I adore this group of people, but my heart rate just isn’t going faster than when I’m sitting at my computer. I have to change groups.
Hot Wheels! 100 degrees!
Why did I decide to ride my bike in the middle of a 100 degree day? Well, what else am I going to do? I’m glad my rubber didn’t melt consider the heat waves this year cooked all the onion in Walla Walla while they were still in the ground.
Holiday Ride: The 4th of July
I dressed in red and white, hopped on a blue (ish) bike and rode around to celebrate my…uh…American independence. Sort of seems like the only value America has left, but hey,I’m an independent woman, right?
Fall time riding
The leaves are nearly all fallen. The color was amazing this year, each leaf’s hue deeper and more vibrant than years’ past. I took a brisk, crisp ride out with Cascade Bicycle Club. This series is called the SNOCO; one that takes place in the fall around Snohomish county. I enjoyed the group quite a bit last year. I forgot how much. This group include a larger percentage of women that usual, many who are in the vicinity of my age. There’s even one who rides with the same socks I do. Pretty good time!
It's bike Month
Seriously…how did it get to me May already? I’m not sure, but apparently it’s bike month. So, let’s see how I do!
Getting Geared up for the Tunnel Ride
It’s tomorrow! I will riding a piece of Seattle’s history. This is a thing no cyclists after me will ever be able to do. I’m fine with rain, but I hope it’s not too cold. Fingers crossed for a great time!
The Princess and her Bike
We cyclists are a picky bunch. I left my commuter at work last night. Really I had other things going on that made riding home inconvenient, but I prefer to blame the dangerous windstorm that fell upon Seattle. I decided to take a ride today at the last minute and because of the things left at work I didn’t have my usual gear. I didn’t have a heart rate monitor. There’s no point in riding without one (!), so I had to get out my old broken one that was too tight. I didn’t have my headband, so I wore a beanie that hit my ears such to amplify the wind noise to a frightening level. It took almost an hour to get used to it. I didn’t have my gloves, so I wore the un-padded backup pair I got in Italy. I had to grip hard due to the slick rain and slick gloves and my hands felt cramped for most of the ride. I wore a different pair of socks, just for the fun of it. They were thicker than my usual pair, but oddly enough my feet felt cold and squishy. I didn’t have my nice new prescription sunglasses. I wore an old pair that was too dark. I also felt blind without prescription lenses. I didn’t have my usual water bottles, so I had to use some backups that are harder to open and get water out of. They paired terribly with the gloves, which were slick. I simply couldn’t get a drink with the bottle and glove combo. I got used to all of these changes by the end of the ride, but it took some time. It chuckled to myself. I do the same ride with the same trusty gear so often every nuanced difference stands out. Somehow I survived. Somehow I got to enjoy the majestic views allowed by the clear sky. Somehow I got so soak in the sunshine and fresh air. I know, it’s rough doing the best most fun thing ever.
Spotted: gigantic geese, goats, a very stern and tiny dog, friendly couples taking walks and wishing us “Merry Christmas!,” people hollering “Merry Christmas” out of their cars, tons of fallen debris from last night’s storm, a Santa scarecrow perched on a bench on the side of the road, a large house with a sprawling front yard and what appeared to be 40 or so larger-than-life inflatable holiday decorations.
The Tunnel Ride is Only a Carmageddon Away
source: Cascade Bicycle
It’s official! I’m registered for The Tunnel Ride this February. It seems like forever away, especially will so many downtown workers worried to death about the upcoming construction. It will be an unforgettable ride with the Wooleaster. I plant to take a lot of pictures. Crossing fingers now for a rain-free morning.
Tunnel Ride
Cascade Bicycle Club just announced this ride, and it sounds spectacular! The Alaskan Way Viaduct has been on the minds of every Seatteite for years. We spent a long time debating it’s safety, it’s future, and the replacement tunnel process. This bike ride, as part of a Grand Opening celebration, makes the whole toil fun! What an opportunity to be a part of Seattle’s history! At the same time, the ride costs $40 for just 12.5 miles. That sounds like highway robbery…literally. I have a few weeks to make a decision, but knowing me, I’m gonna go for it!
The Bike Everywhere Challenge Recap
The Bike Everywhere challenge is over! Our team captain, Jessie (also a Wooleater) led our team of 10 riders to logging no less than 1550 miles! Between the 10 of us, we took 283 riding trips in one month. Not bad for a bunch of nerds! I personally rocked it. I usually ride about 65 miles a week, but I exceeded that this month somehow. No wonder I've been so tired!
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
I earned all 8 tacos for Bike Everywhere Month in just 3 days! I set me goal next week for 12 tacos! Will I make it? Only taco will tell!
Tacos!
