5 rides, 4 photos, 2 websites, 1 month!

I've done five longer rides recently:

One 45-miler, similar to one I had done previously, that included Seward Park, the Chief Sealth Trail, and the Elliott Bay Trail from downtown Seattle to Ballard;


(we had to stop at the p-patch, to do some watering, before the ride);

One 48-miler, my first complete round-the-lake ride;

One 62-miler, from the south end of Lake Washington to Black Diamond, to visit (finally) its world-famous bakery;

A 61-miler, last week, to West Seattle, and around its circumference

(on the way through Fremont, I had to wait for the bridge to lower);

    (this is the water taxi I took from downtown Seattle to West Seattle);

And Sunday's 61-miler to and around West Seattle, to and around Magnolia, across the Ballard Locks, and back home

(if you want the best lemonade in town, go to Evan's lemonade stand, at the corner of Howe and West Magnolia Blvd).

Two websites you should check out

1) One day, at Fresh Flours Bakery, I met Bill Thorness, author of Biking Puget Sound.  Buy his book, or check out his website:

http://www.bikingpugetsound.com

2) A friend told me about biking in France--sounds good!  She said that this company is very good, arranges everything from bikes to routes to accomodations.  Here's the link:

http://www.randonneetours.com/byactivity/biking.htm

One month 'til Ragbrai!

What I Learned on My Last Three Rides

The 53-mile ride: I learned that there seem to be as many cows in the rural Puget Sound area, per acre, as I expect to see in Iowa.

The 57-mile ride: I learned that, if you put sunscreen on your forehead, and then ride through the rain, your eyes will sting from the sunscreen running down into them.

The 72-mile ride: I learned that, if you go on a 72-mile ride when you have a cold, it'll be harder than if you didn't have a cold, but that if you are indeed on said ride, Ibuprofen at mile 48 is a good idea.. 

Last Week

Mile 10 - Southern end of Lake Washington

 Mile 20 - Near Kubota Garden

Mile 30 - International District

Mile 40- Gasworks Park

Mile 50 - Lake Forest Park

Mile 60 - Home

Cascade Training Series

My two biking buddies and I are using the Cascade Training Series to prepare for the RAGBRAI. So far, I've been on three of its rides.  The first was a 26-miler, and the most recent a 43-miler. We ride all over Puget Sound, mostly on roads where I've never been, and we learn to cycle as a group.  All you have to do to go on these rides is to join the Cascade Bicycle Club.  The Cascade Bicycle Club promotes biking in the Seattle area, provides biking classes, sells helmets at $10 each, and has free daily rides (year-round!).   To check out the Training Series schedule, visit

http://www.biketoworkday.com/EandR/Ride_CTS_schedule.cfm

We'll be going through Quimby, Iowa, on the first day of RAGBRAI.  According to the Cherokee Area Development website, Quimby was originally named Wendell, but the locals thought that the name sounded too Republican, so they came up with Quimby instead.  And Quimby has a quilt shop--I might just have to stop by!

A Blustery, Beautiful Day

 My partner (with his new bike), a friend, and I headed out yesterday to try to go 50 miles, to Marymoor and back, plus a little bit extra on the Burke Gilman to reach the 50-mile goal.   We wanted to keep up a fairly good speed (for us), but the headwinds were throwing themselves at our bikes.  Will Iowa have that much of a headwind?

But it was an enjoyable ride, nevertheless.  Our friend's rear tube blew within about a mile from our starting point, and he capably and quickly fixed it.  His rear tire itself was bad, so we rode on gently, and in Kenmore found Bothell Ski and Bike, which replaced his tire (also capably and quickly), so we were on our way. 

Not too much to report, other than the beauty of Lake Washington on our right and on our left, a great blue heron rookery, and about a mile farther, some eagles soaring and swooping (probably having just eaten some great blue heron eggs or babies).

