Winnie the Pooh

It was predicted to be a WET day in Seattle.  100% chance of rain had dampened the spirits of the Cascade Daily Rides calendar. There were 12 rides on today's schedule,  all but one said rain cancelled, and the lone ride was modified so much it wasn't worth going to.

I grumbled on a Puget Sound facebook group that I thought it strange that a Pacific Northwest bike group would be such pansies.  Erik N. and two other  Rule #9 adherents took up the challenge and invited me to join them.  

We met at a coffee shop in Fremont.  I rode to the ride.  It was quite windy and raining lightly as I left at 7:30 AM from Queen Anne.  I misunderstood the directions and missed the coffee shop.  By the time I fixed the error in my way, it was 8:15.  We milled around the coffee shop until 8:30, then pedaled off.  The rain had stopped and would not return for the rest of our ride, but the wind continued.  I felt a bit like Pooh

I haven't been riding much the last few months and wondered how I'd be able to handle riding with the big boys. As we pedaled out the Burke-Gilman Trail I kept up comfortably with the 19-20 mph pace.

When we turned to climb the long hill to Phinney Ridge I struggled to keep pace.  There were leaves blowing, branches falling, and even a few trees down here and there.  Power was out on most of Phinney Ridge. On the way up we passed under some large Douglas Fir trees.  The were swaying violently and making cracking sounds.  Branches and needles littered the ground.  A side street had a police car with lights flashing sitting next to a tree that had gone down over the road..  It was a blustery day!

I was slower than my riding friends as we climbed and rode into the wind.  Not too many months ago I would have been able to lead them out easily.  Today, not so much.

Erik stayed back with me and we got separated from the other two at a traffic signal on Greenwood.  The others made it through on green, Erik and I didn't.  By the time we got a green light, the other two had crested a hill and were out of sight.  We pedaled hard, but soon had a long view of the road ahead and there were no bikes.  We figured they must have turned.  No problem, while not knowing the route, I knew the way.

Erik and I pedaled along the darkened Greenwood St. The power was out!    We traveled several miles before traffic signals were operating again.  There were enough leaves on the ground that seeing a wind gust coming was easier. There were times that the advanced notice was all that kept us upright, or at least in our line.

It was a fun day, exactly what I needed.  Thanks Erik for the invitation to join you and your friends.

It was good to establish once again that I can follow rule #5, and that rule number 9 can still apply.

Sorry you had to wait for me!

 

  ...............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle........total

Today..............34...........0................0............0.............34 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...............900...............0...............0.........0...............900
June..............484...............0..............0............0..............484
July..............1300................0...............0..........0.............1300
 Aug................638.............0.................0..........0.............638
 Sept...............232..............0................0...........0............232
 Oct...............307...............0................0...........0............307
 Nov...............34...............0................0...........0.............34
Total...........5504.............0...............0..........0.............5504