I found this thread and thought I'd post, though I don't live in the Pacific NW any more. I'm 59 and was born in Seattle and lived in the Seattle/Tacoma area for the next 58 years. I have always ridcden motorcycles on and off road and have ridden all over Wa. and Oregon. Tragically, I didn't do nany serious bicycling until after we moved to the Big Island of Hawaii last year. We bought a house near Keaau and the seller threw in a cheap mountain bike rather than ship it back to the mainland. I've been riding and equiping the bike with some goodies. I've worked out in gyms since I was 49, so am in decent shape for my age, so bicycling wasn't too difficult to transition into.
I lived the six years before the big move in Puyallup after living in Bonney Lake for 28 years. Bonney Lake sucks, but there are great places to ride bikes and motorcycles all over.