It's "Bike Everywhere Month" once again. Bike Month happens every May, and each time I feel bittersweet about it. This year I have a new goal. Tacos! Can I burn/earn 8 tacos in 1 week? I am new to the taco measurement system, so I am not sure what it takes. Needless to stay, I'm already 1.41 tacos down and it's the first day. Looking good!
Exploring Strava
Screenshot of this morning's "flybys"- I am the hollow black dot in the middle of the map.
I signed up for a Strava account for the first time a few weeks ago. I’ve been hearing about this cycling app/community for years, and always steered clear of it because everything I heard leaned toward competition. I am not in it (whatever “it” is) to beat anyone or win anything. Strava seems like the app of choice for cyclists, however, so I finally decided to give it a try.
Immediately I can see the social pieces it builds right into the experience, whether you want them or not. They are somewhere very close to the fine line separating “totally cool and barrier-breaking” to “creepy and invasive”.
For example, last Sunday I joined Cascade Bicycle Club for a group ride. I loaded my ride data into Strava, and the first thing it showed me was several other Strava users who went on the same bike ride. Even though I don’t know their names (we had 3 pace groups and some 45 people) much less their Strava usernames, Strava’s system easily calculated that we all went on the same bike ride together. Each person gave the ride a different name, but Strava knew. It knew we were all together.
This morning I used Strava to track my morning commute. Stava’s “flybys” feature tracked other Strava users who I passed or passed me this morning. Not only did it track them, it provided me wither their names, routes, route speeds, and the exact point where we met on each other’s route. I’ve been naming the regular commuters for years, but only in my head. In theory, I could learn not just the name of “high cadence grey backpack lady” but also where she lives and works and how fast she rides overall. What about “flappy yellow rainjacket guy”? Strava could take my commute to a whole new level.
"flyby" data from my Sunday group ride
A screenshot of my “flyby” data from my Sunday group ride is pasted above. Alexa, positioned below me, what the ride leader. I assume we only matched 96% because my phone stopped tracking just a few miles before I finished the ride. All the other people, well, they must have been on the ride, too.
Chilly Hilly 2016 Photos
Photo from: http://www.marathonfoto.com/
MarathonFoto released professional samples of photos of the Chilly Hilly ride. Similar to the one shown above, most of the photos insinuate that I am miserable. Perhaps I am about to make an intense and powerful turn? I am not sure what exactly is going on in the above photo, but it is a definite lean of concentration there. Or maybe the photographer caught me mid-fart. Just kidding. I don't fart and ride, that would be dangerous.
Photo from: http://www.marathonfoto.com/
Luckily, MarathonFoto also took photos of me looking like my normal pedaling self. Whew! Now, I must point out one obvious thing. Given the dominate and plentiful watermarks on these photos, MarathonFoto didn't want me to do anything with this photo beyond decide to purchase it. MarathonFoto surely doesn't want me to do what I just did, which is take a screen shot of the photo their photographers worked hard to capture and share it like my own without paying them.
I've been paying money for organized group athletic events for 17 years. It's kind of my thing (you may or may have noticed from reading this very blog). I have purchased professional ride photos from many rides, but passed over countless others. For the photographer reading this and wondering why I haven't purchased photos, there are a few reasons:
- Not enough money. There have been years that covering the cost of the ride itself required several months of saving, so tossing $10 for a photo was a luxury I couldn't afford. I could afford it now, and still didn't cave (sorry, Marathon)
- No use for the photo. Obviously I have a use for these photos, as I have just posted screenshots on my blog and am waxing philosophical on them this very moment. But, back when photos offered were print only, I simply didn't know what to do with them. Hang a photo of myself on the wall? Weird. Give it to my mom? Do you really think anybody in my life needs another photo of me in a bike helmet? I think not.
- Just not a good photo. Many come through blurry, poorly centered, boring, or capture me in a way I don't want to look at (see top photo above). But here's the sad thing, that second photo actually looks kinda cool. I thought about buying it. Why not, right? Well, Marathon's Watermark is right over my face and I have no way of knowing if my face looks "good". I ended up buying a photo from a ride 4 years ago that had some key parts covered up by watermarks. When I got the photo, I found that the watermarks covered up features that would have kept me from buying the photo. I guess the joke was on me. Not this time, I'm not taking the risk. Sorry, MarathonFoto. Maybe some other day.
Chilly Hilly
In celebration of the first year I've had Sundays off work, I am going to ride the Chilly Hilly this year in Seattle. This ride, sponsored by Cascade Bicycle Club (aren't they all?) takes place on the last Sunday in February (the 28th this year) and tours Bainbridge Island.
While it wasn't an option for me to do this ride before without using a precious vacation day, I never really wanted to. Major Cascade rides have a tendency to be over-attended and under-fun. However, last year's Flying Wheels Century was so much fun that my views are changing a bit. I expect this one to be a blast.
