| Route |
Contributor |
Last Updated |
Where |
Distance |
Tags |
|
Moses Lake, I-90 Bridge |
secondlaw |
Aug 9th 2009, 06:16 |
|
3.2km |
- Commute
- Recreational
- Training
- Safe
- Touring
|
| There is a safe and bicycling friendly but remarkably little noted pedestrian/bicycle bridge across Moses Lake that in my humble opinion is the ONLY appropriate way to negotiate the I-90 bridge across Moses Lake. It is along the north side of I-90, and the route winds a bit through Moses Lake State Park. But trust me, its worth it - there's no shoulder on the I-90 bridge! I had to work this out myself on the fly, after a long, hot, dusty mountain bike ride through the Moses Lake Sand Dunes (someone else has posted a good bikely Moses Lake Sand Dunes loop route). |
|
Wild Horse hill climb |
secondlaw |
Aug 21st 2009, 08:29 |
|
5.4km |
- Training
- Onroad
- Steep
- Rough
- Rural
- Scenic
|
| Yet another gratuitous hill climb inspired somewhat tangentially by the El Camino YMCA Triathlon Club. The road and the Renewable Energy Center is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. seven days a week from April through November (drill down through the Puget Sound Energy website, www.pse.com, for current information or for more details about the Wild Horse Wind Farm and the Renewable Energy Center). The road IS rough and completely exposed to sun, wind, and the other elements for the entire distance - be prepared. The visitor center at the top of the climb is an interesting destination. This Kittitas Valley ride starts at Vantage Highway 16 miles east of Ellensburg and ends at the Renewable Energy Center atop Whiskey Dick Mountain. |
|
Shushuskin Canyon Hill Climb |
secondlaw |
Aug 5th 2009, 06:42 |
|
6.8km |
- Steep
- Low traffic
- Rural
- Scenic
|
| Curse you, El Camino YMCA Triathlon Club! Climbing for climbings sake. This Kittitas Valley ride starts at Irene Rhinehart Riverfront Park in Ellensburg, climbs Umptanum Road into Shushuskin Canyon, and ends at the end of the pavement at the top of Shushuskin Canyon, the intersection of Umptanum Road and Durr Road. |
|
Ringer Road |
secondlaw |
Sep 13th 2010, 09:12 |
|
30.8km |
|
| A jaunt to the entrance to the Yakima River Canyon. This Kittitas Valley loop ride starts and ends in Ellensburg at the corner of University Way and Walnut and passes through Thrall. |
|
Naneum Canyon |
secondlaw |
Sep 11th 2008, 04:31 |
|
38.5km |
|
| These are some of my more freqeuently used default rides in the Kittitas Valley. The roads are good, traffic is low, and the routes tend to give a reasonably good mix of headwinds, tailwinds and crosswinds in the typically NW Kittitas Valley winds. There are cutoffs for a 10 and 15 mile loop and a number of other options as well. Some of the words from my cycling log on these routes are beautiful, gorgeous, relaxing, wonderful, calm, nice, easy, fast, great. From Ellensburg to mouth of Naneum Canyon is a gradual climb of about 1000 ft - not a huge amount of terrain, but you can turn it into a workout. This Kittitas Valley loop ride starts and ends in Ellensburg at the corner of University Way and Walnut. |
|
Labor Day Loop |
secondlaw |
Aug 13th 2009, 03:22 |
|
47.6km |
|
| Tour along portion of Yakima river into Thorp and back into Ellensburg. Farms and ranches yield to a scenic river canyon; watch the river floaters (on a hot summer day or when the fish are biting), then climb a hill and zoom down its side to a bridge across the river; rest while you tour a renovated grist mill; and wave to golfers on your home stretch. This loop is, perhaps, most responsible for starting my love affair with Kittitas Valley cycling. This Kittitas Valley loop ride starts and ends in Ellensburg at the corner of University Way and Walnut and passes through Thorp. |
|
Whisky Dick Triathlon bike leg training ride |
secondlaw |
Aug 24th 2009, 06:35 |
|
49.1km |
- Training
- Intermediate
- Low traffic
- Rural
- Scenic
|
| The Whisky Dick Triathlon, held each summer in and near Ellensburg has a challenging bike leg. Here's your chance to give the toughest parts of the route a try before the big day. Strong headwinds, high temperatures and complete exposure to the elements along the entire route are par for the course - caveat emptor. This Kittitas Valley ride starts at the Vantage boat ramp and ends at Memorial Park in Ellensburg. |
