Well, I ended up moving in June. So biking this much was very difficult. 5 years ago

Went out with a bang today. We had 47 folks show up for our Cascade Newcomers ride, including 18 Bike Friday owners, and one representative of the National Little People of America conference, being held this week in Seattle. An amazing turnout for our little ride around the valley. 5 years ago

Just 25 miles left to go…I should be able to meet this goal riding back from work tomorrow. 5 years ago

I know, the suspense is killing you..

Will he make it???5 years ago

130 miles yesterday on an STP prep-ride. Because my riding partner lives in, and will be starting from Seattle I headed North from home in Auburn (instead of South on the STP route). We met as planned just north of the Renton Airport on Rainier Avenue. We went as far as the Quizno’s in Yelm, and then headed back north.

I lost 10 of my planned miles due to another broken spoke incident. Same wheel, on the drive-side again. I’m not sure when the new wheels are coming, but it can’t be soon enough. 6 years ago

I have several activities next week that are going to limit my biking options next week, so I’ve done the longer loops around Lake Sammamish to catch up with my mile commitment.

Best ride to work this week: Tuesday. The 48°F in the morning was the perfect opportunity to try my new short sleeve wool jersey and zip around the traffic inbound to Big Black.

Best ride home: Thursday. Met up with Claire near work, went up Kamber, and enjoyed a tour of Bellevue neighborhoods I’ve not seen before. 6 years ago

Another 29 last night with the group from the Gym. One poor fellow had his rear derailleur get caught in his wheel resulting in a catastrophic failure of his hanger, and possible frame damage.

We untangled the scrap metal and broke down the chain in order to get the bike to roll, then one of the other riders pushed the fellow on the broken bike 3.5 miles by riding along side and putting his hand on his back.

I’ll need to get the big miles on Saturday if I’m going to make this goal. 6 years ago

Some commuting miles, then today, did a 50 mile loop up to Cathcart and back. The weather was a stark contrast to Friday. Beautiful sunshine, riding along in my tank…there was a view to the north of Mt. Baker, a perfect white volcanic cone, with a red barn in front, and cows scattered in the field below. And lots of views of Rainier on the way back.

Can I pull off the remaining 68 miles of this goal with commuting? I think so! 6 years ago

I rode with some old and new friends last night. A few of these folks I had trained with as we all prepared for our first big ride, the Ride from Seattle to Vancouver and Party (RSVP) in 2005. We’ve diverged since due to riding and weather preferences, but we had a lovely ride last night in the greater Kent valley. I was able to show them a couple of variations on the usual valley loop, and they gave me an incentive to work a little harder than I likely would on my own. It was a nice late-afternoon in the saddle. 29.5 miles on the day.

I’m going to need big miles this weekend to get this done. Hopefully my bad luck with spokes is passed. 6 years ago

Two broken spokes during my long ride on Saturday magically transformed it from 120 to 78 miles. I was able to save 64 of it by repairing the first broken spoke with a Fiber Fix Spoke (great invention!). The second spoke broke at mile 75, and we limped to a mini-mart for 3.

Today was a somewhat chilly and overcast ride to Flaming Geyser, the first “road-ride” for many of our Newcomer’s riders. 24 miles out-and-back. 6 years ago

Forecast for Friday: showers in the morning, decreasing as the day wore on.

Friday at 6:30 AM: I could hear rain from my warm and cozy bed. My goal was to leave at 8:00 AM and do the 65 mile loop of the Flying Wheels course, but the forecast made me think that maybe it would stop sometime that morning. So I did an errand, goofed around, and finally gave up on it stopping, and left the house at about 9:45.

At Marymoor Park, I passed by a time/temp sign. 55 degrees, and raining steadily. I was wearing my 2004 RSVP jersey, and hoped that it wasn’t prophetic. I climbed up Inglewood Hill – not a struggle, didn’t go anaerobic – and unzipped the armpit vents. Since it was so wet, and mindful of a bad accident I saw last year on one of the turns, I took great care on the descent down the other side.

Coming up Ames Lake Road, the rain sounded louder. I think it’s because the road winds through Big Leaf Maples, and the rain spatters more when it hits the broad leaves, than when it hits a conifer. At the top, I began to seriously question whether I would do the 65 mile loop. I decided that the weather would decide my fate – if the rain started to slack in the slightest, I would go left at 203 to Stillwater Hill and take on the 65 mile loop. Otherwise, I’d go right, and do the 50.

When I came down Ames Lake, the Snoqualmie Valley was misty in the rain, and visibility was low. The rain never let up, so it was right on 203 to Carnation. After all, I reminded myself, this is my day off, I’m doing this for fun.

