Race Across Oregon (2 course records), Furnace Creek 508, UMCA North American 500 Mile Time Trial Champion, 4 consecutive 10k mile years. I no longer bike after being hit 3 times by drivers who violated the law, but were never held responsible. I no longer want to risk my life for the fun of riding bike.
A very low mileage month, but it was the shortest month of the year. That is my excuse and I'm sticking with it!
Julie and I went for a bike ride today. In typical Julie fashion, it took 5 hours to ride 16 miles. We started out with a ride to breakfast at the Queen Anne Cafe. While there we had a good chuckle. Cascade Bicycle Club's mantra in support of protected bikeways and cycletracks is "8 to 80". Today even without a protected bike lane we had 3 to 60.
After breakfast we continued on down Queen Anne. Before we got too far I had my first flat ever on the fixed gear bike. We were getting a late start as it was, and with the flat we now decided to ride to Golden Gardens instead of Alki Beach. It would cut the expected mileage by half.
The sky was perfectly blue, with a very brisk wind blowing. We crossed the ship canal on the Chittenden Locks. We didn't tarry too long as evidently there wasn't much to see today.
We continued on to Golden Gardens. The locals were enjoying the sunshine, AND the wind.
Our time was short because I was meeting with a potential crew member for an upcoming bike race later in the afternoon. So after some time dawdling around watching kite boarders and sailboats we turned around and rode back.
I was lucky to survive! From the top of Queen Ann everything is down a hill. I was holding back hard on the pedals to keep my speed under control. The roads were wet and my back tire was slipping a bit. As I neared the P-Patch I resorted to using the brakes, that I only use for "emergencies" since frequent use will take the paint off the rims. Alas, wet steel rims don't offer much friction, and I was still moving about 1 mph as I bumped into the low curb. The curb has a metal lip, making it even more slippery in wet conditions. The front wheel slid over, as expected, and down I went in slow motion. I ended up on all fours on the sidewalk, with the bike down next to me. Unscathed, but looking around to make sure people weren't laughing at my stupidity. I got up, dusted myself off, and continued down the gravel walkway.
I planted 4 rows of peas, two edible pod and two regular peas. I rode back up the hill. It was steep enough for the fixed gear, but short enough to not be a problem. Round trip amounted to a whopping .73 mile.
After 100 consecutive days on the bike and 162 miles last weekend, I haven't been on the bike all week. With the exception of last Monday, the weather has been great. Today it was 68 degrees in Snoqualmie, about 10 degrees cooler in Seattle near the water. A gorgeous blue sky day, dogs being walked all over, kids playing in the park, people biking in summer gear. Me? I rode to the library.
In late October I challenged people via several Facebook groups to join me in riding every day in November. Miles didn't matter nearly as much as just getting on the bike everyday. I was surprised by the number and geographic diversity of the people who accepted the challenge. When November came to an end, I, and many others had succeeded in biking everyday. Most had much more challenging conditions than I did. I felt guilty, so I decided to ride every day in December too. During December, Dave Elsberry, a noted ultracyclist, jokingly said I should "go for a hundred". I started thinking that might be a good goal, so I continued on through January.
The consecutive days on the bike kept moving upward. Finally, as 100 days neared, my birthday came on day 97, and I planned my annual birthday ride for Saturday, day 99.
I was surprised, and honored, when Shona Donovan, who lives in Whangarei, Northland, New Zealand rode 60 miles and hoisted a beer in observance of my birthday ride.
I had confided to just a few people that I thought a good way to commemorate my 100th consecutive day on the bike would be to ride 100 miles.
Today Barry Dickson, who lives in Ashburn, Virginia, and who I'll be crew chief for on the 860 mile Race Across the West this year, also got into the spirit of this craziness doing his 100 mile ride as a tribute to my effort to finish this 100 days off right.
I am humbled by this showing of support from distant locales.
Today I hopped on the rain bike and started off on the Wilsonville Century. It is a route I used to ride often when I was training for Race Across Oregon and Furnace Creek 508. I haven't biked the route in several years now, but it's location close to home made it an obvious choice.
I rode 1 mile to the start of the route and in short order was at the Canby Ferry, my mode of travel to get across the Willamette River. Beginning in 2012, Clackamas County, the operator of the ferry, began charging bikes $2 to use the ferry. Today was the first time I've been subject to the fee.