On to Redmond we went, where we tried Hancock's Bakery--the roll-ups and fruit tarts are yummy.  After our mechanical problems earlier in the day, we actually arrived at the bakery late enough that some of their goodies were sold out, so we'll have to go back earlier, next time.

Then we rode onto the 520 Trail (so that I would know where it is) and towards Marymoor (so that I would know exactly where it is--last week when I tried to get to the park itself, I got lost).  Turned around and headed home.  And you'd think that since there were lots of headwinds on the way out, there would've been tailwinds on the way back.  No such luck.  There were showers interspersed with sunshine, but no tailwinds to ease our journey.

Ride total--39 miles.

Looking forward to the Iowa ride!  And, speaking of Iowa, did  you know that Kingsley, Iowa's motto is
"Some bigger....none better"?  Sounds like a good place!

Nine-Day Total : 111 Miles

During a recent nine-day period, I rode:
       32 miles on a Cascade Training Series ride
                 but I got separated from my partner  :(
       3 miles to and from yoga
       7 miles, from Montlake, via the UW campus
      39 miles, Marymoor Park and back
      30 miles on another Cascade Training Series ride

But, I need to up the mileage.  Tomorrow, my partner and I are going to attempt a 50-mile ride, I with my
      trusty Trek, he with his new bike

And I'm going to try to move my avg. speed on the flat up to 13 mph.

Went to AAA the other day, got a map of Iowa, and circled all the small towns we'll be going through.  I'm excited!  Did you know that Washta, Iowa, advertises itself (on their website) as "the coldest spot in Iowa"? Also, its name came into being when a local Native American indicated his approval about a pioneer's gun by saying "Wash-ta, washta" (again, according to their website).  It has a park that sounds beautiful--the Little Sioux River and Ranney Knob Park (BTW, what is a Ranney Knob?). 

More later. 

Test Ride

My partner and I are getting ready for the Cascade Training Series, a group of rides organized by the Cascade Bicycle Club, for riders who have large goals such as the STP (Seattle to Portland), or the RAW (Ride Around Washington), or, in our case, RAGBRAI. The series starts next Saturday, March 20, so on Sunday, we went on a ride to practice some of the things we've learned in the last couple of weeks about group riding, such as--

1) Through Cascade's GEARs (group riding class), we learned that we should ride SMART--
S - Stay attentive
M - Move out of the road or path if you have to stop
A - Act like a car
R - Retain distance between your bike and the others' bikes
T - Talk to people on the ride, to tell them what you're doing, both by wrods
and hand signals.

Also, at GEARS, we learned that every time we ride, we should check
A - Air pressure in the tires
B - Brakes to make sure they work
C - Chains to see that all is well
Q - Quick releases, to make sure that they're in the right positions.

And we learned where to ride in the road, with relationship to cars, how to
go through an intersection on a group ride, how to scan behind our bikes for
cars, and how to "flick" our front wheels to avoid small obstacles that we spot
at the last minute.

At REI on Tuesday evening, we learned from a professional cycling coach from Cycle U
that the first half hour after a long ride is the time when a rider should eat, a rider should try to maintain even and consistent pedal pressure throughout each circular stroke, and hill-climbing is easier when a rider has a hill-climbing mantra, such as "I was born to climb!" or "I love to climb!" BTW, this last piece of advice helps!

On Sunday, wearing several layers of clothing, we set out on the Burke Gilman Trail, where our first stop, near Magnuson, included a close-up view of two eagles sunning themselves next to Lake Washington (picture #1) and another of morning rowers (#2). Next stop, Le Fournil Bakery in Eastlake, where we had to buy an extra almond croissant, because I forgot to take a picture of the first one (#3). These are the awesomest croissants on the north end of Seattle. Then we proceeded on to Golden Gardens--the sailboats in the marina were backed by the snowy Olympics (#4). On the way back, we stopped at the Fremont Farmer's Market, where we bought a bouquet of flowers and farm-fresh mizuma.

No major incidents. My partner's chain became disengaged a couple of times, but the fix was quick, both times.

Ride total: 31 miles.