Rode up the back side of MDH up 24th. Ooh baby, that was steep – 12% and relentless. Hope I’m in shape for the High Pass Challenge! 3 years ago

Just skirted over the line with everyday commuting! 3 years ago

RAPSody is a 170 mile loop around Puget Sound, hosted by a bunch of smaller local bike clubs, to benefit the clubs and bicycle advocacy through the Bicycle Alliance. While there are people who do it as a one-day ride (unimaginable!), most do it as a two-day, with an overnight in lovely Shelton, WA. It has 9600’ of elevation gain and loss. The route is either up or down, especially day one, on this ride. There’s more flat on day two, but the hills that you do climb make up for it – they’re relatively gnarly.

Here is my mini ride report:

The good:
a. As has been in the past, the scenery was incredible. This is the prettiest major ride in the area.
b. I saw lots of people I knew on this ride: Ross Carey, John Calnan, Leo Stone, Tom the Icky Boy, and other folks who I’ve met on TourBC and other rides around the region.
c. The food continues to be superior on this ride. Highlights – nutella and cream cheese on my bagel day one; those yogurt parfaits day two.
d. A full body massage by Joel at Century Sports Massage after day one – ooh baby, I love having a massage after a long ride – I think it really helps for day two.
e. I was out of the saddle a lot for hill climbing, which I feel speaks well to my conditioning these days.
f. Weather was excellent – in the 60s, overcast in the mornings, sunny in the afternoons.

The bad:
a. using the ride’s Gatorade at first – I just need to learn to stick with nuun, which works for me.
b. for the third year in a row, I missed a Dan Henry in Olympia. Fortunately, I was off-course only for about a half mile; it was easy to find my way back.

The ugly:
a. Something in lunch didn’t agree with me; I barfed by the side of the road about 2 miles from Shelton day one.
b. Saddle sores – my butt resembles a relief map of the Cascade Mountain range 3 years ago

Rode to a meeting at Bailey Boushay. Wonder of Wonders, they let me use the employee shower before my meeting. Soap! Shampoo! Towel service! I made a donation to the facility when I was through. Later, went home via the free bus service over 520.

I have a chance of actually making this goal this year – didn’t even come close last year. 3 years ago

Because of construction at the north end of the lake, I decided to ride around the south end. I then spent some time composing angry letters in my head to the City Council about the condition of the road. I’m better off riding through a construction zone than deal with that.

Then I rode up 212th Way SE. I haven’t been that way in a while. It’s actually very beautiful – lush greenery, a creek. Too bad cars use it too – it would be perfect if they barred to motor vehicle traffic. There’s no shoulders, and the nettles grow right up to the verge, so there’s a strong disincentive not to go too close to the edge of the pavement!

On the way home – I blew through two red lights in Sammamish when there was no cross traffic so I could ride without having to deal with angry motorists trying to pass me. It just feels safer. I hope I don’t ever have to explain that to the cops. Nice warm afternoon – upper 80s – really a pleasant day to ride to and from work. 3 years ago

Nice and sunny both ways today – my shoes were still wet from Friday’s rain, but it looks like we’ll have good weather the rest of the week.

Little signs of fall coming all over the place, and I’m just dreading it. I love summer’s warmth and sunlight. The slight tinge of red to the vine maples, the waning evening light just makes me feel like I want to grab what’s left of summer and hug it to my bosom so it will never be able to leave me. 3 years ago

After a lot of soggy wet commuting to/from work this week, a dry if overcast Saturday, and a really nice run out to Snohomish and then Monroe. It was a relatively fast pace for us – 60 miles in 5 hours, including a relatively long stop for lunch. 3 years ago

Rain.

Thoughts of Lughnasadh. 3 years ago

Lots and lots to say about the ride today.

I rode to a disaster planning class (see goal, Develop a disaster plan for my agency) in the city.

It’s a big nostalgia trip for me to do the old commute. I realize how much I am NOT in bikie culture at all with my current commute. I never see cyclists on the Plateau, and this time of year I might see one or two going the other way on ELSP and more in Marymoor Park – but when it gets to be November, I’m going to be the sole cyclist in the cold/dark/rain and it will be pretty lonely on the bike at Marymoor.

