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What's your favorite summer activity?
Riding on all the fabulous trails in and around Spokane: the Centennial Trail, Fish Lake Trail, the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes. Just taking advantage of all the long distance rides we have around here.
Where do you have to go every summer?
I love camping on Lopez Island with its beautiful coastline. I love the San Juan islands. The beaches. The serenity. Lopez is one of the best islands for cycling. It is the cycling island.
What is Summer Parkways?
Summer Parkways is Spokane's biggest block party, with four miles of streets closed to motorized vehicles. We had 4,000 people last year. There's lots of walking, dancing, jogging. And cycling, of course. Lots of activities for kids. Lots of vendors, like Crepe Cafe Sisters and Kona Ice. And the Park Bench Cafe will be open late for snacks and drinks along the route.
So it's not just for bikes?
No it's not. It's more than cycling. Lots of people look at it as a cycling event, but it's for pedestrians, scooters, skaters. Purely human-powered recreation. It's four miles of car-free roads where you can do as much or as little as you want, at whatever pace you want. For kids, it's a great way to ride a bike and not worry about traffic. Same for adults.
What else will people see there?
There will be a bike rodeo up at Hart Field, with a slalom course, one with jumps, and other obstacles. It's very popular. And the tango group! Grant Shipley — you might have seen him riding around town with a boombox — he also dances the tango. He gets a group of friends together. They stop on corners and dance for a few minutes, then they just jump on their bikes and stop again when they feel like it. They're just fabulous.
Where did the idea for Parkways come from?
It came from Ciclovía, which originated in Bogotá, Colombia, which has closed some of its major streets every Sunday since the 1970s to do exactly what Summer Parkways does. ♦
