The end of the month

I've been back in Oregon for a few days now.  I finally got back on a bike.  I posted to Facebook looking for some friends to ride the Springwater Corridor.  3 others nibbled, and we were off.  I took the fixie.

We started from Sellwood Riverfront Park on the Willamette River in Portland.  We rode 19 miles east on the Springwater Corridor Trail to Boring where we stopped for coffee.  Well, my friends stopped for coffee, me not being a coffee drinker, stopped to visit with them.

Following the stop we turned around and rode toward Portland.  We got a few sprinkles on the return trip.  Not bad rain, just an extended light shower.  We got back as far as 82nd, and the group decided to stop at Cartlandia for snacks.  It was after 1PM after all.

I had a large breakfast and a short Springwater ride wasn't enough to use all that up yet, so I again just hung around for the camaraderie.

Following lunch we continued on our way.  As we crossed Foster Rd Larry peeled off since he lived nearby.  The two ladies and I continued on toward the Willamette River.   Just a mile or so from the river Kay peeled off as we passed her house.

Lori and I continued on our way.

We reached Sellwood Riverside Park and I peeled off, letting Lori be the last of our party to be riding as she continued northward toward her home.

It was a good day, even though I got a flat tire on the way out.  Good with a flat you say?  Yup, it was good because I just recently started carrying a spare tube for those 38mm tires. (yup, me bad) and I managed to get the tire changed and rear wheel remounted on the bike.  Inflation was a bit of an issue.  I've been able to top off with my floor pump without issue, but the  small pump I carry on the bike had problems mating with the schrader valve stem.  I eventually got it hooked up.


..............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle........total
Today..............38...........0................0............0.............38 Jan.................710..............0...............0.........0.............710 Total.............710.............0...............0..........0..............710

All signed up

 It is the season for making the annual biking calendar. Part of my plan is to repeat my ride referee volunteer duties.  Ride registration is open for all the Cascade Bicycle Club events, and RSVP (Ride from Seattle to Vancouver and Party) is 97% sold out as of today. It was time to get my ride ref paperwork filed.

I rode from Queen Ann to Cascade Bicycle Club headquarters in Magnussen Park and dropped the forms off.  I rode back, stopping in Fremont for a bowl of teriyaki .  Following the filling of the fuel tank I pedaled back up Queen Ann via the longer "easy" route.  It was noticeably colder on the return trip.

20 miles total

..............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle........total
Today..............20...........0................0............0.............20 Jan.................672..............0...............0.........0.............672 Total.............672.............0...............0..........0..............672

No drinking the koolaid

 I was invited to join a Cascade Bicycle Club Policy Ride today.  Well, not me personally, but an open invitation to the membership to make a showing as they rode from Fremont to South Lake Union, a contentious piece of real estate that is the subject of a proposed protected bike lane. I am far from a believer in protected bike lanes, I fall more into the vehicular cycling format.  I just wanted to be a voice in the wilderness so the koolaid drinkers could not say that "we only hear 100% support for this".

There were about 75 people on bikes at the start.  Several without helmets, all looking very different that I.

We all had to sign a ride liability release, standard practice for a club ride, but several riders did not have helmets, yet were allowed to start off with us. That is not standard.

After commenting to some of the ride marshals I was told that those people hadn't signed in and weren't part of the official ride.  Okay, so if you don't sign a ride release you can just ride along?

There were hipsters, families, extacycles, single speeds, flat pedal bikes.   I did see one RAMROD reflective band on a bike, but the rest were firmly in the other end of the bike rider spectrum.

The group took off on a designated bike path consisting of wide sidewalks and striped parking lots. With a group this large, of widely varying riding skills, I chose to ride the adjacent road.  Julie and I took the right lane, and just like those vehicular riding videos that Cycling Savvy publishes, the motor vehicles all moved to the left lane and passed us without incident or complaint.

