The calm before the storm

I had some business to attend to in Salem, the forecast was for a chance of rain. I looked out the window, the roadway was dry, the sky was more bright than dark. I left the rain bike home and brought my carbon bike with me, though I did attach one of those seatpost mounted fenders to keep me from getting a stripe up my back should a stray shower happen.

I took care of business then took off on the bike. I didn't get far before the sky darkened. There was rain threatening, I high tailed back to my pickup. I almost made it before the skies opened up.

12 miles, about 9 of them in dry weather.

Today.................12...........0..............0..........0..............12 Jan..................93..............0...............0.........0..............93 Feb................411..............0..............0.........0............411 March.............653.............0..............0.........0............653 April..............696..............0...............0.........0............696 May...............751...............0...............0.........0.............751
Total...........2607.............0...............0..........0.............2607

The Dog Days of Summer?

My niece's dog loves to run. That is not normally an issue unless he makes a successful dash for freedom. He doesn't get out often, but when he does the neighbors quickly tire of him.

After a few days of good weather I was preparing to take off for a short ride on the fixie tonight before the predicted wet few days predicted when I was pressed into service to retrieve the dog. I grabbed his favorite squeak toy and pedaled around the neighborhood making funny squeaky sounds. He wasn't falling for it. He'd run by, look, and keep right on running. The game finally ended when he spotted a neighbor's cat. The cat and dog played cat and mouse until the cat was cornered. The dog lost some blood via a scratch to the nose in the close encounter before treeing the cat..... and pausing just long enough looking up for me to grab his collar. The dog was wishing I hadn't caught him, the cat was wishing he had a few friends to help him out, and I got 4 miles in.

Today..................4...........0..............0..........0...............4 Jan..................93..............0...............0.........0..............93 Feb................411..............0..............0.........0............411 March.............653.............0..............0.........0............653 April..............696..............0...............0.........0............696 May...............739...............0...............0.........0.............739
Total...........2595.............0...............0..........0.............2595

Alki

Took a ride to Alki with a couple of friends and had lunch. We rode back. ;-) A very nice day in Seattle. Video and complete description coming for today's ride and yesterday's ride within 24 hours.

The last of the weekend's bike videos have been uploaded and processed. I should have both yesterday's and today's posts updated soon.


Today.................41...........0..............0..........0..............41 Jan..................93..............0...............0.........0..............93 Feb................411..............0..............0.........0............411 March.............653.............0..............0.........0............653 April..............696..............0...............0.........0............696 May...............735...............0...............0.........0.............735
Total...........2591.............0...............0..........0.............2591

Hauling Ash

I rode Redhook Brewery's Haul Ash ride today. I also rode to and from the ride.

Nice weather, only one rain shower, and we were under a huge tent with a burger, brew, and band at the time!

Photos, video, and more details to follow.


Today.................87...........0..............0..........0..............87 Jan..................93..............0...............0.........0..............93 Feb................411..............0..............0.........0............411 March.............653.............0..............0.........0............653 April..............696..............0...............0.........0............696 May...............694...............0...............0.........0.............694 Total...........2550.............0...............0..........0.............2550

Bike to Work Day

Today is Bike to Work Day, and Cascade Bicycle Club does Bike to Work Day big. It's too bad that CBC doesn't put at least some of that energy into the Ride of Silence, but it is what it is.
I volunteered to help out with Bike to Work Day and was assigned to help check supplies back in following numerous stations passing out treats and information on commute routes.

I rode to the job, because that's what I do and after all, it was Bike to Work Day!

I passed 4 stations along my short commute to Cascade headquarters. I guess that isn't surprising considering there were rumored to be over 80 stations throughout the city. Despite the light rain there were many smiling faces.





I smiled and waved but did not stop as I passed. Finally, one station was offering donuts. I pulled in, had a maple bar, thanked them, then continued on my way.



I arrived at the storage unit where my duties were to take place. I met my fellow volunteer and went about our work. After 4 hours our shift was over and I made my way back. I pedaled back up Queen Ann much easier than yesterday's suffer fest.

In a couple of hours Julie and I ride back to the Ballard neighborhood where we will meet at a new bike centric brewery with some fellow ride refs from Chilly Hilly. I'll get back on here and give an update after we finish up.

19 miles so far.

Evening update:

7 of us met in Ballard tonight. It was a bikey group and a bikey venue. We met at a freshly opened brewery named "The Peddler Brewing Company". We sampled their brew and talked bike, bike safety, bike lanes, bike tracks, and bike laws..........and we had fun.



Following our little meeting and socialization time we rode back to Queen Anne.

I added 9 miles to the daily total.


