The Northwest Tandem Bike Rally graces the trails of Spokane Valley

The Northwest Tandem Bike Rally returned to the Spokane area this Fourth of July weekend for the first time since 2011. With nearly 185 riders from all parts of the country, the rally offered six different routes, each with a short, medium and long option for Saturday and Sunday.

The short route stayed around 25 miles. The long route was between 65 and 75 miles, while the medium route was anywhere from 35 to 45 miles for both days. All races started and finished at Center Place near the Spokane Valley YMCA.

Dwan Shepard is acting president for the Northwest Tandem Rally board of directors and has been on and off the board for the past 30 years. He got his first tandem bike when he was 17 and has been in love ever since. This is Shepard’s 37th year participating in the Northwest Tandem Bike Rally, which has run for 39 years.

Shepard said the event moves from city to city across the Pacific Northwest to encourage people’s excitement for their community. Last year, it took place in Corvallis, Oregon, and the year before that, the rally was in Sequim, Washington.

“This is similar to the first one that I went to in Tacoma in 1988,” Shepard said, referencing the size of the rally. “We had a couple of things happen this year because of, let’s just say, global politics. We had no Canadians. Thirty Canadian couples told us they weren’t coming.”

The Northwest Tandem Bike Rally attempts to return to Eastern Washington about every five years or so. The last time it tried, it was unsuccessful because the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 was ravaging the world. Before that, the rally last graced the trails of Spokane in 2011.

Helida and Bob Donaldson are a couple unafraid of travel when it comes to following their passion. This year, Bob Donaldson, 73, and Helida Donaldson, 71, decided to try the medium route and bike 34 miles. Hailing from Anchorage, Alaska, the couple has owned a tandem bike for the past 18 years.

“When we met, I was a cyclist and she wasn’t,” Bob Donaldson said. “The way for us to stay together on the bike was to put her on the back so I’d never lose her.”

Helida Donaldson said she appreciates the rally for the satisfaction she feels from the exercise she gets, the social aspect and the scenic beauty of Washington state. Bob Donaldson enjoys the rally for all the same reasons, but with one extra twist – the thrill.

“If you’re a thrill seeker, there’s nothing better than a bike, because if you do wreck, then you survive. If you wreck a car because you’re a thrill seeker … well, it was nice knowing you,” Bob Donaldson said.

About 11 miles into their journey, the Donaldsons braked at a rest stop at East Farms Elementary School. There, Isabelle Cook, Joe Hofer and Amber Hongsermeier stood underneath a tent canopy to ensure that every tandem rider had what they needed to keep chugging along. A smorgasbord of Red Vines, tiny cups of peanut butter, diced-up pieces of bananas, graham crackers, trail mix and more sat out on a table for riders to pick and choose from.

But unlike the rest of the crowd, Cook, Hofer and Hongsermeier are not cyclists. They’re actually dance teachers and part of the Inland Northwest Dance Association. Cook has owned a dance studio called Isabelle’s Dance Time for 32 years. Hofer works for Cook, while Hongsermeier has her own dance company. The trio said they teach just about everything, including jazz, contemporary, ballet, tap and hip-hop.

Dancing and tandem bike riding may sound like two completely different things, but some aspects are similar, at least to Shepard.

“The magic of it is when you’re on a tandem, is that you’re on a team,” Shepard said. “If you look around, most of these people are couples who are riding. Much the same as if you did ballroom dancing, you’re in a team sport together and you start by knowing nothing. You take your baby steps, you get a little better at it every time you go. You never learn too much, you never get too strong, and you keep encouraging each other and grow together in the sport.”

One couple who have grown together over the past 48 years is Mike and Chris Turner. Their team name is the Pedal Turners, for obvious reasons, and they’ve been riding tandem for the past 13 years. They currently live in Bothell and chose to do a modified medium route on Saturday because they didn’t want to go the full long route, but still wanted a bit of a challenge.

Mike Turner sits at the front of the bike in what’s known as the captain position, or the one in charge of steering.

Chris Turner is the stoker, or the back of the bike, in charge of producing power. The stoker has a responsibility to not stay frozen, but to bend and move in the direction the captain chooses to go in.

The Turners said they enjoyed the cool, overcast day Saturday turned out to be. After all, it’s much better to work to stay warm than work to stay cool. Still, the day didn’t come without its fair share of challenging hills and hurdles. When considering how to motivate oneself, Mike Turner’s thought process was fairly simple.

“Is there ice cream at the top?” he asked himself.

While there isn’t ice cream at the top of any hills along the routes, there is some at the finish line.

Peggy Doering is the executive director of Valley Fest. Each year, the Northwest Tandem Bike Rally looks for community partners in different Pacific Northwest cities to host the event. This year, the Northwest Tandem Bike Rally partnered with ValleyFest.

“We want to make sure we’re putting people in places that they can enjoy and enjoy safely,” Doering said. “Rally requirements also require ice cream and beer. It’s not a race; it’s a ride.”

After the short, medium and long routes concluded, riders got the opportunity to kick back, socialize and listen to some live music. After all, what could be better than eating a nice dinner and listening to Rusty Jackson and the Trio after a strenuous tandem bike ride?

Doering said that participants paid on average $180 per person to attend this year’s rally, though the exact amount depends on when individuals decided to register. Nearly $5,000 of the total sum raised is set to go to ValleyFest Children’s Foundation, which works, with the help of school counselors, to find kids that have needs that aren’t normally recognized. This could include everything from raising enough money to go to a sports camp, to buying fishing equipment, purchasing baseball gear or even just finding some money to hire a tutor.

In total, Doering estimates they have about 25 to 30 volunteers working this year. Some volunteers, like Cook, Hofer and Hongsermeier, are given a $250 stipend .

Seeing happy smiling faces was a common occurrence when attending this year’s rally, but excitable, wagging dog tails weren’t an oddity either.

Risotto, or Rizz for short, is a shaggy, poodle mix belonging to Hannah Six and Jimmy Krigbaum. The pair are from Eugene and decided to take their dog along for the journey for this year’s event.

Snuggled in a large backpack , Risotto got to enjoy the scenic beauty of the ride from the comfort of Krigbaum’s sweaty back. A back, Six said, that could’ve been a lot sweatier if the temperature was what they thought it was going to be.

“This is prime,” Six said. “Last year it was in Corvallis, and it was in the hundreds, so that 7:30 a.m. start was a little more necessary than what it was today.”

Doug Howlett and Patrice Tabor are another couple thankful for the way the weather turned out on Saturday. Howlett and Tabor are from Seattle and have been married for 27 years.

Although they’re not certain, they think this year’s rally was the eighth or ninth they’ve attended.

“Some people will look at the bike and say, ‘Oh, that’s a divorce bike,’ ” Howlett said. “But another thing we say is, whatever direction your relationship is going, the tandem will get you there faster.”