Category: Cycling

Big Ride - Day 1

Well, I can’t say the first day was enjoyable. After a brief ceremony at Liberty Park in Renton - where we found out that collectively we raised $130,000 for the Lung Association - we were off. By 8:30 it was raining hard, so we stopped to put on our rain jackets, rain pants and shoe covers.

If I could have seen anything through the rain and rooster tails off of everyone’s back wheels, I’d write about the route. We did see a cow with “ginormous” horns during one of our dry spells. The kids across the street from the pasture said its name was Chief.

At mile 80 I was mentally tapped. From there until Lewis & Clark SP I counted every 10th of a mile.

Fortunately, the ride director arranged for us to stay at a lodge that night. We mostly got dried off and were able to hang our clothes out to dry. Everything but my arm warmers were ready to go by the morning.

101.4 miles down...many more to go!

Country Roads

Bike-friendly barn | Olympus Stylus 300

The marketing team at Cascade Designs took a couple days off to go camping together - bond a little over a few fireside drinks. A bunch of brought bikes and went for a ride on beautiful country roads just outside of Wenatchee.

Country road | Olympus Stylus 300

The ride wasn’t long, but the weather was perfect and roads were just right. It was a perfect final ride before departing tomorrow on the Big Ride.

“All I seek, the heaven above and the road below me.”
-Robert Louis Stevenson

First Century

The first two days of our Big Ride are back to back 100-milers (aka “centuries"). Having never ridden 100 miles in one day, I got the bee in my bonnet last week to try doing it, just to see what it was like.

Let me tell you - it’s no piece of cake!

Nick and I started our ride bright and early at 7:10 a.m. this morning. We left our house on Rose Hill and rode down through Kirkland, over Finn Hill to Log Boom park in Kenmore. Ten miles over relatively easy hills; no problem. We met up with several of Nick’s bike racing teammates at the park and continued west on the Burke Gilman Trail to the University District and then south to Leschi. This section was almost completely flat and quite enjoyable.

I sort of lost track of the miles between there and Issaquah, but our route went over Mercer Island, south to Renton, and over Newport Hill to May Valley. For those of you who live and bike in the greater Seattle area and haven’t been in May Valley yet, I have one word: GO! It’s an inspirational rolling, twisty road through beautiful farm country that connects Newport and Issaquah. Early in the morning traffic is virtually non-existant, making it one of the best Puget Sound area roads to ride on.

On this particular day, however, traffic was heavier than normal. Not that we minded though, because all of the cars that passed us were 1920s vintage race cars! We were buzzed by 50 or so of these neat (loud) old cars before getting to Issaquah. (I was kicking myself for not bringing the camera.)

With 55 miles under our belts, we treated ourselves to lattes at Tully’s Coffee - a much needed break - and continued back towards Redmond.

At this point, we knew we needed to get about 30 more miles in...but where to go? Most of the fun rides from Redmond are too long and I don’t really feel up to much more than 100 miles. We ultimately resorted to riding out to Fall City and back. On the way out there we passed the Happy Valley Grange where we were reunited with the vintage race cars. They were so cute all lined up in front of this classic country grange. (I kicked myself harder for forgetting to bring the camera.)

By the time we got back to Redmond, my legs were toast. It was all I could do to ride up the hill (4 miles) to our house. The kicker came when I got to the house and realized I still had 2 miles to ride to make it an even 100 miles. Nick left me to ride this last bit on my own. (Where’s the commitment?)

Finally at 3:30 in the afternoon, we finished our ride.

In retrospect, I’m glad I did it. I know what it takes mentally to keep going for when your legs are screaming at you. Will I do it again willingly before the ride? Forget it.

Safe Driving

The more I ride my bike, the more annoyed I get with cars who do not respect cyclists on the road. I’ve been yelled at, called nasty names, accused of being where I shouldn’t be, almost run off the road by large vehicles like dump trucks and SUVs, and even told that I shouldn’t ride on the road by my own mother!

After talking with my husband and a Superfeet employee who regularly commutes to work by bicycle, I’ve come to think the problem is two-fold: First, motorists in general are uneducated about the laws regarding safe driving around bicycles. Comments like “you shouldn’t be driving an unlicensed vehicle on the road” are proof of that. And second, cyclists exacerbate the friction by not obeying the laws of the road that apply to them.

I think a little education on both sides might go a long way to making a happier world for both bicyclists and motorists. I reread the Washington Driver Guide’s section on driving safely around bicycles again and learned a couple things:

Bicylces should not pass on the right side of vehicles in traffic at intersections. Motorists turning right may not look for or see a bicycle passing on the right.

Cars must pass a bicycle the same way they would a car. They must allow at least three feet of space when overtaking and passing a bicycle, even if this means waiting until there is room to move into another traffic lane.

When riding at night, the bicycle must have a white headlight visible for 500 feet and a red reflector visible for 600 feet to the rear. A flashing taillight or a steady red taillight may be used in addition to the red reflector.

If you’d like to review the Washington Driver Guide’s section on bicycles you can download a 2-page PDF right here! If you have the gumption, print off a couple copies to give to your riding and driving friends.

Big Ride - Pacific Coast

June came and went...July came and went...and many of you must have wondered what happened to that girl that was supposed to go on the Big Ride?

Long story short: Life got in the way. I was saddled with unforseen responsibilities that wouldn’t allow me to leave for seven weeks in the middle of the summer. I was absolutely crushed, but (as you can see here) managed to salvage the summer with climbing and other fun stuff.

Then came August. A surprise email from Charlie at the American Lung Association said that a few spots on the Big Ride - Pacific Coast had opened up and would I like to go? It took a nanosecond to agree. Some quick negotiating secured a spot for Nick as well.

So...on September 18th (mark your calendars), we’ll be heading off down the coast for a two-week cycling adventure to San Francisco. (We will have been married two years in September, so it will be a special anniversary trip for us!)

Route Map

As you can see, our route will take us mostly down the coast. We will ride for 15 days, averaging 77 miles per day. By the time we get to San Francisco we will have ridden our bikes over 1,000 miles. Our itinerary looks something like this:

9/18 Seattle, WA to Lewis & Clark SP in Chehalis, WA (108 miles)

9/19 Chehalis, WA to Fort Stevens SP in Astoria, OR (103 miles)

9/20 Astoria, OR to Newhalem Bay SP in Newhalem, OR (42 miles)

9/21 Newhalem, OR to Devils Lake SP in Lincoln City, OR (77 miles)

9/22 REST

9/23 Lincoln City, OR to Honeyman SP in Florence, OR (79 miles)

9/24 Florence, OR to Bullard’s Beach SP in Bandon, OR (71 miles)

9/25 Bandon, OR to Harris Beach SP in Brookings, OR (86 miles)

9/26 Brookings, OR to Patrick’s Point SP in Trinidad, CA (91 miles)

9/27 Trindad, CA to Burlington CG, Humbolt Redwoods SP (77 miles)

9/28 Redwoods SP to MacKerricker SP in Fort Bragg, CA (86 miles)

9/29 REST

9/30 Fort Bragg, CA to Doran County Park in Bodega Bay, CA (111 miles)

10/1 Bodega Bay, CA to Samuel Taylor SP in Olema, CA (38 miles)

10/2 Olema, CA to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco (36 miles)

10/3 FLY HOME!

I will be bringing a digital camera and posting pictures and stories from the road. Stay tuned for the adventure!