Inside Cascade Bicycle Club: Paul Tolmé on Epic Rides, Bold Advocacy & Real Change

Meet Paul Tolmé, Content Strategy and Media Relations Manager at the Cascade Bicycle Club, for a lively conversation about biking across Washington—and how cycling is transforming lives, communities, and transportation policy.

Paul shares the origin story of Cascade Bicycle Club, a nonprofit that’s been pedaling progress since 1970. With more than five decades of advocacy and education under its belt, the club has played a key role in helping Washington earn the title of America’s most bike-friendly state—a designation it reclaimed in 2023 thanks to initiatives like statewide youth bike education and safety legislation.

Scott and Paul cover a lot of ground (pun intended), from Cascade’s iconic Seattle to Portland (STP) ride—now in its 46th year—to newer events like the Iron Horse Gravel Ride on the Palouse to Cascades Trail and the Revel Ride, designed for women and non-binary cyclists. Whether you’re a hardcore road cyclist or just curious about hopping on an e-bike, Cascade has something for everyone.

One highlight? The club’s community impact. During the pandemic, Cascade riders delivered over 1.5 million pounds of food to food-insecure families around Seattle—by bike. It’s a jaw-dropping achievement that illustrates the organization’s heart and creativity.

Paul also sheds light on Cascade’s welcoming approach, including how rides are structured to suit all skill levels, from 25-mile recreational loops to multi-day adventures. Bonus: Many rides include wine tastings, fried chicken, or ferry rides—what’s not to love?

Other gems in this episode:

• How an 8-year-old completed the STP ride on her own
• What Paul considers his desert-island bike (spoiler: it’s a gravel bike)
• Why Cascade encourages e-bike riders as part of its inclusive mission
• What it feels like to ride through Seattle at dawn with thousands of cyclists

If you’re looking to see Washington from a new perspective—or just want a reason to dust off your bike—this episode will inspire you to hit the trail.

Check out Cascade.org for a full list of upcoming rides, classes, and ways to get involved.

Paul Tolmé Cascade Bike Club Episode Transcript

Hello, friends, and welcome to the Exploring Washington State podcast. My name is Scott Cowan, and I’m the host of the show. Each episode, I have a conversation with an interesting guest who is living in or from Washington State. These are casual conversations with real and interesting people. I think you’re gonna like the show. So let’s jump right in with today’s guest. Alright. My guest today is Paul Tolmé, and he is the content strategy and media relations manager for the Cascade Bicycle Club.

Scott Cowan [00:00:33]:

Paul, thanks for sitting down with me.

Paul Tolmé [00:00:35]:

I’m really excited to be on the Exploring Washington, podcast.

Scott Cowan [00:00:40]:

Awesome, man. So give me a little backstory. You’ve got a weird area code phone number on your cell phone. I’m teasing you, but you could you know, what brought you out to Seattle? What brought you out to Washington state?

Paul Tolmé [00:00:55]:

Well, it was, a beautiful woman that I fell in love with. Yeah. So I’ve got a Colorado, Boulder, Colorado area, area code, which, you know, in the area of you gotta keep your cell phone number or else all your old friends will will lose touch with you. So, yeah, I moved to Seattle in 02/2015, to, be near my, my girlfriend, now wife. And so that brought me to Seattle, and that began kind of a journey of learning about bicycling in Seattle versus in in, Colorado and in the Lake Tahoe area where I’ve been. And I came to these this nonprofit because it does a lot of really good work in Seattle and across the state to help create more bike lanes and put on big rides. Cascade Bicycle Club really is the sort of one stop shop for folks in Washington state who wanna get involved in bicycling, or find out about big rides.

Scott Cowan [00:02:00]:

Okay. Well, first off, welcome. You there’s that whole reputation of the Seattle freeze and all that, but, you know, hey. And you’re you’re from you’re from Colorado, and I could you know, anyway, I won’t tease you. So but you’re here. You’re how did you get alright. So let me no. Let me not ask that question.

Scott Cowan [00:02:20]:

Cascade Bicycle Club, how did it get started? How many years has it been active?

Paul Tolmé [00:02:27]:

Yeah. So Cascade Bicycle Club, actually began in 1970. It is, the largest statewide bike, nonprofit in the country. And the fact that there, has been a bike club here advocating and and and talking to legislators and city officials, to, for instance, get, you know, safety laws passed like the we have the the three foot passing law for when when when drivers are passing, people on bikes, you gotta give them three feet, just for safety. So advocating for laws like that, which, you know, historically were not on the books until, this group, began organizing people who like to ride and wanna ride bikes, to advocate for them. So Cascade Bicycle Club is also why Washington state is named the most bike friendly state in the country year after year, because the the legislature, has is very, supportive of funding, bike lanes, bike infrastructure, etcetera. And, you know, our former governor Jay Inslee was, quite an avid, bike rider. And so that’s kind of cascaded in a nutshell.

Paul Tolmé [00:03:52]:

We’re over 50 years old, and, we we’ve we’ve helped Washington state become a very bike friendly state.

Scott Cowan [00:04:00]:

I’m I’m actually looking at an article that you wrote. We’re number one, our biggest bike wins of 2024. The question I have, you you it states here, delivered world class rides and reclaimed the title, most bike friendly state. Who took that title from us that we got

Paul Tolmé [00:04:20]:

a bike

Scott Cowan [00:04:20]:

in 2021?

Paul Tolmé [00:04:22]:

We had it Washington had it for eleven years in a row, and then Massachusetts, sneaked in there, partly because they also stepped up their game and and and built a lot of bike lanes. And and, but we one of the reasons one of the primary reasons we then, this year, reclaimed the the number one most bike friendly state from the the national organizations call is called the League of American Bicyclists, and they’re in Washington DC. And they give out these bike friendly state awards. In any case, in 2023, thanks to our advocacy, the state legislature created a, statewide youth, bike education, initiative, whereby we are helping to expand bike lessons, basically teaching, kids from elementary, all the way up through middle and high school, safe biking techniques so that they can bike to school, know the the rules of the road, be safe most importantly. And so that statewide initiative, is why one of the major reasons why we were once again awarded the most number one bike friendly state in the country.

Scott Cowan [00:05:39]:

I I love the fact that we’re teaching kids how to ride. There’s another article on the site about the major Taylor project, and you helped a kid in Tacoma, a high school graduate even. So he would he didn’t know how they didn’t know how to ride a bike until they were a teenager. And the Major Taylor Project is a way that you guys are able to help people that wanna learn how to ride ride?

Paul Tolmé [00:06:07]:

Yeah. We have a lot of, bike education, initiatives. And the Major Taylor project is one, specifically, that works in South King County and in Pierce County around Tacoma to help kids youth whose families maybe can’t afford a a bike or who, for cultural reasons, have never learned to bike. And so Visett, the student you mentioned in the article, was actually a high school senior when he joined the major Taylor project in Tacoma, and learned how to bike. He was, you know, a a kid who was walking to school every day, and he didn’t have a bike, but he dreamed of having, having a bicycle of his own and learning to ride. And so the major Taylor project, and our instructors in that program, got him geared up. And so Visett is just a little spotlight on our blog, but he’s an example of how, we’re trying to help young people, grow, become more independent because a lot of adults who remember learning how to ride a bike as a kid, if you’re one of those people, you remember the feeling of freedom and independence. Suddenly, you didn’t need your parents to drive you to soccer practice or baseball practice.

