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