Brevets - Event View

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Come Celebrate International Women's Day 2023!

Once again SIR is organizing a populaire to celebrate International Women's Day. This ride is open to all current RUSA members — all genders, LGBTQ+, non-binary, agender individuals, all religions, all worldviews, all political views, all cultures, all countries… EVERYONE! (Well... everyone with active RUSA and SIR memberships.)

Route Description

RUSA Route #2907 "Divas Populaire"

2022 Pre-ride report by Mark Thomas

The route starts from Diva Espresso with easy flat riding along the Burke Gilman / Sammamish River Trail and a short bit of Woodinville streets before hitting the first big climb of the ride at about 9 kilometers in. Probably the toughest climb of the ride – 2.5K at an average 7.5% grade. The route bounces along past Cottage Lake on Woodinville Duvall Road, which can be busy, but has pretty decent shoulders. Next is the climb to and over Old Woodinville Duvall Road (look for the information control) followed by a fast descent to the Snoqualmie River Valley. Part of this descent is back on Woodinville-Duvall Road with minimal shoulders, impatient drivers, and a traffic light at the bottom. Be careful.

The next part of the route is mostly flat riding in the Snoqualmie and Skykomish River valleys, punctuated by one nasty little climb on Ben Howard Road and a couple of smaller ones. Halfway into the ride you reach the town of Sultan after crossing the main rail line and US-2. We stopped at the next control location – the new Good Brewing place where Timber Monster used to be. The signage for the brewery is better from US-2 than it is from the route on Main Street. Just look to the left in the first block after the turn onto Main. Good Brewing is open in the mornings (7am on Saturday) and offers coffee, beer, and a nice menu of food. We opted for a burgers stop and were not disappointed. Friendly folks, good beer, and tater tots – what else could you want?

Leaving the control, the route uses the nearly new bike/ped bridge over the Sultan River. Rather than joining US-2, the calmest route is to use path and shoulder up to the next traffic light. Old Owen Road has another tough hill – about a kilometer at 8%+ average. After the climb, though, it's flat and downhill back to Monroe and the Skykomish River. The route uses a couple of back streets in Monroe and misses most support options, but there is a 7-11 about a block off course on E Main Street (just past the turn onto N Woods Street. Once the route joins WA-203 / Lewis Street, it does pass a park on the left that has water and bathrooms. Just past the park are two bridges with lousy pavement and no shoulder, so be cautious. Watch also for the rumble strips shortly after the second bridge.

Soon the route turns off 203 back onto Tualco Road in the reverse direction as outbound. After crossing the Snoqualmie River, the route turns right onto High Bridge Road (the outbound route is off to the left). A short climb is followed by some rolling terrain and then down to the Snohomish River valley farmlands. The next big climb starts right after Bob's Corn and Pumpkin farm and continues past several turns – onto Broadway, onto 172nd, and onto Interurban Boulevard. The top of the hill is at the WA-9 crossing. The route crosses 9 at an intersection with no traffic light, so be cautious and patient and wait for a good size gap. (All the drivers seem to be in a big hurry to get somewhere).

After WA-9, the route continues on Interurban Boulevard. There is a bit of tricky navigation after the turn onto busy 180th Street SE. Immediately after that turn, the route turns right again through some bollards. If you get to 59th Ave, you missed it. The final information control is shortly after that – right after turning south (left) onto 51st Ave SE (look for the speed limit sign). 51st Ave leasts to 196th Street / Jewell Avenue and one more slightly tricky bit of navigation. Jewell Street turns left and then just before it meets York Road it becomes a one-lane, one-way street in the opposite direction. Use the sidewalk if necessary to reach York Road and take caution turning left on York.

It's a nice downhill cruise the rest of the way. A short section of the North Creek trail is gravel and traffic can be a little busy through Bothell on the way to the trail. The finish is at Stoup Brewing, across the plaza from Diva Espresso. Stoup has a super annoying ordering system, but good beer and pizza. (Other food and drink as well, but I can't vouch for any of it).

Trinkets:

In addition to the usual RUSA trinkets, special International Women's Day patches & stickers are available for purchase here: https://inspyrdmovement.org/store

Parking:

Plenty of parking is available at the Kenmore Park & Ride.

Food

Beer, wine, non-alcoholic drinks and great food are available for purchase from Stoup Brewing Kenmore.

Finish:

Stoup Brewing Kenmore
6704 NE 181st St
Kenmore, WA 98028

Route and Cuesheet

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38691341 [FINAL]

Note: Printed cuesheets will not be available at the start. You may choose to print your own. To print the cuesheet from the route page, click the More button, then select Print Cuesheet.

General Rules

• All riders are required to have read and signed a waiver (part of the online event registration) before beginning the ride.
• All riders must comply with local traffic laws as well as RUSA's Rules for Riders.
• All riders must have front and rear lights, a reflective vest or sash, and reflective ankle bands. See RUSA Article 10 for details. Be prepared to show these to the ride organizer at the start. Lights should be on during any low-light conditions (rain, fog, night, tunnels, etc).
• If you cannot finish a ride and must abandon (DNF), please contact the organizer ASAP using the phone number on the brevet control card.
• Electronic Proof of Passage (EPP) is available on some rides at the organizer's discretion.
  • If you are using EPP, please text or email your Strava or RideWithGPS link to the organizer within 24 hours of finishing.
  • The ride organizer's contact information is available on the SIR event page (you must be logged in to see this information).
  • The ride organizer will reply to confirm that your EPP was received.
  • Failure to send the ride link to the organizer within 24 hours may result in no RUSA credit for the ride.
  • Volunteers may also be at the finish in case you want to instantly EPP validate in person.
  • Photos at controls are optional but highly recommended as an alternative EPP backup in case of a GPS track failure.
• If you use a brevet control card rather than EPP, you must turn in your signed card at the ride finish.
• Regardless of if you use EPP or a brevet control card, you must check-in with the organizer or a volunteer at the start, the finish, at any overnight controls.