Paul Tolmé [00:07:29]:

And this was my my childhood experience where once I learned to ride, I could go visit my friend’s house. You know, I could go to I started riding to school once I was and my parents felt, I was old enough and safe enough to get to school on my bike. And so that’s what we wanna spread that joy for young people, but we also teach, older folks. We offer lessons, at our headquarters in Magnuson Park in Seattle. And so, during the pandemic, when a lot of people were turning to bicycling as a way to get outside, for healthy activity back when we were all you know, we couldn’t be together in big groups. So learning to ride a bike outside was one of the healthy activities. And so we teach people of all ages to ride bikes, but the statewide youth bike education program is a real feather in our cap, as is the Major Taylor project, which has been going on for over a decade. And Major Taylor, it’s named after a legendary, black bicyclist, turn of the century, world champion, and and multiple time national champion who was competing in the eighteen nineties and early nineteen hundreds and sort of the, you know, the greater than Lance Armstrong, better you know, compare him to one of the biggest athletes of the day.

Paul Tolmé [00:08:54]:

He was the kind of the LeBron James maybe of that era in terms of he was known around the world. Bike racing, amazingly, was a huge sport, at the turn of the century. And so this project is named after Major Taylor, as sort of an inspiration, inspirational figurehead for this for this, program, which seeks to get, you know, youth of color onto bikes, for for personal growth, for liberty, for health, for all the reasons that, being able to go from a to b independently without your parents is, a real part of of growing up and maturing and becoming a young adult.

Scott Cowan [00:09:40]:

That’s that’s excellent. Now the reason that I reached out to the organization was I had a reminder on my computer from last year to for Explore Washington State to put together some coverage for the sale to Portland bicycle ride. I always I’m probably gonna call it a race. I don’t I just I know it’s a ride. Probably slipping the word race throughout the show, but it’s a ride, folks. It’s Seattle to Portland bicycle ride. But you and I talked, and I’m not a bicyclist, and I wasn’t very aware of all of the other things that your organization is putting on. So we’re gonna get to the sale to Portland because to me, that’s probably what’s the best known for those of us that aren’t bicycle enthusiasts.

Scott Cowan [00:10:28]:

But I had no idea how many other rides you guys organize, sponsor, all of the outreach that you provide. I had no idea that Washington State was the number one most bicycle friendly state. I I’m a little surprised by that, to be very honest with you. I would have thought I think I probably would have thought California, to be honest with you. Right.

Paul Tolmé [00:10:54]:

I don’t

Scott Cowan [00:10:54]:

know why, but that’s just me not being a bicyclist. But a couple of things that I I saw that I really wanted to I I wanted to ask you to expand on is, the Revel revolution, and that’s for women and non binary writers who wanna explore Lake Sammamish. And then the Iron Horse Gravel is on the Palouse To Cascades Trail. It’s from Snoqualmie to Cle Elum and back.

Paul Tolmé [00:11:24]:

Yeah. Those are our two newest routes.

Scott Cowan [00:11:26]:

I didn’t realize. Yeah. I didn’t realize. And it’s funny. Here’s the guy that’s on Explore Washington State, but don’t realize a lot of things about the state. I never really thought that the Palouse Cascades would be a bike trail as well. Have you ridden that?

Paul Tolmé [00:11:42]:

Yes. I have. And so that is a former historic railroad grade. It used to be called the Right. It was part of the Milwaukee Road, and it was called the Iron Horse Trail for a while. But, at some point, it was transferred to the Washington State Parks, and now it’s a long linear park. It’s called the Palouse Cascades, State Park, Palouse Cascades State Park Trail.

Scott Cowan [00:12:10]:

Yep.

Paul Tolmé [00:12:10]:

And so, yeah, it it it spans much of Washington State, two hundred fifty miles long approximately. Yeah. And so this Iron Horse ride, which you reference, is, is just going basically, the the Palouse Cascades Trail starts around North Bend right outside Seattle. And it it’s a railroad grade, nice steady railroad grade that goes up over Snoqualmie Pass and then down toward Cle Elum. And so that will be the Iron Horse gravel ride you’re talking about, which will be a two day ride. It will we’ll go over to Cle Elum on the first day, 30 plus miles each day. The first half of each day will be all uphill, and the second half of each day will be all downhill as you come off of Snoqualmie Pass. And like all of our rides, we, these are paid rides, and they are fundraisers for all of our education and advocacy work.

Paul Tolmé [00:13:09]:

But we provide meals, mechanical support. For this one, since it’s an overnight trip, we have baggage, a truck that folks could either load their camping gear if they wanna camp out with us, on the river in Cle Elum or if you wanna stay in a hotel. In any case, we we try to make it as plug and play for folks as possible to come out and join us on a ride by providing food, water. So, really, you just get on your bike, fill your water bottles, and get to the next rest stop. You can fill up again, have a snack, and hopefully be in the company of a lot of friendly folks. Yeah. You mentioned, STP, which is the Seattle Portland. We call it STP for short.

Paul Tolmé [00:13:56]:

It the it’s a ride, not a race. We have folks who who wanna go fast and they go fast. And then we have folks who who, just wanna go at their own pace. And they’ll they’ll spend a little more time on the bike out there, but we want everybody to know that regardless of your ability, you’re welcome on our rides, and we will, try to uplift you and make sure you get across the finish line.

Scott Cowan [00:14:21]:

Well, one of my takeaways here is you guys almost act like a like a tour, company in the sense that, you know, you’re you are a tour company in the sense if you’re providing, you know, support, food, bike repair, not that you’re necessarily repairing bikes for people, but you maybe you’re carrying gear. So if my chain broke, you could help me fix it.

Paul Tolmé [00:14:42]:

Yeah. Flat tires.

Scott Cowan [00:14:44]:

Like that.

Paul Tolmé [00:14:45]:

Yeah. And so you mentioned these tours. I could I could Oh, okay. Sorry to cut you off there.

Scott Cowan [00:14:54]:

Let’s talk tours.

Paul Tolmé [00:14:55]:

Yeah. Yeah. No. No.

Scott Cowan [00:14:56]:

You you you These

Paul Tolmé [00:14:58]:

are the three day ones, of which we offer multiple as well. And for me, personally, coming to Washington state, the, the cascade tours have been a great way for me to explore a lot of parts of Washington that I had never been to. So in May, we’ll have the Walla Walla tour, which is a beautiful ride out in Southeastern Washington. Walla Walla used to be known for its sweet onions, and now it’s the Napa Valley. It’s the wine region of of Washington. And so that is a three day, ride, different routes each day, exploring the rolling hills and, you know, farmlands and always ending up at a winery for a wine tasting afterward. So that’s one of our tours. We also have one in Lake Chelan, Port Townsend for folks who wanna get out to the coast, Winthrop, Washington, and the Methow Valley, which is, like the Iron Horse, that’s a gravel ride.

