Well, once again, I’m not going to achieve this goal. First it was the Sanyo Band students staying here, then I got a cold, and then it was Snowpocalypse 2008.

Still, I got in a final ride of the year this morning. I thought I’d do a run around the top of Lake Washington – something long and flat. The streets were all clear, but when I got to Marymoor, the Sammamish River trail was a mix of slush, compact snow, and ice. So I turned it around, and did the Gold Coast instead. That’s short and hilly instead. The roads were all clear – just a little slushy at the top of Northup at the gate before Yarrow Point.

My feet were freezing, though, and I stopped in the Sports Authority in downtown Bellevue for a pack of those chemical toe warmers.

It was so great to be out on the bike again. I even got one of those fleeting, “isn’t it great to be out in Nature” moments coming down a hill along Lake Washington. 4 years ago

Too much snow out there for cycling. If I can count miles on a hotel stationary bike, surely I can count miles I x-c skied instead. It’s great cross training. I wasn’t sore at all after the skiing – well, just a little bit on the adductor muscles, that’s all.

My neighborhood ski trip here4 years ago

I’m still wading through phlegm, and even if I weren’t – it’s pretty icy out there! 4 years ago

This goal has been stalled by the cold I’ve caught. 4 years ago

I rode in today with Jim Carson, taking a slightly more meandering route in. Then, foolishly, I decided to ride up 24th to get home. I could do that in the summer OK, but I’ve gotten too many layers of winter fat now – I had to stop half way up the hill and catch my breath. 4 years ago

So, I ride in, a little foggy, but no big deal.

For the way home, it is pouring pouring rain and dark. I’m exhausted, and I just want to get home.

I decided I’d go around the bottom of the lake. I come down 43rd – if it were daylight and dry, I’d fly down the hill at 35 or 40. Instead, in the utter darkness and rain, I’m creeping down the hill at probably 10 or 12 mph. I even stop at one point to clear off my glasses. By the time I reach the bottom, my legs are trembling.

I ended up taking the sidewalk all the way around the bottom – I neither want to VC it on the street, nor ride the dank, unlit, slippery trail through the park. Then I came up and around, on West Lake Samm Parkway for a bit, which actually wasn’t that bad considering conditions. I got off the bike just past The Little Store, with the intention of walking it across WLSP, too afraid in the low-visibility conditions of turning left up the hill. But after walking my bike across the street, I had a hard time getting it started – the hill is very steep, and I had a full pannier on the back. Finally, I got the bike going, ground it up the hill, and did the final 4 or so miles through relatively quiet, well-lit suburban streets.

Later, Rose wanted a check for lunch money, so I went out to the garage to get my wallet out of the pannier. I found that one of my pannier straps had gotten twisted and jammed in the drive train. :-P I knew that it was riding oddly, but in the dark and the rain, I didn’t stop to look to see what was wrong. So, I rode for something like 13 or 14 miles like that. Dang.

I’m going to be checking the weather reports in the next month or so. I don’t mind riding in the rain, and I don’t mind riding in the dark, but the two together on high-speed high traffic streets in the dark after a long and busy day is just NO FUN. 4 years ago

Not bad on 5 hours of sleep, but still didn’t make the goal. 5 years ago

Feeling rather accomplished, am I. 5 years ago

When the 24th falls on a Monday, there’ s not a lot of traffic,
particularly before the sun comes up. It was mostly clear, and mostly cold, but not too cold – upper 30s, with new snow in the mountains from the weekend of rain here in the lowlands.

I wasn’t passed by a car for the first five miles of the ride in to work. I only saw two bikes coming the other way, and that wasn’t until I had been riding for an hour. Usually, even if it is sleeting horizontally, I’ll see about a dozen. 5 years ago

Ow, that was hard. Rode to Woodinville and back, pretty much had Sammamish River Trail to myself. 40 miles (39.94) 5 years ago

A 30 mile “toodle” through the valley this afternoon. Conditions were great, starting in sunshine and ending in darkness. I had a hawk fly with me for a bit early on, which was very nice and set the tone. 5 years ago

After the rainy slop the day before, it was crystal clear, crystal cold coming home last night. Since I didn’t have to be home to do anything (everyone had eaten dinner before my arrival, and David had already left with Emma to go to bnei mitzvah class), I decided to take a small detour. First, I came down Lake Hills Blvd. I usually don’t go that way, because of previous close calls, but I decided to risk it. Then I turned on to the unpaved Phantom Lake trail, and turned off my lights.

The tires crunched the graveled path, my way illuminated by the gibbous moon. As slow as I went, I still felt like I couldn’t appreciate the night sky, so I just stopped the bike, and looked up. The nearby high school’s playfield polluted the sky to the west, but you could still see a fair number of stars for being in the city.

This morning, it was even colder. The pavement was frosty. I was doing ok until I came to the overpass by the Eastgate Park and Ride. It was a sheet of black ice, with patches of thicker ice in spots. I crept down the pavement, feathering my brakes, slowly slowly slowly, until I came to the stoplight, came to a halt, and…my tire just slipped out from under me. “Holy SHIT!”, I exclaimed, causing me to donate another twenty five cents to the Dino Rossi campaign. No real harm done, as I was barely moving when I fell, but I have yet another band-aid on my knee and another hole in the tights. 5 years ago

Traffic was constipated along 140th NE the closer I got to the Microsoft campus. I made a right onto the little boardwalk, hoping to bypass the mess and enter the SR520 bike path. Only thing is wet surfaces + 30°F + cold air beneath the wood boardwalk = ice. No bruises, though!

163 miles for the month. 5 years ago

I wish there were “double miles” for days like today. The ride into work felt like headwinds at every turn. Home, it was heavy rain. Issaquah creek is becoming a river. 5 years ago

Upper thirties, windy, rainy, and dark – oh joy! 5 years ago

This is going to be close… anyone else think they’ll be doing laps on New Years Eve to hit their goal??? 5 years ago

The best part of my day is riding in to work.

I was just coming down 2nd Ave this evening, and it felt great, and I wanted to ride and ride, but I needed to come home and go out with my cousin this evening, so I had to load the bike on the bus.

Sometimes there’s no substitute for being on the bike. 5 years ago

I should have adopted Ghost Lotus’s goal instead. 5 years ago

This goal has been slow to start, with the ankle sprain. I also have to drive to work two days next week. But it was nice to ride yesterday. 5 years ago

Ah, riding felt good today. There was a lotta crud on the side of the road. Marymoor park has some wet spots that the Canada geese were enjoying. The water covering this trail was deeper than it initially looked. I wasn’t sure whether I should stop (which meant I’d have to put my foot down and walk my bike out) or pedal through. I pedaled.

5 years ago

Nothing like starting in a hole, eh Calnan?

Tonight will be the first road ride of the month, my weekly Cascade night ride foray. I’m going to need to scout some of the key points of the route in the light of day today, since many of the trail/road undercrossings end up underneath the Green River during rains such as this. I also have a ride on Saturday to lead for another 30.

I will need to be more disciplined than I was in November about getting my road miles, so I don’t have to go out on New Year’s Eve to get 3.33 miles before the champagne corks pop. 5 years ago

A bit drippy on the way in to work today. 5 years ago

If I achieve this goal, then it means I’ve gone more than 4000 miles for the year. It’s not as impressive as the 5000 that Calnan or Carson are going for, but not bad.

Possible obstacles to attaining this goal: snow and ice; five days in Mexico.

I will consider renting a bike while in PV – maybe do one of those guided mountain bike excursions in the jungle – that sounds like fun. 5 years ago