Tuesday 7/15 rides

I rode to the car dealer :D

I resisted the urge to ask them to change my oil.

Actually it was in reverse. I had to drop the car off for some service that was going to take about 3-4 hours. So I threw the bike in the back - dropped the car off - rode home, chilled for a while, watched the end of yesterday's Tour stage, waited for them to call and let me know the car was ready, rode back by a different route.

The scariest part was my lane - see the thread about riding in gravel! I was freakin' terrified, and literally couldn't see I was bouncing so much on the descents. But I didn't fall over and I consider that an accomplishment. I didn't fall over climbing up the big hill on wet grass on the way home, either.

50 miles even. One mile of gravel, more than enough.

Another day (a beautiful one) goes by without a bike ride! Ugh! This deadline is almost here (and there's still work to do! 2 straight weeks with no days off, working til 10pm every night.

I have to go downtown tomorrow morning, and I'm going by bike.

ah, the joys of being a consultant...(but it's totally worth it).

21 miles, including one of the toughest climbs Madison County has to offer. Great ride - first one post-eye surgery. I have been off the bike for a while so this ride was extra-special. I rode with 4 wonderful cycling buddies - 2 who are new to the sport and are doing great.

85 degrees, sunny, calm. Beautiful.

Went on the Tuesday night ride with the LBS today, it was a beautiful evening for a ride! We did a nice 27 mile loop with lots and lots of rolling hills and one section that is affectionately referred to as "the rollercoaster" keeping a 16.6 mph average. Went to the bar near the shop afterwards with a fellow rider and rehydrated with a Sam Adams :D

I took in the club's 50 mile ride this morning. A very pretty route and the company was wonderful. I rode the first half with a guy who also participated in RaIN this past weekend. We swapped stories and talked about RaIN 2009. He is such a neat guy and so encouraging. I love to converse with him - he has great insight. The second half I rode solo which was also okay - spent the time reflecting on where I am in my healing process and my life in general - it was good! Legs felt okay - not as lively as they typically are on a Tuesday ride but hey they got me to the top of all the hills and kept the pedals going around and around. LIFE IS GOOD!

I went on a Tacoma Wheelmen ride today. We rode around Vashon Island getting a little over 40 miles in this afternoon. It seems that all the islands around Seattle are hilly and Vashon is no exception. If you want to ride hills just catch a ferry to Vashon (or Bainbridge). Both will give you great hill training for rides like RAMROD and Courage Classic. In fact two of today's riders are doing the RAMROD in two weeks.

There were six of us today. We met at the Point Defiance Ferry Dock and caught the 9:15 AM ferry to Vashon. As soon as you disembark from the ferry you have two big climbs waiting for you! You can turn left or right off the ferry. Take the right turn and you have a short steep climb and left is a longer less steep grade, but still a pretty good climb too. We opted left and off we went. If you want to warm up quickly just climb!

The day was beautiful. We had a great ride. Around noon we stopped in town for lunch. We decided to give this new Indian restaurant a try and we weren't disappointed. The food was delicious! After lunch we rode for another 1 1/2 hours before arriving back at the dock to catch the 3:10 ferry back to Point Defiance.

I only took a few pictures. Our group was really on the move!

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