Cascade Bicycle Club

I’ve been a member off and on for the past 22 years, mainly so I can get early registration for the STP, RSVP and Flying Wheels rides.
In the past five years the organization has really degraded. They are no longer interested in the members, but promoting an ideology of anti-​car.
They are not concerned about the cyclists safety on their rides, but more raising money for their anti-​car initiatives.
The straw that broke the camel’s back was the 2016 Flying Wheels ride. The 104 mile course and communication to the communities was horrible.
The commentary from Cascade after the event was «we’ve held the event on the same Saturday of the month every year». So what! Times change and if you really want to make it a great event make changes for improvement.
This year, the ride was on the same day as a running event and Duval Days. This caused a huge traffic overload in the communities which really pissed off the drivers. Communicating with those communities and with other events would help make things less obtrusive to the residents of those communities.
It should be switched to Sunday to reduce traffic impact.
The course also went through Fall City, which was awful since the main street was really crowded with cars. North Bend was only bad at one intersection where the drivers were angry due to the inconsiderate cyclists riding two and three abreast. They were driving at 50 mph in a 35 mph zone.
During the entire ride I didn’t see any safety or ride monitors and only 2 medic volunteers. I rode the 104 miles, so you would think I would see more.
The worst part was the amount of litter that was being dumped by the cyclists. I always put my wrappers in my pocket if I’m not near a trash bin. I witnessed several cyclist tossing gel wrappers, banana peels and other items on the side of the road. Ill mannered idiots.
The «genius» that designed the course forgot that there’s a lot of traffic coming down the Issaquah-​Beaver Lake road. The main intersection at the bottom of the hill was loaded with cyclists causing everyone to wait for 3 light cycles.
Oh yeah, then after going through May Valley went through Bellevue on streets that weren’t really suited for the amount of bike traffic the ride generated. The amount of car exhaust we rode through was so bad, we might as well have been sucking on the he tail pipe of the cars around us.
Save your money and sanity and don’t join the Cascade, register for the rides when it opens to the public. If it sells out, start watching Craigslist a month before the event. You can buy the ticket at face value or just ride bandit and bring your own food an water.
In my opinion it’s no longer worth it to be a part of the Cascade Bicycle Club. I’m not renewing my membership after this year’s runs out.

My 10yo daughter was trying so hard to ride her hand-​me-​down bike but could just not get fully going — she’d get nervous and hop off the bike right after pushing the pedal down. As a lapsed cyclist who was never very good at it, I also sucked at teaching it :) Hello, Cascade Bicycle Club!
I paid for a lesson on the website, and her instructor (William G.) got in touch and set up a time. He checked over her bike carefully, and then explained her current bike was almost too big, and she needed to learn on something smaller until she got confident. Then he lent us a bike and took the pedals off and taught her how to balance and coast. He was very helpful and encouraging, and gave very specific feedback on how she did and what she needed to work on.
I got her a smaller bike on Craigslist, took the pedals off, and practicing at home, she got her balance right away. She practiced even more than he’d suggested. Next lesson the pedals went back on and she was riding around easily. She was so excited! We had paid for one more lesson for the next day, which William said she didn’t strictly need (she was now riding like other kids do), but it would take her to the next level. She had done so much that day, she almost wanted to stop there, but then changed her mind because she really wanted to be good at bike riding. He taught her a controlled stop, good gearing, and more. They rode all around Sand Point and she was so proud, stopping like experienced grownups do – she looked like she’d been doing it for years.
She loves riding now and would do it every day if she could. William was amazing and I can’t thank him enough for getting her on the road in just two very valuable lessons! I can’t say enough good things about our experience. My daughter signed up for their YMCA bicycle camp this summer too!

I registered in late May for the RSVP ride on August 16 – 17. At the end of last month, I developed a medical condition and was told by the doctor that I could not ride. I tried to cancel having paid a total of $ 390 for my wife and I, and I was told that there was no medical waiver, despite the fact that this was more than two weeks before the ride occurred. I was also not given the option of waiving my participation in this year’s ride and using the fee toward next year’s ride, nor was I given an option for a partial refund. There was absolutely no consideration on the part of this «club» to accommodate my medical condition.

I’ve attended indoor cycling class for 3 – 4 years. Last September, one of my cycling instructors invited me to Cascade Classic Color ride with her and her partner. That was my first connection with Cascade Bicycle Club.
After running and cycling indoor for that long, I’ve set up another goal to challenge myself by doing STP. Therefore, I joined Cascade Bicycle Club. I paid my membership $ 65 for two years. I thought the fee is very reasonable. There are a lot of benefits being a member:
1) All the Cascade Classic rides open to members first and get $ 5 discount for each ride
2) Cascade Bicycle Club offers bike maintenance classes or other biking related classes for members with discount and open to non-​members as well.
3) They send out newsletter which educates about city laws and more
4) There are tons of daily free ride with Cascade posted on Meetup
I went to a daily ride for STP training yesterday with Cascade Bicycle Club. There were like 40 ish people showing up. We were divided into two groups: 10 – 12 leisurely ride and 15 + fast ride. I joined the leisurely ride group. I had a great experience. The ride leader made sure we stay on the route and assist us if there’s any emergency like flat tires. The most touching part was that they mentioned, «no one will be left behind.» I feel so safe riding with them.
I highly recommend this club for safe ride around especially you are new to biking!
:-)

They would not give a refund expectation for an injury and their customer service in this situation was horrific. While the bike club does have some great rides and programs they should change the policy around injury refunds with a doctor’s approval.

just got done with my «Riding with Confidence» classes… awesome setup they have and great community out-​reach.
They have various classes for cyclists in training — young and old. :)

This group has been a home for many healthy and fun bike rides.
I used to go regularly 4 or 7 times per summer. I was always a bit behind the moderate group as my bike is heavy. and I never switched from mountain biek tires to those thin things. I didn’t mind. I was strong and fast and there was alway s one or 2 folks as slow as me.
They have programs for bicycle safety and for kids.
Their out-​reach and work with Seattle City has made many healthy and progrsessive changes which benefit bike riders, the over-​all transportation situation in Seattle and has educated many on how to ride safely and with great enjoyment.

Are yours Schrader or Presta? I now know which ones I have.
I took a class tonight called «Ancient Secrets of Bicycle Repair Part 1: Fix a Flat». It was held at the Cascade Bicycle Club offices at Sandpoint near Magnuson Park.
The instructor (Davy) was helpful, knew the subject matter, and was able to get through the course material in the allotted time. He also had a sense of humor which put many novices at ease. I learned a lot of good tips in regards to a pre-​ride safety check-​up and fixing flats and changing tires.
Any of these bike maintenance courses taught by the CBC Education Foundation require you to bring your bike and any tools you might have so you are able to learn by doing on your own bicycle. The two other courses of the series deal with gears and derailleurs and also brakes. I plan on taking both.
I would recommend checking out the Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation course schedule
The courses are cheap, only just $ 20, and you’ll make that up the first couple times you tune your brakes or fix a couple flats.

I have been a member of Cascade Bicycle Club since I participated in the STP (Seattle To Portland) when I was 12.
It is the largest cycling club in the United States with over 7,000 members. Through advocacy and education, it has been a big influence in turning Seattle into the bicycle-​friendly city it is today.
Cascade does an outstanding job hosting the STP, which is the largest cycling event in the US w/​9,000 riders this year.
If you live in the Northwest, cycle, and want to be a part of the grandest community of bikers ever, join Cascade.