But on the ride today, tons of other bikes out there, the full range from folders to recumbents, people riding to and from work, some of the same old commuters I saw two years ago, riding to and from – just gave me this sad, longing feeling, wishing I could be regularly riding where other people also regularly ride.

Now, when I actually got to the place where the class was originally scheduled to be held this morning, the lights were off and the doors shut. It was OK, I was there 15 minutes early, so I hung out there, along with someone else who arrived for the class until 9:00 AM when it was supposed to start.

Then I called the Red Cross who was co-hosting the training, and apparently they moved the class to the Red Cross building, and the other guy and I just never go the message. I asked the folks at the Red Cross how to get there, and they said to go on Rainier, but I didn’t want to ride at all on Rainier, so I asked for help from 23rd or MLK. They told me to turn on Massachusetts, I couldn’t miss it.

So I rode down MLK until it ended at Rainier, never seeing Massachusetts, and then I rode for another mile on Rainier (feh) until I realized surely I must have missed it. Since Rainier is so awful, I took another street back, and found myself climbing up Beacon Hill. By the time I figured I was in about the right vicinity of the building, I was far above the Rainier Valley, and there were no through streets, only a cliff. I had to overshoot it by several blocks, coming down a crazy-steep hill, back to freakin’ MLK, and then did a series of dead reckonings (never ever finding the “can’t miss it” Massachusetts) until I came to the building, now 55 minutes after I first arrived at the place I thought the class was supposed to be at.

I found a set of car keys when I was climbing up Eastgate Way. Based on the tag, I thought they would have come from the Toyota dealership at the top of the hill. I turned in the keys, and then, since I was were I was, I took the little path that runs in front of the big Mormon Temple & Tabernacle Complex, which connects to another little path I used to take all the time when I first started riding to work.

I abandoned using this path, which runs alongside Robinswood Park, because it wasn’t the fastest way. But today it was very pleasant, zipping along under the trees, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

I used to think of my commute into downtown as being hilly. And it certainly isn’t flat – the only flat bit is going over the floating bridge. But compared to my current commute, which has sustained 8% – 12% grades, nothing felt hilly today. There’d be an uptick, and I’d hoist myself out of the saddle, and do the “Lance Dance” for a bit, then sit back down and slip it into the granny, and I’d be at the top, no problem. I’ve become a much better hill climber with a commute to the top of the Sammamish Plateau, no question. 3 years ago

Friend: Evidently you chastised one of my coworkers this morning near Lake Sammamish. Heh. He seemed a bit miffed about it. He was a little more hesitant after he realized it was one of my friends I was talking about. Natural I suppose.

Me: How did you all figure out it was me? I bet he thought I was a bitch. But yes, I made him stop. I am so sick of wrong-way cyclists coming out at me on WSLP, endangering me (and themselves), especially when there’s a perfectly fine wide shoulder on the other side of the street. And there was a pedestrian there, too – so what was supposed to happen? Him going out into traffic head-on? Me having to go out into traffic because he decided to ride in a dangerous and illegal manner? The pedestrian having to leap into the stream of cars? Would this pea-brain DRIVE on the wrong side of the road? Then why is it acceptable for him to bicycle on the wrong side of the road? GRRRRRR!!!!!

Friend: Heh, I assumed it was something like that (he’s an occasional rider, so I’ll admit I sort of assumed he was in the wrong). I remember kvetching with you about wrong-way riders in that area before. And I knew you rode that area in the mornings.

After he initially mentioned it the conversation went like this:

Friend: Tall, curly hair?...
Him: yes
Him: um…. that’s kinda scary…
Friend: Did she look like this?
Friend: (show him pic of you)
Him: There is a twilight theme running through my head now 3 years ago

I have to ride at least 4 days a week to work and do the RAPSody ride for me to make this goal. 3 years ago

It’s looking dismal for me even making 500 miles on this goal. I guess if I ride this afternoon, or tomorrow, I’d have a shot at it – but I was thinking of going hiking tomorrow instead. 4 years ago

With my migraine last week, there’s no freakin’ way I’m going to make this goal.

