National Park
Ama Sol
Redwood National and State Parks

2022, Redwood National and State Parks, CA

National Park
Ama Sol
Yosemite National Park

2022, Yosemite National Park, CA

National Park
Ama Sol
Kings Canyon National Park

2022, Kings Canyon National Park, CA

National Park
Ama Sol
Joshua Tree National Park

2022, Joshua Tree National Park, CA

National Park
Ama Sol
Death Valley National Park

2021 Death Valley National Park, CA

Group Rides

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Chilly Hilly 2016 Photos

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Photo from: http://www.marathonfoto.com/

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/

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: 

  1. 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) 
  2. 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. 
  3. 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. 
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Getting ready for the Emerald City Bike Ride

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I have a feeling that there will be something magnificent about the inaugural Emerald City Bike Ride. Assuming I ever get there. At the moment, my bike is clean and shiny, but my brake cables aren't behaving. Hopefully I will get them in line before tomorrow morning!

I am surrounded by the Emerald City these days, between the anticipation for the Emerald City Bike Ride and going to the Emerald City Athletic Club. I wonder what  L. Frank Baum would think if he knew so many real cities would adopt the name of his bright, lustrous, and utterly artificial city in Oz. I wonder why any city would so ready adopt a name the is synonymous with smoke and mirrors? 

Well, wish me luck on these brakes, because I won't stop until I get to the Emerald City!

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Sunny Hilly (Chilly Hilly training ride)

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Today I joined the Wooleaters on the hilliest possible ride on the north end in preparation for the Chilly Hilly next weekend. I did not want to ride at all this morning. I nearly canceled, having worked late last night, not being in a good mood, being sick and tired of riding after so much commuting in the dark and rain, and having a stomach ache. All seemed like good reasons to bail, especially since it's been raining nothing but cats and dogs all week. But, I made it out. And the bike gods rewarded me and the crew with warm sunshine our whole ride. 

  • 30.4 miles

  • 2:37 ride time

  • 11.6 av mph

  • 33 mph max

  • 72 average cadence

  • 1992 feet climbed

  • 394 feet max altitude

  • 145 average pulse

  • 176 max pulse

 

 

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Registered for Bike MS Oregon

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I am registered for Bike MS in Oregon! This is the ride of the year. This is what it is all about. I’ll be riding with Team Slug Fish again this year. Since I finished at $1820 last year, my goal for 2016 is to raise over $2000. I am pretty sure I can do it! Especially with the help of people like you! I also hope to ride a full 150 miles, in honor of how a started the ride 15 years ago; riding the "MS 150". I haven't actually ridden the full 150 miles in the last few years. With your support to motivate me, I think I can do it.

I have a whole page devoted to my ride and fundraising here. Check it out! 

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Chilly Hilly

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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.

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Emerald City Bike Ride

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On April 3rd Cascade Bicycle Club is hosting the first-ever Emerald City Bike Ride. It boasts the first-ever ability for cyclists to cross the SR520 bridge and the I5 Express Lanes here in Seattle. Honestly, the ride sounds kind of terrible. The 20-mile urban bridge ride reminds me of the Portland Bridge Pedal. I rode the Bridge Pedal several times, with each year getting worse that the last. You simply can't fit 15,000 cyclists on Portland's streets. The last year I rode it I started later in the morning at peak ride time. I don't think both feet left the ground once. I had to keep stopping and balancing on my bike to avoid swerving kids and overly congested riders being pushed in my way. On top of that, I can't really support an event that closes down Seattle's major traffic ways. Sure, I love biking. The advertisements for this event say:

"Ever imagine biking through a car-free Seattle? You’ll have your chance in 2016! "

The problem is, Seattle isn't a car-free place. And Seattle seems more than willing to shut down major highways willy-nilly at the expense of it's thousands of commuters who depend on the roads to get around. Sure, the sports event closures only happen on Sundays, but there are still plenty of people who work on Sundays. A part of me feels like the city's eagerness to close down its roads is a form of wage discrimination. Closing roads discriminates those who can't afford to live close in. The farther you live away from downtown the lower the rent and the more people depend on roads to get to where they need to go. Also, people at lower incomes are more likely to work on weekends and less likely to have the option to telecommute. 

I just couldn't say no. This is the first time there is a ride like this in Seattle. I feel like its a part of history, and I am so excited to have the opportunity to be a part of it. I may never do a thing like this again. Also, I have never intentionally ridden across the 520 bridge. This toll bridge costs $4 to cross, and me being the cheapskate that I am would rather drive an extra hour than pay that amount. Sadly, I have found myself accidentally driving across the bridge those few times I got lost and disoriented downtown and next thing I know, there I am DRIVING ACROSS TOWN ON AN EXPENSIVE BRIDGE WITH NO WAY TO TURN BACK! So, I'm kind of excited to explore this area by bike. I imagine riding the express lanes on the freeway (which are shouldered on both sides by actual freeway) will be louder than all damnation, but it will be an epic experience I will remember and think about every time I go on the freeway afterward. 

I plan to mount the go pro on my bike or helmet to capture the experience on video. The views one gets on a bike are so incredibly different than in a car it's worth capturing. Check back in April for a full report!

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BikeMS 2015 Monmouth, Oregon

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Flying Wheels Summer Century 2015

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Flying Wheels 2015- that first hill

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

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Kubota Gardens

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kubota route

kubota route

Friday a group of riders from work got together and rode to the lovely Kubota Gardens, a free city garden in south Seattle. It was the first time I visited the area, and it was a fantastic trip. Everything you look at and take in is better when viewed from the vantage point of a bike.

We made a lovely loop that took us up some hills headed south from downtown, and also took us through Seward park on the way north. This route lends to great riding with is mostly smooth roads, accommodating vehicles, and views of Lake Washington in the sunshine. We captured amazing glances of Mt. Rainier while pedaling up and down the charming Chief Sealth Trail. I felt like I was riding the through Powerline Park in Beaverton, Oregon. Both parks boast a well maintained, multi-sue path down a long and narrow greenway that follows power lines. You could steal amazing views from either park if it weren't for the obtrusive powerless in the way. Just check out the photos I linked above- they could be the same park!

The group took some fun photos once in the Kubota gardens. Check them out!

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Seated for a proper classroom

Seated for a proper classroom

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Flying Wheels Summer Century

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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!

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Bike MS 2014 Mt. Vernon Washington

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Bike MS 2013 Monmouth Oregon

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Bike MS 2013 Cottonwood Arizona

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