Cycle the wave September 20

[Biciclista]

I'm in! I'm doing the middle sister. Anyone else going to ride this all women's ride?

[salsabike]

Yup. Think Teigyr and Jocelyn and I are all signed up for Middle Sister.

[Jow28]

What is the website URL of the ride?

[salsabike]

cyclethewave.com

[teigyr]

Yup and I actually rode 11 miles today! I don't think I've been on my bike since maybe last fall. The running translates ok to riding but I think I've got to get out on the bike more.

[Biciclista]

awesomE!!!

[LilBolt]

Wouldn't miss it.

[teigyr]

oh this will be fun!!!

[salsabike]

Think I will wear Mimi's jersey on this ride.

[Biciclista]

Why, Deena, how is that possible. I will be wearing my jersey. :cool::D:p;)

[salsabike]

You have become larger than yourself, with your art, my dear.

[Jow28]

I would have loved to do this as I'm a victim of Domestic Violence. (No longer with the jerk)! Maybe next year! I've signed up for A Peach of a Century in Salem the next week. Two big rides back to back might do me in! :-)

[ZooZoo]

I'm thinking very seriously about doing this. It would be the middle sister. I'm still pretty slow, but by then I hope I'll be a lot better at hills.

[jesvetmed]

DARN IT! I was thinking about this, but a long planned girl's weekend to Banff that was already planned is this same weekend. We won't be back till two days later.

There needs to be more weekends in the summer!
Hope you all have a really great ride --- I'll think of you!
Jes

[Susan126]

I'm signed up! I did the Burly Girl last year so I just had to sign up for the Burly Girl again this year! :D I can't wait! I'm doing it with my friend from work, Jennifer!

[Biciclista]

so all you middle sisters, can you check in now?
:)

[salsabike]

so all you middle sisters, can you check in now?
:)

I'm one.

[NbyNW]

Me too. But I've only been able to do a few rides to prepare for this. Hope I'm not taking on too much!

[Susan126]

I will miss you guys (Middle Sisters and Girly Girls)! I'm doing the Burly Girl ride and my check in is 6:30. I'll be riding by 7:00! Darn! Maybe I'll see some of you when I finish; if you're still hanging around!

Any Burly Girl riders out there?

[lauraelmore1033]

I might regret it, but I've signed up to do Burly Girl. Just now, noticing that everybody's doing middle sister, I'm starting to wonder if I'm being a bit too ambitious. Dh assures me I'll be fine-- and he's not one for giving empty praise or encouragement. Ah well, I have a cassette the size of a serving platter, so I can grind away forever if I have to...

I'll be the token fat lady. You can't miss me.

[LilBolt]

Burly Girl here. Anyone know how many registered this year? I hope it is a good turnout.

[Jen72]

I've never done a group ride and I've never even ridden with someone else. I don't know any other cyclists. Would it be advisable for me to try the girly girl?

[Biciclista]

you can start on the middle sister and then head back like a girly girl if it seems like too much for you!
Welcome, Jen72! It will be fun.

I've never done an all women ride before. Firsts for everyone. A young woman who plans to ride with me is thinking she'll try out clipless pedals on this ride and i keep telling her it's an awful idea. I think what YOU want to do is a fine idea!

[salsabike]

Jen, come with us if you like! I will be wearing the water color jersey that Biciclista designed.

This is a little different than your basic group ride. No expected speeds, no pressure---you just go as you like till you're done. No pressure on this ride. It's just fun.

[NbyNW]

Jen72 -- yes, join the ride! There's tons of support to make sure no one gets lost and to make sure everyone is okay all the way through the ride. Good snacks at the break, too!

I may dial back and do the girly girl route, too. I'm gonna have to play it by ear and see how my body feels.

[Susan126]

Those of us who bought one of Biciclista's water color jerseys, are we all going to wear them tomorrow?

[Biciclista]

I'm wearing mine :D - might be under a raincoat though!

[salsabike]

My favorite forecaster says dry on Sunday under partly sunny skies, high of 69.

[Biciclista]

what a great ride!
great weather!
wonderful country side.
Lots of happy women on bikes.
Lots of cute guy cheerleaders (In particular the firemen, they were HOT! - they gave out redhots too!!)
I did the 40+ miles with a younger friend of the family, it was the longest ride she'd ever been on. She also was using SPD clipless pedals for the first time.
She had a blast too!

