It was February 28, 2001 and Dennis Funk was leading a relatively new ride that he created. At the time, it was called the "Wednesday Morning Ride". There were perhaps ten riders, including Mary Ann Scholten, Britt and Henrick Martin, Dennis Johnson, Pete Lyall, Ann and Bill Moyers, Joe Toscano and others.
At 10:54 AM the group was in the Felida neighborhood around NW 46th Ave and NW 131st St. Suddenly Dennis felt the earthquake and stopped the group. The tremors lasted about 30 to 40 seconds.
After the ride, while at a coffee shop, everyone was talking about it and someone said they should change the name to the "Earthquake Ride", and it has been called that ever since. It has also been on the Event Calendar ever since, and can now be found in several variations, all still on Wednesday mornings.
This was a major quake centered in the southern part of Puget Sound near Olympia, Washington, and already had a name- the Nisqually Earthquake. It measured a magnitude of 6.8 and was felt as far away as British Columbia and Idaho. One person was reported to have died of a heart attack, several hundred were injured and it caused widespread damage, measured at around $2 billion, in Olympia and the surrounding Puget Sound region.
Thanks to Dennis and many others who contributed to answering the question, "How did the Earthquake Ride get its name?"
Attached image shows a "Midi Earthquake Ride" group on 7 October, led by David Pike (at left) at the intersection of NW 46th Ave and NW 131st St- the spot where the quake was felt back in 2001.
Tom Eggers