Moving to Bellevue/Seattle

[Yakaru]

Not sure where to put this -- local events? new members? general discussion? Alex feel free to pop it somewhere more appropriate

But I have accepted employment at Valve and will be relocating up to Washington State. I'm petrified of not having an 11.5 month riding season :P

Anyone have any good roads to try out? Any gear suggestions to pick up (especially for the rain and/or cold)? Heck, help picking the right neighborhood to live would be appreciated

Next I need to ping Superbike School and cross my fingers that The Ridge has slots left to bring-your-own-bike (or at all for that matter).

Also, no worries to my fellow Nevadans -- I'm keeping my place there and won't be abandoning you all completely

[dcj13]

There's 300+ ice-free days here per year. Get some rain gear.

Will try to be more verbose when not being limited to phone input.

[alex.s]

valve you say?

[Yakaru]

Originally Posted by alex.s

valve you say?

Yeah, I was really impressed by them in my interview and I think I could grow a lot there.

[alex.s]

into prod or eng?

[Yakaru]

Originally Posted by alex.s

into prod or eng?

Engineering, such as it is. Valve really just seems to let you do what you think you'd be most effective at (though I've yet to work there so I can't say how accurate that is): http://media.steampowered.com/apps/v...ook_LowRes.pdf has a good description.

[alex.s]

hahaaaahahaha!

best employee intro packet ever.

[dcj13]

Congrats on the new job! Are you going to ride the bike up?

Since you are going to be working in Bellevue and (presumably) you don't have a substantial friend or family base in the Seattle area, you're probably going to want to live on the east side. Bellevue, perhaps? Eastgate, Newcastle, Crossroads, Kirlkand, Bothell, Redmond, etc.?

Dunno if you want to put down roots here, so buying a place is probably out... Houses aren't as reasonably priced as they are in LV.

I live in the 'hood in the southend. Not a particularly desireable area, but prettywife and I have easy commutes!

[Sirref]

Congrats, that's one of the most fun corporations you could work for
unfortunately you're going to need a car now. something with AWD

nvm if you have transportation already as you seem to have

[Yakaru]

Still not sure, renting at least while I get a feel for things seems to make sense. I was looking south of Bellevue at an area called Renton which seems to be much more reasonably priced and a bit spacier. Would that be a decent place to stay for working in Bellevue?

Edit: Transport -- I'll be putting the bike on my trailer and headed up in my baby-car Honda

[dcj13]

Renton's not too bad a commute to Bellevue, but the 405 gets heavy traffic during the normal commute times. You'll be able to use the carpool lane by yourself on the bike. So you're a software person... comes in late, wears comfortable shoes!

You thinking one of those fancy apartments at The Landing in Renton (across the street from Boeing)? Cool places, but a bit pricy. But they have garage parking for the car and bike. Lots of restaurants, stores, theaters, etc., within walking distance.

I've never had a 4WD vehicle. Could always put on chains if you needed to in the snow. Or work from home those few days. Or get studded tires. You won't need to worry about that until December.

[Yakaru]

Originally Posted by Sirref

Congrats, that's one of the most fun corporations you could work for
unfortunately you're going to need a car now. something with AWD

nvm if you have transportation already as you seem to have

I'm actually scared of taking my 4 wheeler into the area -- I have a manual transmission Honda Fit and some of those 'stop lights on hills' just look painful to me.

[dcj13]

Originally Posted by Yakaru

I'm actually scared of taking my 4 wheeler into the area -- I have a manual transmission Honda Fit and some of those 'stop lights on hills' just look painful to me.

You'll do fine. Maybe use the handbrake the first couple of times. Very few SF-style hills here.

If you can ride a motorcycle, you won't have any problems with the car.

[Yakaru]

Originally Posted by dcj13

Renton's not too bad a commute to Bellevue, but the 405 gets heavy traffic during the normal commute times. You'll be able to use the carpool lane by yourself on the bike. So you're a software person... comes in late, wears comfortable shoes!

You thinking one of those fancy apartments at The Landing in Renton (across the street from Boeing)? Cool places, but a bit pricy. But they have garage parking for the car and bike. Lots of restaurants, stores, theaters, etc., within walking distance.

I've never had a 4WD vehicle. Could always put on chains if you needed to in the snow. Or work from home those few days. Or get studded tires. You won't need to worry about that until December.

