Stinky Spoke Mountain Bike Ride
January 31, 2026
We are already planning for Stinky Spoke 2026! The new Senior & Community Center in Redmond was a big hit for starting the ride and enjoying the after party. You can park in the garage in the Redmond city complex, ride (or walk) to the Senior & Community Center to pick up your packets (if you didn't get them the day before) and start the ride near there. After you tackle Heart Attack Hill and breeze through the rest of the course, you and your friends can relax in the warm, dry Community Center! You can rock on with the DJ, enjoy some terrific food. You will have your choice of beer from Postdoc Brewing or a soft drink. There's a terrific silent auction. There will be prizes for the best poker hands from cards acquired at all of the SAG stops. All of this is included in your registration fee!
SO, join us NEXT YEAR on Saturday, January 31, 2026, to ride this classic 19-mile mountain bike loop in Redmond, WA, on what we hope will be the "stinkiest" weather day of the year. You belong to this ride, no matter your experience or fitness level--it's a fun ride for novice and expert mountain bikers alike! Let's pedal to raise funds to support local and international causes!
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Ride Day Details
REGISTRATION DETAILS (will be updated with 2026 details as we get closer to the date):
You can register for the event right up until 9 a.m. on Saturday, January 25--the start of the ride! After January 22, the rider price for all categories (individual, team, and family) goes to $85 per person. Online registration closes on January 22, but riders can register in-person at packet pickup on Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. at Postdoc Brewing or on the morning of the ride.
Sneak Peek:
Want to check out the ride route? Thanks to Best Side Cycling for recording video of the Stinky Spoke route:
Cycling the Thrilla Gravel Route for the First Time (Stinky Spoke).
Need to Know:
NO CLEATS ALLOWED (in the building) so bring an extra pair of shoes. The new Senior & Community Center is concerned about their new floors. So, riders should plan to change shoes before entering the building.
Auto Parking:
Every spot in the four-story City Hall parking structure is available for Stinky Spoke parking--even if it's posted. The address is 8711 160th Ave NE, Redmond, WA 98052. Overflow parking may be available at the King County Courthouse. PLEASE DON'T PARK IN THE LIBRARY PARKING LOT. If you have a roof rack on your vehicle, make sure it will clear the 7' parking garage. Enter the Senior & Community Center on the west side of the building near the terrace. Don't access the building through the front doors, please.
Packet Pickup:
Packet pickup will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. on Friday, January 24, 2025, at Postdoc Brewing Company, 17625 NE 65th St #100, Redmond, WA 98052. In terms of the ride, it’s always more convenient to pick up your packet the day before, if possible. Then, in the morning, you’ll park your car, ride your bike to the Senior & Community Center, and be all ready to go! If it’s not convenient to pick up your packet the day before, be at the Senior & Community Center starting at 7:30 a.m. on ride day to pick up your packet with your rider number. It’s possible to pick up your swag bag after the ride—all you’ll really need from the packet is your ride number.
Bike Parking:
This year again, we have bike racks available for the bikes that will be entered in the ride. After parking in the four-story parking garage, ride your bike to the surface lot on the north end of the Senior & Community Center. There will be some volunteers available to keep an eye on the bikes parked there, however riders should bring their own locks. Ride organizers will not be responsible for bikes before or after the ride.
What’s Available on the Ride Course:
Water is available at Redmond Ridge and Farrel-McWhirter Park SAG stops along the route. At the Little Bit stop in Farrel-McWhirter Park, traditional hot potatoes with Sriracha and hot chocolate are also available. If you’re going to need more fuel, better carry your own snacks.
Volunteering on the Day of the Event:
This event takes a lot of volunteer support. Even if you're not riding, volunteering to help before and after the ride is important.
Timing of the Ride:
The ride starts promptly at 9 a.m. from the west side of the Senior & Community Center near the terrace. The starting line will be marked, and announcements will be made. You may start the ride before 9 a.m., but there will be no guarantee that the SAG stops will be ready for you, particularly Heart Attack Hill and the stop at Redmond Ridge. If you take longer than five hours on the course, you may find that SAG stops have wrapped up for the day and most everyone will have left the Senior & Community Center. Lunch with Ivar's, Cascadia Pizza, and Falafel Salam food trucks will be ready at 11:30 and will stop serving at 1:30 p.m. Prizes will be awarded between 12:30 and 1:00 p.m. At 2:00 p.m., volunteers will be cleaning up and heading home.
The After Party:
After you’re finished riding, your registration fee entitles you to one free beer or soft drink (more beer is available for purchase) and hot food. For 2025, we have clam chowder from Ivar's and have booked two food trucks--Cascadia Pizza and Falafel Salam. Stick around for the results of the best poker hands and, even if you didn’t have a good hand, you’ll be eligible for drawings of wonderful gifts and prizes. There is a silent auction available, too, with some great items. Bring your favorite form of payment. We've also hired a DJ for some great after-ride music.