I'd pull into the parking lot to listen at each one of the stops the group did.  They had local politicians and others versed in promoting the infrastructure. I'd listen intently, so as to not rely on hearsay later. I stayed to the edges, mostly to be listening, but not in the crowd.  I noticed that at one point a group of three rode by in the parking lot on their way south as we were stopped on the path.  Their comment among themselves? "Now there's trouble".   I wonder if the koolaid drinkers factor in those bike riders who see them as less than beneficial to the cause?

There were three stops along the way.  Prior to the ride we all had been issued aerial photos of the area and asked to "crowd source" any issues we found, marking the locations with "X"s.  I marked my map, tracing my route on the street, with the comment, "no issues found, a great ride".  At the third stop we were asked to turn those aerial photos in.  As I did, Brock Howell, the Government Affairs and Policy Manager, asked if I had indicated that I'd prefer the sidewalk or parking lot.  I answered "the road".  He looked puzzled, but took my marked map.

We pedaled a few blocks to an establishment to" have a brew and talk policy".  I found it strange that an event that openly courted families, would hold a portion of today's policy ride, in an establishment that had prominently displayed a sign that read "No Minors" on it's front door.

I talked a bit with a few of the families, and others choosing to not partake.

Before long I turned back up hill and went up Queen Ann.

It was a nice sunny day.  It would have been nice to go for a longer ride, but given how my legs felt after yesterday's fixie ride with all it's stops and starts, it was probably good to give them a rest today.

Policy & Government Affairs Manager

Policy & Government Affairs Manager

..............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle........total
Today...............7...........0................0............0..............7 Jan.................652..............0...............0.........0.............652 Total.............652.............0...............0..........0..............652

A bagel run

Today there was a plan to ride around Lake Washington.  Merry, from Anderson Island, was going to join Julie and I for a repeat of a ride we did a few weeks ago.  Merry didn't quite understand the finer points of nutrition when riding longer and bonked hard.  She assured us she had learned her lesson.

It was foggy this morning but was predicted to clear up.  The girls decided they'd rather do a flat ride out to Blazing Bagels near Marymoor Park.  I had considered riding the Lake Loop on my own, but decided a better thing to do would be to ride with them, and take my fixie.

We took off from Queen Ann in thick fog with our lights on.

We rode just under 5 miles to get to the meeting point at Gasworks Park. Despite assurances of intent to do better on nutrition, I was surprised to hear Merry say she hadn't had breakfast and hoped to stop soon for food.  Well, stopping for food if you haven't had breakfast is a good fallback plan.

Julie and I waited on the trail while Merry grabbed a coffee and a couple of muffins.

The fog was patchy, as fog often is.  We'd go from thick fog to thinner fog.  The pace was slow. Sometimes I'd get ahead and wait a bit. Sometimes both Julie and I would get ahead and wait a bit. It was going to be a long day.

The fog did make for some interesting scenes.  During one of my waits I took off my gloves, opened my pack, removed the camera, and took this photo.

We continued on our way, in fits and starts.  The fog had pretty much cleared by now.  By the time we got to Blazing Bagels, I was ahead a bit, as Julie had waited for Merry. I placed my order and was seated by the time Julie rode in.  Julie came in solo as she and Merry had gotten separated when Merry missed a turn,

The girls were having a bit of a disagreement over riding style it seems.

Julie and I finished lunch and Merry still had not arrived, or contacted us.  Julie and I hopped back on the bikes and figured we had a chance to catch Merry as she was pedaling back. Despite the "personal" problems, it had turned out to be a very nice day.

Julie and I traded off being in the front.  The trail was busy today.  We finally caught Merry with about 3 miles left to go (for her, 8 for us)  She was standing next to the trail with her bike.  As we rode up she said to continue on, saying she'd catch up with us.  I thought to myself, "uh huh, if you could catch up with us you would have kept up with us".

We never saw her again.

I got to the base of Queen Ann before Julie, I had kept a consistent 13-14 mph and that was a bit fast for Julie.  I was concerned with getting that fixie up Queen Ann.  At the last minute I turned to go up 4th Ave rather than the circuitous "normal" route..  4th Ave reaches 26%, but is only 0.3 miles long.  If I was going to walk anyway, I just as well walk a short distance.

