Bike race on the shoulder of I-90 (WA)

[Christian]

I just got back from a three week stay in Western Washington (Seattle/Tacoma area) to visit my girlfriend and her family.

One day we decided to take a roadtrip to Yakima over in Eastern Washington because it's a really nice drive, the landscape is completely different from the Western part and it was prime peaches and apricots season.

Anywho so we're driving on I-90 East from Seattle to Yakima on a Saturday morning, it must have been August 7th, when suddenly we see a sign on the side of the highway, saying "Caution: Bike race". Unfortunately I can't remember what area we were exactly in, but we were still in the mountains and it was green and all, I'm thinking it was shortly after leaving Pierce County.

And sure enough, soon we start seeing tons of hobby bikers (it must have been close to a hundred total) scattered in groups riding on the shoulder of the interstate. I mean you could see it wasn't a competitive race but still it was a whole lot of bikers.

Mind you at this point I-90 is a 4 lane highway with speed limit 70 mph (ca. 110 km/h) for cars and 60 mph (ca. 95 km/h) for trucks. And there was a lot of traffic too, a whole bunch of trucks and huge RV's. So these trucks would just go past the bikers at 60mph or more with nothing but a white line in between them.

The worst of it was though that the bikers would cross entrances and exits. They might have closed up some of the entrances but the exits were all open, and it just looked like a terrible accident waiting to happen, cause obviously the cars can't stop on the freeway and wait for the riders to cross. And one point I saw a truck which had stopped on the shoulder due to some mechanical problem I imagine, and the riders had to go past it (luckily there seemed to be enough room to pass it on the right).

I posted a thread a while ago about a group of radical cyclists calles "Crimanimalz" who cycle on LA's freeways during rush hour to protest for alternate ways of transportation, but I have no idea why these people decided it would be a good idea to do part of their race on the shoulder of an Interstate highway. I would absolutely hate to do that, I'd be terrified. Plus it was really scaryn for the drivers too.

This really sounds like something a European would make up to make fun of cycling in the US, but I swear it's true.

Are there any Washingtonians out there who heard of this, or maybe even participated? Is there a point that I'm missing - like did they want to protest? Or has anyone ever seen something similar in their home state?

I'm confused

 

[Oldman]

I just got back from a three week stay in Western Washington (Seattle/Tacoma area) to visit my girlfriend and her family.

One day we decided to take a roadtrip to Yakima over in Eastern Washington because it's a really nice drive, the landscape is completely different from the Western part and it was prime peaches and apricots season.

Anywho so we're driving on I-90 East from Seattle to Yakima on a Saturday morning, it must have been August 7th, when suddenly we see a sign on the side of the highway, saying "Caution: Bike race". Unfortunately I can't remember what area we were exactly in, but we were still in the mountains and it was green and all, I'm thinking it was shortly after leaving Pierce County.

And sure enough, soon we start seeing tons of hobby bikers (it must have been close to a hundred total) scattered in groups riding on the shoulder of the interstate. I mean you could see it wasn't a competitive race but still it was a whole lot of bikers.

Mind you at this point I-90 is a 4 lane highway with speed limit 70 mph (ca. 110 km/h) for cars and 60 mph (ca. 95 km/h) for trucks. And there was a lot of traffic too, a whole bunch of trucks and huge RV's. So these trucks would just go past the bikers at 60mph or more with nothing but a white line in between them.

The worst of it was though that the bikers would cross entrances and exits. They might have closed up some of the entrances but the exits were all open, and it just looked like a terrible accident waiting to happen, cause obviously the cars can't stop on the freeway and wait for the riders to cross. And one point I saw a truck which had stopped on the shoulder due to some mechanical problem I imagine, and the riders had to go past it (luckily there seemed to be enough room to pass it on the right).

I posted a thread a while ago about a group of radical cyclists calles "Crimanimalz" who cycle on LA's freeways during rush hour to protest for alternate ways of transportation, but I have no idea why these people decided it would be a good idea to do part of their race on the shoulder of an Interstate highway. I would absolutely hate to do that, I'd be terrified. Plus it was really scaryn for the drivers too.

This really sounds like something a European would make up to make fun of cycling in the US, but I swear it's true.

Are there any Washingtonians out there who heard of this, or maybe even participated? Is there a point that I'm missing - like did they want to protest? Or has anyone ever seen something similar in their home state?

I'm confused

People do occasionally ride on the very wide shoulder of I-90 to get from a roadless area to the next exit. I haven't heard of any organized ride doing it and that sounds insane.
Your mention of "Crimanimalz" might explain the sight that baffled me several weekends ago. Riding Southbound on I-5 near Olympia, home to the ever uber-liberal Evergreen State College I saw a guy riding in full speed traffic; not on the shoulder, not in the far right lane but right in the middle lane. No back up car or apparent warning to approaching motorists. I checked the news later to see if there were any reports and came up empty.

 

[TheDude]

Having driven that pass many times, I have to say, that is a really bad idea. I've seen a touring rider from time to time, but always somebody that looks like they have been doing it for a while. Stick 100 noobs out there with traffic and you are asking for bad luck.

 

[shawnrohrbach]

I just got back from a three week stay in Western Washington (Seattle/Tacoma area) to visit my girlfriend and her family.

One day we decided to take a roadtrip to Yakima over in Eastern Washington because it's a really nice drive, the landscape is completely different from the Western part and it was prime peaches and apricots season.

Anywho so we're driving on I-90 East from Seattle to Yakima on a Saturday morning, it must have been August 7th, when suddenly we see a sign on the side of the highway, saying "Caution: Bike race". Unfortunately I can't remember what area we were exactly in, but we were still in the mountains and it was green and all, I'm thinking it was shortly after leaving Pierce County.