Just after entering the small town, I spied a thrift shop. I parked the bike, and went inside. An elderly lady showed me the store’s selection of sweaters. I selected a 100% Merino wool ski sweater for $2. A few blocks later, I pulled into a small shopping center, and got a hot sub for lunch. My hands were still numb, so ran hot water over them in the bathroom, then ordered a hot cocoa. By the time I had consumed the cocoa, an hour had passed since I had come to town. I was still soaked, but I wasn’t cold any more, and my hands had thawed. While it was still raining, it wasn’t raining as hard.

I went over the Tolt River Bridge, and as I continued through the valley in a light headwind, the rain decreased to a sprinkle. The mist that had clung to the valley floor previously was now swirling at the tops of the hills.

At the Issaquah-Falls City Road, it had stopped raining enough for me to shed the jacket. I still kept on the ski sweater. I couldn’t believe how quiet the forest was. I thought about the thousands of cyclists that would come up this road the next day on Flying Wheels, and how different it would feel.

Admittedly, it’s much easier to come up the stair steps of this climb when it’s mile 30 of a 50 mile loop than mile 45 of a 65 mile loop (or 80 of a 100), but this was still my easiest ascent up Issaquah-Fall City Road ever.

On top of the Plateau, the sun came out. Patches of pavement started to dry. I took it nice and easy at 35 miles/hour to drop down 43rd to East Lake Sammamish Parkway, and then took the rest of 25 mile loop route home, rather than go back up to Marymoor. My shower at home at the end verged on ectascy.

The 50 mile loop, commuting, and a few miles at the Fremont Parade mean 347 for the month to date. 6 years ago

Went out after work for a quick 20+ in Green Valley. My wife noticed last weekend that the fabric was showing through on my tires, so I had swapped out my worn-out bulletproof tires for the lighter-weight ones that came as original equipment on the bike. Nice and light, I was flying up the valley about 1 mile shy of the turnaround point when I heard and felt two quick “rubs” in the back, then the sound like a gunshot. The tire bead had unseated at one point, and the tube found the path of least resistance.

I’m heading to the bike shop today to get another set of heavier (duty) tires. I have big mileage ahead for the next 2 months, and I’m not interested in more tire-changing practice. 6 years ago

I have an all-day thing in Tacoma tomorrow, so no cycling. I’ll pass the mid-point of 250 by Wednesday on the commute. I’ll need to do a long ride Friday, though, on my day off, to keep on track to 250 by the end of the month. 6 years ago

Rode in this week’s Apple Century at 1/43,265,589th the speed of GhostLotus’ current nickname. (A new personal record.) But… I’m feeling the spaghetti-legs after effects this week. 6 years ago

a paltry 27 miles this weekend. Riding in the wind and rain just didn’t have any appeal. 6 years ago

Wednesday I went across the lake to get to Lake City, then went around the top to get home. I was surprised – the miles were nearly the same for one leg as the other.

Today I did Five-and-Half Hills of Kirkland. I am increasingly enjoying riding around Kirkland, which has decent bicycle facilities on its arterials; and is close enough to home that, when I feel I have had enough, I can just head home. 6 years ago

I’ve squeezed in a couple of rides this week after work; a 16 mile loop toward Black Diamond and back via Green Valley, and a 20 mile ride around the valley last night.

Weather is looking a bit dicey this weekend, but I’m going to try to get my lazy butt out of bed early Saturday to beat the rain.

It’s funny how quickly your perspective on weather can change with the seasons. A few months ago I would not have thought twice about riding in a forecast of rain and wind. 6 years ago

Two commutes and a short spin around the Carnation area early Saturday morning. There must have been some kind of criterium going on, as I was passed by a handful of sexy, subatomic-massed bikes operated by riders donning the funny-looking aerodynamic helmets. 6 years ago

It’s been a long while since I last made the commitment to ride in to work, and back again, both ways, no bus assist, every day. At least probably since some time last June!

Tomorrow I ride out to Lake City; the extra miles will make up the fact that I need to do a car/bike thing on Thursday to deal with transportation to Emma’s bnei mitzvah class. 6 years ago

20 miles on Saturday leading a Newcomer’s ride. 83 on Sunday riding a loop from Kent to Alki, then down the “coastal” route through Burien > Normandy Park > Des Moines > Redondo > Browns Point, finishing with a run up the valley from Sumner. It was plenty hot, and we ended up making frequent stops to refill water bottles. 6 years ago

And we’re off! Did a 50 mile loop with David today: Duvall, Cherry Valley Road, Carnation Farms. I had a spot of heat exhaustion coming up Union Hill Road – next time, I fill my own water bottles. 6 years ago

I hit 600 miles for the month of May, thanks to last weekend’s 200+ miles of cycling bliss. June’s going to be challenging because of travel commitments, though at least I will have more daylight to work with! 6 years ago

There’ll be two weekends where I won’t be bicycling – I’ll be in LA for my niece’s bat mitzvah, and then there’s the weekend of the Fremont Parade. It really puts the responsibility on racking up the miles commuting. 6 years ago