The fact that the Queen Ann climb came after 58 miles was not lost on me.  On STP, the biggest climb comes just after mile 50.  Hopefully I'll be in better bike shape by then.

I arrived to the top 30 minutes before Julie.  She did have a good climb though, riding it nonstop.  I think this is the second time ever that she's been able to do it without stopping to rest.

As she arrived she got a message from Merry. Merry had just arrived back at her vehicle. 51 miles for her, and about 45 minutes after Julie was there.


..............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle........total
Today..............61...........0................0............0.............61 Jan.................645..............0...............0.........0.............645 Total.............645.............0...............0..........0..............645

Another scouting adventure.

I'm organizing two rides to celebrate my birthday (if you can say "celebrate" with a straight face)  For the second year I'm organizing one for my Oregon friends and one for my Puget Sound friends.  The Oregon ride is easy to plan, with riding 10,000+ miles for 4 of the last 5 years it should be no surprise that I've pedaled just about everything pedalable there.  Oregon's ride will be on Feb 1, and we will ride THIS ROUTE.

The Seattle ride has been a bit more challenging for me since I'm not nearly as familiar with the roads.  After one error in planning where I just wasn't comfortable leading a group of folks on those roads, I planned another.  This time I "streetviewed" most of it.  Today I took off to scout THIS NEW ROUTE that is scheduled for Feb 8th.

It held promise "on paper" and should offer some nice views.

I had a delay of game today, having to mess with my Garmin, soft reset, factory reset, load route, repeat process, etc.  By the time I got out I was concerned that I might not get the whole route biked before dark.
I loaded the bike in my pickup and took off.

I drove some of the route, biked some of it.  It is going to be fun!  There was one section of about 4 miles near Edmonds that had no shoulder and was a bit curvy, but I had to route on it if I wanted to take in a view point that looked across to the Olympic Mountains.   When I got there I found that the road indeed had no shoulder, and yes, was a bit twisty, but it also had a 25 mph speed limit!

  Despite the blue skies, there was enough moisture in the air to obscure the Olympics.

The  route passed by many schools. I was surprised to find that near the schools there were no painted bike lanes, and often not very good shoulders.  No wonder younger folks don't ride bikes much.

I had mapped it near Lake Serene, thinking there might be some nice views there.  There were some pretty fancy homes and manicured neighborhoods, but all of that hid the lake from the eyes of we commoners. I did manage to get one glimpse of the lake between houses.  The light was from the wrong direction, but I didn't have much choice.

Just before crossing I-5, the route sent me down a street signed "no outlet".  While that might be true for motor vehicles, bicyclists with a sense of adventure can find a way.

 It looks worse than it is.  After about 25 feet this gravel path drops onto the Interurban Trail and follows it for just over a mile.  Shortly after crossing over I-5 I traveled along the shore of Silver Lake.  This time I had an easier time seeing the lake, but it didn't seem quite as scenic.  Spoiled I guess!

 The route goes through an industrial park then turns right as the road turns left.  It looked like it might be a section needed to be rerouted, but I found the gravel to be hard packed and quite ridable on skinny 23c tires. Around the back side of this lake the gravel trail joined up with a paved trail to finish it's way back to streets in about 3/4 mile. I won't bother rerouting, it will be a good break.

 I continued on to Marymoor without any issues.  I was on busier roads but there were excellent shoulders to ride on and great sight lines.

We are going to have fun!

..............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle........total
Today..............37...........0................0............0.............37 Jan.................584..............0...............0.........0.............584 Total............584.............0...............0..........0..............584

A scouting ride

No, not Boy Scouts, but a ride to get a first hand look at a ride I'm organizing for Feb 8th in the Seattle area.  Specifically it starts in Redmond and rides a loop up toward Monroe and Snohomish.  I rode the vast majority of it last year on a Cascade Bicycle Club training ride, I felt pretty confident that my chosen 59 mile route would be safe to pedal. As I pedaled out I was surprised to find that my modifications were fine, but the existing route I borrowed as worse than I remembered.  There were many miles near on the way to Monroe that were narrow, poor sightlines, and very busy.  There was enough of that kind of road that I've decided to change it drastically.  Still 59 miles (just because it's my birthday ride) and will start and finish in the same location, since I've already got folks saying they are joining me. 