Yeah, I'm super cheap regarding price but I do have flexibility with regard to work time. Mostly I just want a well built place to live with enough space and a private garage (I'll need to store my trailer, bike, car, and all my bike tools -- street parking the car I can do but the rest I want protected from the elements and less scrupulous eyes).

I'm not familiar with 405 traffic at all. I've never seen this before: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lano...y-weekend.html -- actually the hard part would be not splitting through it. I hear WA frowns on that.

[dcj13]

Originally Posted by Yakaru

Yeah, I'm super cheap regarding price but I do have flexibility with regard to work time. Mostly I just want a well built place to live with enough space and a private garage (I'll need to store my trailer, bike, car, and all my bike tools -- street parking the car I do but the rest I want protected from the elements and less scrupulous eyes).

I'm not familiar with 405 traffic at all. I've never seen this before: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lano...y-weekend.html -- actually the hard part would be not splitting through it. I hear WA frowns on that.

Yeah... No splitting. You'll be checking

http://www.wsdot.com/traffic/seattle/default.aspx

Sounds like you'll want a house or condo with a garage. So it'll cost a bit for rent.

[Insan3guy]

pnwriders.com/westside

welcome to WA

[RedPepper64]

Depending on where at in Renton you are looking there are some really nice locations. As with anywhere, definitely some shady ones. On the bike, the commute to/from Bellevue is decent. On the days without a bike...expect time to read in your car.

Welcome to WA! If you don't mind riding in the rain then you aren't as limited as you might think for riding days. It's just not gorgeous and amazing weather all the time.

I second the pnwriders.com suggestion. Definitely worth plugging into to meet up with local riders.

[Yakaru]

Thanks, I'm going to see if I can fit in a house-hunting trip without disrupting the packing process and everything and that may help narrow down areas. I'll also look into the pnwriders forum, though honestly Ninjette is the only bike forum I've ever wanted so far

[dcj13]

Moving is a pain! Good luck.

[Insan3guy]

Originally Posted by Yakaru

Thanks, I'm going to see if I can fit in a house-hunting trip without disrupting the packing process and everything and that may help narrow down areas. I'll also look into the pnwriders forum, though honestly Ninjette is the only bike forum I've ever wanted so far

I can tell you one thing... it's a heck of a lot easier to coordinate a group ride when all participants actually live in the same state as you. There are lots of short-notice "let's go for a ride later today" threads on there that are good if you happen to have the afternoon free.

On the subject of good roads to ride, here's a link to a thread somebody did on popular roads around the rainier-est state in the PNW.

[Yakaru]

Thanks, that road list has been bookmarked.

I have plenty of time, but any suggestions for winter gear? I'd love to ride 12 months if I can. Eyeing the Rev'It Women's Sand II or the Camden Trench for cold weather + rain. I already have a wind collar which has been great on the rare cold mornings down south.

[dcj13]

You'll want to wear a dickie (neck tube).

[Insan3guy]

Only other thing I can think of is maybe heated grips for your bike. Cold mornings need a neck protector and thick socks so your ankles don't get frozen.

Start buying winter gear now. Plenty of people are getting rid of theirs in the next couple months, and it'll be a fantastic investment for later months.

As for rain, if your gloves don't do too well in the wet (mine don't but I can't afford new ones), you can go to walmart and get some of those yellow rubber cleaning gloves. Wear them as a liner under your riding gloves, and that way your hands won't get as cold. You'll want your jacket to keep you all the way dry, though. Wet hands are no fun, but a wet and cold torso will make your responses sluggish and can get you sick.

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by dcj13

You'll want to wear a dickie (neck tube).

slang for condom?

[azn370z]

I ride at least 1 if not 3 days a week on dry to almost dry roads all year round. This is my first year riding but the weather has been good so far. For instance, today started out dry, I got 5 hours of riding in and the rain started as soon as I was 15 minutes from my house. During Dec and Jan the highs are about 40ish but right now it's around 50's, feels like summer. So don't let people tell you that you can't ride a lot in Seattle. Of course not everyone likes riding when it's not in the 60's because I don't see a whole lot of riders during this time of the year.

I just wear a leather jacket, fleece, Kevlar jeans, fleece socks so you don't need special gear to keep warm.

Check the local forums for good roads. I take it you like the twisty/back roads? That's what I ride. You can always contact me when you're here if you like.