[grimreaper]

WSBMWR Club Ride 2010: Washington State Routes

We’ve all ridden on Washington State highways during our motorcycle travels. You know; the roads signed with a highway number superimposed on a white background of George Washington’s head. In years of riding we’ve probably covered thousands of miles on these roads, and watched the highway signs roll past more times than we can remember. And how often have we heard a morning or afternoon traffic report that mentions a backup or accident on Highway 18, 167, or 520?

All this got me to thinking; how many Washington State highways are there, and where do they begin and end? Google research led me to various web sites and some interesting facts. Since the 1970 state legislative session, these roads have officially been called Washington State Routes (SRs). Cross-checking data found on the Internet and eliminating those roads that no longer exist or have been decommissioned turned up a total of 174 active Washington State Route numbers, ranging in length from .41 miles (SR 41) to 436.12 miles (SR 20). Interestingly, one state route has no paved length at all (more on that later).

This year's club ride will explore these routes, and give our members an opportunity to travel to all corners of the state in the process. The concept is simple; every Washington State Route will serve as a target for the club ride. Ride to one of these routes, park your bike adjacent to one of the numbered highway signs and take a picture. Your points total will be equal to the sum of the state route numbers you accumulate. What’s the possible total? A whopping 52,722 points, not counting the Bonus Points listed below. All participants who accumulate at least 25,000 points will receive a Certificate of Participation and listing in The Shaft. In addition, subject to approval by the club, I propose that the top five finishers receive gasoline gift cards in the following amounts:

$100 for 1st place

$75 for 2nd place

$50 for 3rd place

$25 for 4th place

$15 for 5th place

Should anyone find the prospect of photographing 174 potential targets a bit daunting, I would like to point out that bagging the maximum number of highways is not the intended purpose of this year’s ride. Rather, I encourage each participant to strategize their trips so as to maximize the number of points they accumulate. For example, a loop ride east of Seattle linking I-405 and I-90 could be done by riding out the Maple Valley Highway (SR 169), turning east on SR 18 and returning on I-90. However, a much more efficient loop could be accomplished utilizing SR 900 as the connector between I-405 and I-90. You’d have a far greater point total (900 vs. 187) and would need to make only one picture stop.

I have completed an Excel file of Washington State Routes containing links to a route description and map of each as well as the end points of the route. This file will soon be posted on the WSBMWR web site and includes 174 highways, including the ‘mystery route’ that has no paved miles. You won’t find any superslabs among these roads, so don’t worry about having to stop along I-5 or I-90 for a photo-op. And this year’s Club Ride excludes U.S. routes as well, so highways such as US 2, 12 and 395 aren’t counted.

Rules:

1. For each of the targets being claimed, submit a photograph of your bike (or you in riding gear) parked near a numbered highway sign identifying that target. Signs at major junctions which list more that one highway number are also acceptable, although only one picture per state route number will be accepted.

2. Compile your photos in a binder or folder (digital media such as a CD-ROM is also acceptable) which includes your name, list of targets visited, date of target visitation, sum of target numbers and any bonus points being claimed.

3. You may start the 2010 Club Ride as soon as you wish after January 1st using my posted list of routes or the information given in the Useful Links section below.

4. All entries are due back to me by the December 2010 club meeting.

5. In the event of a tie for points, the earlier completion date of all targets will take precedence.

A few additional points regarding the 2010 Club Ride:

Accuracy: The list of targets currently being compiled will be as complete and up-to-date as I can make it based upon available resources. However, it is possible that I may overlook some information or incorrectly enter data. Please notify me about any errors that you find. If necessary, corrections will be posted on the WSBMWR web site and Forum.

Bonus Points: In the interest of simplicity, I have limited the addition of bonus points to the following:

• 1000 points for a photograph taken ‘riding’ the state route that has no paved miles. For this route only, I will waive the requirement that the photograph include a numbered highway sign.

• 1000 points for photographs taken on any of the five state routes that lie closest to the extreme geographic corners of Washington: SR 31 (northeast), SR 100 (southwest), SR 112 (west-northwest), SR 129 (southeast) and SR 548 (north-northwest). The 1000 bonus points will be awarded in addition to the points given for the respective highway number.

• An additional 1000 points for submittal of photos taken on all five of the state routes listed above. These points will be awarded in addition to the individual highway bonus points, making a total of 6000 bonus points for completing a ‘five corners’ ride.

Safety: I have not ridden on all of these routes, and cannot vouch for the accessibility of highway signs along each one. Parking adjacent to a highway sign may be dangerous or illegal, particularly for those routes that lie in urban areas. Use good judgment and discretion when choosing a place to stop. Obviously, photo stops should not be done as part of a group ride, and the time of day and day of the week will also be a factor affecting traffic volumes. For those highways where the sign is inaccessible by bike or rider, I will accept a photograph of the sign alone, or one which shows a distinguishable feature such as an on-ramp or junction where the highway number is clearly called out.

Useful links: Web sites that I have used to compile the list of targets for the 2010 Club Ride include:

Google list of State Highways in Washington

Highways in Washington State

State Highways, aka State Routes

WSDOT - State Route Web

Finally, although GPS has made map reading a lost art, for those who still enjoy the ‘analog’ pleasures of poring over a paper map to choose their routes, I highly recommend the Benchmark Maps Road and Recreation Atlas for Washington State. These can be purchased at recreations stores such as REI or ordered online:

Benchmark Maps

Thank you for participating in the 2010 Club Ride. Additional information will be periodically updated on the WSBMWR web page.

Enjoy your experience, and ride safely!

Robert Grimm
2010 Club Ride Coordinator
Email me

This post has been edited by grimreaper: 20 February 2010 - 06:17 AM

[GeorgeBarnes]

Has there been a spreadsheet of the routes posted somewhere?