I got just over an extra mile because of a missed turn.

I wish I could say it was a good day on the bike, but the only thing good about it was that I managed to find it's limitations before getting a group out there.


..............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle........total
Today..............60...........0................0............0.............60 Jan.................547..............0...............0.........0.............547 Total............547.............0...............0..........0..............547

Racing Rain

The weather prognosticators say that it may rain tomorrow.  I thought it might be nice to get one last ride in while it was dry.  It was foggy in the morning so I waited a bit before pedaling.  I'm still in Seattle for a few more days, and have two bikes with me.  I had the choice of my fixie or my rain bike.  I decided the luxury of multiple gears sounded pretty good.  I rolled off the top of Queen Ann and down to the Fremont Bridge.  I headed east on the Burke-Gilman trail and followed it to Marymoor Park.

As I rode eastward the sun appeared.  Not a blue sky day by any means, but certainly sharp shadows.

I turned around and retraced my route, until I got to the base of Queen Ann, then took a more circuitous and less steep route back up.

Despite my reticence  this morning about getting on the bike, it turned out to be a nice day to ride.

..............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle........total
Today..............56...........0................0............0.............56 Jan.................487..............0...............0.........0.............487 Total............487.............0...............0..........0..............487

Sunshine!

The morning started out gray but cleared up by afternoon offering Seattle a rare sunny day in January.  I should have hopped on the bike and gone long, but I had a few duties to attend to.  I did manage to ride the fixie to the local hardware store a few times for supplies.

I ended up with 7 miles.
1 new water bottle cage mounted on the fixie
1 new water bottle cage installed on Julie's bike after drilling out and rethreading.
1 pair of hooks in the garage for hanging bike stuff.
1 adjustment of angle on a bike seat.

..............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle........total
Today...............7...........0................0............0..............7 Jan.................431..............0...............0.........0.............431 Total............431.............0...............0..........0..............431

Football Game?

I'm not a football fan by any means, but even those of us blind to professional sports can't miss the buzz going on in the Puget Sound region.  Big blue "12" flags flying everywhere, several buildings with interior lighting arranged to show big "12"s, blue and green lighting everywhere.

That's all well and good, especially since that means the roads and trails are practically empty. :-)

Today 4 ladies and I  pedaled from Ron Regis Park in Renton to Black Diamond Bakery and back. Black Diamond Bakery may be noted for baked goods but I ordered 1lb of chocolate covered peanuts. (my mother would be proud of me) and also had a bowl of soup. Before leaving I took some time to adjust the front derailleur for one of the gals as she couldn't shift to her big ring.

We pedaled back mostly downhill.  It was a slow day, winter fitness was the issue for one, low mojo for another.

I was on my fixie today.  I figured with the hills it would be challenging, but that I should be able to keep up with the gals. I managed to make it up and down the 16% hill today, probably only because it was only a few hundred yards long.  The longer grades (about 4%) were ridable in my 42x18, with some effort.

I was pleased, but still don't know how I will fare with that long hill at mile 50 of the STP route.

Every mile helps.

41 miles
1533 feet gained
13,1 mph average
27.3 mph max
max cadence 142! (calculated)

..............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle........total
Today..............41...........0................0............0.............41 Jan.................424..............0...............0.........0.............424 Total............424.............0...............0..........0..............424

Almost a Birthday

Every year I invite a few friends to join me on a ride in miles that matches my age. It all started 9 years ago.  Early on, the ride was a milestone to achieve.  In recent years it wasn't even enough to get my attention causing a few of us to add miles by riding to the ride.  This year I find myself again just hoping to be able to keep up.

Today, as a confidence builder (and if I failed to complete it, only I would know!) I rode last year's Seattle version of my birthday ride. I added a 7 mile round trip commute to the route.