It is a quaint river crossing, though if a car is charged $4, it seems a bit steep to charge bikes $2.
The Willamette River is high and muddy after all the recent rain.
The water level is high enough that the Wheatland Ferry, 38 river miles upstream, is closed. The Canby Ferry, the one I'd be crossing today, is less prone to high water closure though.
Once across the river I was beyond the Urban Growth Boundary and the view was mostly pastoral.
Unlike yesterday, the wind today wasn't a big factor most of the time. The weather was a bit unsettled and from time to time a short lived brisk breeze would pick up. (by early evening thunderstorms were in the area)
I had been gently climbing since exiting the Canby Ferry but after leaving Molalla, around mile 29, the road tipped up a bit more. I would climb a bit harder for the next 5 miles up "Bird Hill". It was nice to have gears for the way up, and really nice to have a freewheel on the way down!
I would pass through Scotts Mills and Silverton before skirting Salem and turning back northward.
I had not had a drop of rain all day and Mt Hood was looking pretty nice. It was making me wish I was carrying my camera, instead of using my phone to take photos.
With about 30 miles to go I started getting a few random drops of rain. With about 20 miles to go the rain began falling a bit harder, but still just light rain. It was nothing like the deluge we pedaled through yesterday.
I got back to Wilsonville shortly after 4PM. With my commute to and from the route I added a total of 2 miles to the "official" 100.4 miles.
Riding 100 miles was a fitting way to end my 100th consecutive day on the bike. While mileage was never the goal, I'd be remiss if I didn't note that I rode 2297 miles during those 100 days.
I'll continue to ride, but will no longer be concerned about keeping the string going. Thanks to those who've cheered me on. It's been fun!
Today was predicted to be stormy. The National Weather Service had posted high wind warnings as well as torrential rains. What's a person to do? Well, invite some friends to go for a bike ride! Today I invited friends to join me on my 11th consecutive birthday ride, and my 99th consecutive day on the bike. My former college roomie, Terry, who had been on my first birthday ride 10 years ago, made the trip from Parkdale to join us.
8 of us met this morning in a parking lot that was wind blown and covered in water. Winds were 25-30 mph and rain was coming down as if flowing from a fire hose as we prepared to ride.
Just as we prepared to roll out the rain stopped. The wind did not.
We first had to get across the Willamette River, and that required riding along Interstate 5 for about a mile. Just as we were crossing the Boone Bridge, Dave got an explosive flat. Dave and Alan spent some time trying to find the cause while the rest of us waited at the exit.
At least Birdie was staying warm while we waited!
As Dave and Alan rolled up the off ramp, the tire flats again. We all chipped in on inspection and repair. The problem ended up being a broken weld on the rim. Luckily, I carry a spare tire wrapped in duct tape. We used the duct tape to cover the sharp edges, and managed to get Dave back on the road.
After the lengthy repairs, we got back on the bikes. We were happy that at least for the moment it was not raining, but we were pushing against a brisk head wind, probably 25-30 mph with higher gusts. We managed to hold about 11-12 mph against it. Max, thinking we were only riding 30 miles, brought his flat bar bike. He was kicking himself for the upright riding position as we pushing into the wind.
Max
Dave
Alan
Terry and Steve
Paul
Tess and Birdie!
The birthday boy
The rain was staying away for the time being, and the wind had dried the roadway. Even with the headwind, life was pretty good, or at least it could have been much worse!
I was on the fixie, just because I wanted the fun factor. At times today I was rethinking that decision!
It began to rain again as we reached mile 18 of our trip.
With the wheel issues at the beginning of our ride Steve was afraid we wouldn't get finished before he had to take off for another commitment. After just over 25 miles of fun fighting headwinds and rain, Steve turned around and headed back.
It would continued to rain heavily until just after mile 30, where we stopped for snacks.
We weren't the only nuts out on a day like today, the guy in the middle of the photo above was also in the store taking refuge from the rain and topping off calories.
It had been so nice earlier that Tess had taken off her rain gear. She now decided the conditions warranted putting it back on!
We were feeling pretty good about now, the rain had stopped again, and we now turned northeasterly, and though the wind was decreasing, it was now at our backs, and would be for the remainder of the trip.
