PHOTOS: Bike to Work Day in Lake City

Friday was Bike to Work Day. An estimated 20,000 people participated in the annual event aimed at getting commuters to get some exercise and get out of their cars. The Cascade Bicycle Club describes Bike to Work Day here:

F5 Bike to Work Day is a blast. Thousands of cyclists pack the streets. Smiles, waves and the friendly ring of bike bells fill the air. No matter what or where your commute, you won't be riding alone on Bike to Work Day.

This was also the first year that Lake City had its own Bike to Work Day station. The station was staffed by folks from Performance Bicycle and our own Kaffeeklatsch coffee shop and bakery, which provided cookies and coffee for commuters. The folks working the station counted about 80 riders commuting through Lake City during Bike to Work Day.

(Thanks to neighbor Justus Jessen for the photos. If you ever want to submit photos of events or happenings in the neighborhood send them along and we may publish them.)

Commuters stop at the station early in the morning.

Staff from Performance Bicycle are ready to do some wrenching

A commuter gets an assist with her bike.

A commuter stops at the station.

Commuters roll up to the station. We are sure the smell of fresh coffee was a draw.

A commuter gets some bike advice.

A commuter gets tips on biking.

Some helpful wrenching on a commuter's bike.

Lost Cat

Kiki has been missing since Tuesday evening. She usually walks with her owners through the neighborhood around the Olympic Hills Elementary area. On Tuesday night, the owners took a different route, heading further east than usual. She was last seen that evening near the elementary school.

Kiki has a blue collar and some of the dye from the collar has transferred to her white fur. If you see Kiki, please contact us with information.

Neighborhood BBQ scheduled for Friday evening at Virgil Flaim Park

The weather is warm, the sun is out, and residents of our community seem to be coming out of their moss-covered winter cocoons.

Lets celebrate the coming summer and our neighborhood with a good-ol'-fashioned barbecue this Friday, May 18th.

We will meet up at Virgil Flaim Park at 5:30 p.m. We will provide hot coals to grill on, plates, cups and drinks.

You bring something to grill or something to share. As always, everyone is welcome!

Lake City's first Bike to Work Day station to be set up this Friday

Better get some air in those tires, because Friday is Bike to Work Day.

This Friday, May 18th, is F5 Bike to Work Day. Over 20,000 people are expected to take their two wheels to Seattle streets as they bike to work.

And for the first time this year, Lake City will have its own Bike to Work station from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.

The Bike to Work station will be at the Lake City Mini Park, corner of NE 125th Street and Lake City Way. It will be staffed by the fine folks from Kaffeeklatsch and Performance Bicycle.

Cookies, coffee and and mechanical assistance for bike riders will be provided at the Lake City Bike to Work station.

They will also offer free water bottles, maps and other such items handy for bike commuters.

More info is available here on the Cascade Bicycle Club's events page.

And if you need to know the best route here is a handy bike commuter map provided by the City of Seattle.

And while we are on the topic of bicycles, remember that Bike Works is offering two free opportunities for you to learn how to work on your own bike or give it that summer tune up it desperately needs. Both opportunities are on June 3rd at the Lake City Community Center.

There is still plenty of space in the Squeaky Brakes Class but we would recommend signing up now as once people discover what a great opportunity this free class is it will likely fill up fast. The two hour Squeaky Brakes Class is from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Sunday, June 3rd. A Bike Works instructor will guide students on basic bicycle maintenance.

The second opportunity is the BYOBike Drop-in scheduled from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., also on June 3rd. The drop-in is also free and a Bike Works instructor will offer guidance during the BYOBike program.

Both are a fantastic opportunity to help you give your bike a much-needed tune up.

All are welcome to sign up for the classes. And again, they are free.

Pilot program to limit access to cheap beer, wine for chronic public inebriates begins

A sign at left informs that single servings of alcohol are not allowed before 1 p.m. at the 99 Cent Etc. Store

Some stores in Lake City have joined a pilot program where the businesses do not sell fortified beer and wine between the hours of 6 a.m. and 1 p.m. The program is an attempt to limit access to cheap beer and wine with a high alcohol content, drinks favored by chronic public inebriates.

It is well-documented by neighborhood groups that collect and count cans and bottles strewn on our streets during community walks that Lake City has a serious public drinking problem. Douglas Park Cooperative has collected staggering numbers of cans during its twice-weekly walks.

The new program comes after strong prompting from the mayor's office and cooperation form the distributors.

Neighborhood group Douglas Park Cooperative was first pursuing an Alcohol Impact Area for the neighborhood, a much more strict program. But the voluntary pilot program was proposed by the City of Seattle because of the difficulty of keeping updated lists of regulated drinks as makers of the drinks regularly change the drinks' names.

The program will be in place seven days a week and does not include bars and restaurants.

Under the program distributors encouraged retailers to participate in the program.

A tower of Steel Reserve tall boys in the 99 Cent Etc. store

Because the program is in its early stages there is not an accurate count of how many business in the neighborhood are participating in the pilot program. But signs stating that single servings of alcohol are not available before 1 p.m. have been seen at at least three convenience stores in the last few days.

The Office of Economic Development plans to work with the businesses to highlight other options for small businesses that relied on selling large amounts of fortified beer and wine.

City leaders have said that if the program does not prove successful an Alcohol Impact Area may still be enforced in Lake City.

Parks Improvements Survey

Please fill out the survey below so that we can show community support for the crime prevention changes to the Park that were discussed at last Monday's meeting.