Bisque had the great idea to go to the Canadian gulf islands for a bike trip over the July 4th weekend and I was so in. I had two other friends that had gone the last year and had all come back sunkissed and blissed out from hanging out on beaches and eating pastries. I was so excited! The Canadian gulf islands are a series of islands off the north coast of Vancouver Island which are connected by a network of ferries.
Read MoreMy partner and I have a bad track record of trying to hike or ride in the mountains too early. We’re both from warmer places (California & Georgia) so, even after 8 years of living here we both get a little confused. Last year we tried to backpack around Mount Baker in early July and were thwarted by thick snow cover, this time we tried to bike around the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in late May and also ran into a lot of snow. I was trying to come up with a fun and simple backcountry route for an upcoming Friends on Bikes campout and this was not the one.
Read MoreI was looking for an medium-intensity backcountry route for the fall and I found the Fire and Ice Cave Loop by Molly Sugar. It seemed to have the sweet spot of being close-ish to home, having lots of camping options, and not being super punchy.
Read MoreMy friend Katie is a very intrepid cyclist and most of the cool stuff I do can be attributed to how cool she is, especially since she’s so much faster than I am. She invited me to ride the Red Meadow Pass Loop in Montana in July with some other bike friends from the Pacific Northwest.
Read MoreI LOVE hot springs. So much. I used to live in Colorado and would be out finding hot springs several weekends a month. Since I moved to the Pacific Northwest I have been in search of nice natural hot springs, but it has been tough. Most of the nice springs in the Pacific Northwest are concentrated in Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia which is more convenient than going all the way to the Southwest, but still not as nice as having it close to home.
Read MoreI have been really fortunate to be learning, growing, and organizing with Friends on Bikes (FOB), a cycling community for trans, women, intersex, and gender nonconforming Black, Indigenous, and People of the Global Majority. The group started in Portland with Molly Sugar and grew to include sibling chapters in Seattle and Toronto. In July 2021 FOB hosted its first bike camping trip since 2018, when the original organizer, SJ Brooks, passed. We are fortunate to carry on their legacy of organizing for underrepresented genders and racial/ethnic/cultural backgrounds in cycling.
Read MoreThe Bikery has become well known for its accessible bike camping throughout the beautiful Seattle summers. This was my first time going on one of the trips and it did not disappoint. Registration for the campout took place online in the weeks before the ride, which was the weekend of the summer solstice. Registration was $5/person to cover the cost of the campsite reservations, but nobody is ever turned away from Bikery events for their ability to pay.
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