Man killed while biking in West Seattle identified as Steven Hulsman

Steven Hulsman. Photo from his Strava profile, which notes that he had climbed 787,641 feet over 5,969 miles in 2023.

Steven Hulsman was biking a hilly route he has ridden countless times when someone driving collided with him and killed him Thursday evening. He was 66.

Our condolences to his friends and family.

Hulsman was a husband, father and grandfather. He loved riding hills like this one, friends say, and he was scheduled to lead a Cascade Bicycle Club free group ride along this route today (December 23). His friend and ride co-leader John Kugler lead the ride in his absence as a memorial to Steven.

Steve was one of the kindest persons I have ever met," Kugler told Seattle Bike Blog:

He just cared about everyone. He was always delighted whenever someone new showed up for one of his posted Cascade rides (and he posted A LOT of them for many, many years). He always reached out to welcome everyone and learn about them. He was incredibly fit and he loved to climb up hills to keep fit. His Hills of the West Coast" Cascade rides are always the hilliest rides on Cascade's free ride calendar. He loved the Northwest and riding in the mountains, especially Rainier National Park, the North Cascades Highway and Artist Point/Mt. Baker. He loved the outdoors. He has ridden the Ride Around Mt. Rainier more times than anyone I know. Riders on RAMROD [Ride Around Mount Rainier in One Day"] are given numbers according to their age with the oldest getting the lowest number. One of Steve's big goals was to someday ride RAMROD with a single digit ride number, i.e. to be one of the nine oldest riders. He always kept an eye out for the riders with the low numbers and cheered them on."

UPDATE: Another friend, David Longdon, wrote a wonderful post about Steve on his site Northwest In Motion.

Hulsman worked for Washington State's Chemical Water Quality Monitoring Program, a Department of Health program working to maintain clean drinking water. He also donated blood as often as possible for his entire life, and Kugler said he has donated close to 1,000 pints of blood.

His loss will be felt not only in the cycling community and among his family and friends, but by the countless people he met and inspired throughout his life and countless others who never met him but whose lives were saved by his selfless care for the wellbeing of others," said Kugler.

Stories about Steve, along with shock, dismay and sadness, have been pouring in since the news first started to spread. Many people have noted that Steve made them feel welcome and was always encouraging them during difficult rides. He was an extremely experienced ride leader who spoke about riding safely before every ride.

Marine View Drive is a popular cycling route due to its namesake views and also because it is a rare continuous through street in this area south of Fauntleroy. It is a two-lane road with no bike infrastructure and poor, inconsistent or completely missing shoulders. The official Seattle Bike Map includes Marine View Drive as a bike bike route with no bicycle facility but commonly used." This spring, someone driving struck Hulsman from behind while he was biking up Marine View Drive, according to Kugler. The person driving fled the scene after totaling Steve's bike, but Steve escaped that collision mostly unharmed.

There are currently very few details about how the collision occurred, and the holiday means official information may come slower than usual. West Seattle Blog reports only that the collision occurred shortly after 6 p.m. at the intersection of Marine View Drive and 46th Ave SW. It is an awkwardly-angled intersection with significant inclines and a stop sign only for people heading downhill on 46th Ave SW. I will post an update when I learn more.

January 2023 image from Google Street View of the approximate location of the collision.

Thanks to Ryan Packer for help reporting this story.