hitting their stride
Walkers find camaraderie on island trails
Words & photo by Kevin Dwyer
Striders Eric Petersen (left) and Mike Wiese (right) chat it up near Rolling Bay.
On a cool, crisp morning last fall, 30 or so people—mostly seniors—gathered at the Rolling Bay Presbyterian Church parking lot on Bainbridge Island to set out on another walk.This enthusiastic ensemble, known as the Bainbridge Striders, comes together three times a week—rain or shine—to walk a variety of roads and trails throughout the island. Some are serious exercise nuts, while others are social butterflies.
The Striders got started in 1997 as an outgrowth of a Bainbridge Island Metro Parks District class taught by fitness guru Kay Jensen. The group has been going strong ever since.
“It is a very loosely organized group of walkers who are committed to maintaining a healthy lifestyle while enjoying the beautiful island on which we live,” says 77-year-old Ginger Thrash, the Striders’ designated point person. Thrash and her husband, Jim, have been hoofing it with the group since day one.
“We’re pretty casual,” she says of the Striders, who range in age from 60 to 85. “You don’t have to sign up, you don’t have to pay; you just show up.” The group has mapped out some 43 different walks around the island that it rotates during the course of the year.
The walks are fairly short, lasting roughly an hour. Most have less than a 1,000 feet of elevation gain. The Striders meet every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9 a.m. from mid-September to mid-March, and at 8:30 a.m. the rest of the year.
Kirk Robinson, 68, stumbled upon the group after retiring from a job in Seattle five or six years ago. He found the Striders online and eventually met up with them on an outing at Eagledale Park. “I found out quickly about trails that I didn’t know anything about,” he says.
And that’s saying something. Robinson spent 14 years as a Parks District board member, encouraging the entity to add new trails and parks to its inventory. “The trails on the island are great,” notes Thrash, “and they’re building more all the time.”
Robinson says the Striders are an impetus for him to get outside and exercise more often. “They’re great people,” he says. “It’s a walk and talk and social event [for many]. For me it’s more walking and looking for new trails.” His favorites include Gazzam Lake, Port Madison, the south end around Blakely Harbor and the Grand Forest.
Once a year the Striders—which have an email list of about 180 participants—take a trip to Mazama, in north central Washington, and do several day hikes on the area’s beautiful trails. Thrash says they basically take over the two hotels in the small mountain hamlet.
“What we have in common is a love of the outdoors,” she explains. “The camaraderie, the friendships, the social [exchanges], and getting in your exercise. That’s what it’s all about.”