Paul Tolmé [00:16:04]:

So people would be riding on forest service roads and dirt roads versus on pavement, which these gravel rides are getting more and more popular because it can be stressful riding out on the roads and sharing the you know, being in the shoulder with cars. Mhmm. Some people just do not enjoy that, and we understand that. And so gravel rides are a way for people to get little, off the beaten track and into nature a little bit more. And so we’re we’re hosting more of these gravel rides, which are essentially just dirt road rides.

Scott Cowan [00:16:39]:

Right. But they’re not well, do you guys do do you do much like I think doesn’t Stevens Pass let you take your your mountain bikes up the chairlifts during the summer and come bombing down the hills?

Paul Tolmé [00:16:52]:

They do. So a lot of ski resorts these days do have mountain bike, facilities in the summer where, you know, the slopes are empty when the when they shut down for the winter. And so a lot of ski areas are using their chairlifts in the summer. They’ve built mountain bike trails, down the slopes. And so, yeah, Stevens Pass is one of the ski areas, of which there are a lot in Colorado and Utah, all the big ski resort states, where in the summer, they kinda transition to mountain biking. We have a lot of mountain bikers in our orbit, but we don’t specifically organize mountain bike rides at Cascade Bicycle Club. Mhmm. But, a lot of us personally ride mountain bikes.

Paul Tolmé [00:17:38]:

We are the organization that, sort of got, you know, doing long road rides and exploring your community type of rides, on roads, now on on gravel roads and and dirt roads, to give folks of all abilities the the opportunity to get out and see a little more of their state and hopefully have a have a have a great, time. A lot of people sign up for 10 k runs or or a half marathon, and we’d love those folks to consider a a a nice bike ride as a way to kind of test their fitness, to train for something, but also, seeing the landscape of Washington from the saddle of a bike is just a nice way to explore your region, your state, or or or check out another, part of of of Washington, like Port Townsend or Walla Walla or Lake Chelan.

Scott Cowan [00:18:35]:

Okay. Let me ask you this since you’re you know, you you work for the organization. I’m gonna kinda go through the the the events here. I wanna see how many of them you’ve participated in. Okay. Have you done the chilly hilly?

Paul Tolmé [00:18:48]:

I did the chilly hilly in February. Yeah. That’s on Bainbridge Island. So that’s that’s really the start of our riding season. It’s appropriately named. You know? February out here on the coast. Right? Rainy, and chilly quite often. In Bainbridge Island, you talked about Seattle being hilly.

Paul Tolmé [00:19:09]:

We we chatted about that, earlier. Bainbridge Island, true to its name is a hilly spot. So, but that’s a beautiful, ride, when it’s not raining. And this year, we we were blessed, with some nice weather on February 23, and so we had over a a thousand folks come out. It’s a nice ride for folks who live in Seattle because you can get right on the ferry and pop over to Bainbridge, and the ferry ticket is part of your, price of entry. So, yeah, I’ve done that one multiple times, and, I encourage folks who who like to ride bikes, who live out in the Seattle region to check out chilly hilly.

Scott Cowan [00:19:55]:

Alright. Have you done the ride for Major Taylor?

Paul Tolmé [00:19:58]:

Yeah. That was just, a few weekends ago, April 13.

Scott Cowan [00:20:03]:

Couple weeks ago. Yeah.

Paul Tolmé [00:20:05]:

Yeah. I mean, last weekend. Was it last weekend? Wait. Time is flying. In any case, yeah, that one is named

Scott Cowan [00:20:12]:

Ten days ago. Ten days ago.

Paul Tolmé [00:20:13]:

Ten days ago. Thank you. That was named for Major Taylor, whom I spoke about earlier, our our, our Major Taylor project. So the ride for Major Taylor I’ve done, and we offer two routes. So, there’s a 60 plus mile route and then a roughly 25 mile route, and that’s common on most of our rides. So my wife, for instance, is not necessarily doesn’t always wanna do the long route, but she is happy to do a 25 mile bike ride. It’s more in her, fitness comfort zone. And so, yeah, ride for Major Taylor.

Paul Tolmé [00:20:54]:

And it’s also we raise money for the Major Taylor project on that ride. And it always finishes with Ezell’s fried chicken as the finish line meal. And for Seattle folks, Ezell’s Chicken, is the the the KFC of Seattle, the best, you know, locally owned, chicken franchise here in the Seattle region. So that’s a nice boost. We try to provide good food at at our finish lines as

Scott Cowan [00:21:22]:

well. Alright. There now what we’re about to talk to, these are future events for this year, but let’s go back historically. So you have done the Walla Walla tour. Correct?

Paul Tolmé [00:21:35]:

Yeah. Multiple times. So one of my favorite, I would say it’s my second favorite, Cascade ride.

Scott Cowan [00:21:43]:

Okay. Then later, typically, it looks like in May, you have something called the flying wheel summer century.

Paul Tolmé [00:21:50]:

Yeah. That’s May 31 this year. That, starts in Redmond in Marymoor Park. I haven’t done that one, but I will. The problem when you work for Cascade like I do, a lot of times, you’re working the events. You’re there helping the folks that get a flat tire or, setting up the rest stops, all of these putting on big bike events where thousands of people or even hundreds of people are coming. There’s a lot of logistics in that. A lot of setup, a lot of planning, that kinda goes on behind the scenes so that the people riding can just have a good time and focus on the ride and not have to worry about food, water.

Paul Tolmé [00:22:38]:

And so, yeah, flying wheels is a a three routes on that one. You know, a short, a medium, and a longer one. The longest being a century, hundred miles. Yep. And that’s how people a lot of peak people will use that ride as a training a last training tune up to get ready for Seattle to Portland.

Scott Cowan [00:23:01]:

K. Well, let’s we’re gonna come back to Seattle Portland. We’re gonna skip that one for a second. We got the Winthrop gravel tour. You have you done that?

Paul Tolmé [00:23:10]:

Yes. Every year, and I’ll be doing it again. It’s usually over Father’s Day weekend, middle of June, June ’15 this year.

Scott Cowan [00:23:18]:

K.

Paul Tolmé [00:23:18]:

And I love that one because the Methow Valley is one of these beautiful valleys, Interior Washington. We ride on forest service roads and and gravel roads, three different routes. And Winthrop is a charming little town, and and, again, we we end end the days with social occasions. Some people will camp out. Others will stay in hotels. But, on all of our tours and rides, you hopefully come away with new friends. I I certainly always do every time I I do a cascade ride.

Scott Cowan [00:23:54]:

Okay. Now this one’s new, and it’s for women and nonbinary. I I’m having troubles talking today, folks. Surprise. But let’s talk about the Rebel Revolution, ride, which is coming up in late June, ’20 ninth of June this year. It looks like it’s starting in at Bellevue College.