Fortunately, I only need to do 500 to stay on track for my 4000 miles in 2008 goal – which I think I can do. 4 years ago

On the way home today, I tried to find a “back-door” route from 228th to 212th. I explored something I found on google maps (see attached photo), but when I actually got there, I found a chain link fence and a big sign, “Private Property”.

Feh. 4 years ago

I was going to meet David at Sammamish Valley Cycles after work, but I got yet another flat, so I rendezvous’ed with him at a convenience store instead. I can’t find anything wrong with the tire, but I’ve just had too many flats in a short interval and I’m suspicious.

I have a vague hankering to ride out with my friends Lynne and Jason tomorrow on the Burke Gilman Trail and do the first few miles of RSVP together, then come around the top of the lake and back down the SRT and ride into work. Or maybe not; maybe I’ll just drive, considering I have the opera tomorrow. 4 years ago

On the way home, I met up with a guy who also rides up multi-deity hill to get home from work. It was nice to chat with someone for a few miles. 4 years ago

Friday:

3:15 PM: I left work relatively early, only to find I had a flat. I took off the wheel, and stripped out the tube, only to discover my pump was broken.

3:30 PM: After talking with the facilities manager, I get the bike stashed for the weekend, change back into street clothes.

4:00 PM: I make it to the top of the hill, to where the bus stop is, a half-mile from my work place.

4:24 PM: When the bus is scheduled to arrive.

4:36 PM: When the bus actually arrives. The bus driver overhears me on the cell, says her bus is a deadhead, and offers to take me to Overlake Transit Center on her way to the bus barn. I accept her offer, because it means I don’t have to transfer on to a Sound Transit bus and pay an additional fare.

5:06 PM: I arrive at Overlake Transit Center

5:26 PM: When my bus is scheduled to arrive.

5:35 PM: When my bus actually arrives.

5:55 PM: I get off the bus.

6:00 PM I arrive home.

OK, so – you can see – it took me 2.5 hours to get home from my work place by bus. It really makes me think that I can not rely on the bus as an alternate during the dark/wet/cold times of the year and maybe I “don’t feel like riding”. Even if I do something multi-modal, where a major portion of the trip is by bike, just isn’t worth the infrequent, slow, and unreliable service.

This morning, I engaged in the meditative exercise of finally changing the flat. There actually were two tiny holes in the tube, only discoverable using the water method.

On the way home, just before the worst of multi-deity hill, I decide to check out this unpaved – grassy actually – but road-like thing off to the left. I rustled up a bunny out of the undergrowth as I rode. It was broad, occasionally graveled, and apparently followed a sewer line. I got more and more curious where it would lead.

Just before the end it split into something steep and graveled to the left, ending up in Sammamish Forest Manors. The right fork did an equally steep climb, completely impassable without knobby tires; it ended up in the neighborhood I discovered last week, exploring spurs off of the hill. 4 years ago

Nice day, almost too warmish for the way home.

I tried the odd spur off of multi-deity hill, and found that it turned into a staircase. After I carried my bike up the stairs, I found myself in a neighborhood that I had never been in before, which is unusual, as I have either biked or walked nearly everywhere around here. 4 years ago

I was so achy this morning from yesterday’s hike, I thought I was just going to drive in. But the weather’s so nice, and how am I going to get to 550 miles if I don’t ride my bike to work?

So, late, I finally threw my leg over my steel steed, and headed out. Surprise: about halfway there, I see Jim Carson riding along. I suspect he was playing hooky, as he was heading away from his house, in the opposite direction of work, much later than if he were actually going to work, with a group of other cyclists.

Hope you had a good ride, Jim! 4 years ago

Not quite up to the 600 miles Arsene Lupin set, but I think I can do better than last year’s 500.

How I’m going to do this:

Approximately 400 in commuter miles
Approximately 150 on RAPSody

As an aside – can anyone spot the problem in this picture?

Huffy Lakota4 years ago