Food and Beverages Before and After the Ride:
We'll provide vouchers for registered riders to have lunch as part of their registration fee. Ivar's is donating clam chowder, and we'll have two food trucks on hand as well. Cascadia Pizza will join us once again in 2025. Their personal pizzas were a big hit in 2024. Falafel Salam will be new to Stinky Spoke in 2025. Thanks to Postdoc Brewing, all riders who are older than 21 will receive a ticket for a beer. (Soft drinks are also available.) Additional beers are available for purchase.
History of the Ride:
Stinky Spoke was started by avid mountain bike rider and organizer Todd Cowles to benefit Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center. After 13 years, the ride transitioned to the Rotary Club of Redmond, the ride’s current organizers. Despite a one-year hiatus during COVID, the ride continues on in its great tradition.
Course Description
The ride begins at the Redmond Senior & Community Center. Riders will head north on the Sammamish River Trail before taking a right on the Tolt Pipeline Trail to ascend Heart Attack Hill—either walking or riding is acceptable. After getting your heart rate up and celebrating its crest, you’ll wind your way on the Tolt Pipeline Trail through Redmond Ridge, into the Watershed on the Power Line Trail, through Farrel-McWhirter Farm Park to the Sammamish River Trail and back to the Senior & Community Center.
Ride Traditions
What keeps us coming back
Poker Ride
Heart Attack Hill
Redmond Ridge
Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center
Sammamish River
Finish Line
REGISTRATION IS LIVE!!!
Like in 2024, Redmond Rotary used GetMeRegistered! It is an easier, more user-friendly experience for individuals, families, and teams. Registration includes one beer, lunch, SAG stop snacks, goody bags, and all the fun you can stand. Priceless!
Make Stinky Spoke even more challenging, fun, and meaningful by fundraising for the Redmond Rotary Foundation, which supports charities locally and internationally. Prizes will be awarded to the top three fundraisers! Plus, you'll earn bragging rights for a year! Click on the Register button, then Become a Fundraiser to create your personalized fundraising page to share with friends, family, and co-workers.
On-line registration ends at midnight on January 22, 2025. You'll still be able to register in person on the day of the event, but it's going to cost you!
Our Charities
All proceeds go towards helping these non profit organizations and others:
Tips from our Blog
Tips, tricks, and other good to know information from our blog, written by our sponsors:
Great Memories
Come make some with us!
Frequently Asked Questions
Redmond Rotary depends on many volunteers on the day of the event to make it a success You can sign up to help either before or after the ride. Volunteer registration will be available closer to the event.
Parking is available at the Redmond City Hall parking garage, 8711 160th Ave NE, Redmond, WA 98052, on the second through fourth floors. Overflow parking may be available at the King County District Courthouse, 8601 160th Ave NE, Redmond, WA 98052. Please DO NOT park in the Redmond Public Library parking area.
Yes, you can register at packet pickup on Friday, January 24 at Postdoc Brewing,17625 NE 65th St #100, Redmond, WA 98052, from 3 to 6 p.m. You can also register the morning of the ride. HOWEVER, if you choose one of these options, the base cost of $70 will increase to $85.
Rider packets will be available starting at 7:30 a.m. on the day of the ride. Rider packets will also be available the evening before, Friday, January 24, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Postdoc Brewing Company, 17625 NE 65th St #100, Redmond, WA 98052. We encourage all riders to save time and pick up their packets the evening before the ride.
The part of the course that runs through the watershed is a single track. There are places you can ride side by side, but there might be other people on the trail. We’d say that more than 70 percent is not a single track. The ride through the watershed has many curves and only a few steep ups and downs. Most of the Pipeline Trail is wide. Heart Attack Hill is a challenge, with two steep downhill runs on the course.
Rain will make the ride even stinkier! We will hold the ride, even if it's raining. We have, however, postponed the ride when snowy and icy conditions made it too treacherous to ride. Sometimes the weather can be just too stinky.
Kids and families are welcome to ride. However, the course is challenging, and we recommend that riders be nine years of age or older.
We are not checking that each rider wears a helmet, but it is recommended for the safety of each rider.
Yes, electric bikes are allowed.
Redmond Rotary Club
Rotary International is a humanitarian service organization that brings together business and professional leaders in order to provide community service, promote integrity, and advance goodwill, peace, and understanding in the world. Redmond Rotary produces Stinky Spoke, our major fundraising event of the year, to raise needed funds for local charities and international priorities. Its education program recognizes students-of-the-month at Redmond High School, supports Redmond High’s Interact Club, and awards scholarships so that students can further their educations.
(Thanks to all the photographers that have captured Stinky Spoke images. Our lead photo is courtesy of Kimberly Lind Photography.)
Redmond Rotary meets on the first, third, and fifth (if there is one) Thursdays of each month at noon at the Family Pancake House and the second and fourth Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. at Postdoc Brewing Company - Join us! For more information go to: https://www.redmondrotary.org.
