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REI’s biggest sale of the year takes place every year in May. The REI annivesary sale is your best chance to save up to 30% on camping gear, backpacking gear, bags for commuting or traveling, climbing equpment, togs for gym workouts or yoga, everything you need for cycling or watersports, sportswear for you and the kids, sandals, and shoes. If you are an REI member, you can save with a special 20% off coupon on one full price item (yeah, there’s fine print on this deal…but it can be a steal!).
The annivesary sale runs May 18-28, 2012. Check out an REI store near you, or shop online:
Missed the sale? Here are more ways you can save at REI everyday:
- Check the Deal of the Day. Save 45% or more with daily deals on the best names in outdoor gear and clothing.
- Check the Deal of the Week. Save up to 60% on top outdoor gear! Weekly deals change every week, so check every Friday for new savings.
- Shop online at REI Outlet for bargains that are available exclusively online at special prices not available in REI stores. Save on new arrivals, overstocks, special buys, find deals under $20 and more.
REI offers many free classes and events at area stores on a wide variety of recreational topics like climbing, cycling, hiking, camping, outdoor fitness, snowsports, and more!
Check out the class offerings at a Washington REI store near you:
Wild Waves Theme Park, 36201 Enchanted Pkwy S, Federal Way, WA 98003 (Google map) is over 70 acres and the largest water park in the Northwest. It’s two parks for the price of one with over 60 rides, slides, attractions, and entertainment shows included* with your admission ticket (*except the I-5 Dive, Midway Games the Arcades, and some special events which require an extra fee as indicated on the events calendar).
2012 Ticket Prices
- Pools open for 2012 season May 26.
- Regular general admission adult tickets (anyone over 48″ tall) are $39.99/front gate.
- Discount tickets are $32.99 purchased in advance online or at select Safeway locations. Children 3 years old and younger are FREE.
- Discount tickets are also available with AAA membership, after 5pm Friday-Saturday, and after 4pm Sunday. (Park closing times vary, see the Calendar at Wild Waves.)
- For 3 or more visits, buy the 2012 SEASON PASS through June 3 for $84.99, the price increases June 4 to $89.99. The season pass gives one person only per pass unlimited visits for the season on any regular operating day. Children 3 years old and younger are FREE.
- Taxes are added to all ticket prices.
- Parking is $10 daily rate, or buy a Season Parking Pass** for $40.00. (**Sold onsite only. Ask a parking attendant.)
Cascade Bicycle Club offers free Kids’ Bike Events. Kids and teens ages 4-15 can find something to do at many Cascade events.
Check their website for a list of current kids bike events.
Here’s a list of places to find a map for Seattle bicycling, a King County bike map or Washington state bike map, plus bicycle maps for other regional and local areas and plenty of useful bicycling information:
Wiith the City of Seattle committed to becoming the most bicycle-friendly city in the country, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has launched BikeSmart. BikeSmart has two primary goals:
- to encourage more people to ride their bicycle
- to improve bicycle safety
One of SDOT’s most popular publications is the free download Seattle Bicycling Guide Map. The map presents information about cycling in Seattle in a clear, easy-to-use, and friendly format. The map is updated annually and includes information about facilities including green bike lanes, bike boxes, and signed routes. To request a Bike Smart Seattle kit mailed to your address fill out the online order form at Bike Smart Seattle. The kit comes complete with a Seattle bike map, coupons, calendar of events, and more.
To promote safe riding in King county and the Puget Sound area, Cascade Bicycle Club sells affordable helmets at community events throughout the summer. The city of Seattle and King County require that bicyclists wear helmets. Bicyclists can be fined $80 for not wearing a helmet.
Traditional bike helmets and multisport styles in toddler through XL are available, for $15 each. Check their website for a list of current sale locations.
There are several bicycle clubs and advocacy groups in and around Seattle, with membership beginning as low as $15 per year and that offer rides and other benefits of interests to bicyclists.
Bicycle clubs and advocacy groups in Washington State
- Bicycle Alliance of Washington (BAW) members believe that bicycling in Washington is inexpensive, healthy and fun, and that bicycles are a viable transportation alternative. BAW advocates for bicyclists and a bike-friendly Washington. Membership is $35/Individual and $60/Family. If you purchase (or renew registration on) a special design Washington Share the Road License Plate for your vehicle, you get a free Individual Membership to BAW. Special design license plates cost up to $45 , in addition to standard licensing fees. Contact your local Washington state vehicle licensing office to determine the exact cost of special design plates for your vehicle.