Today.................28...........0..............0..........0..............28 Jan..................93..............0...............0.........0..............93 Feb................411..............0..............0.........0............411 March.............653.............0..............0.........0............653 April..............696..............0...............0.........0............696 May...............607...............0...............0.........0.............607 Total...........2463.............0...............0..........0.............2463

A Run to Redmond REI

The forecast today was for unsettled weather with a chance of thunderstorms this afternoon. I wanted to get to REI in Redmond to pick up rider packets for Saturday's Haul Ash ride. I spent the morning working on details for my crew chief duties on the upcoming Race Across the West, but finally at noon with weather looking better than expected I started out by bike to Redmond.

I was in a bit of time constraint as I had evening plans. I rolled down Queen Ann via the most direct (and steepest) way. I was surprised to see about a dozen sheriff deputies toiling up the 26% grade on mtn bikes. Not all made it. ;-)

I got on the Burke-Gilman trail and pedaled along. When I got about 15 miles out I made a refueling stop at McDonalds, then continued. The longer I pedaled the more I became concerned about my time. I was pedaling 17-18 mph on the trail, but I was taking much longer to pedal the 27 miles than I had planned.

I rolled into REI just after 3PM. Luckily, the packet pickup process went smoothly and I was back on the road by 3:15 PM. I kept the pace up near 20 mph, knowing that I had to be back no later than 5PM, and at the very end of the trip I'd have a 400 ft climb. I ran into a bit of heavy bike/pedestrian traffic near U of W, but it didn't last long. By 4:50 O was pm the Fremont Bridge and at the base of that nasty climb back up Queen Ann. I knew I had no time to ponder, I just started up. I have a 4 mile easy route up the hill that stays below 10%, but knew I could not cover that distance in 15 minutes. Instead I went straight up 4th, with it's 26% grades. I pushed as hard as I could on the hill. My heart was pounding, my lungs were bursting, my legs were screaming, but I made it up in 9 minutes! .....and we made it to our evening appointment on time. :-)


Today.................54...........0..............0..........0..............54 Jan..................93..............0...............0.........0..............93 Feb................411..............0..............0.........0............411 March.............653.............0..............0.........0............653 April..............696..............0...............0.........0............696 May...............579...............0...............0.........0.............579 Total...........2435.............0...............0..........0.............2435

A ride, and a Ride of Silence

I am still in Seattle.  The forecast was for cloudy skies with an increasing chance of showers as the day progressed. I had originally hoped to ride to Woodinville to pick up my rider packet and swag for an upcoming ride that I will be participating in, but timing wasn't going to work out with evening plans. It wasn't raining in the morning,  and I didn't want to miss a chance to ride,  so I hopped on the bike and rode out the Burke-Gilman and Sammamish River trails to Redhook Brewery and back. I made it back in plenty of time to make preparations for tonight's Ride of Silence.

I had the lights charged and attached to Julie's and my bikes.  Tires were aired, fenders attached, helmet ready to go.  It started to rain lightly.  Drat, that was enough to put the kabash on Julie's plans.

I'm an Oregonian, a little rain isn't going to stop me from a ride as important as the Ride of Silence. I put on my rain gear and rolled down Queen Ann to Gasworks Park.  I was one of the first to arrive at the park.  In short order there were 40 of us.  The organizer of the event, J Steve Mayo, handed out signage, black armbands, and spoke briefly, then we were on our way.



Our group stayed together pretty well.  Traffic signals would inevitably break us up, but the leaders kept aware of the back of the group and would slow, or stop, waiting for a regroup.

At the conclusion of the ride a reporter for a local paper milled around with notepad in hand taking statements.

The ride itself was about 10 miles, I had a 4 mile ride down to the event, and a 4 mile ride back UP from the event.  Added to the morning ride in the dry weather I totaled 66 for the day.
 

Today.................66...........0..............0..........0..............66 Jan..................93..............0...............0.........0..............93 Feb................411..............0..............0.........0............411 March.............653.............0..............0.........0............653 April..............696..............0...............0.........0............696 May...............525...............0...............0.........0.............525 Total...........2381.............0...............0..........0.............2381

CTS 7..... sort of

I had planned on riding with some Cascade Bicycle Club folks as they prerode the CTS 7 route from Renton. As per usual when possible, I planned to ride to the ride. As I was preparing to ride I noted on my phone's calendar that the ride started at 9AM, instead of the 10AM I had planned on. Even if I were to load the bike and drive there, I wouldn't make it in time. I hopped on the bike and planned on a solo ride.

After a stormy wet day yesterday, today wasn't too bad. I pedaled to Renton via Beacon Hill. I arrived at Old City Hall, and sure enough there were cars with bike racks, but no bike riders to be seen. I opened the CTS 7 route on the Garmin and continued on. When I got to Mercer Island I decided to not ride a loop around the south end as the official route does, instead staying on the north end. After crossing the I-90 Floating Bridge I exited the route and made my way back to Queen Anne. I'd still get a couple more miles than the official CTS 7 route.




