7 Hills, 60 Acres (7 Hills of Kirkland)

CORONAVIRUS PREAMBLE: Please note: During COVID-19 Phases 1.5 and 2, all Free Group Rides are limited to six total participants: the Ride Leader and five others. Registration for the ride (using the red “Register Now” button above) is REQUIRED to participate. If you decide not to ride, please unregister for this ride so that another rider may register.

Face coverings (for mouth and nose) are required when the group makes extended stops. Face coverings are recommended for the duration of the ride. Please bring personal hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes and tissues for use at rest stops.

Details:
Join us for some socially-distanced climbing on a variation of the classic "7 Hills of Kirkland" course.  

We'll ride out of the parking lot at the far east end of 60 Acres Park, on the south side of 116th and York.

We will roll out onto Willows and ease into our pace.  Then, we will proceed to Rose Hill, descend into Kirkland and hit a short rest stop at Marina Park.  From there, we'll climb Market, Juanita and Seminary hills in turn.  We will have a short rest stop at The Den Coffee Shop.  We will finish our excursion, climbing Norway, Kingsgate, and Winery Hills. Relax between the climbs on relatively flat stretches, at an easy mid-Vigorous (19mph +/-) pace.  If the roads are exceedingly wet, we may slow the pace accordingly for safety.

Riders who can stay with the group on hilly Brisk-paced rides are also welcome to join us for a challenge.  Regroup points are marked on the Ride With GPS route/cue sheet; climbing is at your own pace. We'll regroup at the top of hills, but if you might find this hilly course challenging, please bring navigation aids, in case you are substantially off of group pace and need to finish on your own as regroups are occasional; this is not a "Stay Together" ride.

You can subtract hills if you want; you can easily bypass Seminary Hill (Holmes Point) and wait at the regroup point noted on RWGPS if you want to save some energy for later. It's also easy to bypass the final climb, Winery Hill, and head back to the start.

Faster-than-Vigorous riders are also welcome to join us and ride ahead of the group on hills, if you don't mind hanging around for the regroups (and the relaxed pace between climbs). The ride becomes self-led for those ahead of or behind the group.  Again, we will observe the speed limit on the multi-use trails such as Sammamish River Trail and Burke-Gilman Trail.

Portable toilets are available at the start.  Restroom/water at Kirkland Marina Park, mile 11.9 and at Blyth Park, mile 23.6 - this one is optional, as our official rest stop is at mile 24.6 at The Den Coffee Shop.

Route map and cue sheet are available at the link below.

Bring tools and knowledge to repair mechanical failures.  During these times, we cannot group for long, so we cannot guarantee enough stopping time nor assistance with mechanical faults, so have a phone and a plan to get home/back to the start if needed. 

If there's a chance of precipitation and/or wet roads, fenders with long mud flaps are recommended. Anywhere the road is wet, if you don't have flaps close to the ground (about 2" or less), you'll need to take the initiative to stay behind everyone with better fenders.  That said, the distance you're expected to maintain between other riders during these times should exceed that of any road spray that may result from wet roads.

As there is a rider limit of six, you are required to pre-register by clicking the red "Register Now" button above.  If you find you cannot make it, please unregister as soon as possible, so that another rider may claim your vacated slot.

Plan to arrive 15 minutes early for briefing and ride prep so that we can leave on time.

In case of cancellation for any reason, the ride leader will not be at the start, and a notice will be posted here before 8:00 am; please check "Comments" (below) before heading to the start (and check your email, if you registered online).