Paul Tolmé [00:24:14]:

Right. And so that, Also,

Scott Cowan [00:24:16]:

it doesn’t

Paul Tolmé [00:24:16]:

look like it’s that

Scott Cowan [00:24:17]:

long of a ride.

Paul Tolmé [00:24:19]:

Yeah. So a lot of our members, our our women members have have historically, in Seattle, there was a ride called ride the wave. And it existed for many years, and then it went away. And it was a ride for women to raise money, for women who are either in abusive relationships. In any case, in 02/2018, that ride stopped the the nonprofit that was organizing it just for whatever reason financially couldn’t keep it going. And so we’ve been wanting to, fill that void ever since. And so we created this ride, for women and non binary folks who, just wanna get out and ride in a real nice welcoming environment, build some community, and, and so we’re bringing that back. That goes around beautiful Lake Sammamish and much of it on the East Lake Sammamish Trail, which is one of these new long distance beautiful, flat bike routes that I would encourage anybody who lives in the greater Seattle area to go check out the East Lake Sammamish Trail.

Paul Tolmé [00:25:34]:

Yeah. So that one’s coming up, on June 29. That’s a one day ride.

Scott Cowan [00:25:41]:

Right. So on the July, nothing’s happening. We’re gonna skip that for a minute. Port Townsend tour happens in early August. Have you done the Port Townsend tour?

Paul Tolmé [00:25:53]:

Have not done that one, but I’ve ridden around Port Townsend, and I can highly recommend it. Yeah. For anybody who hasn’t been out to Port Townsend, it’s a beautiful place. It’s, you know, it’s historically kind of a a sailing and wooden boat community, a lot of maritime heritage there. I’ve I’ve I’ve heard that, you know, in early in in the state of Washington’s development, there was a some folks were hoping to make Port Townsend the the capital of the state, but the railroads never made it there. And so Seattle won that, won that contest to become, well, not the capital, but sort of the biggest, kind of, hub for the state of of Washington. Of course, Olympia is our capital, but Seattle’s kind of the cultural hub. Yeah.

Paul Tolmé [00:26:45]:

Port Townsend. Can’t speak about the beauty of that area enough in early August. Cool, breezes coming off the sound, and great food, restaurants, and bars there for the evenings.

Scott Cowan [00:27:02]:

Right. And we’ve talked about the Iron Horse gravel ride, and you already said you’ve been on it. But that’s I got I got a question you guys, man. August August, Eastern Washington?

Paul Tolmé [00:27:12]:

You know? It’s hot. Come on.

Scott Cowan [00:27:14]:

It’s hot.

Paul Tolmé [00:27:16]:

We ride when the sun you know?

Scott Cowan [00:27:18]:

It’s hot over here.

Paul Tolmé [00:27:21]:

People wanna ride bikes in the summertime, and so we we put on the rides.

Scott Cowan [00:27:26]:

And and you’re up in the Cascades, so it’s a little cooler.

Paul Tolmé [00:27:30]:

Yeah. Yeah. You know, you’re up there.

Scott Cowan [00:27:32]:

Have you ever have you ever

Paul Tolmé [00:27:34]:

It gets hotter in Wenatchee, and, we the the the the coastal Washington environment always stays a bit cooler. But, yeah, we, we hydrate. We hydrate, and we dress appropriately. Put our sunblock on.

Scott Cowan [00:27:49]:

There we go. Have you ever ridden from Seattle to Vancouver?

Paul Tolmé [00:27:55]:

Again, I work that event. So, I haven’t been able

Scott Cowan [00:28:00]:

to do that.

Paul Tolmé [00:28:02]:

Yeah. But you’re talking about the ride from Seattle to Vancouver and party. That ride is the second oldest cascade ride. That’s at August 2324 this year. A two day ride, where on the first day, you ride to Bellingham, then there’s a big, beer tent and celebration there in Bellingham. And then on day two, cross the border and get up to Vancouver where, again, there’s a big finish line celebration. And so that’s a really fun event. But, because I’ve been I’m I’m working, to make sure the riders have a good time, I haven’t personally been able to do that one.

Paul Tolmé [00:28:41]:

But we typically get about 2,000 folks

Scott Cowan [00:28:44]:

Alright.

Paul Tolmé [00:28:45]:

Doing that fun ride.

Scott Cowan [00:28:47]:

Wow. Wow. That’s okay. And then in September, we’re doing the Woodinville wine ride.

Paul Tolmé [00:28:54]:

Yeah. Woodinville is, Western Washington, wine the hub of Western Washington wine country. And so that’s a shorter ride. That’s more of a fun ride, and we partner with a bunch of tasting rooms and and wineries so that along the way, you can get little tiny sample pours to taste, some different wines along the route. And then at the finish line, we everybody who signs up for that ride gets a nice full pour of, of wine. For the beer drinkers, you can get a beer. But that’s more of a a a a ride for folks who, like yourself, might not consider yourself a bicyclist, but just wanna go, a rel do a relatively flat 20 mile ride that is on much of it on trails, paved trails around, Woodinville area and Redmond. That’s a really fun ride in early fall.

Paul Tolmé [00:29:59]:

Alright. We

Scott Cowan [00:30:00]:

talked about the Lakeshore Land tour. Now that’s coming up in late September. This year, it’s on the twenty eighth. ’20 sixth. It starts on the twenty sixth and goes to the twenty eighth.

Paul Tolmé [00:30:09]:

Yeah. Those are Friday

Scott Cowan [00:30:10]:

be over here.

Paul Tolmé [00:30:11]:

Yeah. We do these three day Friday, Saturday, Sunday tours. And, yeah, Lake Chelan, hopefully, the temperatures will be good there September 2628. That’s not too far from you. You could probably Yeah. Zip over to Lake Chelan and and, join us on that ebike.

Scott Cowan [00:30:30]:

Yeah. There we go. We’re gonna and we’re gonna talk about e bikes. And then as we kinda it looks like we’re kinda wrapping up the season in the in the October on the twelfth. You got the Kitsap Color Classic.

Paul Tolmé [00:30:42]:

Yeah. Out on the Kitsap Peninsula, it’s, yeah, folks take the ferry over and, again, over to Kingston, on the Kitsap Peninsula, and we have three routes there as well. That’s a beautiful fall foliage ride. One of the highlights is passing through Port Gamble, historic town, which has a lot of leafy maple trees and other leafy trees, which turn red, yellow, and orange in the fall and mid October. So that’s a real pretty fall color ride. And, again, with great food, we stop at Sluys Donuts in Poulsbo, which is kind of a legendary local bakery out there. We try to make sure that our riders are well fed and get lots of good snacks along the way. So, yeah, Kitsap Color Classic, October twelfth.

Scott Cowan [00:31:38]:

And he has been doing that for over thirty years. This will be the thirty first time. I mean, the what I’m what I’m what I’m taking away from from this conversation so far is that this organization has been consistent. They’re they’re when you decide to put on an event, you’re doing it year after year. I mean, this one’s been thirty one years. You said the the Seattle to Vancouver is the second longest one. And then I’m in I’m guessing here that kind of the one that you guys are best known for is the STP, the sale sale of Portland. How many years has that been going on?

