Big Ride - Day 2
Sunday, September 19, 2004
Today dawned bright and beautiful - a very pleasant change from yesterday. My knee was bugging me from the long ride the day before and I wasn’t sure how it would do. Only the miles would tell.
The fog and mist rose off the farmlands as we rode through mostly car-less country roads in the morning. Fantastic! By Kelso/Longview we were feeling good and ready for the real climbing. The bridge into Oregon wasn’t pleasant, but it was a great milestone!
The terrain out to Astoria was rolling. And let me say...there were some BIG rollers (several miles up and down). We stopped for a brief bite of lunch at Subway in Clatskanie. My knee felt alright, so I decided to keep going.
Shortly after lunch we had a huge climb and that just about did me in. Amazingly, Nick raised my seat about 4-5 mm and that made all the difference.
A PB&J sandwich and cookie from Safeway in Astoria gave me the juice to make the final miles to Fort Stevens SP.
I never actually thought I could ride over 100 miles two days in a row, but I did and felt great. Nick and I bought beers at the KOA store to celebrate.
Tomorrow we get a bit of a break. Til then!
Big Ride - Day 1
Saturday, September 18, 2004
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
Friday, September 17, 2004
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
Sunday, September 5, 2004
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
Monday, August 30, 2004
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.