It’s not that Dorothé Reijnders didn’t bike before.
“I’m from the Netherlands. Over there, we bike because we need to go from A to B,” she said.
But it wasn’t until she bought a road bike and then started training two years ago for a 200-plus mile ride that she “got hooked.”
“It took me a long time to figure out you can do this for fun,” she said.
In no time, Reijnders was joining group rides through Cascade Bicycle Club.
Then the south Everett woman realized something.
She was driving her car as far as Renton to ride her bike, only to hop back in the car and drive home.
“I have a bigger carbon footprint than I did before,” she recalls thinking.
So she started leading group rides of her own closer to home.
She’s now one of more than a dozen group ride leaders guiding folks down trails and roadways in and through Snohomish County, multiple days per week, every week of the year.
The increasing number of recreational opportunities like those group rides points to the rising popularity of bicycling. Now, local cycling enthusiasts hope to encourage further growth.
Reijnders will be at the first-ever Snohomish County Bike Bash set for 10 a.m.-3 p.m. July 25 at McCollum Park, 600 128th St. SE in south Everett.
The event is organized by Community Transit’s Curb the Congestion program and Snohomish County Parks and Recreation to encourage modes of transportation beyond the single-driver vehicle and an awareness of local trails.
The free event is geared at all skill levels and features a bike rodeo, one-mile group ride with BIKES Club of Snohomish County, $10 helmets and helmet fittings by Cascade Bicycle Club, BMX track racing ($10 to support Leukemia and Lymphoma Society), bike licensing, a bus bike rack demonstration, vendors and more.
Reijnders will help with helmet fittings and sales.
Besides her involvement with Cascade Bicycle Club (where she’s known for handing out cookies on her group rides), Reijnders also commutes by bike to Ash Way Park and Ride, stores her bike in a locker there, then hops a bus for her job at the University of Washington.
Still, she doesn’t consider herself a pro.
“In the cycling world, I’m just a little newbie,” she said. “To me it’s just two wheels, a saddle and handlebars.” But she enjoys listening to other cyclers, who talk in detail about their bikes, and give her tips. There’s a lot to learn from others through a cycling community, she noted.
Astrid Bear agreed. “And there’s nothing quite like a well-earned cookie or beer after a long ride,” she added.
The Lynnwood woman also leads rides through Cascade Bicycle Club, after picking up bicycling in earnest four years ago — going from a heavy cruiser to a light road bike.
“It’s a slippery slope,” she said. “You just kind of want to go farther and faster. … It’s fun. When you’re whipping down a hill, it feels like you’re flying.”
Cycling is nice for more practical reasons, too, Bear said. She gets exercise while accomplishing errands, taking in a scenery dotted by the scent of flowers and the buzzing of dragonflies along the way.
“You can stop and say ‘hi’ to someone easily. You don’t have to worry about traffic,” Bear said.
Reijnders said the view of the world from a bike is one of cycling’s biggest draws.
“You think you’ve seen it all — but you’re always driving on the main roads. And as a cyclist, you’re avoiding those,” she said. “There’s something for everybody, on a bike.”
BIKES Club of Snohomish County also offers several group rides, including one called Pedal Pushers, which is aimed at older adults in a partnership with the Lynnwood Senior Center.
See a list of upcoming group bike rides on the “Biking in Snohomish County” blog post.
The recreation-focused BIKES Club’s latest newsletter cheered its members on, noting individual milestones ranging from 12 miles to more than 1,500 miles for the year so far.
For this weekend’s Bike Bash, participants are encouraged to bring their own bicycles and helmets. Practice bikes will be on hand for those who do not have their own. For more information about the event, visit www.communitytransit.org/BikeBash.
Have a question? Email us at streetsmarts@heraldnet.com. Please include your name and city of residence. Look for updates on our Street Smarts blog.
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