Gee, thanks to whomever suggested we do this ride!

[NbyNW]

Couldn't have asked for better weather!

Salsabike and I have found that we ride at about the same pace, so we basically stuck together and took turns leading. The route was fantastic and I can't get over how well organized it all was.

We saw Biciclista, MM_QFC, and LilBolt at the finish.

Susan, sorry we missed you -- MM_QFC said she saw you, though!

[Biciclista]

I saw Susan too. Hey, you used to be ***** NOW I get it. duh. sorry.
Love your new bike!

[salsabike]

I am kicking myself for not getting a picture of those firefighters! Gotta love a ride when you come around a bend to find a bunch of firemen whooping and cheering and handing out little boxes of Hot Tamales. These people are FUNNY.

I WILL post some portapotty pictures later on, though. Those were a hoot, too. What a great ride this is!

[LilBolt]

The firefighters were definitely a highlight! And it seemed like the ratio of riders to volunteers was 2:1.

Nice to finally put some faces with the Nicknames/Avatars. :D I waited for some friends who did their very first organized ride...they did great on the middle sister. I'm so proud of them! Lots of hugs.

[Biciclista]

sorry i missed you Lilbolt. :(

[lauraelmore1033]

I am a certified burly girl now. That was a great ride and I'm really happy I did it. I really loved all the wonderful little touches like flowers in the urinals and the funny pictures of stepford-husband types, fawning over our accomplishments. I have to admit, however, that having experienced domestic abuse (not saying where or when, just not right now), I found myself going into "poor me" mode as I passed all the signs stating statistics and facts about domestic abuse; where were these resources when I needed them, and so on and so on. I was feeling a little down on the menfolk by the time I passed the firemen, so my perception of the whistling and such were not as positive as everybody else's.

I didn't think Tiger Mountain was all that bad, and the descent was pretty darn fun. The last, never ending climb was fairly painful, but the view at the top was well worth it and the descent was smooth as silk. I was grinning like an idiot all the way down.

I did shake off the self pity and really began to appreciate what this organization was doing for society at large with this sort of outreach. Definitely a must for next year. And maybe a little extra donation.

[salsabike]

Lauraelmore, you did the Burly Girl! That's SO cool. Wish I'd figured out who you were. LilBolt, it was really nice to meet you.

[lauraelmore1033]

If you saw a woman with jazzy striped socks, that would have been me. Everybody commented on them.

[Susan126]

NbyNW yes I did see Mary and I also saw Biciclista. I finished the Burly Girl course got my goodie bag then went and found FOOD . . . delicious chicken burrito and was enjoying the last bites of my meal when Mary spotted me. We chatted for a bit and then she said Biciclista just crossed the finish line! So I went over and said hello!

It was a great ride. The Burly Girl course was awesome. The last leg of it, I would say the last 18 miles was climbing. STEEP climbing. We left Cedar River rest stop entered Renton then began the climbing by first going up Washington BLVD. Like Laurel said it was the never ending climb. There was a thrilling downhill about 4 miles away from the finish that was a blast.
Weather, food, course, cyclists, support people, firemen, cheerleaders, it was all great!

I took pictures of those posters on the sanicans and of the flowers in the urinal. I'll have to post later as I'm off to work in half an hour.

[salsabike]

Portapotty decor, on the inside of the door, gazing at you as you sit:

10086

Dahlias in the urinal:

10087

Food stop:

10088

[MM_QFC!]

Cool pics! Yes, it was great to see a few of you yesterday and it looked like a very well-organized ride. What a beautiful day you had too!
I've done a lot of those roads on the route via other events and training rides over the years and am glad that it looked and sounded like a great time was had by all...tailwinds!
Mary

[XMcShiftersonX]

This was my first organized bike ride and I really enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to doing more! I think it was a good ride to get started on.

-Jessica

[LilBolt]

sorry i missed you Lilbolt. :(

I was looking for you! Your jersey looked great out there. :-)

The She Loves Hills jersey was an appropriate choice by a couple of you (cute picture on the Wave's Facebook page). Due to the early morning chill, I wore my Cascade wool jersey. It was fun seeing so many people expressing their individuality out there.

Jessica...congrats on doing your first organized ride!