Commuting From Woodinville to Belltown on a Bike

The only thing Keith Moore likes more than cycling is talking about cycling. Patch caught up with the Woodinville resident to talk about his cycling commute to Seattle.

Moore commutes to his job in the city using a combination of public transport and his own pedal power. What he rarely uses is his car to get into downtown Seattle. Cycling is not just a means of transportation for Moore, it’s also his passion. Every April, he participates in the 30 Days of Biking challenge. Last year he racked up 750 miles in one month, starting out riding three to four miles a day, and ending with 30-mile a day rides.

Woodinville Patch: So Keith, how long have you been cycling?

Keith Moore: All my life, off and on -- unfortunately, more off than on. When I was a child, biking was my primary means of transportation around our neighborhood. That all stopped after I graduated high school and started working full time.

I returned to biking as an adult in 2003 while living in Poland. Kasia,then my girlfriend, now my wife, and I bought a couple of "comfort" bikes for cruising around Wrocław, the city where we lived. Kasia and I moved back to the Pacific Northwest in 2006, initially in an apartment in Redmond, then to our house near Woodinville. One of the first things we did after moving here was to buy two nice bikes. We've put thousands of miles on these bikes since then -- in organized rides, commuting, running errands, and just riding for the fun of it.

Woodinville Patch: How often do you commute to work on your bike?

Moore: Not as often as I would like! If you think of a week's worth of commuting as 10 separate one-way trips, I try to make about four trips per week by bike. Some days I will bike both directions, but more often I take the bus to work and bike home. I'm very thankful for the bike racks on the Metro and Sound Transit buses!

Woodinville Patch: What prompted you to commit to cycling to work?

Moore: In October 2010 I started working for Gridpoint, a small software company in Seattle's Belltown area. When I accepted the position, I promised myself I would avoid driving to work whenever possible. In the five months since I started, I've driven myself to work exactly once. Plus my love of biking, naturally led to bike commuting.

Woodinville Patch: What route do you take to Belltown and what is the commute like from Woodinville?

Moore: My current commute is very multi-modal. On a typical day I drive, with my bike attached, to the Woodinville Park and Ride. I take the Metro 311 or Sound Transit 522 to downtown Seattle and bike back to the park and ride in the evening, and drive home.

This arrangement gives me a lot of flexibility. I can bus to work and bike home, I can bike to work and bus home, I can bike both ways. In theory, I could bus both ways either bringing my bike back with me, or leaving it in the parking garage, due to illness or bad weather.

The route itself is mostly flat, largely along the Sammamish River and Burke-Gilman trails. The only real hill I have is over Dexter Avenue between downtown and the Fremont Bridge.

The commute is about 22 miles each way with about four miles on streets about one mile from the park and ride to the trail, about three miles from the trail over the Fremont Bridge to my building at 4th and Lenora. The remaining 18 miles are on the trails.

Woodinville Patch: What are the challenges in being a cycling commuter?

Moore: The biggest challenge is time. Biking to work adds about an hour to my commute. I'm not a fast biker I probably average about 12-13 mph on the trail. It usually takes me about an hour and a half or an hour and forty minutes to bike from the park and ride to my building. Once I get to work I need to shower, change clothes, etc. The building where I work does not have shower facilities on-site, so after I bike to work I walk to a nearby gym where I have a membership and locker, to shower and change.

The door-to-door time when I take the Metro 311 bus is usually about an hour and a half. The door-to-door time when I bike to work is usually about two and a half hours. Two two and a half hour commutes, plus 8 to 10 hours at work, depending on how crazy the day is, can make for a very long day. This is the primary reason I usually bus to work and bike home.

Another challenge is route selection.

Kasia and I live off Woodinville-Duvall Road, east of Avondale. I would love to bike directly from home, but honestly, I'm not comfortable biking on Woodinville-Duvall. My discomfort has nothing to do with traffic and everything to do with the conditions of the shoulders. They are littered with storm debris, limbs, etc., plus the gravel applied after snow fall. They usually stay in this condition until late spring. The limbs and gravel tend to hide broken glass other hazardous debris. Over the years I've had more flat tires along Woodinville-Duvall Road than any other stretch of road in this area.

Woodinville Patch: Do you have any special equipment for commuting?

Moore: A joke I like to make is the key to cycling is knowing how to accessorize. For the past few months, most of my commuting has been at night, and usually in the rain. I've outfitted my bike with fenders, panniers for carrying clothes, a bright white light in the front, and two red "blinky" lights in the back.

Over the years I've collected quite an array of clothing for cycling, but the most important pieces are a good quality rain jacket, rain pants, wool base layer, wool socks, gloves, and a helmet. Around this time of year I start to tire of biking in cold and wet weather. I'm really looking forward to warmer temperatures and longer days.

Woodinville Patch: What type of bike do you ride?

Moore: It's a Specialized "Stumpjumper" hard tail mountain bike, equipped with
road-style skinny wheels and tires.

Woodinville Patch: What's your favorite bike shop?

Moore: We're lucky enough to have two great shops in Woodinville -- Eastside
Ski & Sport and . Both shops have always given me great service, and both have saved my butt on more than one occasion.

Woodinville Patch:  Do you still ride for pleasure on the weekends or vacations?

Moore: Absolutely! I rode in Cascade's annual Chilly Hilly ride. Kasia & I often ride together for fun & exercise. I try to ride every weekend.