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.