60 miles on day 99

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.

Max, Dave, Alan, Paul, Terry, Tess (and Birdie) Steve, and me.

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!

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

Today..............60...............0..............0...............0..................60 Jan...............765...............0...............0...............0...............765
Feb................126...............0...............0...............0................126
Total............891...............0...............0...............0...............891

Suck it up Cupcake

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!


...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total
Today..............12...............0..............0...............0..................12 Jan...............765...............0...............0...............0...............765
Feb.................66...............0...............0...............0.................66
Total............831...............0...............0...............0...............831

A Birthday Ride

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.

Now off to the Pacific Northwest Sportsmen's Show.  Oh what fun birthdays are!


...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total
Today..............6...............0..............0...............0...................6 Jan...............765...............0...............0...............0...............765
Feb.................54...............0...............0...............0.................54
Total............819...............0...............0...............0...............819

Another Busy Day

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.

...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total
Today.............10...............0..............0...............0..................10 Jan...............765...............0...............0...............0...............765
Feb.................48...............0...............0...............0.................48
Total............813...............0...............0...............0...............813

A Short Morning Ride

 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.

A steep sidehill descent

One of the many sharp zig-zags

The quickest way from up here to down there

I continued on around Queen Anne Blvd

Overlooking Smith Cove Cruise Ship Terminal

8th Ave is 30 ft right and 35 ft down!

Terminal 86

 As I made the bend around to the south side of Queen Anne I detoured through Parsons Park

 

 Before long, the iconic Seattle landmark, the Space Needle, came into view.

 

 The slope was still pretty steep at this point, the most direct way down, if one wanted to go that way, would be down stairs.

Danny Macaskill would go for this, but not I

I continued my way around the crown of Queen Anne, now looking over the east side upon Lake Union.

With one look over my shoulder upon the rapidly changing South Lake Union neighborhood my short ride was coming to an end.

My 95th consecutive day on the bike ended up short, fun, and dry!

...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total
Today..............7...............0..............0...............0...................7 Jan...............765...............0...............0...............0...............765
Feb.................38...............0...............0...............0.................38
Total............803...............0...............0...............0...............803

A plan

It had rained most of the night, and was predicted to keep raining until about 1 PM today.  It was raining hard this morning. I planned to wait and watch, hoping that the forecast would come true.  Finally, right on cue, the rain began slowing down at 1PM. By 1:30 I was on the bike, no rain was falling, but the road was still wet.  The 10-15 mph wind would dry that out soon enough. I love it when a plan comes together!

I rolled down Queen Anne and crossed the Fremont Bridge then rode out to Golden Gardens. There was a great tailwind all the way out.  The sky was grey and the Sound was covered with whitecaps.

 I turned around and headed back into the wind.  When I got back to the Hiram Chittenden Locks I turned in and looked around a bit. I took a trip into the fish ladder viewing area.

It looks like I managed to hit the low point of fish migration.

As I exited the south side of the locks, I noticed that I was not the only one playing a tourist today.

I had goofed around enough that I was now running short on time.  I pedaled around one of my favorite routes, Magnolia.  It added just a few miles and about doubled the climbing.  The wind was an issue on the open bluff, it made for some serious pedaling effort.

I enjoyed the roll down Magnolia and back onto the Ship Canal Trail.  I climbed back up Queen Anne via the Kralik Way.  I stopped for a photo as I neared the top.

My 94th consecutive day on the bike was another short effort, but well worth the time it took to complete it.

...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total
Today.............20...............0..............0...............0..................20 Jan...............765...............0...............0...............0...............765
Feb.................31...............0...............0...............0.................31
Total............796...............0...............0...............0...............796

A New Month

The forecast for today was rain this morning, turning to showers and occasional sunbreaks in the afternoon.  There is some large spectator sporting event to attend this afternoon, so a ride in the rain was planned.   The pavement was still dry as Julie and I pedaled out for breakfast this morning. 

As we ate we looked out the windows and saw that rain was now falling.  We pedaled a short distance to the library to return a book, then tootled around the Queen Anne "high points and highlights".  The rain stopped very soon into the ride and did not return.  I hadn't brought a camera or phone along because it is a pain to take photos when garbed up an rain gear and goretex gloves.

The clouds were high enough that the radio towers were not obscured at all, we rode by the bases of all three big ones, as well as a few of the microwave towers in the area.  We rode through Parsons Garden and along many of Queen Anne's best overlooks.  It was a cloudy grey day, typical of Seattle, with the addition of a plethora of blue "12" flags, and a variety of blue and green decorations on display. We even saw a brave soul with a red, white, and blue Patriots flag in their front window.

I rode along the single track trail that skirts the lower end of the P-Patch on Lynn Street. It appears that the land on which this garden is situated used to be several miles to the south in the area of Seattle Center.  Far from an example of glaciation or plate tectonics, this is the result of grading the Seattle Center site for the 1962 World's Fair, and needing a nearby ravine to dump the spoils.

We continued to zig and zag our way around the neighborhood.  The rain had not returned and the conditions for riding were perfect. We passed a house that I really wanted to get a photo of, so while Julie was ready to call it a day, I grabbed my phone and rode back to get a photo of the house.

The Brian Coleman house has an interesting story behind it as well. 

My 93rd consecutive day on the bike was another short, but fun, adventure.

...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total
Today.............11...............0..............0...............0..................11 Jan...............765...............0...............0...............0...............765
Feb.................11...............0...............0...............0.................11
Total............776...............0...............0...............0...............776