|
Taneum canyon |
secondlaw |
Aug 28th 2008, 06:11 |
|
52.7km |
|
| A quick tour to the entrance to Tanuem canyon with some ideas for other, longer routes. This Kittitas Valley loop ride starts and ends in Ellensburg at the corner of University Way and Walnut and passes through Thorp. |
|
Manastash Canyon |
secondlaw |
Aug 31st 2008, 05:27 |
|
55km |
|
| A ride through farms and ranches and then up a very pretty little tributary canyon of the Yakima river! The canyon is filled with wildlife - birds, coyotes, deer, ground squirrels, elk, snakes, and, sources tell me, even the occasional mountain lion! This Kittitas Valley loop ride starts and ends in Ellensburg at the corner of University Way and Walnut. |
|
Top o' the hill |
secondlaw |
Aug 6th 2009, 07:22 |
|
63.4km |
|
| Climb to a divide between the Cascade shrub-steppe and evergreen forest habitats. This Kittitas Valley loop ride starts and ends in Ellensburg at the corner of University Way and Walnut. |
|
Badger Pocket |
secondlaw |
Aug 31st 2008, 06:32 |
|
69.3km |
|
| The road to nowhere - but then who could resist the charm of a place called "Badger Pocket"? A lot of cyclists in the Kittitas Valley love a ride into Badger Pocket. I've done it a number of times, but it's not really one of my favorites. Plus, I feel cheated - I've never once seen a badger in Badger Pocket! The ride ends at the boundary of the Yakima Firing Range military reservation, but the ride is through a mostly bucolic landscape. This Kittitas Valley loop ride starts and ends in Ellensburg at the corner of University Way and Walnut and passes through Thrall and Kittitas. |
|
Whiskey Dick |
secondlaw |
Aug 12th 2009, 07:45 |
|
71km |
|
| Whiskey or Whisky? I don't know, but this ride is better than a wee dram! The Whisky Dick Triathalon, held every summer, starts with a swim in the Columbia river at Vantage, followed by the bike leg over a shoulder of Whiskey Dick mountain into Ellensburg, and a running leg in Ellensburg. This ride takes you to the high point of the Whiskey Dick bike leg from Ellensburg. If you have enough oomph left you can continue on to Vantage and your return ride will give you the full Whisky Dick bike leg experience and then some! This Kittitas Valley loop ride starts and ends in Ellensburg at the corner of University Way and Walnut and passes near Kittitas. |
|
Door County Loop |
secondlaw |
Aug 12th 2009, 08:13 |
|
86.2km |
|
| A few years back, I spent a vacation with in-laws in Door County Wisconsin at Sister Bay. I found a bike shop that rented me a reasonably good road bike in Ephraim and spent a day riding a nice loop. As I said, this was a few years back so this is the route I took TO THE BEST OF MY MEMORY and submitted without further comment in the cue sheet. It was a wonderful ride! This loop ride starts and ends in Sister Bay at the corner of Woodcrest Road and County Road ZZ and passes through Baileys Harbor, across Kangaroo Lake, through Egg Harbor, Fish Creek and Ephraim. |
|
Silverwood loop |
secondlaw |
Aug 28th 2008, 06:07 |
|
98.7km |
|
| I got roped into camping for a few days at Silverwood Theme Park near Coeur D'Alene, Idaho. Theme parks are not my thing, I mean really not my thing, so I took a bike along and instead of thrill rides, I spent time scouting out an interesting loop. This is it - I thought it was a stunningly beautiful ride. One important caveat: there is a 7 mile stretch of this route that is UNPAVED! I found it tolerable on my road bike - read more about it in the Cue Sheet for this ride. I think there are some modifications that could make the route longer, but that would put it completely on paved roads. I didn't get a chance to completely check these out, but of particular interest might be Spirit Lake Cut-Off Road in putting together a route that avoids the long unpaved segment. This loop ride starts and ends at the Silverwood theme park at the corner of US-95 and Brunner Road and passes through Athol, Clagstone, Priest River, Blanchard, and Spirit Lake. |