Bainbridge bicyclists make Chilly Hilly ride Sunday

Click in to your pedals and layer up the spandex – it’s time for the annual Chilly Hilly bike ride around Bainbridge. This Sunday, thousands of bikers from across the country will descend on island roads and take on the 33-mile route along the island’s perimeter.

February 19, 2009 6:37 pm
Bicyclists roll off a morning ferry for the start of the 2009 Chilly Hilly ride.
Bicyclists roll off a morning ferry for the start of the 2009 Chilly Hilly ride.

A photo gallery and video preview of the route can be found at the bottom of this page.

Sunday’s Chilly Hilly bicycle tour was a success, raising about $30,000 for the Cascade Bicycle Club, according to club officials.

More than 3,900 cyclists from 12 states and Canada took on the 33-mile route along the island’s perimeter.

“It was a great event,”Cascade Bicycle Club Executive Director Chuck Ayers said. “I haven’t had one complaint come across my desk and it seems we had fewer incidents than usual with accidents and car/bike problems.”

The event has long been considered the kick-off to the Northwest cycling season and has been a biking tradition for over 36 years.

The ride starts and ends in Winslow, reaching as far north as Fay Bainbridge State Park and as far south as Point White.

According to Ayers, this was only the second ride in 11 years to come with a dousing of rain.

“I was surprised that so many cyclists did show up because the morning was iffy weather wise,” he said. “That’s the nature of the Chilly Hilly. People doing it for years, they expect the not-so-great weather.”

For more information on the event visit: www.cascade.org. Check out a guide to the ride, and a map of the course, courtesy of Cascade Bicycle Club. Review photographer Brad Camp will be uploading images from the event to the gallery below.