I wasn't very fast, but I did finish.  I at least won't embarrass myself too badly.  If you are reading this and haven't seen the event on facebook, and want to join me this year you are most welcome to ride along.  There are two versions, Hillsboro, OR on Feb 1, and Redmond, WA on Feb 8th.  Send me an email for more details.


..............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle........total
Today..............65...........0................0............0.............65 Jan.................383..............0...............0.........0.............383 Total............383.............0...............0..........0..............383

Seeing the future

Cascade Bicycle Club has been going through some changes in the last few months.  A new executive director at the helm, and many popular staffers either let go, or resigning.  The facebook forums are in an uproar over perceived secrecy. Many question the club's official stance favoring what is viewed by many as unsafe infrastructure.

Tonight there was an event planned by the Cascade Advocacy Dept where they would ride from Cascade Bicycle Club headquarters in Magnuson Park about 7 miles to the Fremont neighborhood for a little adult refreshment and some good bikey conversation.  As an attempt at outreach, it was an event open to the public.

That was enough of an invitation for me.

Late in the afternoon I put on my UMCA 500 Mile TT Champion jersey and went for a little preride.  I rode my fixie, so that I had a foot in both worlds...........urban hipster, and decorated ultracyclist. (though I am really in neither)

I got 21 miles in before returning to join the others.

We started pedaling and I noted that the others were in blue jeans, skirts with leggings, and other urban style riding attire, along with nut case helmets.

Riding a fixed gear was not enough to make up for my lycra and TT champion jersey.

....but they did say the public was welcome.

Okay, one of the reasons I wanted to attend tonight was to provide a counterpoint to all those drinking the koolaid.  I didn't have to say a thing to show that I didn't fit in.

The Executive Director was there, along with a whole slew of Department Directors, managers,  and other staff.  Others were there as well, the parking lot was packed with bicycles.  They all fit the mold of urban cyclists.  There was not much bike politics bantered.  I suspect that they saw no need, they were already on the same page.  I did get into a short discussion with one of the advocates for protected bike lanes.  On the face of it, a protected bike lane sounds like a good thing.  Who wouldn't want to be protected as they ride?   But there are big issues with these that even the promoters don't have answers for. I am of the thought that all the millions of dollars spent on protected bike lanes could for the most part be better spent on education.  Education of drivers, cyclists, police, and district attorneys.

In the interest of civility, I didn't have a lot to say to most of them.

After a few hours I thanked the ride leader for leading us out, and rode back into the darkness. Over the last few years we greying and balding old folks sit around at rest breaks during rides and wonder why we don't see younger folks riding.  We wonder aloud why "we" ride, but our parents didn't, and our kids don't.  We wondered how we could get the younger folks to ride more.

Perhaps they are riding, and just pushed us old folks out of the way.

I had seen the future, it doesn't look like me.

..............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle........total
Today..............35...........0................0............0.............35 Jan.................318..............0...............0.........0.............318 Total............318.............0...............0..........0..............318

Alki Point Lightnouse

The sun was going to come out today in Seattle! Okay, that's what they said yesterday too, but today I waited until I saw the clouds part. ;-)

I took the fixie out again and avoided the dreaded Queen Ann hill by driving to Fred Meyer in Ballard.........my new favorite place to start.

Today I decided to ride a little bit different route. I rode back to Fremont then crossed the Fremont Bridge and turned west. I rode along the ship canal then turned toward Seattle's waterfront.

I played tourist and stopped at Ivars for a bowl of clam chowder.

I continued along through the tunnel construction and across the West Seattle low bridge. The bridge crosses the Duwamish River. I can't help but think about how we change our surroundings. It's hard to imagine what this industrial waterway might have looked like before "civilization" arrived. I suppose it still made out better than the Black River, which is now dry and replaced by an industrial park.

It was a beautiful afternoon for a ride. The views across Puget Sound were typical Seattle.

I rode along Alki Beach, a stretch that always reminds me of San Diego, except colder.
Today I rode out to the Alki Point Lighthouse. The public is only allowed on the property for tours on Summer weekend afternoons. Today wasn't close, so the best I could do was get a photo from over some rooftops on high ground.