Today.................62...........0..............0..........0..............62 Jan..................93..............0...............0.........0..............93 Feb................411..............0..............0.........0............411 March.............653.............0..............0.........0............653 April..............696..............0...............0.........0............696 May...............459...............0...............0.........0.............459 Total...........2315.............0...............0..........0.............2315

No Levee or Points

 I rode the Cascade Bicycle Club's "Two Points and a Levee" ride today. Yes, the same route I had been painting the turns on the last few weeks.

Today several hundred Cascade Training Series riders took to the road. The crowd was broken down into several smaller groups of 15-25 riders, depending on speed/fitness. I was riding with friends in the "red 1" group.

Red 1

 I was planning on riding the route with them and then going to a RAAM rider Chris Ragsdale event later in the day. The route was 66 miles. We started out of Renton.

CTS 6, Red Roll Out
 

Our group's ride leader did an excellent job of keeping the group together, a daunting job with riders of this caliber.  We climbed a 2 mile long hill at about 5% into Federal Way, followed shortly by a rest stop at a park,

It was a nice day, and the best views were just a few short miles away, but alas, after nearly 3 hours the group had only covered 20 miles. I was out of time and turned around finding my own way back.

I made good time back to my pickup, covering the distance in just over an hour. I loaded my bike, made my way to Sumner where I picked up friend Julie and her bike, then drove to Burien where we took in the Chris Ragsdale event. It was good to see him again and wish him well on RAAM.

He spoke about his preparations, introduced his crew, thanked his sponsors, and showed us a bike movie!

You can hear about some of his plans and preparations in this recent interview with George Thomas.




Today...............40.............0..............0..........0..............40 Jan..................93..............0...............0.........0..............93 Feb................411..............0..............0.........0............411 March.............653.............0..............0.........0............653 April..............696..............0...............0.........0............696 May...............397...............0...............0.........0.............397 Total...........2253.............0...............0..........0.............2253

McKenzie Pass

Sorry for the delay in getting this post finished up, video takes a lot of time to process.

 Dave, Joe, and I took advantage of the weather forecast (possible rain showers on Saturday but sunny and dry today) and favorable work schedules (It's Friday, some are stuck at work) and one lane plowed through the 20ft drifts to ride McKenzie Pass today.

 We started at 6AM today for our 144 mile automobile commute to the Blue River Ranger Station where we parked Joe's van and hopped on the bikes.

(pre-ride photo to be added here as soon as I get it from a fellow rider)

We had a few miles of relatively flat riding before beginning the climb up "Dead Horse Grade", a sinuous roadway that climbs over 1200 ft in less than 4 miles.

 

    

As we made our way up the hill we chatted about how nice it was to have no cars and the road to ourselves.  We wondered if the recent designation as a scenic bikeway had anything to do with the early opening only for bikes and pedestrians the last few years. Whatever the reason, it sure made for a nice day.

  

 Once we passed the snow gate we had the road to ourselves.

We continued to climb after the snow gate. As we climbed high enough to have snow covering the ground we'd note cold rivers of air flowing down the side canyons.  The ambient air was so mild that this cold air was quite noticeable, and was even visible at times.

It was a nice day for pedaling up a hill, and the company made it seem easy.  We would be climbing almost 4000 ft to reach the summit, and we were reminded of our vertical progress from time to time. We saw signs for 2000, 3000, 4000, and 5000 ft.

It flattens out a bit near the top and we eventually crossed the Cascade Crest at over 5300ft elevation.

The road has been open to bikes and pedestrians since May 1st but there is less snow this year than I've seen in any of the last 5 years in May. It looks like ODOT could open the  road with very little work if they so choose.

We rolled down the eastern slope and rode into Sisters where there was a nice view of the Three Sisters.

We took the opportunity while there to refill water bottles and grab a bite to eat.

We didn't dally long, as I have a long drive yet today. (It will be a 500 mile automobile day plus a 78 mile biking day for me!)


Following our lunch stop we made our way up the 2000 ft in elevation back toward the summit.

At the summit we stopped briefly to put some warmer clothes on for the descent.

We dropped just a bit in elevation then rode along a  relatively flat section before dropping over the edge of Dead Horse Grade.

Here's Joe pedaling westward


Here's Dave pedaling along




It is a fun run down Dead Horse Grade. There was just a bit of winter debris still on the road so judicious use of brakes was wise. We regrouped at the western snow gate.



Below the snow gate there is still plenty of fun descending. The only difference is now we share the road with a few cars.


It was a fun ride!

We rolled back into the Blue River Ranger Station and loaded up the bikes. It had been a great day on the bikes.

What better way to wrap it up than with a stop for burgers and beer!

It was a perfect day.

With the two mile commute to meet Joe, it ended up being 80 glorious miles.

And as added bonus, here's what it looks like when ODOT plowed the road in June of 2011:



..............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total Today...............80.............0..............0..........0..............80 Jan..................93..............0...............0.........0..............93 Feb................411..............0..............0.........0............411 March.............653.............0..............0.........0............653 April..............696..............0...............0.........0............696 May...............357...............0...............0.........0.............357 Total...........2213.............0...............0..........0.............2213