Bike love

Paved bicycle and pedestrian paths crisscross Seattle's undulating urban landscape, offering access to almost every neighborhood by the city's 22 miles of bike lanes.

In Seattle, the summer sun brings out bikers of all kinds - commuters, messengers, mountain bikers and competitive racers.

"It's a pretty cool [biking] scene in Seattle. I'm from Southern California and there's a lot more of an urban biking scene here," said Josh Squier, a mechanic at Recycled Cycles, the Boat Street bike shop specializing in used and retro parts.

More than 8,000 people commute daily by bicycle within Seattle city limits. The UW is full of commuters who find it easier to park their bikes outside the classroom for free than to search for a parking spot through rows upon rows of cars in the Montlake lot.

"I love riding in the morning to school - it wakes me up and lets me sleep those extra couple minutes," said sophmore Casey Audette, who commutes on the Burke-Gilman Trail. "It keeps off some of the beer belly too."

A bike rack is located outside every building, and several have more than one. The ASUW Bike Shop in the HUB offers tools for cyclists to do their own repairs - and a mechanic to fix a bike if DIY repairs go wrong.

"We have an open-door policy. Everyone (students, staff and faculty) has free access to the shop and its tools," said Ted Coxworth, a mechanic at the bike shop. "Anything that can be fixed on a bike, we can do it here."

The shop sells biking accessories: tubes, locks, water bottles, chain lube, helmets, tire pumps and seats.

"We're here to keep campus bikes running," Coxworth added.

Tour de Husky

Husky Cycling is the official bicycling club/team of the University, operating as a collegiate team accepting students, staff, faculty and alumni regardless of riding experience. Despite not being recognized as a Husky sport by the UW athletic department, Husky Cycling is a United States Cycling Federation team.

Traditionally the team has emphasized road racing, but it has also formed track, mountain and cyclocross teams. During the summer the team is inactive, but this fall the team will resume weekly rides and competitions.

Even the UW Police Department has four full-time bicycle officers, patrolling areas inaccessible by car. According to the UWPD Web site, "The bike is smaller, quieter, more 'approachable,' and more agile than a patrol car.

"These same characteristics also frequently allow the bike patrol officer to surprise an unsuspecting criminal in the act of a crime." Bicycle officers make sure cyclists are wearing helmets -- and write $81 tickets to those who aren't -- as well as obeying laws of the road.

Seattle's bike trails and lanes linking the city's neighborhoods together are part of the city's large-scale Urban Trail System, estimated to be finished in 2012. The major trail linking Seattle from east to west is the Burke-Gilman Trail, which surrounds campus. When completed, the trail system will run from Marymoor Park in Redmond to Golden Gardens in Ballard.

Along with expansions to the Burke-Gilman, five other trail projects are underway in Seattle: the Ship Canal Trail in Ballard, the Interurban Trail on Aurora, Mountains to Sound Greenway Trail connecting the I-90 bridge to downtown, Chief Sealth Trail connecting southeast Beacon Hill to Renton and the Duwamish Trail connecting Chelan and Dakota streets along the Duwamish River. More information on these trails can be found at www.seattle.gov.

Leaders of the pack

Seattle offers a plethora of organized rides for bikers of all levels. One is Critical Mass, a group ride advocating biking rights on the road, biking fitness and awareness of biking as a viable alternative to driving.

Critical Mass is held the last Friday of every month in more than 100 cities worldwide. Mass starts at Westlake Center and meanders around downtown. Rain or shine, a UW group leaves Red Square at 5 p.m. to meet the larger group.

Seattle also offers Criterium Races -- intense high-speed races, usually three miles or less. Held on several city blocks used as a circuit, the race takes between 30 and 50 minutes or 12 to 30 laps around the designated course -- depending on which class riders choose to compete in. For those interested in testing stamina and endurance, Seattle has several local Criteriums coming up, including The Fremont Criterium Aug. 5, and the Volunteer Park Summer Criterium Aug. 7.

For those into bicycle track racing, Marymoor Park in Redmond offers a Velodrome. The Marymoor Velodrome Association has classes and races for all skill levels, including Friday Night Racing.

For those who get a thrill braving the car-choked streets, crazy taxi drivers, looky loos, 12 percent gradient hills and cobblestones to deliver a small urgent parcel, Seattle harbors a vibrant bike-messenger community. Messenger clubs like Dead Baby Bikes and Point 83 offer annual races, weekly rides and a place to come and share avant-garde bike designs. For more information, check out www.deadbabybikes.org or www.point83.com.