I turned around and pedaled back. There were still come pretty nice views to be had.

I got back to Fred Meyer and loaded the bike. Just as I was pulling out across the Burke-Gilman I saw friend Arsen ride by. We chatted for a bit, then each went on our way.

It was a nice day, the best so far on this trip.

..............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle........total
Today..............33...........0................0............0.............33 Jan.................283..............0...............0.........0.............283
Total............283.............0...............0..........0..............283

Almost a repeat

Yesterday was surprisingly nice weather. Today was to start out cloudy then clear up.
Well, that what was supposed to happen.

The day started out a bit misty. Not really rain, but certainly not dry. I had thought about riding my last year's Seattle Birthday Ride route, but just couldn't wrap my head around doing that on wet roads.

I finally went for a Ballard to Marymoor and back, I took the fixie for this flat rails to trails run.

As I pedaled to Marymoor Park the mist stopped. The trail mostly dried out, but the sun never came out.

When I got back past Logboom Park (about 10 miles left to go) I stopped to put on my front light. It was not yet dark, but many of the commuters were running lights and it did improve visibility.

I got back to Fred Meyer near 4:30PM, as the daylight was fading. I did not extend the trip to Golden Gardens, as I did yesterday.

It was still a good ride.

..............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle........total
Today..............56...........0................0............0.............56 Jan.................250..............0...............0.........0.............250
Total............250.............0...............0..........0..............250

Here comes the sun

I put a wireless speedometer/odometer on my fixie. I wanted to calibrate it against my Garmin to ensure the best accuracy. Today I decided that a spin on the Burke-Gilman trail in Seattle would be just the ticket to do that. I started in Ballard to avoid Queen Ann hill.

I rode out to Marymoor Park, a nice 28 mile trip. It was a bit windy, but did not rain.

I turned around and rode back to Ballard and as I did so the sky began to lighten up. By the time I got back, it was looking very nice indeed. I couldn't pass up the nice weather, so continued to Golden Gardens.

I dallied there for awhile, taking in the view, and visiting with folks walking by, who all seemed interested in my bike. They didn't know a thing about it's mechanics, they just liked the yellow and red tires! ;-)

Before too long the sun peeked out from behind the clearing clouds.

I was a bit worried about the impending darkness so pedaled away.
The sky continued to clear as I pedaled back.

I had one small issue. As I pedaled back toward Fred Meyer in Ballard I was on one section of street that had a rather deep seam that I had to cross. In a momentary lapse of attention I forgot that I was on my fixie. I was going to coast as I crossed the seam, only to have it practically throw me over the handlebars as the pedal pushed me up. In the process my foot caught the plastic chainguard and broke it off the bike.

I saved the hardware and may spend some time making a metal one.

It was a nice day for a ride.



..............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle........total
Today..............64...........0................0............0.............64 Jan.................194..............0...............0.........0.............194
Total............194.............0...............0..........0..............194

Trying to bike by the rules

It was going to be wild weather day in the Pacific Northwest. Winds to 60 mph, heavy rain, snow in the mountains, and even a chance of thunderstorms were in the forecast. Why would anyone want to be out biking in that?

My brother-in-law and I are teaming up and planning on riding a 200 mile hilly race in early May. I figured that I need to be out training. I've biked in stronger wind, and probably harder rain. It is after all just water. I knew I've earned Rule #5 and Rule #9 stripes before.

I took the rain bike and started out from Fred Meyer in Ballard (Seattle) and headed for Red Hook Brewery in Woodinville, and maybe even to Marymoor Park in Redmond.

The first couple miles weren't too bad. It wasn't raining and the wind had dried the path. That was about to change.
The sky darkened and the rain came down like fire hoses pouring on me. That soon changed to large hail. I was beginning to look for some place to take shelter when a bright flash of lighting followed almost immediately by a thunderous boom.

That was it. My resolve to adhere to Rule #5 weakened, and I suddenly could care less if I was held in Rule #9 awe by my friends. I turned around with only 7 miles pedaled.



