Bike Events

Bellingham is chock full of fun bike events, nearly rivaling the number of running events one can hope to find in the average recreation-centric town.

A local favorite for a fun, challenging workout is the Ski-to-Sea relay race. This "Grand Daddy" of an event features nearly 400 teams and 3,000 competitors covering 82.5 miles of Whatcom County over 7 different legs. The road bike leg is a fast 36 mile, draft-legal ride, so it offers a slightly different experience for the triathlete, but it certainly suits us better than a guy or gal just off the couch!

Another popular bike-specific event in the region is the Seattle-to-Portland, or STP. This 200-mile recreational ride is put on by the Cascade Bicycle Club, and is the largest multi-day bicycle event in the Northwest, drawing up to 9,000 participants. Many cyclists in Bellingham made this their first century ride. Some folks train enough to do the full distance in one day!

Shown at right is a newer race in town, the North Shore Circuit Race, hosted by the collegiate cycling team at Western Washington University. The 8-mile hilly course is repeated several times (number depending on your category) and takes riders through pretty hills and along the shores of Lake Whatcom.

Why Enter a Bike Race?

Many members of the Bellingham Triathlon Club got their start in bike racing. Several of our local triathletes also have gone on to become successful bike racers. The sports are certainly not mutally exclusive (although for safety reasons, the integrated aero bars on many triathlon bikes are not legal in most road races).

A triathlete can gain excellent handling skills from riding at speed in a closely-grouped pack. There is also few activities that can offer up as much intensity as a good, tough road race. It is an experience not to be missed!

Shown at left is Brian Nelson, president of the WWU Triathlon Club from 2004 to 2005. From triathlon, he found his way into bike racing and has excelled way beyond anyone on his high school football team's wildest expectations! In this photo, he is racing among professionals up a very steep hill in the Tour de White Rock, just over the USA/Canadian border.