A Bonus Day and the Year in Review

 It took a 31 day month, but I made good on my goal to log more miles than I did last month.  I set out today just before noon in sub freezing temperatures in search of 31 miles. That would be enough to better last month's totals.

I rolled down 3rd Ave N to the Ship Canal Trail and turned toward the Fremont Bridge.  My plan was to get my miles on an out and back on the Burke-Gilman Trail.  The sun was out, sky was blue, wind was light to moderate, and there was ice anywhere that water had been present.  

I was a little cold on yesterday's ride so today I bundled up a bit more.  I put on my rain booties to provide wind protection for my feet, and a double pair of gloves to keep fingers warmer.

It was a beautiful, if cold, day.  It was just too time consuming to take off two pairs of gloves, take the phone out of the pack, take a photo, and reverse the process to take yet more photos of Lake Washington.  Like many of you, there are plans made to observe the New Year tonight, so I pedaled with purpose.

I turned around at the McDonalds in Kenmore.  Since I was there anyway I ran in and had a small order of fries.

I retraced my route to Fremont and started up the Kralik Way, only to look at Bertona St and accept the 23% challenge.  As I worked my way up the 15% lead in, the last block looked like a wall.  I shifted into my low 30-28 gear and winched my way up.

Having biked incredibly steep 32% Brynwood St in SW Portland many times as well as some 30-40 mile long climbs,  I didn't find this short little climb all that bad.  Once at the top of Bertona I took the turn to get back on the Kralik Way.

As I came within a block of the end I stopped and went to the effort to take a few photos from Queen Anne.

Usually obscured by clouds, Mt Baker makes a showing today

Lake Union in the foreground, Lake Washington farther back

The large green area jutting into the water is Gasworks Park

And so, with the benefit of a 31 day month I was able to better last months miles by 4 miles.

Looking at the numbers, I biked 6830 miles, my lowest mileage in 6 years.  I was able to get several bike related firsts.  I organized and participated in the #ridingeverydayinNovember challenge. While others biked in snow, cold, and rain, I lucked out and had mostly nice days (for November!) and felt guilty that I biked so few miles.  I challenged myself to continue the 30 days of November by riding every day in December as well, and get more miles than I did in November by doing so.

I succeeded in that. That gave me 61 consecutive days on the bike, a first for me, by far.  Normally 3 days in a row is a big deal for me.

Part of the reason my annual mileage was low was that I spent a lot of time watching others ride bike.
I was crew chief for Steven Burns when he competed at Hoodoo 500 and Silver State 508.  You can read my blog posts about Hoodoo  HERE  HERE and  HERE and SS 508  HERE.

I was also honored to crew for Mick Walsh and George Thomas as they competed as the two man team "Pactimo/FourDot" in search of a course record on the 879 mile  Race Across the West.  Mick and George did well, and did indeed finish first, setting a new course record in the process. You can listen to audio files posted "live" during the race HERE and then click "newer post" to listen through subsequent posts in chronological order.

I spent a few hours in Durango, CO, then according to plans, I jumped in with PJ Lingley to assist with his Race Across America effort. The audio updates to my blog begin HERE and again just click on "newer post" to follow along the miles.

I rode my 10th consecutive Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic.  I had biked the previous 9 204 mile STPs in one day.  My goal was to celebrate the 10th by riding it on my fixed gear bike.  I was also helping out the masses by being a Ride Referee. The snafus with organizational support of Ride Ref efforts, and the numbers of assists needed cost me my 1 day finish.  The event starts at 4:45 AM in Seattle and officially ends at 9PM in Portland. I was still 12 miles out when 9PM rolled around.  Sure, plenty of folks rode on, many without lights, in search of that "One Day Finisher" medallion.  I wouldn't feel right getting the swag if I didn't finish within the allotted time.

I again led a weekend camping/biking trip to Crater Lake. Only 4 of us made the trip this year, but it was a good group.  You can read about that trip HERE.

I again led a two day 300+ mile ride of the Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway. Only 2 of us this time around. Read about that trip HERE and HERE

I organized a 2 day DIY Ride Around Puget Sound when the organizers of the official event bailed out.  7 of us planned to go, but only 5 of us managed to make the trip. We had a great time.  Read about that trip HERE and HERE.

I participated in Cascade Bicycle Club's "Ride from Seattle to Vancouver and Party" (RSVP) for the first time. An audio report is HERE and HERE

I rode around Mt Hood again this year. The story is HERE.

And I again rode one of my favorite rides, McKenzie Pass without cars. See the story HERE.
It was a fun year, even though the miles were less than recent years.

I wish all my faithful readers, and even the rest of you ;-) a very happy New Year and a great year on the bike!

...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total Today...........34...............0..............0...............0...............34 Jan.............710...............0...............0...............0............710
Feb............ 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ..........701...............0..............0...............0............701
April...........749...............0..............0...............0............749
May.............613...............0..............0...............0............613
June............309...............0..............0...............0............309
July............615...............0..............0...............0............615
August..........359...............0..............0...............0............359
Sept............292...............0..............0...............0............292
Oct.............708...............0..............0...............0............708
Nov.............650...............0..............0...............0............650
Dec..............654.................0..............0...............0...........654 Total..........6830...............0..............0...............0...........6830