Paul Tolmé [00:32:16]:

Yeah. So this will be the forty sixth year, which makes it one of the longest running Okay. Yeah. One of the longest running big rides in the country, certainly in the Pacific Northwest. Yeah. It’s called Seattle to Portland, but people know it as STP for short. And so when I first moved to Seattle before I was working for Cascade, I heard about STP. People people said, oh, Paul, you ride bikes.

Paul Tolmé [00:32:43]:

You must have done STP. And so the legacy and the heritage of that ride is great, and it really illustrates, the sort of the three pillars of work that we do, community building through these big rides, just trying to get people who wanna ride bikes together on fun events. And all those paid rides raise money for our other two pillars, which are education and advocacy. So advocating for safer laws and for more, bike trails and bike lanes. And then education, which we spoke about trying to teach people of all ages, from children up to seniors how to safely ride a bike so they can get out and do it for health, for fitness, for transportation, to get from a to b. And that’s that’ll be a big part that transportation bike biking, is gonna be a big part of bike month coming up in May.

Scott Cowan [00:33:40]:

Right. Well, before we talk about bike month, I’m now gonna put you on the spot about the STP because I have some questions.

Paul Tolmé [00:33:47]:

Yeah.

Scott Cowan [00:33:49]:

Who came up with the idea to do this? What’s the story here? How come we pick Seattle Portland? How come it wasn’t Seattle to Spokane or or whatever? Why Seattle to Portland?

Paul Tolmé [00:34:02]:

That’s a good question. Some of that history predates me. Right? We’re talking about a 46 year old ride. But Yep. I think the the idea was really to link these two, you know, Northwest cities, which, have a lot in common, but also have the rivalries like all, neighboring cities do. And so that first event was a couple dozen, hardcore riders, and it was so popular that they kept deciding to bring it back. It was funny, though, when Mount well, not funny. When Mount Saint Helens Erupted, however, that forced Cascade, to cancel that ride, because of ash and, etcetera.

Paul Tolmé [00:34:53]:

And, and so that’s when this ride to Vancouver began. We were looking for an alternative ride in this ride RSVP, we call it ride from Seattle, the Vancouver and party, was first held right after in the wake of the Mount Saint Helens, eruption. And that ride was also so fun that it stuck. But both of those rides, STP, and RSVP, they’re two day rides essentially. Some folks do the 206 miles, to see from Seattle to Portland in one day. Most the great majority ride it in two days, and we partner with the community college in Centralia as well as some other schools so that there are big, camping spots for folks in the Centralia, Chehalis area at the halfway point with food and water, etcetera. And we we carry all your gear on baggage trucks, so that on day two, you can get up and bike your way into Portland for another big finish line celebration. Yeah.

Paul Tolmé [00:36:04]:

It probably sounds, crazy for for some of your audience to think about riding a hundred miles two days in a row, but, you’d be shocked. These are these are not just, you know, Lance Armstrong type professional bike riders doing this ride. We have people of all abilities and ages. We have parents, pulling their kids on, on tandem bikes or in trailers, and a growing number of of our participants are riding electric bikes. And that’s kind of a newish phenomenon in bicycling. But, yeah, I I encourage anybody who who is looking for a stretch goal or a kind of a bucket list, event to check out Seattle to Portland. It’s over 5,000 riders, go starting at dawn at UW Stadium, University Of Washington Stadium, proceeding through Seattle, like, while the entire city sleeps. That’s what’s kinda nice about it is thousands of people out on the road on bikes, And then people wake up later, and they they they’re already on their way to Portland.

Paul Tolmé [00:37:14]:

And and we kinda pass through, Seattle in the dawn light. It’s it’s quite a beautiful scene. And, yeah, there’s videos actually, of the start, the dawn start, and and riders going over the University Bridge in the morning. I love it. And we’re we’re well known. People come from across the country and around the region and even internationally to participate in the Seattle to Portland ride.

Scott Cowan [00:37:42]:

Alright. So I have some more these are more like trivia questions. I don’t know you’re gonna know the answers because I didn’t prep you for them. So, hey, you can just say I don’t I But it’s okay.

Paul Tolmé [00:37:51]:

Put me on the spot. Oh, no.

Scott Cowan [00:37:54]:

Putting you on the spot. This is come on now. This is fun. Right?

Paul Tolmé [00:37:57]:

Okay. Oh, I’m ready.

Scott Cowan [00:38:00]:

Referencing referencing a blog post here. I’m gonna read the headline of the blog post, and then I got a couple questions for you. So we got a hundred thousand miles and 35 STPs. At 79, Art Burrill is still chasing big cycling goals. So you wrote that February of this year. So at the time he wrote this, Art was 79 years old, and he’s planning on finishing his thirty third STP this year. Alright. Who’s the oldest person to complete the STP that you’re aware of? Is it Art?

Paul Tolmé [00:38:36]:

No. Jeez. We have riders into their nineties, and I’m I apologize. We have thousands of people who do this. I can’t recall their names, but Mhmm. There are That’s cool. Octogenarians, folks in their eighties, who have who have ridden STP. And a lot of our riders, they will have kind of a personal support team.

Paul Tolmé [00:39:01]:

So maybe their spouse is not riding or their kids aren’t riding, and so they will, you know, load the overnight supplies in their car and kind of make sure that their, dad or granddad gets to the finish line safely and offers support. So, yeah, Art Burrill.

Scott Cowan [00:39:21]:

K.

Paul Tolmé [00:39:21]:

What a hero. Still going. 79 years old. Right, he’s wants to hit 3,000 miles in of of, of of biking and, in this in 2025. ‘3 thousand miles in 2025.

Scott Cowan [00:39:39]:

Yeah.

Paul Tolmé [00:39:40]:

Hundred hundred thousand miles is his goal, by the age of 81. So Art Burrill is an example of how folks, if if they’re intentional, they they can keep biking. Is it it’d be hard to go ride a marathon at 79 years old, but through the magic of bikes and and wheels and rolling, we have a lot of older riders, and it’s it’s, it’s a it’s a big part of our, of our community.

Scott Cowan [00:40:12]:

Alright. Just the opposite. What’s the youngest person that you’re aware of that’s completed this? I’ll say independently, not on the back of mom and dad’s you know, not in a trailer, but, like, peddled it themselves.

Paul Tolmé [00:40:23]:

Yeah. Well, couple years ago, I did a story, about a eight year old girl who was training with her dad for STP, and they successfully completed it. She was eight years old.

Scott Cowan [00:40:36]:

That’s awesome. Now k.

Paul Tolmé [00:40:37]:

Yeah. And this is something that parents really need to think about. Right? Her her name was Jania, and, she trained with her dad who was very, you know, he he didn’t put on any pressure on her to finish this. This was all her idea. Her dad had written it. The her parents had written STP the year before. And as a young girl, she was inspired by that and and saw some of the ride and the and the good times people were having. So she asked her parents if she could do it, and they trained with her very conservatively, making sure that she could handle the mileage, and she completed it.

