ldarlee

My husband and I might be moving from northern Illinois to the Seattle area in a few months for his job. I'm retired and am now very involved in a bike club comprising folks averaging my age (61). While we have a few youngsters, our members are primarily retirees who share my fanaticism for the outdoors. During primary cycling season many of us ride thousands of miles, and during the winter off-season we continue riding as well as hike, snowshoe, and cross-country ski. I've searched the web for clubs around Seattle but most seem geared toward folks still in the workforce, or wrap up regularly scheduled rides and activities in the fall.

Thank you for your help in suggesting any clubs or groups that are close to what I'm seeking. It sure will help my transition to the area if our potential move becomes a reality.

Insidious C. 

Try Cascade Cycling Club Cascade Bicycle Club | Improving Lives Through Bicycling . Not exclusively for "mature" riders but the age group is well represented. I am not a member but I did join in on one of the Wednesday rides as part of my evening commute. They seem like a friendly bunch.

Jim from Boston

You might try posting to the Fifty-Plus Forum; the Seattle area may be well represented there.

Dfrost 

The Cascade Bicycling Club has a large population, and there are organized rides nearly every day of the year, at a wide range of ability levels. If you start with connections there, you'll soon be connected with others that have the different interests and demographics you mention.

Another organization to contact would be Mountaineers.

geronimo2000

Cascade Bike Club skews to a younger demographic and is really an advocacy group that does a few week-day rides and some really big event rides. It sounds like you might be more interested in the Redmond Bicycle Club (Redmond Cycling Club) which is mainly an older group. Despite their name most of the membership is from Seattle.

ldarlee

Thank you, to all who responded. I originally thought of posting under Fifty-Plus but thought that I'd start here first. I did check out the Cascade and Redmond Club websites. Both look promising in at least starting to make connections. If we make the move, I guess that I'll be trading in all but one of my snow shovels for additional rain gear and a rust-resistant chain!

busygizmo

Full fenders with a splash guard are a must for group rides here 9 months out of the year although you can often avoid the rain with a flexible schedule and watching the local Doppler radar.

I've never been a member of Cascade but as mentioned they do a lot of weekly rides of all levels. I've been a member of the Mountaineers for climbing but they have a biking group. Membership is decidedly on the older side to the point that they are trying to grow membership. Both have websites you can peruse.

There are a lot of biking clubs in the area.

Bike Clubs in Washington StateWashington Bikes

Wildwood 

An active Classic & Vintage group of bicycle folks here locally. Not a club, but a lot of nice people (guys, at this point) who love older bikes. Cascade has so many rides, that's the best place to start.

USFS has an active snowshoe program at Snoqualmie Pass.
Closest skiing is also at Snoqualmie, both X-country and downhill.
Excellent hiking trails close, too. Cougar Mt (Newcastle), Tiger Mt (Issaquah), & Mt Si (North Bend).
If you like the outdoors, it's all here.
Get a kayak - there's lots of water around us, too.

ldarlee

Great link, busygizmo...thank you! Already have the fenders on my "winter" bike but I'll need to add them to my others for year-round use. Not afraid of the rain; I figure that it's just liquid snow.

Already have the kayak, Wildwood, and am looking forward to exploring new waters. After reading up on the area, I think that I'll be disappointed if we don't end up making the move.

busygizmo

Cool Idarlee. I think the Mountaineers might be a good place to start. They have groups involved in all the activities you've mentioned and basic instruction for any new activities you might want to try. They can be a bit rigid in their teaching and requirements for participation in their scheduled activities but all in all it is a place where you can often meet likeminded folks. From there you can either choose to participate in their activities or just organize your own outings with people you meet.

Typically you can safely ride 3-4 months a year without fenders here, this year was exceptional in that warm weather started early for us and it was hat and dry all summer. Some years are the opposite, rain all summer but rarely the heavy rains of other regions, just the steady drizzle. If you don't mind getting out in the rain then you certainly have what it takes to thrive here.
One thing to keep in mind is that 100 miles east of Seattle you are in the rain shadow of the Cascades and the weather is a lot drier. You can often get very pleasant days over there as early as March and late as October. Great for early season bike rides, rock climbing and white water rafting plus there is a fair amount of good cross country skiing, especially if you make the long drive to the Methow Valley in winter.
I would strongly advise taking an avalanche course if you plan on snowshoeing; there is enough regional differences that even if you have taken them before it is a good idea to take one here. I've had friends almost lose their lives because of it and every year we have a few fatalities that probably could have been avoided. I don't snowshoe much but I understand there are places that are relatively safe if conditions are questionable plus there are some easily accessible areas that are notoriously dangerous. A good avy course and some knowledgeable locals can hopefully steer you in the right direction.

ldarlee

Looks like we'll soon be on our way to Washington. Taking an avalanche course is great advice. Never had to worry about that in the flatlands around here. Looking forward to my first visit to Seattle in just a few weeks for a house-hunting excursion.

mgringle

This is incorrect. CBC is the largest cycling club in the USA and posts multiple daily rides nearly every day of the week for different skill levels. Take a look at their web site under free daily rides. I am an older rider and do not at all think it's 'skewed' toward younger riders.

allan6344

Some of their rides are on their Meetup page too. It's another place to look.