On June 7th Specialized will be rolling into Bellingham with a van full of their 2012 mountain bike lineup. Stumpjumper EVOs, Safires, Cambers, Epics and more will be available for test rides. This is a great opportunity to try out a new bike. Curious about 29ers? Want to ride a carbon fiber frame? This is your chance to see what all the hype is about.
Come to the Galbraith Lane parking lot beginning at 3pm to take a fancy new ride for a spin. See you there!
With Bike to Work Day a little over a month away (it’s on May 18th ), you can be sure you’ll be hearing more about the benefits of bike commuting in the coming days. But there’s an often overlooked place where you can add more biking to your life – getting to the trailhead.
How do you get to your favorite local mountain biking destination? Did you know that in Bellingham, the Birch Street entrance to Galbraith is only 3.7 miles from downtown (using the Bellingham Library as a starting point), while the North Chuckanut trailhead is only 4.7 miles away?
It’s easy to get accustomed to the convenience of driving to the trailhead, but when you factor in the time to load up the car, and the stoplights and traffic encountered along the way, driving really doesn’t save much time. Plus, biking to the trailhead is a great warmup – a nice 20-30 minute spin to loosen up your muscles. And, with the money you save on gas, you’ll have more cash for the shiny new bike parts you’ve been drooling over. Take a look at this map to plan your route. Pick the right combination of side streets and trails and you might even find it’s faster to ride than drive.
There have been numerous studies on how long it takes to form a habit, with no clear conclusion. However, one thing is certain – it takes dedication to develop a new habit and break out of a routine. Start small – maybe commit to riding to the trailhead once every week or two. As you get more accustomed to this new routine, start decreasing the driving and increasing the riding. If you live a little too far to make riding to the trailhead feasible, don’t forget about Bellingham’s bus system. The buses all have bike racks, and for a buck or two you can get to pretty much anywhere in the county. There are even some creative mountain bike rides which involve taking the bus to Alger and then riding back through Blanchard and the Chuckanuts…stop by Fairhaven Bike & Ski for more details.
See you on the trails!
Happy Friday! Today’s photo is from a recent mountain bike ride in the Chuckanuts. Rides in the Chuckanuts have a little bit of everything – steep climbs, steep descents, roots, rocks, views – all the ingredients necessary for a memorable day.
Do you have any photos you’d like to share? Send them to us via Facebook – we’ll feature the best ones in an upcoming Photo Friday. The only requirement is that they’re outdoor related – biking, skiing, snowboarding – we like it all! Have a great weekend.
Bellingham is an incredible place for outdoor recreation. Where else is it possible to ski deep powder and ride amazing trails all in the same weekend? The opportunities are endless – hiking, biking, skiing, climbing, kayaking, sailing…the list goes on. We hope you get the chance to play outside this weekend. It might be a little damp, but toss on a raincoat and get outside – it’s worth it. The long sunny days will be here soon enough; after all, daylight savings time is only three weeks away.
Have fun, play hard, and don’t forget to take pictures. The photos in this post were taken on a foggy mountain bike ride in the Chuckanuts. It was one of those days where it seems as if you’re riding in a cloud. A stray beam of light would occasionally break through, but for the most part it was a grey, misty ride. Classic Bellingham mountain biking weather.
Fairhaven Bike & Ski 