Cascade’s newest ride will travel on the 520 Bridge, I-5 Express Lanes

See interactive route map via Cascade's Ride With GPS page.

The secret (or maybe not-so-secret) route for Cascade's newest major ride has been officially revealed: People registered for the April 3 event will get the rare chance to bike on both the 520 Bridge and the I-5 Express Lanes through the heart of Seattle before looping lack to along Lake Washington.

The ride was announced as part of two days of celebrations on the 520 Bridge in early April. There will also be a fun run and walk April 2, along with other to-be-announced opening celebrations. The new 520 Bridge will be the world's longest floating bridge, but the Seattle connections will remain incomplete for several years. This includes the biking and walking trail, unfortunately.

So the April 3 ride may be the only chance for years to bike onto the bridge from Seattle. And it will certainly be among the few times you'll get to bike on the I-5 Express Lanes (unless, of course, WSDOT takes me up on my I-5 Express Trail concept. Call me!).

There are 6,000 spaces available for Cascade's Emerald City Bike Ride, and registration opened today. The full ride is $30 for members or $50 for the general public.

If all 6,000 spots are filled (and I anticipate they will be), this will become the club's second biggest ride behind the 10,000-rider Seattle to Portland.

The ride's 520 and I-5 segments will be in the morning on a Sunday, and riders will have to be finished with 520 by 9:30 a.m. and off the I-5 Express Lanes by 10:15 a.m. But this is a pretty good excuse to wake up early.

And as Seattle Transit Blog writer and Pedal Anywhere owner Zach Shaner pointed out on Twitter, you'll be able to take light rail to the UW start line. How cool is that?

On April 3, I'll take a subway to UW and ride my bike across 520. What a world. #SEABikes @seabikeblog @seatransitblog

- Zach Shaner (@zachshan) January 12, 2016