Paul Tolmé [00:41:15]:

So John Yatelli is a hero in my in my book for having done STP at eight years old. I don’t think I could have done it at eight years old.

Scott Cowan [00:41:27]:

That’s awesome. Alright. Not counting e-bikes. I know it’s not a race, but what is the fastest time that you are aware of for completing the Seattle Portland?

Paul Tolmé [00:41:44]:

I’d have to look in the record books for that. Here’s the thing. For in the early days, we used to keep those statistics, but now we we we don’t even keep the fastest finisher times because they they know it. But we don’t want to necessarily, encourage folks to to be racing. We We wanna make sure everybody is is being safe out there. And, you know, in races, people take chances. They’re a little riskier in order to get a time. Right? And so we just want everybody to to ride do the ride safely.

Scott Cowan [00:42:25]:

But I

Paul Tolmé [00:42:25]:

will say, that these, first day these one day riders who are doing the entire 206 miles, they’ll start at 6AM, or even 05:30, and they’ll be finishing up around three 3PM. So they they’ve got a long day in the saddle as we say, but, you can do the math on that one. These guys are the guys and and women are traveling, you know, they’re going at a pace of 20 miles an hour or so, for an entire day, You know, eight to ten hours out there in the saddle. Much respect to them. That’s that’s more mileage than I personally wanna do in a day. I’m more of, like, a two day STP rider when I when I get my chance if I if I don’t have to be working it. But yeah. Now

Scott Cowan [00:43:28]:

I think I told you my one STP story was that a friend of mine decided to ride it, and I was the support vehicle, and I dropped her off, and she told me I’ll meet you at the park. And I don’t remember what time it was, but she was, like, within ten minutes of the time she said she was gonna be there. And it was in one day. I I was there. I watched her pull in. She got off the bike. She walked around for a few minutes, and then she drove to Eugene, Oregon that night. I was just I still to this day have been just dumbfounded by the the the iron will of that to, for her to complete the the ride in one day and then to not be completely out of gas.

Scott Cowan [00:44:10]:

And she was good enough to drive 150 miles or so from Portland to Eugene because we were going down to the, the Oregon Country Fair and we had to be there that that late afternoon. And she made it. She she was amazing. And she was not the first person in. She was early, and it was big celebration when people were coming in. It was it was really cool. It was it’s I I was super impressed with the organization, both at the UW campus for the drop off and at the park in Portland where where you finish it. So that was very cool.

Scott Cowan [00:44:43]:

And I’ve always thought this is a a cool a cool ride and that it’s it’s kind of iconic. It’s one of those summertime activities that those of us that aren’t into the topic still are aware of. I like that. I like that Washington State has a lot of these types of events, throughout the year that repeat year after year that we can kind of tell time by if you will. But the thing that threw me, and not the thing, but a thing that threw me was it seems like you guys have embraced the e bike, I’ll call it phenomenon, the wave of e bikes. Not that I thought you’d be against them, but that you guys are actually, you know, you’re there. You’re trying, I mean, they are bicycles in the sense that they’re on the road. They’re, they need the same rules and protections that you guys are advocating for for for traditional bicycle riders.

Scott Cowan [00:45:42]:

Do you own an ebike?

Paul Tolmé [00:45:45]:

I do. My wife and I well, I’m a bike nerd. So I have a mountain bike, a electric bike. I’ve got a road bike. I’ve got my commuter bike with fenders on it that I wear in the winter. And so, yeah, the e bike phenomenon is, you know, over the last decade or so, has really become a bigger part of the bike industry. And for a couple reasons, we we love it because as I mentioned, they allow more folks who wouldn’t otherwise ride a bike to get out. Seattle Hills.

Paul Tolmé [00:46:21]:

We say, you know, electric bikes, they flatten out hills. And, this is especially important for folks that like myself who do bike commuting. You know? I I commute into the Cascade offices about six mile ride each way, on my electric bike because I can get there. It’s essentially a car replacing vehicle then. And so instead of driving to the office, I because I have this ebike, I can get to work, on two wheels and, do it a lot more cheaply and and and and get some health benefits, a little exercise out of it. Electric bikes were very controversial when they first started coming out. Some there was a term people would say, oh, that’s a cheater bike. And we we’ve we’ve pushed back on that because we see them as, inclusivity machines.

Paul Tolmé [00:47:17]:

You know? People who aren’t ready to go do a a 50 mile ride, say, on an electric bike, it kinda makes it doable for for more folks, and that’s really what we want. Bike technology, these these, controversies within bike technology have existed since the beginning. When they first came out with, brakes on bikes, that was even controversial. Like, the first guys who did the Tour de France, they were riding on one speed bikes that sometimes had maybe just a front brake. And then as as as technology in the bike industry has advanced, you know, derailleurs and and disc brakes, all of these things when they’re first introduced were controversial. Carbon lightweight carbon fiber bikes. And so they’re all bicycles, and, as long as people when they’re out riding with other peep folks. So if you’re on an electric bike, which allows you to go, 20 miles an hour, it doesn’t necessarily mean you need to be, like, driving it like a Porsche, you know, or something.

Paul Tolmé [00:48:31]:

And this is why we say, so no matter what your bicycle, ride considerably around others. And electric bikes, I’d encourage folks to take a test ride. You should go take a test ride, man, because they really do bring back that joy, that you felt pride biking as a younger person. And so a a big fan of e-bikes.

Scott Cowan [00:48:55]:

Yeah. No. I yeah. It’s been there on the on the, you know, like, on the, oh, yeah. I should I should I should look into this because there’s over especially over here in in the Wenatchee area, you know, we got a lot of great places to ride that are you know, got some hills, but not super you know, not big climbs, but they’re they got some Hills. And I’m old and out of shape, and, it would do me good to get out, move around, pedal some, let the bike take over for a few seconds, you know, kinda give me a break, you know, re re recoup a little. I I will. I I will tell you this.

Scott Cowan [00:49:27]:

I will promise you. I will go take one for a test ride because I am intrigued by the idea of an e-bike. Great. I really am.

Paul Tolmé [00:49:35]:

I’ve done my job.

Scott Cowan [00:49:37]:

Now you you’ve done your job. You said you’re a bike nerd, and you rattled off all sorts of, variations of bikes. Putting you on the spot, you could only have one bike. That’s it. One. What are you picking?

Paul Tolmé [00:49:52]:

Yeah. Well, I guess I would pick something that would work both on the pavement and on, dirt trails. So this new class of bikes called gravel bikes, essentially, they have wider tires. Right? Mhmm. If you’re on pavement, you don’t need a big, big, fat tire. Gravel bikes and mountain bikes have wider tires because you’re riding through sand and gravel and softer surfaces. So, just like a Jeep that’s gonna go out, you know, and ride in the mud or on the sand or something has wider tires. Same principle on bikes.