Of note, the Cascade website states that this ride tends to be 25% female and 75% male. I have seen more female riders in Washington than any other state I've ridden in, so I find this statistic a little startling. As a female, I feel obligated to represent..and try to figure out why it is so unbalanced.
On a side note, the website also claimed Bicycling Magazine named the Chilly Hilly "One of Four Classic Rides in the Nation." This is a pretty impressive label, and, being a fan of Bicycling magazine, I followed the link. Sadly, the link took me to a landing page of click-bait, albeit bicycling-themed, not unlike the worst of the worst website out there. First I saw an article about Justin Beiber "nearly causing a whole cycling team to crash", when I fell for the click bait I read that it was merely a photo op for the team. Really, Bicycling? This is what you have reduced yourself to? To make it worse, on the bottom of the page were tons of links that I have to assume were sponsored ads and not things actually reviewed and approved by the magazine. First was an article about how women over 35 are bound to gain fat around their waists more than any other group of people, and how most exercises (including cardio!) will only make it worse for these doomed old women. Next to that was an article of nothing more than provocative photographs of healthy and fit women advertised for no other reason than being "hot/beautiful/sexy." There is nothing the media won't stop at trying to exploit women for their physical features. Bicycling, I was just starting to respect you as a magazine that strove to serve cyclists. Now, your website takes me back to your image of instead serving "men who like to bike." Do you see the difference there? But I digress.
Back to the subject at hand, I am excited to ride in the Chilly Hilly! I'm excited to be a part of the 25% gender bracket and pull through those climbs and brave the temperatures. Maybe I'll be sexy while I'm doing, maybe I won't. I'll leave that up for the media to squabble over.
Riding bikes in the rain like everyone should
Cascade Bicycle Club Made a riding in the rain specific playlist for all us crazy cyclists. Check it out!
Ride the Rain Challenge update
For the month of November, I am participating in the Ride the Rain Challenge. Historically, most rain falls in November in Seattle, and Seattle is known worldwide as a rainy city (even though you see far higher precipitation levels in cities in Florida and others, but I digress). It only makes sense that Cascade Bicycle Club sponsor a bike commute challenge during this rainy season. It does seem the average participant in this smaller challenge is more hardcore than the nationally celebrated May Bike Month. Bike month focuses on attracting new cyclists. While the Ride the Rain Challenge wants that, too, I am guessing most of these participants are seasoned riders. Still, by comparison, I am a super-commuter. I don’t feel like I am a “hardcore” cyclist, which makes me feel even more proud of my stats thus far.
Flying Wheels Summer Century 2015
Flying Wheels 2015- that first hill
photo credit: http://www.woodinvillebicycle.com/pictures/
Saturday, May 30th began at 6AM with a begrudging half-asleep body suddenly transforming to the wide-awake excited body, the body that only wakes up when about to embark on a new and adventurous challenge.
Bryant picked me up right on time and off to Marymoor Park we fled. Disaster loomed when Bryant realized he didn't have his helmet, and already being at the start and the time being 7:30AM, there weren't many options to procure one. Luckily, Jessi, another in our group had a spare. I grabbed a packet of Wilcox organic hard-boiled eggs before peddling off at about 7:50AM.
Just ten miles into the Flying Wheels Summer Century, a long and steep hill out of nowhere kicked my butt. My heart surged and pounded out of my chest too early, and by mile eleven, even though these clear skies and mild temperatures beckoned a beautiful day, I felt like I had already ridden 80 or more miles. My limp little legs struggles to keep up. My new mantra propelled me forward: "tiny circles, tiny circles". By mile 40, I was certain I had been pedaling for at least 10 hours and we had already ridden over 100 miles. Well, I knew better, but my body was trying to tell me otherwise.
I filled up with too many snacks at Camp Korey, a rest stop hosted by Boy Scouts (it was actually boy scout moms, as I overheard one tired mom proclaim that her son was the only actual scout who showed up for the event). Hills seemed to crop up everywhere, and my little spindle legs didn't much try to get up them any faster than they wanted to. There was a nice long flat stretch where I was able to find a nice zen among the pedaling. We pedaled through tree filled forestland, thriving farmland and smooth, blessed smooth country roads.
It wasn't until after mile 60 that I started feeling good. I finished the ride at about 3:50 with about 6 and a half hours of ride time feeling far better than I did at mile 11. Overall, the ride felt more hilly than I expected, and certainly more hilly than the less-than-4000 feet elevation change. However, the pristine scenery, great roads, and challenging course make this a ride I look forward to finishing again and again in years ahead.
Flying Wheels
Flying Wheels Summer Century
My first century of the year will be the Alaska Airlines Flying Wheels Summer Century | Cascade Bicycle Club. I'll be riding with a social team this year, which should make the miles fly by. The idea is if I can kill this ride, I'll be in good shape to prep for Cycle Oregon at the end of the summer. More about this ride coming soon!