Bicycle 200 miles in November

rats…..rode just shy of 127 miles total. i didn’t count on getting such a bad cold, actually took 2 days off work, & almost 2 weeks off of the bikes, what with heavy rain, & trying to get well. back riding to work though, was very cold on the way home today, with a slight drizzle but good to be riding again.
i’ll try for 200 mi in dec, but may not be a realistic goal, as dec is quite busy, not to mention wet & dark.

Did a little cyclocross – detoured off my planned route, onto the Lake-to-Lake trail. Rode down a muddy track off of Wilburton Hill, then climbed 162 steps up to 140th.

I rode to work, but took the bus much of the way home – just rode from the Microsoft corporate campus in the cold rainy dark to the house.

One of those November mornings where it’s like riding through a cold steam vaporizer. The mist is so heavy, it’s really like rain, except the drops don’t fall, they just hang there, in mid-air. It’s a multidimensional field of moisture. There’s no definite horizon – the lake is indistinguishable from the sky, and the trees dissolve into the fog like a Chinese painting. Since it isn’t really a rain fall, you think it’s not that wet out. However, the damp is so heavy and thick, it permeates everything, even reaching under the tight seal of the neoprene booties to turn one’s feet cold and wet.

For the ride home, an expression of thanks.

Cold
Wet
Dark

A real struggle to get into work, pedaling at great effort at 11 – 12 mph, a horrible climb up Inglewood Hill, and into work about 10 minutes late.

While it was dark, and colder than the devil’s pecker, flew down Inglewood on the return – at least the pavement was dry, and along the lake, comfortably cruising apparently (I could only glimpse the spedometer briefly under a street lamp) at 19 mph.

Wish I could say it was because I had a headwind on the way in, tailwind on the return, but it was still all day.

I rode to work in the cold rain. I stayed at work so late, I thought I’d just throw the bike on the bus, but even just the quarter mile ride to the bus stop felt so nice, I figured I might as well just ride home. That worked out fine. The worst of it – light suckingly dark now. Terrifying to descend Inglewood Hill Road with wet pavement, even at the speed limit. And all the wet leaves on Multi-Deity Hill meant a slow descent on the way in to work, and then, on the way home – well, I just dismounted rather than try to climb an 18-19% grade on wet slippery leaves in the dark.

woke up yesterday with a nasty cold, must be why last week was too tired to commute to work on the bike. i’ll be riding to work in the rain again when i feel better (they think i’m nuts, i tell ‘em to try it, i love to ride), i’ve got fenders, rain gear & lots of lights on my redline cross/commute bike & ride to work year round. i’ll try for 200 in nov. but this cold has really kicked my ass, i’ll need some luck. it usually rains all of november where i live. stef

Nice ride in – a bit foggy and I need to remember, it’s November, so even if it’s going to be sunny later, it’s still cold.

Since I worked so late, for the PM commute I took the bus to the Microsoft campus and rode home from there. It was late enough that traffic had cleared up some – instead of cutting through campus, I rode on the main arterial that goes past corporate campus without much trouble. When cars started backing up at the light at Bel-Red Road, I changed lanes, kept up with ambient speeds, and took my left on to 24th without difficulty.

probably the last warm-ish sunny Sunday of 2009 to ride. Rode Rose Hill, Market Hill, part of Seminary Hill and Juanita Hill, and used the Sammamish River Trail for the return.