Seattle Bicycle Expo-March 10

Each year in March, the Seattle Bicycle Expo occurs for two days. As has been the case for the previous two years, it was held at the Pier 91 Cruise Ship Terminal. This makes it a short bicycle ride(or long walk) from the Seattle Ferry Terminal. I rode the cross bike to downtown Bremerton and caught the 0720 ferry to Seattle. It was a nice, but a bit wet ride on the path through Myrtle Edwards Park to the cruise ship terminal. At least the wind was at my back! I arrived 20 minutes before the 0900 opening and got in the already long line.

To me, the Bicycle Expo is a lot like the boat/car/motorcycle/marine trade shows that I attend each year. One guy called it the "yearly gathering of the flock". I guess I don't look at any of these shows that way. I usually don't know that many people attending, so I don't socialize much.

 There is a lot of the same stuff every year, but also it is a good chance to see new stuff as well as pick up lots of free brochures and maps. A lot of clubs, tour companies, county parks and other government organizations are there to encourage you to ride their organized ride, buy their tour or visit their region. I like to pick up the free bicycle maps from areas around the pacific northwest, it makes it nice to preplan tours and destinations. I ended up with a big bag of brochures and maps to sort through.

Something I also look for is good deals on clothing and components. In the past I have found great deals on shoes, gloves, tire tubes and handlebar tape. This year there did not appear to be as many good deals as in the past. I looked at some leg and arm covers, but was not impressed enough to buy any.

I spent about 1-1/2 hours at the expo and then headed home on the 1110 ferry. The weather forecast was for rain in the afternoon, so I was looking to avoid it. I did not take time to eat fish and chips at Ivars either!

Total riding distance(with a short detour to Elliott Bay Marina): 18 miles.

 The upper floor with some of the exhibits.

The lower floor/entrance. I did find a booth here that was promoting rides to support people with ALS. They were nice to talk to and provided me with a lot of good information.