Thanks for allowing a newbie question!

George Barnes

[Doug/Meg Barritt]

George, rather than wait for a spreadsheet, I think all you need to do is print out the highway lists from the first 3 links that Bob Grimm has given us. All you need to know is contained in those lists, and they make great checklists as you're going along. I did find when comparing the lists that they are not totally identical, having been produced in different years. I think the Google list is the most complete and accurate, because some highways have been deleted or renumbered, and Google shows that. The other lists, however, seem to make better checklists for keeping track of targets reached. Just get a good WA State highway map, and maybe a couple of county maps for the more densely populated areas, and you are good to go! Just be safe out there; some places are a little dangerous to park the bike by the sign for a photo, so you might want to look for another sign location. It's also OK to park somewhere remote from the sign, and walk back to get a picture of yourself (in riding gear) standing by the sign; we've done that quite a bit on the busier highways. I also recommend that entrants do this task individually (or in very small groups), because of the hazard of parking several bikes on the side of a busy highway. Hope this helps!
Doug and Meg Barritt
PS: It was nice meeting you up at Seabeck on the Feb. 7th post-meeting ride! Welcome to the Club!

[grimreaper]

Thanks for your question George, and welcome to the forum. Doug and Megan did an excellent job of responding; I will just add a few comments.

I am in the process of converting some of the data (state route number as well as starting and end points) from the Google list of Washington state routes (the first Useful Link in my ride description) into a spreadsheet that club members can use to record the date of their ride to a particular target. The spreadsheet will also find the sum (including bonus points) of all highways visited up to that point. I am hoping to finish this conversion in the next week or so. However, it’s a lot of data, and a somewhat tedious conversion process. I had assumed there wouldn’t be much need for it during our typically cold and wet season, but this has been an exceptionally warm and dry winter and I know some riders have already started compiling photos of targets. In the meantime, I suggest you follow Doug and Megan’s recommendations and manually record your rides until I can make the spreadsheet available.

Thanks for your interest and participation!

Bob Grimm

This post has been edited by grimreaper: 13 February 2010 - 07:25 PM

[GeorgeBarnes]

Thanks for the feedback Bob, Doug & Meg.

I have been working on a spreadsheet, but need to do some more work on it since I am showing 181 active routes!

This is going to be a great way to learn about my new home state.

Thanks again,

George

[grimreaper]

Okay everyone, here it is; I’ve attached a log sheet summarizing all 174 targets for this year’s club ride, including links to the highway description, starting and end points, total highway length and date ridden. You’ll have to manually make your own entries on this version, but if you email me I will send you a spreadsheet that will automatically sum your target subtotals and bonus points as well as the grand total of all your targets.

While I have made every possible effort to provide accurate data in this log sheet, I can not guarantee that it is free of errors. If you find any, please email me or post a reply on the forum and I will make corrections as necessary.

Bob Grimm

Attached File(s)

•  Club Ride Log Sheet (web).htm (389.5K)
  Number of downloads: 14

This post has been edited by grimreaper: 22 February 2010 - 06:59 AM

[diz41]

Thanks for doing this. I can see why it took time to do. I'm finding that the easy part of this is the ride. The hard part is getting pictures of the road signs and including the motorcycle. My SR 508 picture has a "NO PARKING" sign just below the highway marker. In Winlock to take a picture of the SR 505 sign I parked on the sidewalk. When I was getting my camera out the sheriff stopped and asked if I was having a problem. I told him I was just taking a picture. He said have a nice day and drove off. Whoever placed these signs didn't think much about motorcycle riders taking pictures of their signs.

Ken Dean

[GeorgeBarnes]

Bob,
Thanks for the spreadsheet.

I do have one more questions: in the rules section, you stated "The 1000 bonus points will be awarded in addition to the points given for the respective highway number." However, in the spreadsheet you pre-entered 1,000 points for each of the "bonus" roads. Which is correct, 1,000 points for each, or 1,000 points plus the value of the road?

Thanks again,

George, (19 targets & counting)

[grimreaper]

Hi George,

It is 1000 points plus the value of the road. I pre-populated the applicable roads in the Bonus Points column simply to make it easy for participants to see at a glance which highways count for extra points. You will need to enter the sum of the highway number and the 1000 bonus points in the Point Subtotal column when you have completed that target. For example, on State Route 31, you would enter 1,031 (31 + 1000) in the Point Subtotal column.

Hope that helps!

Bob

P.S: I do have an Excel file I can send which will automatically sum the Point Subtotals and Total Points for you. Just click on the Email me link in my original posting and I'll forward you a copy.

This post has been edited by grimreaper: 26 February 2010 - 03:43 AM

[grimreaper]

Thanks for the input Ken. I knew it would be a bit of a challenge to get photos on some of the roads and hope it doesn't prove too dangerous. As I stated in my Club Ride description, I will also accept a photo of you in riding gear or a picture of the sign alone if it's too dangerous to park your bike under it or stand next to it.

I've also gotten feedback from other riders that the highway signs can be few and far between and that there may not be many options for stopping. Another possibility may be to photograph one of the large green highway signs placed near major junctions. It may be that the placement of those signs affords better access for picture-taking.

I was just in Eastern Washington last month and noticed lots of state route signs placed off to the side of broad highway shoulders and with very little passing traffic. I'm hoping that as the weather warms up and club members are able to cover other parts of the state the access to these signs will become easier.

Bob Grimm

This post has been edited by grimreaper: 26 February 2010 - 04:09 AM

[GeorgeBarnes]

Bob,
Thanks, that clears it up.

And thanks for the offer of the spreadsheet, but I have already created one that totals the points accrued as I enter values in the "date completed" column.

This is going to be fun!

GB