Paul Tolmé [00:50:27]:

So I’d probably choose a gravel bike of which you go to a bike shop these days. There’ll be a whole category of those. But they’re essentially like road bikes built a little sturdier with wider tires.

Scott Cowan [00:50:42]:

And so where our mountain bike has more of an independent suspension to it, a little more shock absorbing

Paul Tolmé [00:50:47]:

to Yeah. Is that I Okay. Mountain bikes, because of all that suspension, you know, the the big front fork, and then if it’s a full suspension mountain bike, you’ve got the suspension in the rear. And, boy, does a good a good mountain bike really softens the load. Imagine if your car had no suspension in it. Right? That’d be a real bumpy ride. And so mountain bikes

Scott Cowan [00:51:12]:

Right.

Paul Tolmé [00:51:12]:

Really enable people

Scott Cowan [00:51:15]:

to,

Paul Tolmé [00:51:15]:

to go over rocky terrain and not just get tossed right off the bike. But it’s a little heavier than you need to just go ride to work, for instance, oftentimes. And they’ve got big knobby tires. And so we I I’ll see people riding STP on a mountain bike with those knobby tires. You can hear them humming. And boy, much respect, for for for rolling a heavy bike with slow tires with a lot of rolling resistance, on the road. But, yeah, that’s essentially why I wouldn’t necessarily choose a mountain bike first unless I lived back in Colorado, where I could maybe get to the office, on a mountain bike trail.

Scott Cowan [00:51:59]:

But you would go a gravel bike. Have you ever had, like, a recumbent bike or any of those more, exotic, I guess, is all set. Yeah.

Paul Tolmé [00:52:10]:

What do you think? I think they’re great. We you know, all forms of bicycles are fantastic in in in my mind, in in the in the eyes of Cascade Bicycle Club. So these recumbents you’re referring to for folks who haven’t seen them. The other ones you kinda sit down, and so people, for instance, who have, lower back pain and can’t sit on a bike oftentimes will ride recumbents. And so I’ve test ridden them. They’re they are comfortable. It’s a new it’s a different seating position, so you gotta get the balance a little bit. You practice on the balance.

Paul Tolmé [00:52:51]:

But, yeah, they’re just another example of a bicycle. We also have, multiple participants in the STP who ride so called hand cycles. And these are individuals who have paralysis and can’t use their legs. And so there are these hand cycles now, which have essentially a hand crank, and they’re in a recumbent, kinda lying down, position, with the head elevated and, pedaling with your pedaling with your arms. And so that’s another form of bike that, we you will see on STP along with tandems, you know, all sorts of bikes out there. There are a million bikes under the sun and, which is why I think there’s a bicycle for everybody out there. No matter your physical ability, as long as you have the the desire, we’ll help you learn, and get up get out on a ride.

Scott Cowan [00:53:54]:

Awesome. We’re gonna we’re gonna bring this one home. We’re getting near the finish line. With regards to Cascade Bicycle Club, what did we bring up that we should we should share with the audience? What is there something else about the club that you wanna get the word out about?

Paul Tolmé [00:54:15]:

Yeah. I would say if you are someone who who, does ride bikes and you’re you’re new to Washington State like when I came here, check out cascade.0rg, and you’ll see all the rides we do. You’ll see also the other education opportunities. Oh, come take a bike, like an urban cycling techniques class we teach for folks who wanna learn how to bike commute. So that’s that’s for folks who who who who already ride bikes. If you’re new to the state and you want you’re looking for friends and community, these three day tours we put on are fantastic for young people, to come and make new friends and explore Washington, some of Washington’s most, scenic locations from the the saddle of a bike. We are always looking for new ways to get people onto bikes. And with with bike month coming up, this is where we look at bike commuting a lot.

Paul Tolmé [00:55:20]:

We’re trying to encourage folks who maybe, have shorter who drive their car, 10 miles or less, for instance, to get to work. There are folks who, you know, maybe only have a a four to five mile commute to to work or to school. It’s those shorter bike rides, those shorter drives, I will say, where we we encourage folks to consider, trying it with a bike during bike month when it’s, hopefully sunny and the weather’s great and it’s not too hot yet. And so in Seattle and I I know in Wenatchee as well and all across Washington, because bike month is a national movement, there will be so called celebration stations where here in Seattle on, May 14, we’re gonna have these celebrations where where people are commuting to to work on a bike can stop by and get a free cup of coffee, donuts, win a little win some bike, prizes or swag. And those are going on from Wenatchee to Spokane, to Bellingham, to all corners of the state where you have either cascade members or smaller local bike clubs, hosting these events to try to encourage people to give biking a try. So that’s another part of Cascade.

Scott Cowan [00:56:41]:

Well, you said your favorite word.

Paul Tolmé [00:56:44]:

And let me mention one more program that I feel is like the heart and soul of Cascade. During the pandemic, when food banks, were experiencing a real crisis because people were losing their jobs, being furloughed from work. At the same time, you had a lot of elderly a lot of senior, citizens for health reasons, but who need food bank assistance couldn’t get to the food bank because they didn’t wanna get sick. And so we Cascade started, these volunteer food bank rides where we partner with now multiple food banks all across Seattle to deliver food, right to the folks’ houses, the food bank clients’ homes so they don’t have to find a ride or or drive or take the bus there. That’s something that’s being done now by bicycle. And as part of that, as we’ve expanded that program, we now partner with local grocery stores, Trader Joe’s, Safeway, and, PCC community markets here in Seattle to get produce, which might be they they can’t put it on the on the shelf, or, in the you know, produce that is still good to eat, but maybe it’s got a small bruise or or or something. They can’t sell it. Oftentimes, that would go into the compost pile, but it’s still nutritious healthy food.

Paul Tolmé [00:58:10]:

And so we organize these food rescues where, you know, three, four, five to 10 people on either electric bikes or bikes pulling a a little trailer. We’ll rescue this food, bring it to the food banks. They’ll repackage it repackage it, rebox it, for delivery to their clients, and then our biking volunteers will then deliver that food right to people’s homes. It’s a nice full circle program that is using bikes as community service. We’re we’re reducing food waste, and I’ve I’ve read a statistic that, like, food is one of the largest components of our waste stream, which is a real, shameful sad fact of life in The United States today where food precious food is being wasted. And at the same time, we’re also there’s a there’s a climate, benefit there in terms of we’re using bikes instead of delivery vans or cars to deliver this food, which would have been done in the past. And so we have folks who would never do STP, for instance, but they’ll sign up for a food bank delivery ride because it’s such a a wholesome experience where you meet good people who wanna get involved in their community and and lend a hand, and it’s part of, the just this volunteerism that we support here at Cascade Bicycle Club. Using bikes to help your neighbors, It’s it it really, it it it brings joy to my heart when I think about the more than 1,500,000 pounds of food that we have rescued and delivered since 2020 by bicycle.

Scott Cowan [00:59:59]:

I’m on the article, and I I had stopped scrolling at 1,500,000 pounds. That’s a staggering amount of a staggering amount of food that you guys have moved around. That’s so cool. That’s very, very cool.