I was on my fixed gear bike, and while I had managed to keep up going into the wind, when we turned with the wind to our back I struggled to keep up the pace of my geared friends. I could spin about 17-18 mph, they held back some but were still outpacing me. The only thing that kept us close was that I knew the route, them, not so much. ;-)
Finally we were riding along the Willamette River. There are some rollers there and I suffered a bit. While my friends would get a good run at these little hills then shift down as momentum dropped, I was stuck holding back on the pedals to keep from spinning out, only to have to winch myself up these little hills with an agonizingly slow cadence. During our ride along the river we noted that the wind that had been decreasing in intensity as the day progressed, was now barely noticeable. It least it wasn't a headwind!
We finally got back to the Boone Bridge and made our way across the Willamette River. We pulled into the parking lot, most of us got into dry clothes, then made our way a few blocks away for a post ride debriefing and carbo replenishment regimen.
My sister, as she has many times following my birthday rides, was waiting for us as we arrived. ;-)
Here we offer a toast to friend Shona, who's a half a world away, but still rode in solidarity with us.
2 college roomies, 40 years on
The 99th consecutive day on the bike was a fun day, made even more fun by friends who ignored a horrendous weather forecast and joined me. I guess it really is true, misery loves company!
My sometimes morning ritual is to ride to the local bakery in the morning for a donut or maple bar. Today that was not necessary as I'm still working on a gigantic birthday cookie.
But I did need to go for a bike ride. It had rained hard overnight, and was still raining moderately as I took the fixie out for a spin. I biked a mix of paths and streets. Evidence of the night's rain was everywhere.
I became aware of a fixie's shortcomings when pedaling through deep water. You've got to keep pedaling, even if the pedals dip into the water at the bottom of the pedal stroke! The water in the photo above ended up being about 8" deep.
My 98th consecutive day on the bike was wet, but fun. Tomorrow I'm leaning strongly on taking the fixed gear bike for my 60 mile birthday ride with friends. It's going to be wet and windy tomorrow, might as well face it with a sense of adventure!
It had been raining overnight, by morning there was a very light drizzle falling and the roads were wet. It is my birthday so I rode to the bakery for a birthday maple bar. Ok, full disclosure, a maple bar, a chocolate frosted bar, and a chocolate milk.
I continued to putter around the neighborhood in search of bonus miles. The rain started increasing a bit, making me glad I had my raincoat on. It finally started coming down pretty hard. I took a quick look around and spotted shelter at Memorial Park
I wasted time surfing Facebook on my phone while watching raindrops splashing.
Before long the shower passed, and I got back on the bike.
I ended up with 6 miles on my 97th consecutive day on the bike.
Today was another busy day. I had a list of honey-dos for my mom, some business at the Washington County Courthouse, had to get supplies for an upcoming job, a Fire District meeting, and hopefully time to get some new wheels for my pickup. Oh, and I HAD to find time to ride bike, after all, it would be my 96th consecutive day on the bike, and my last chance for a bike ride while still in my 50's.
I managed to get a ride on the always flat and fast, buttery smooth and tailwind, Evergreen Rd near the Hillsboro Airport.
I was on my fixed gear bike and working hard to get the trip in before having to go to mom's to start in on the list.
Roads were dry, winds were calm, time was ticking!
Tomorrow I'm treating myself to a visit to the Pacific Northwest Sportsmen's Show for my birthday, but will get a short(wet)ride in before going.
I've got a pretty busy afternoon planned, so got on the bike earlier today.
It was not raining, and the roadway was dry. If the weather forecast is to be believed it will not stay that way.
I went for a little saunter around the neighborhood, looking for photo opportunities.
The first one was a block away.
Lake Union
I continued around Queen Anne in a counter-clockwise direction. There aren't many view opportunities looking north because trees and houses are in the way.
My next stop was looking west toward Magnolia.
The west side has trees and houses too, but the slope is so steep that they drop out of the picture pretty quickly. The streets snake their way up, and revert to stairs in many instances.
In October of 2010 I completed a 4 year goal of finishing the Furnace Creek 508, an Ultra Cycling race billed as "The Toughest 48 Hours in Sport". I had planned to put together a video of the experience, however I could never come up with a plan on how to document what ended up being just a long bike ride.