- Cascade Bicycle Club is a non-profit organization based in Seattle, Washington and serves more than 13,000 members in the Puget Sound bicycling community. The mission of CBC is to Create a Better Community through Bicycling. Memberships start as low as $35 for individuals.
- Cyclists of Greater Seattle (C.O.G.S.) is a Seattle Area cycling club with great rides, fun people and social events. Single/family membership $16/$20.
- Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance is the state’s largest mountain bike advocacy and trail building group focused on protecting sustainable mountain biking opportunities in Washington state. Membership begins at $30.
- Evergreen Tandem Club is for riders of tandem bikes. Membership is $25 / tandem team
- Redmond Cycling Club is a group of individuals joined together for inspiration, camaraderie, and enjoyment through challenging cycling. Membership is $15 for individuals/families.
- Seattle Bicycle Club is a not-for-profit membership organization dedicated to the interests of recreational cyclists. Club interests are recreation, exercise, safety and camaraderie. The Seattle Bicycle Club does not charge a membership fee.
National bicycling clubs
- Adventure Cycling Association inspires people of all ages to travel by bicycle, explore landscapes and the history of America for fitness, fun, and self-discovery.
Green Cross PATIENT CO-OP (GCPC) of Seattle encourages patients to utilize numerous methods of medicating beyond smoking marijuana, such as herbal tinctures and teas, medicated baked goods, cannabis candy and chocolates, oral sprays for quick dosing and sore throats and tooth aches, and topical applications for pain, swelling, gout, cuts, burns, scratches, rashes, insect bites, sunburns, dry, chapped skin, herpes, stiff necks, headaches (even migraines), arthritis, tendinitis and more. GCPC also offers classes for patients on Washington State Medical Marijuana laws and how to grow medicine for themselves. GCPC of Seattle is a private, not for profit cooperative of Washington State medical marijuana (MMJ), patients whose mission is to assist each other through counseling, support, information, education, verification and registry. The Green Cross PATIENT CO-OP is open to Washington State residents that present a bona fide need for medicinal cannabis on the advice of their physician or other health care professional.
Alternative Health Treatment & Healing Center is a compassionate group that is dedicated to providing healthier options for residents of Washington State. They offer low income assisiance to those who qualify, 100% medically defensable authorizations, and a knowledgable, friendly staff.
Seattle Medical Marijuana Association (SMMA) is a small grow co-op consisting of qualified marijuana patients linked together by their mutual need to produce the highest quality organic medicine for personal use. SMMA strives to provide a safe place for patients that is a model of compassion and legal integrity. The SMMA operates in strict compliance with the letter and the spirit of Washington’s medical marijuana laws.
Everyone is welcome to the Earthworks Inaugural Ride for bicyclists to celebrate the restoration of the Herbert Bayer Earthwork Park in Kent on SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2012 at 9:00am. Following the Inaugural Ride on June 2, the Earthworks Tour will become a permanent bicycle route and remain open to the public for self-guided tours. The Earthworks Tour will be expanded upon within the coming months and years as new routes become available to bicyclists. Check the earthworks website for trail updates before you head out.
Inaugural Ride:
- When: SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2012 at 9:00 AM
- Where: Herbert Bayer Earthworks, Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks Park, 742 East Titus Street, Kent, WA
- Preregistration: It’s free and simple to sign-up for the Inaugural Ride.
Riders can choose from three routes:
- The Easy Ride, recommended for families, is a flat, 12 mile ride to the Green River Natural Resources Area and back. Beginning riders and families with children can ride in a group with experienced ride leaders.
- The Intermediate Loop is a 20 mile ride that takes riders through the Green River Natural Resources Area and out to Lorna Jordan’s Waterworks Gardens. It is also mostly flat with a single, long incline approaching Waterworks Gardens.
- The Advanced Ride follows the 20 mile route but includes a steep hill climb up to the Robert Morris Earthwork that adds 3 miles.
All of the roadways and trails along the tour are paved. Visitors can bike to each location but should plan to walk through the earthworks. Rest areas will be located at the Green River Natural Resources Area and Waterworks Gardens.
The Earthworks Tour is a new bicycle route that is being organized by the City of Kent Arts Commission. The tour connects four iconic landscapes in the Green River Valley that are all internationally recognized, but not well known locally. Three were designed by artists and the fourth is a nature preserve. They are the Herbert Bayer Earthwork, the Robert Morris Earthwork, Lorna Jordan’s Waterworks Gardens and the Green River Natural Resources Area.
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