A Little Snowy, a Lot Stinky During Annual Bike Event

For most Seattle-area residents, Saturday’s first snow was a great day to stay indoors, stay warm and stay dry. For about 900 mountain-bike riders, Saturday was a great day for a getting cold, wet and dirty. In other words, it was a great day for Stinky Spoke.

The  is an annual charity bike event that looks to find the worst weather day of the year, and hit more than 18 miles of Redmond and Woodinville trails all in the name of a good cause.

This year’s weather was particularly stinky, with more rain, more snow and a nearly 20-degree drop in temperature—changes that were more than welcomed by participants.

“This year was the stinkiest,” said Todd Cowles, the event’s director. In its five years, Stinky Spoke, while still muddy, cold and wet, had been mild compared to this year, Cowles said.

"This is the first time that the weather lived up to the event's name,” he said.

What was spawned as an idea over beers after a dirty bike ride has grown into a substantial charity event, with this year’s donation coming in at more than $17,000, Cowles estimated.

The charity is the , which looks to heal and strengthen children and adults with disabilities through “equine-assisted therapy.” Although nobody was riding horses at Saturday’s event, the idea of riders helping riders is the spirit of Stinky Spoke, Cowles said.

"Even though it’s up to almost 1,000 riders, it still feels like the little thing we created at Redhook one day," Cowles said.

Check out the gallery to get a feeling for the “stinky” experience along the trails. 

Editor's Note: Lucas Anderson is a journalism intern from UW.