Stinky Spoke Bike Ride
Mountain | E | Gravel
January 31, 2026 | Redmond, WA
Stinky Spoke 2026 returns to the Redmond Senior & Community Center, a big hit for starting the epic mountain, gravel and e-bike ride and enjoying a fantastic after party. Park in the Redmond City complex garage next to the facility, check in and ride. Tackle Heart Attack Hill, breeze through the rest of the course, relax with friends in the warm, dry Red Oak Room! Rock with the DJ, enjoy delicious hot food, drink cold beer from Postdoc Brewing or a soft drink and shop the great silent auction. There will be prizes for the best poker hands from cards acquired at all of the SAG stops, and drawings for more prizes. All of this is included in your registration fee!
Ride this epic 19 mile mountain, gravel and e-bike trail in Redmond, WA during the "stinkiest" weather of the year. You belong to this ride, suitable for novice and expert riders alike, no matter your experience or fitness level! Let's raise funds to support community and charitable causes in local communities and around the world.
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Ride Day Details
Registration:
You can register for the event right up until 9 a.m. at the start of the event on Saturday, January 31, 2026. Register early online at the lowest rate, because after January 28, the rider registration fee for all categories (individual, team, and family) increases to $85 per person. Online registration closes on January 28, 2026 but riders can register in person at packet pickup on Friday, January 30, 2026 from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. at Postdoc Brewing in Redmond, or on the morning of the ride at the Redmond Senior & Community Center.
Sneak Peek:
See a preview of the 19 mile Stinky Spoke ride route with this rider's view video by Best Side Cycling:
Cycling the Thrilla Gravel Route for the First Time (Stinky Spoke).
Riders who know the Thrilla Route may miss the SAG stops that are set up especially for Stinky Spoke. Plan those into your route!
Cleats and Shoes:
NO CLEATS ALLOWED inside the Redmond Senior & Community Center, so bring an extra pair of street shoes to enjoy our fantastic indoor afterparty in the beautiful ad spacious Red Oak Room. Riders should plan to change into street shoes before entering the building.
Auto Parking:
Every space above the ground level in the Redmond City Hall parking structure is available for Stinky Spoke parking, even if posted otherwise. Our riders have permission from the City of Redmond to use all parking spaces. The address is 8711 160th Ave NE, Redmond, WA 98052. Overflow parking may be available at the King County Courthouse, but PLEASE DO NOT 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 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Friday, January 30, 2026 at Postdoc Brewing Company, 17625 NE 65th St #100, Redmond, WA 98052. It is best to pick up your packet the day before the ride, 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:
Bike racks are provided for the bikes that will be entered in the ride. After parking in the parking garage, ride your bike to the surface lot on the north end of the Senior & Community Center. There will be 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 bike security, but the Redmond Police Department is next door and there will be police officers at the event.
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, you are welcome to carry your own snacks, and please do not litter with wrappers along the route.
Event Day Volunteering:
Stinky Spoke is a volunteer operated event, requiring A LOT of volunteer support. Even if you're not riding, volunteering to help before and after the ride is extremely helpful, and we'll make it fun! Our volunteers make this one of the great mountain, gravel and e-bike rides in the Pacific Northwest.
Timing of the Ride:
The ride starts promptly at 9:00 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 9:00 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. Hot lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. to about 1:30 p.m. Prizes will be awarded between 12:30 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. At 2:00 p.m. volunteers will begin cleaning up while riders head 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. Stick around for the results of the best poker h drawings gifts and prizes. Bring your favorite form of payment
Food & Drinks Before & After:
We'll provide vouchers for registered riders to have hot chili lunch as part of their registration fee. Thanks to Postdoc Brewing, all riders who are older than 21 will receive a ticket for a cold beer. Soft drinks will also be available. Additional beers are available for purchase.
Stinky Spoke History
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.
Stinky Spoke Traditions
What keeps us coming back
Poker Ride
Heart Attack Hill
Redmond Ridge
Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center
Sammamish River
Finish Line
REGISTER NOW!
Registration is processed by GetMeRegistered with an easy user-friendly experience for individuals, families, and teams.
Registration includes one cold beer or soft drink, hot lunch, SAG stop snacks, goody bags, fellowship with hundreds of other mountain bike, gravel bike and e-bike riders, and lots of fun in the beautiful Red Oak Room at the Redmond Senior & Community Center!
Make Stinky Spoke even more challenging, fun, and meaningful by fundraising for the 501(c)(3) Redmond Rotary Club Foundation, which supports community and charitable causes in our local communities and around the world. Prizes will be awarded to the top three fundraisers, and 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 11:59:59 on January 28, 2026. 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.
Rotary Club of Redmond
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.)
The Rotary Club of Redmond meets on the first, third, and fifth Thursdays of each month at noon at the Family Pancake House in Redmond. On the second Thursday we meet at 5:30 p.m. at JJ Mahoney's Irish Pub in Redmond. On the fourth Thursday we meet at 5:30 p.m. at Postdoc Brewing Company in Redmond. You are welcome to join us. For more information visit: https://www.redmondrotary.org.
