Pacific Northwest - Climbs in King County

Hi,

I am trying to find as many cool loops to do as possible. Departure location = Newcastle. I am looking for long climbs.

So far one of my standard loops is to head south from May Valley, bike along the renton bike trail a bit, and then head due south along I think 196th, and you hit a 2+ mile climb that eventually turns into Sweeny Road and go into Maple Valley. Then I take some of the roads north/east of maple valley and do Tiger Mt., the other 2+ mile climb I've found.

I've also headed further south to Black Diamond but haven't found any decent climbs. So the two I mentioned above are the only ones I've found. Plus there's always cougar.

So question is are there any other multiple mile climbs I can hit from a ride leaving Newcastle and be done in 50 - 80 miles?

I can't find any road that hits 1000 ft besides tiger. I see lots of roads out past tiger on google maps, etc. but from what I've seen they are dirt roads?

I'm just wondering if there's someone who has done tons of riding in the area knows of any big hidden climbs out there and can share them with me.

Also, is there anything cool out past North Bend? Only thing I know if is I-90 and the Iron horse trail (which is shut down now anyway) but I'm not looking for 2% grades anyway.

Or even stuff out past redmond, or anywhere within distance of newcastle.

http://www.bicycleclimbs.com/

There's a hilly group ride on Saturday morning, co-sponsored by Cascade and the Seattle Rando's.

Here's a link to map - lots of short, steep hills.

http://www.seattlerando.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=219&Itemid=26

Also, a couple of the past rides of the Seattle Rando's (like the "mountain populaire" last summer) and some of their permanents are pretty hilly. They're sort of sadistic, those folks. The Seattle Rando site has links to their past rides, plus a number of "permanents" that are preplanned rides, often w/lots of climbing.

A couple of other group rides you can find by Googling --

The "Seven Hills of Kirkland," held each spring, criss crosses all the hills in Kirkland.

The "Summits of Bothell" ride each summer, which is similar to the route I linked to above, is short but hilly.

If you ride up from Newcastle to Kirkland you'd get your 80 miles in.

Also, the "Chilly Hilly" on Bainbridge is hilly (no really long climbs). Various routes around Vashon are hilly.

I spend all my time trying to figure out how to avoid climbing :). I guess I just don't understand some people...

I've also headed further south to Black Diamond but haven't found any decent climbs. So the two I mentioned above are the only ones I've found.

Have you done the hill from Flaming Geyser State Park back up to Black Diamond? One of those routes is hilly.Also, from the Green River Valley headed south there is a pretty good climb coming out of the valley. I can look up the route name later.


Finally - and I don't know how I forgot this -- my commute is uphill, both directions, every day, into the wind.

Heads towards Snoqualmie Pass , the shoulder on I-90 is pretty forgiving after North Bend

Hi,

I am trying to find as many cool loops to do as possible. Departure location = Newcastle. I am looking for long climbs.

So far one of my standard loops is to head south from May Valley, bike along the renton bike trail a bit, and then head due south along I think 196th, and you hit a 2+ mile climb that eventually turns into Sweeny Road and go into Maple Valley. Then I take some of the roads north/east of maple valley and do Tiger Mt., the other 2+ mile climb I've found.

I've also headed further south to Black Diamond but haven't found any decent climbs. So the two I mentioned above are the only ones I've found. Plus there's always cougar.

So question is are there any other multiple mile climbs I can hit from a ride leaving Newcastle and be done in 50 - 80 miles?

I can't find any road that hits 1000 ft besides tiger. I see lots of roads out past tiger on google maps, etc. but from what I've seen they are dirt roads?

I'm just wondering if there's someone who has done tons of riding in the area knows of any big hidden climbs out there and can share them with me.

Also, is there anything cool out past North Bend? Only thing I know if is I-90 and the Iron horse trail (which is shut down now anyway) but I'm not looking for 2% grades anyway.

Or even stuff out past redmond, or anywhere within distance of newcastle.


I know this is way out of your way, and i'm not trying to highjack your thread, but this climb is worth the trip, and should be noted.

http://veloroutes.org/bikemaps/?route=25419#

13392.2 ft Of total elevation gain in under 20 miles, keep in mind this is not straight up.

http://veloroutes.org/bikemaps/?route=25368

If your really adventurous you can do a loop back down the other side which is under 45 miles and has a total of over 18K feet of elevation gain.

You have a pretty good set of climbs in your Newcastle neighborhood, but here are some to the east of you:

The Highlands Drive MUP, which gets you up onto the Plateau northeast of downtown Issaquah. The MUP takes you to Issaquah-Fall City Road, which has a good shoulder all the way down to the Snoqualmie Valley where it meets SR 202 as Duthie Hill road. You can then follow SR202 east to where it makes a nice curvy climb up past Snoqualmie Falls. For more climbing, continue on 202 about another half mile to its junction with the Snoqualmie Parkway. Turn right on the Parkway and enjoy another long upward haul, either on the road (wide shoulder) or on the MUP alongside it. The Parkway tops out near I-90 and there are some nice views. I usually just turn around and enjoy the long speedfest back down from there.

Have more ideas but am having connectivity issues so will quit here.

I know this is way out of your way, and i'm not trying to highjack your thread, but this climb is worth the trip, and should be noted.

http://veloroutes.org/bikemaps/?route=25419#

13392.2 ft Of total elevation gain in under 20 miles, keep in mind this is not straight up.



I thought the Hurricane Ridge road was closed to cyclists last year? Did they reopen it?

Hurricane Ridge opened last october after repaving work was completed. I took a day off work and rode it the week after it opened to bikes. The climb is a pretty consistent grade with very few let-ups but not overly steep. I'd say the grade is close in comparison to the climb up rte 202 by the Salish lodge (snoqualmie falls hill). Very nice descent on miles of fresh smooth asphalt. If you start from Pt Angeles waterfront and ride up to the ski area the elevation gain is something like a little over 6000' not 13k.

Seeing northbend's mention of Salish Lodge reminded me of a favourite climb of mine: 228th from 202 to the top of the Plateau. A little more than 1 mile of sustained 10% grade.

You won't find many long climbs right around where you are - the elevations aren't high enough. If you're looking for long climbs, you have to head farther afield. If you go to the http://www.bicycleclimbs.com, you'll find an entry named "mountains of WA" that will list the good ones.

Another hint - if you click anywhere on the main map, it will tell you the elevation of that spot, so you can browse around.

Finally, if you have climbs you like that aren't on the site, you can send me mail and I can give you privs to add climbs.