And sure enough, soon we start seeing tons of hobby bikers (it must have been close to a hundred total) scattered in groups riding on the shoulder of the interstate. I mean you could see it wasn't a competitive race but still it was a whole lot of bikers.

Mind you at this point I-90 is a 4 lane highway with speed limit 70 mph (ca. 110 km/h) for cars and 60 mph (ca. 95 km/h) for trucks. And there was a lot of traffic too, a whole bunch of trucks and huge RV's. So these trucks would just go past the bikers at 60mph or more with nothing but a white line in between them.

The worst of it was though that the bikers would cross entrances and exits. They might have closed up some of the entrances but the exits were all open, and it just looked like a terrible accident waiting to happen, cause obviously the cars can't stop on the freeway and wait for the riders to cross. And one point I saw a truck which had stopped on the shoulder due to some mechanical problem I imagine, and the riders had to go past it (luckily there seemed to be enough room to pass it on the right).

I posted a thread a while ago about a group of radical cyclists calles "Crimanimalz" who cycle on LA's freeways during rush hour to protest for alternate ways of transportation, but I have no idea why these people decided it would be a good idea to do part of their race on the shoulder of an Interstate highway. I would absolutely hate to do that, I'd be terrified. Plus it was really scaryn for the drivers too.

This really sounds like something a European would make up to make fun of cycling in the US, but I swear it's true.

Are there any Washingtonians out there who heard of this, or maybe even participated? Is there a point that I'm missing - like did they want to protest? Or has anyone ever seen something similar in their home state?

I'm confused

No idea what race it was, but hooray. I lived in Washington stste for fifty of my fifty three years (minus stinitns in Europe and Canada for work and college0 and I rode I-90 and I-5 all the time. Fave ride was from Seattle, up I-90 over snoqualmie pass, then over Blewitt pass into leavenworth and then over Hwy 2 (Stevens Pass) back down to Seattle, all on the side of the freeway. Aniother great one is I-5 to Vancouver BC, the issue in Canada is having to wait for a truckl/trailer to haul you through the tunnel under the Frasier river. The shoulders on the freeway are a minimum of ten feet, better than the three inches one gets on most roads anywhere. Actually the most dangerous ride is parts of Hwy 9, parralel inland to I-5 and always the "safe" alternative. They drive 70 mph on a two lane hwy with no shoulders.

 

[Christian]

No idea what race it was, but hooray. I lived in Washington stste for fifty of my fifty three years (minus stinitns in Europe and Canada for work and college0 and I rode I-90 and I-5 all the time. Fave ride was from Seattle, up I-90 over snoqualmie pass, then over Blewitt pass into leavenworth and then over Hwy 2 (Stevens Pass) back down to Seattle, all on the side of the freeway. Aniother great one is I-5 to Vancouver BC, the issue in Canada is having to wait for a truckl/trailer to haul you through the tunnel under the Frasier river. The shoulders on the freeway are a minimum of ten feet, better than the three inches one gets on most roads anywhere. Actually the most dangerous ride is parts of Hwy 9, parralel inland to I-5 and always the "safe" alternative. They drive 70 mph on a two lane hwy with no shoulders.

You actually rode a bike on I-5? How many lanes did it have at that point? I'm used to 8 in Tacoma!

I think I understand your point about the width of the shoulder compared to most regular roads, but apart from that:

Is it really enjoyable riding on highways with so much traffic?

What did you do when you hat to cross an entrance/exit?

In most European countries it's actually illegal to ride a bike or even a scooter on a highway, is it not the same in the US?

 

[CTExile]

It seems to vary by state in practice if not actual law, but I'm pretty sure it is illegal to ride on interstates in the two states I've spent most of my life (MA, CT). There's such an extensive road system here though that it's easy to avoid interstates and still get where you're trying to go- further west where population density drops, that's probably less the case. I hear far more people talk about interstate riding west of the Mississippi.

 

[hiero2]

It seems to vary by state in practice if not actual law, but I'm pretty sure it is illegal to ride on interstates in the two states I've spent most of my life (MA, CT). There's such an extensive road system here though that it's easy to avoid interstates and still get where you're trying to go- further west where population density drops, that's probably less the case. I hear far more people talk about interstate riding west of the Mississippi.

I'm pretty sure it is illegal to ride (a bicycle) on interstates in EVERY state in the U.S., EXCEPT when there are no reasonable alternative routes. In the case mentioned by the OP, there are no reasonable alternative routes. I don't think there is a "reasonable alternative" to I-90 from slightly east of Issaquah all the way to Cle Elum. After Cle Elum, the local roads might not be "reasonable", due to traffic speed and quantity. I don't know.

As for danger: take the distance between the cyclist and the passing cars, and that same distance on a high-speed two-lane road is probably less (=more dangerous). Exits are not that hard to manage - forward visibility for the cars is usually good - and you aren't going to have anybody making a left-hand turn across traffic into the exit. The closest you might come (to a blinded left-hand turner) would be somebody zipping across multiple lanes to make the exit - not likely on those roads.

The two-lane roads that cross passes in the Cascades often have bicycle limitations, as a result of the high danger involved due to the narrow two-lane roads with multiple switchbacks, limited visibility, and high possibility of speeds exceeding safe limits. Not to mention the power of the lumber industry in the area - especially Oregon. Those lumber trucks are scary. An example of such a two-lane road and pass would be the MacKenzie Pass road between Eugene and Bend. Although, I think the lumber trucks are also prohibited from using MacKenzie. Haven't been there in a long time.

As for I-5, I would have thought there were reasonable alternatives pretty much all the way north and south - but I've never ridden north/south in that area, and I wouldn't know.