworth about 30 minutes later.  At Port Orchard we stopped for coffee and pastries at Mercantile Coffee Co (Mile 13).  The ride was pleasant with light traffic until we got to the intersection of Flora Road with State Highway 3 (mile 25).  Traffic on 3 was very heavy.  The shoulder was wide enough, but strewn with debris.  We arrived in Belfair to do some grocery shopping (mile 27) and then rode on to Belfair State Park along the narrow shoulder of State Highway 300.  We camped at the hiker/biker sites near the shower on Tree Loop.  I'd rate the campground here at a 6 on a scale of 10 - due to road noise and the poor condition of the shower.  Otherwise, an OK place to camp.  Total for the day 30 miles and 1,500 feet.

On Tuesday morning we headed south on a relatively quiet Highway 300 around the point to Tahuya, stopping for coffee at Summertide Resort (mile 43.3).  The paved road ends just a bit beyond Rendsland Creek.  The next 4.5 miles of NE Northshore Road are rough and hilly.  I'd recommend at least 40 mm tires unless you want to do a lot of hike-a-bike.  We stopped for lunch at Dewatto campground (mile 54.7).  The campground has no potable water supply, but I did find an outlet to recharge my phone while we ate.  We continued for another 21 miles and 1600 feet of climbing to Scenic Beach State Park.  We rented a full campsite which was close to the showers and a water supply, but was dusty and very noisy due to the presence of wild animals (raccoons, herons, and partying college kids).  Next time, I'd stay at one of the quieter and less dusty hiker/biker sites even though they are farther from the showers.  Total for the day 45.5 miles and 3,500 feet.

On the last day of the trip we returned to Seattle via the ferry from Bremerton.  Some sections of the ride were pleasant, but unfortunately Seabeck Highway is very busy with narrow shoulders - and there really isn't an alternative route that doesn't include this road.  We did enjoy a pleasant diversion around Lake Kitsap where I met an elderly gentleman who informed me that he used to ride with COGS - his name is Rich Davis and maybe some of you will remember him.  We took the auto ferry home to Seattle.  Total for the day 18.5 miles and 1,500 feet.  Photo below by Tony D from Day 2. Smoke from the Bear Gulch fire visible over the Olympics..

On a beautify Sunday in July, 7 members rode a very challenging ride from Southworth to Gig Harbor to Vashon and back to the start at the Fauntleroy ferry.  It was a great ride.  And, it was exhausting... at least for the ride leader. 

The highlight of the day was the frozen popsicle stand at a location not to be disclosed so it does not get overwhelmed with tourists and ruins it for the rest of us.  But, we will return next year... and maybe in August.

This was the last chance of the season to really get those base miles in.  Centralia to Seattle on Friday 106 miles.   STP in one day on Saturday 215 miles.   Portland to Centralia on Sunday 101 miles.     Barbara S. joined the challenge on day one and helped get us off to a good start.  In total the three days covered 422 miles.  COGS represented!

Eleven of us left Leschi on a beautiful Friday morning. We rode counterclockwise around the south end of Lake Washington. Beautiful views, little traffic, and an Osprey nest on the way to Gene Coulon Park, our first water and restroom stop. We had additional stops later at Medina City Hall/Police Station/Beach (see picture) and Kirkland Marina Park. Each stop was about 13-15 miles from the previous and the next. When we reached the 520 trail, two of our group went west back to Seattle. The remaining 9 riders went east to the Kirkland Eastrail, which is a former railroad line from Renton to Woodinville. We traveled 5 miles north along the compacted dirt and light gravel trail before turning west to a long, flowing downhill and then to downtown Kirkland where we saw the late stages of the Independence Day Parade. From Kirkland, we rode the 520 trail west to UW, where 5 of us headed home and 4 of us continued through the Arboretum back to Leschi and a post-ride Joe’s Special (scrambled eggs with chopped meat and spinach) and a beer at the Bluwater Bistro. The weather cooperated and we all had a great time.

Four rides were hosted this weekend!!  A record??    We hosted two more novice friendly, sub 10 mile rides on quiet roads or trails.  Turnout was small but fun and enthusiastic.   COGS members are encouraged to chat these rides up to friends and family.  

Saturday was North End Hills from UW.   Juanita, Simmons, Norway and Perkins had our climbing legs working.   A large group of strong women and men challenged the group to push their personal limits.  Of course, in perfect COGS style we regrouped after the climbs and congratulated each other on solid work done. 

Sunday was UW Marymoor Issaquah Bellevue.  Pretty casual ride with four of us.   We pushed the pace on the climb out of Issaquah and regrouped for an easy spin back through Bellevue and 520

This past weekend COGS and MBBC combined for a bike camping weekend to commemorate Bike Travel Weekend the first weekend of June.  5 COGS members and 2 MBBC members met up at the Fairhaven Amtrak terminal in Bellingham. We were blessed with one of the warmest weekends as summer is approaching. This year we had to navigate around the closing of Chuckanut Drive, but we had the opportunity to be on quieter country roads along the way to Anacortes. Probably the most important stop of the day was at Mad Hatter's Ice Cream before we headed to Washington Park for the night. Those who wandered to the shore saw a spectacular sunset.

On Day 2 we ended up having a brisk ride with tailwinds along the Cascade Trail. Burlington was the halfway point for a very nice lunch stop at The Fairhaven. The most adventure we had for the day was staying out of a short mud section of the trail and having a few brief and shallow stream crossings. We reached camp in time to enjoy the Skagit River by Rasar State Park and had a great walk-in campsite. The tuckered out cyclists hit the sack by 9:00 PM.

On Day 3 the early risers woke up with the birds singing. We headed back to Bellingham via Cascade Trail to Sedro-Woolley while Richard Petters took some very nice side roads instead to enjoy a beautiful Sunday morning. Sedro-Woolley had their ‘Blast From the Past’ street fest with an antique car show going on. After a nice break we took a very nice route back to Bellingham on quiet country roads until traffic started picking up again as we approached Bellingham. We ended up covering about 135 miles over 3 days and everyone's legs felt it towards the end, especially with the last climbs into Bellingham. But the descent down Old Samish Road felt good to finish off the weekend.

Even if you couldn’t make it this time this is a recommended 3 day trip you should consider doing that is close enough to Seattle, yet may seem far away at the same time. The routes are always available on RWGPS.