This weekend I had the pleasure of teaching a group of Boy Scouts about the joys of cycling. I have been a Cycling Merit Badge counselor for about 5 years now and find it very rewarding.
The main purpose of this post is to link to all the information I discussed in the class and give a short description of some of the routes I have used for the 10, 15, 25, and 50 mile rides required to finish the merit badge.
10 mile rides
Marymoor Park to Redhook Brewery - very easy ride on the Sammamish River Trail.
15 mile rides
East Lake Sammamish Trail - Easy ride on a gravel surface (although they are paving the trail in the summer of 2011)
25 mile rides
Issaquah-Preston-Snoqualmie Trails - Easy to moderately challenging ride with a great view of Snoqualmie Falls at the end.
Snoqualmie Valley Trail - Snoqualmie Falls Easy trail up to the falls from Carnation.
50 mile ride
Marymoor - North Lake Washington Loop - moderately challenging ride around the north half of Lake WA. We finished it off with some laps around the track to make it an even 50 miles.
Iron Horse State Park - FABULOUS ride with great views. Can't go through the tunnel. Easy ride.
Cycling Skills: http://bit.ly/jeqVCF
Cycling Classes: Cascade Bicycle Club, REI
Bicycle Repair info: Sheldon Brown, Park Tool "Repair Help"
Low Cost Helmets: Cascade Bicycle Club Helmet Campaign