An Unintentional Century

It was going to be a nice day in the Seattle area. My plan was to join a few folks on a Cascade Bicycle Club 40 mile ride classified as "brisk", then to try to join up with my friend Julie as she was acting as sweep for one of the "red" groups on a 56 mile training ride. When I arrived at the start for the first ride it was obvious that these people were here to ride. Deep dish carbon wheels, aerobars, high end bikes, and more than a few physiques that shouted "I ride a bike fast" were the order of the day. It was a far cry from the more social paced rides I have been riding here. I wasn't sure if I was up to the task.

Our route started out flat, and our group of nearly 30 riders rolled out at about 18 mph.

We then climbed a decent hill. Surprising to me, but I was not last up the hill, I was in the top quarter of the group. Once on top, we continued to ride along at a good pace.

 As is customary with Cascade Bicycle Club rides, there was an extended stop for snacks, today at Starbucks. Some of us stayed outside and chatted about various braking options for rain bikes. ;-) Following the stop Alexa, our leader, provided the option of another group for those that wanted to go faster. Given my current state of nonfitness I decided that I'd better be happy if I could keep up with the advertised brisk pace. The breakaway group planned on 20-25 mph.

Our now slightly smaller group pedaled along on the high end of the advertised 16-18 mph pace.  It was a good day to be out riding, and we were riding through some scenic countryside. 

Just before starting the second climb of this ride I was about in the middle of our group, but we weren't tightly grouped. I was rolling along about 20 mph, with a rider about 30 ft behind me. A small car with a twentysomething driver stopped at a stop sign on the right, looked right at me, then pulled out. I braked hard and turned behind him. He smirked as he accelerated away. Damn him. We soon started climbing the hill and I'd pass a small group, then another. It was a warm day and I was heating up. I summited first and continued to pedal. I arrived back at Marymoor Park with a 16.4 mph on road average for the 40 miles with 2047 feet of climbing.


I didn't dally around after the ride as I wanted to get going on my next ride.

Julie's group had also started out at Marymoor Park this morning. The "red" group rides at 10-12 mph, and my plan was to ride their route backward until I found them.



I pedaled reasonably hard and found them after riding about 25 miles back on their route. Unlike the ride I had been on this morning, many in this group could not keep the advertised pace, in fact some were walking their bikes up somewhat gentle hills. I guess that's why they call this a "training series". The group stopped for a water and restroom break at a neighborhood softball game. I took the opportunity to support the local girl's softball team and had a hotdog, chips, and a drink.

 
The Cascade Training Series is a paid training, so I did my best to not impose, I rode the route, but didn't take part in the training.

Julie and I had evening plans and her group was not going to make it back to Marymoor Park in time. I rode on ahead with plans to get my pickup and drive back to pick her up. With about 7 miles to go I got on the wrong leg of the route. I was still following the route, in the correct direction, but was on roads I had not seen on the way out. I was a bit baffled. To top things off I was in an area of unfriendly drivers. I had a oxidized red dually pickup pass within a foot of me even though there was no oncoming traffic. A bit later I had some young guys drive by and tell me to ride on the sidewalk on the other side of the street.

I passed a lot of dairy farms, but very few still had cows. It seems that there is more money to be made storing RV's. The farther I rode, the more I was convinced of the need for me to get to my pickup and pick Julie up. At the point I was seeing 90 miles for the day I knew something was wrong, but did not have the means to fix it. I got a phone call from Julie, she was at Marymoor Park, wondering where I was. All I could tell her was that I was on the route. I kept riding and soon we could figure out that I was near Monroe. The plan was now changed so that she was going to come get me! I told her I would keep pedaling, thinking I would get closer to her as she spent the half hour or more driving up to get me. I reached Snohomish and found a landmark that I figured would be easily identifiable, the airport. I made a call and told Julie I would wait there for her.
After another half hour she arrived. We loaded my bike and were on our way. Late, but moving quickly. As it ended up, here's what I rode.


When I got about 7 miles from the end (all downhill!) I turned toward Duvall. I was still on the route in the correct direction, but was on part they had already ridden, not that which they still needed to ride, and not the way I should have gone. Given enough time, I would have biked their entire route!

;..............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total Today............103...............0..............0..........0.............103 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...............177...............0...............0.........0.............177 Total...........2033.............0...............0..........0..........2033