Stage Race again brings bikes to Enumclaw roads

Two wheels will rule the road Saturday and Sunday, as the Mutual of Enumclaw Stage Race makes its annual appearance. The 20th annual event is presented by the Blue Rooster Cycling Team and Apex Racing, along with the Enumclaw Police Department, all under the corporate sponsorship of Mutual of Enumclaw.

By Kevin Hanson • May 12, 2015 1:46 pm
The Stage Race has been featured in Enumclaw for 20 years. The race will be on the downtown streets and surrounding roads.
The Stage Race has been featured in Enumclaw for 20 years. The race will be on the downtown streets and surrounding roads.

Two wheels will rule the road Saturday and Sunday, as the Mutual of Enumclaw Stage Race makes its annual appearance.

The 20th annual event is presented by the Blue Rooster Cycling Team and Apex Racing, along with the Enumclaw Police Department, all under the corporate sponsorship of Mutual of Enumclaw.

As usual, competitive cyclists will be found on quiet country roads as well as downtown Enumclaw’s busiest street.

Time trial

Motorists will be most impacted by plenty of cycle traffic on 284th Avenue Southeast, but riders will cover other roads in the southeast area of Enumclaw after departing the Expo Center.  Riders will turn west on Mud Mountain Road and travel back toward town, finishing on 268th Avenue Southeast.

Saturday’s time trials cover a 10-kilometer course and will see riders hitting the roads at varying times between 7 and 11:30 a.m.

Criterium

This is perhaps the best known part of the two-day Stage Race because it takes place in heart of downtown Enumclaw and impacts traditional traffic flows through town, both north/south and east/west.

The criterium is fast and furious, with riders often bunched together while making sharp turns on city streets. Railroad Street has the starting and ending point in the figure-eight course that extends north to Battersby Avenue and south to Griffin Avenue.

Highly-traveled Griffin Avenue will be closed for the duration of the criterium, as will portions of Cole and First streets.

The event gets under way at 1:30 Saturday afternoon, with the last race slated for 7:50 p.m.

Road Race

This event will have riders leaving downtown, heading east to cover Farman Road and Warner Avenue, eventually working their way over two-lane roads to Mud Mountain Road; they’ll eventually climb the steep hill to a spot near Mud Mountain Dam, then return to town on state Route 410.

A Junior Road Race covers just a portion of the course.

Depending upon the skill level of the rider, the road race can range from 10 to 86 miles in length. It takes place Sunday, with the first riders taking off at 9:30 a.m.; the last wave will get going at 1:20 p.m.