..............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle........total
Today..............14...........0................0............0.............14 Jan.................130..............0...............0.........0.............130
Total............130.............0...............0..........0..............130

Fixie Fun

I plan on riding my 10th one day STP this coming July, and am thinking that to mark the occasion I will do it on my fixie. It won't be easy. I'm not sure I can do it. I set out today for some fixie practice. I knew that I wouldn't be able to ride back up Queen Ann but that wasn't a deal breaker. I had some groceries to pick up, so I drove down the hill to Fred Meyer in Ballard, parked the pickup, and pedaled the fixie out to Red Hook Brewery in Woodinville. That's a nice 22 mile ride on the Burke-Gilman Trail. Following a little lunch there I pedaled back. Oh my, it was tougher than I expected it to be. The route is a rails to trails path (ie FLAT) but I was working hard to ride 16-17 mph. That won't do for finishing a 204 mile ride. I've got 6 months to improve, we shall see!

I loaded and locked my bike, wandered through the grocery aisles, then drove back up the hill. I beat the predicted rain.

A good day!


..............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle........total
Today..............45...........0................0............0.............45 Jan.................116..............0...............0.........0.............116
Total............116.............0...............0..........0..............116

A cool ride

I was invited to join a few folks today on a short ride from Marymoor Park. I was hoping for more miles, but alas, the company was good so off I went. There was a concern that Cascade Bicycle Club was also leading a ride from that location with 160 riders and parking might be very tight.

Well, it was 34 degrees in Seattle with bits of frost in the outlying areas. Cascade rides are notoriously cancelled if the weather is wet, windy, or cold. No surprise that we were notified that the Cascade ride was cancelled as we were driving across Lake Washington.

One of our party backed out at the start, citing ice as a concern. 5 of us took off under beautiful blue sky, if not a bit cool. I was dressed for the weather so keeping warm was not a concern.

Our little group rode 13 miles, then planned to stop a Starbucks. I'm not much of a coffee person, more a ride the bike person. I asked how long they planned on stopping and told them I was going to ride a bit more then be back in time to ride back with them. They said a half hour.

I continued pedaling along the shore of Lake Washington.

Though I really didn't expect my partners to only stay 30 minutes at Starbucks, I figured I'd better be back at the appointed time. I was riding a bit faster pace solo than I was with the group but got a delay of game penalty when I got about 1 mile from Starbucks. It seems a car got tangled up in an intersection and the wreckage caught fire. I could see the black smoke from a distance, but by the time I got there the fire department had it mostly out.

The police had closed the intersection because of the fire, but eventually let the bikes through. I made it back to Starbucks just a bit late. No problem though as the gang stayed there another 30 minutes after I arrived.

We eventually got back on the bikes. We pedaled back a bit faster than we pedaled out.

It was a good ride. There were just a few frosty patches in shady areas, no real problem.

The Garmin is still on the bike, so ride data will have to wait until tomorrow.

..............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle........total
Today..............37...........0................0............0.............37 Jan..................71..............0...............0.........0..............71
Total.............71.............0...............0..........0...............71

Fixin' to Die Rag

4 mile of Fixed Gear Fun today in Seattle Sunshine!

Today...............4...........0................0............0..............4 Jan..................34..............0...............0.........0..............34 Total.............34.............0...............0..........0...............34

A New Year, a clean slate.

Today I start a new year, as you all do.  The past year was fun, but it was the first time since 2009 that I did not log at least 10,000 miles.  My bike fitness shows it too.  :-(

Today was dry in Seattle.  10 of us took of on a ride billed as a casual New Years Day ride.

The slower contingent planning on attending decided to do other things today.  The pace picked up slightly because of that.  We didn't drop anyone though, this was a casual paced ride after all.  Being Seattle, there were a few "hills" but nothing serious. On the ride itself the maximum grade was 13%.  On my return from the ride I climbed about 5 blocks that was 18%-22%.

2200 ft elevation gained
30 miles
Not a drop of rain, warm enough.
A good ride.

..............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle........total
Today..............30...........0................0............0.............30 Jan..................30..............0...............0.........0..............30
Total.............30.............0...............0..........0...............30