Paul Tolmé [01:00:16]:

Yeah. Well, thank you for your interest. Yeah.

Scott Cowan [01:00:18]:

That’s that’s awesome. Yeah. No. That’s very cool. So we’re gonna wrap this up. I’ve got three questions I ask every guest. You said the magic word a little bit earlier, and you said the word coffee. So for me, I always ask guests, where’s a great place to get coffee near you? So in the Seattle area, parts of Seattle that you hang out in, where’s a great coffee place?

Paul Tolmé [01:00:44]:

Boy, there is, I love Cafe Umbria down on the waterfront downtown. There’s a little coffee shop right here in my neighborhood there. And, but you know what? I’m not gonna mention that one. Right next to Cascade headquarters, there’s, Magnuson Cafe and Brewery. I’m gonna just to to to get folks to ride out to visit Cascade Bicycle Club, I’m gonna say that’s my favorite coffee shop and cafe there. Magnuson, Cafe and Brewery. And you can also get a beer there if it’s, late afternoon.

Scott Cowan [01:01:27]:

So when you’re ordering coffee, what’s your go to coffee of choice?

Paul Tolmé [01:01:32]:

Oh, man. I’m old school. I go black coffee the way the good lord meant us to drink it. Straight up, just hot water and a good dark roast and pour over.

Scott Cowan [01:01:41]:

Yep.

Paul Tolmé [01:01:42]:

That’s my that’s my technique. Two cups. Two cups. There we go.

Scott Cowan [01:01:48]:

100%. Alright. So it’s lunchtime now. You mentioned this this brewery and cafe. So I’m just gonna answer the question for you. We’re gonna go there for lunch. What’s what’s what are we gonna have for lunch at this place?

Paul Tolmé [01:02:00]:

Oh, you know, I’ve had the fish and chips there, which is fantastic. But, I’m off bread meat, this year, so I’m still eating I’ll still go for the fish and chips, but I get the veggie burger, which is pretty good there. And a lot of my colleagues, they love the tater tots that they serve at the, Magnuson Park Brewery there, the the cafe. So, I would say fish and chips, let’s go with that, is Seattle. And we are the Fish

Scott Cowan [01:02:35]:

and chips?

Paul Tolmé [01:02:35]:

The best fish in the in the country right here in Seattle.

Scott Cowan [01:02:40]:

Alright. Now this last question, as the communication person for your organization, it’s probably gonna be the hardest question you’ve ever been asked as a as a communications professional. Are you ready?

Paul Tolmé [01:02:52]:

I’m ready.

Scott Cowan [01:02:54]:

Very simple question. Very simple, but you gotta answer it, and you gotta tell me why. Alright? That’s the rules. OK. Cake or pie and why?

Paul Tolmé [01:03:05]:

Oh, wow. Okay. I’m gonna jeez. I’m gonna go pie because my mom, was a great baker, and we had apple trees and other fruit trees in the yard. So my mom has been making pies. She’s 91 now, not making as many pies as she used to, but, I’m gonna go blueberry pie. Best pie in the world with blueberries picked off Awesome. Picked picked off my mom’s blueberry bushes in New Hampshire, specifically.

Scott Cowan [01:03:40]:

Specifically. So blueberries from New Hampshire?

Paul Tolmé [01:03:43]:

Yeah. Well, from my mom’s

Scott Cowan [01:03:45]:

That’s a solid that’s a solid answer.

Paul Tolmé [01:03:48]:

Blueberry pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream too. Let’s let’s be real. You need the vanilla ice cream on there.

Scott Cowan [01:03:55]:

Okay. Awesome. Well, Paul, thank you so much. We’re gonna put some links in the show notes to the Cascade Bike Club so people can go and check it out. I encourage anyone who has any remote interest in bicycling in Washington state to check the organization out. I know I’m glad I spent some time on the website, and I only scratched the surface, but I’m very impressed with the opportunities that you guys present to people to, learn about bicycling and and learn how to ride safely. The advocacy. Oh my gosh.

Scott Cowan [01:04:30]:

One of these days, that you’re providing. I did not know about the food, hauling. That is so cool. A million and a half pounds of food been carted around the Seattle area by bike. That’s why don’t we hear more about that? I think that’s my question. Not that you need to answer it, but I think that is a message that resonates. And and that could be done in Spokane. It could be done in Tacoma, Bellingham, anywhere.

Scott Cowan [01:04:56]:

It could be

Paul Tolmé [01:04:56]:

Amen to that. I think We we we would love to talk to local bike clubs who wanna start a similar initiative. Go to cascade.org and and reach out to us. And I’ll see you on an e-bike.

Scott Cowan [01:05:10]:

Paul, thanks so much for your time today.

Paul Tolmé [01:05:13]:

Yeah. And I’m looking forward to seeing you on an e-bike.

Scott Cowan [01:05:15]:

I’m gonna yeah. I’m gonna go test one. I’m gonna I am gonna I I commit to testing one. I I commit to buying one, not quite there yet, but I will go give one give one a shot because, have you been to Wenatchee before?

Paul Tolmé [01:05:32]:

Yeah. Yeah. I used I lived in Leavenworth for a couple years, and we’d get over to Wenatchee when I went to go shopping. And, I love the

Scott Cowan [01:05:41]:

Right. So, yeah, the

Paul Tolmé [01:05:42]:

yeah. The Yeah. The

Scott Cowan [01:05:45]:

Right. Well, they have they have a bike rental place there, and they rent e bikes.

Paul Tolmé [01:05:49]:

There you go. That’s your portal.

Scott Cowan [01:05:51]:

So I can just I can just drive down to Pybus because it’s a little too far for me to walk, but I could drive down to Pybus. I could rent an e bike, and I could take it on the Apple the Apple Loop Trail and be a fun way for me to test drive a bike. I think it’d be a lot of fun, and I will do it.

Paul Tolmé [01:06:09]:

Great. Yeah. I love that Apple, Loop Trail there in Wenatchee. It’s it’s beautiful. And, yeah. Yeah. And cascade.org.

Scott Cowan [01:06:19]:

Awesome.

Paul Tolmé [01:06:19]:

You can find out lots lots more about, that we couldn’t even touch on here in this conversation. But I appreciate you for for shining a spotlight on us. Thank you so much, sir, and, I look forward to meeting you in person one of these days.

Scott Cowan [01:06:34]:

Alright, Paul. Thanks so much.

Paul Tolmé [01:06:36]:

Alright. Have a great day.

Scott Cowan [01:06:38]:

Hope you enjoyed the show. You can reach me on Twitter at explore law state. I’d love to hear your comments. You can also visit our website at explorewashingtonstate.com. If you know anyone who’d like the show, it’d be amazing if you’d share the show with them. This is the biggest way that we grow this show. Good old word-of-mouth. Glad you were here with me today, and I hope to have you listening to the next episode.

Scott Cowan [01:07:02]:

See you then.