Rides for the Last Day of 2007... Dec 31

[mimitabby]

I rode on the 31st as well. The day started rather ominously. At 755am we planned to ride our bikes the 10 blocks to the restaurant. But everything was white with frost. So we drove. The ride on the 30th, which I skipped, was absolutely miserable. the winds that i complained about on the 29th had increased and turned (so the promised tailwind became a terrifying crosswind) so people were REALLY reluctant this morning because all of them except for me had battled the elements the day before.
Everyone was in a bad mood, no one wanted to ride and slip and break a hip. So we waited and waited. We went back to the motel room, but at 10am the ride leader told us all was good, the roads had defrosted.
So we started. I was assured that it was no hillier than the saturday ride but in the first 10 minutes of the ride, my confidence was shaken with a 12% grade. Well, what's one 12% grade? We continued going up and down and up and down and Raleighdon grimly told me this was not the kind of ride he'd ever schedule for this time of year.
Right after this, we turned into a state park. It was kind of pretty. I heard someone say something about "when we get to the top" We rode our bikes up this well paved switchbacked grade up to a lookout.

It was incredibly beautiful up there.


the scenery everywhere was stunning

and then we went back down THAT hill. We continued, faced with more ups and downs.
After a long grueling hill, I really wanted to give up, this was mile 8. Behind me came two veteran riders, one said she couldn't do it, she didn't feel well, she was turning back and another, who had been grousing about hills also turned back. And I continued...
I started feeling like my bike was incredibly sluggish, i was down in a granny gear and i was still fighting the bike. I was also last and Raleighdon was worried about me. We rode on highway 20 which was filled with hostile auto traffic, and made it across deception pass bridge, a famous and scary high bridge. Sorry, no pictures. We planned on stopping at an art gallery where there was a coffee bar,
but it was closed. So we recrossed the construction areas and the highway with closed lanes and no shoulders and the Deception pass bridge again and a mile further, stopped at a restaurant. At this point I discovered my brake was rubbing again. raleighdon fixed it (again) and the rest of the ride my bike felt like it was as light as a feather!
We had a nice lunch and almost warmed up then continued on our way. We were promised that the hills were over (not counting the 9% grades we were now on) and slowly continued back to our hotel. Finally we were on the flats, but one of the really tough riders was having trouble. She couldn't keep up with me, really a bad sign.

Raleighdon went back to "pull her in" but they were getting nowhere fast and finally our ride leader told me to "stay here" and she and the tandem went back too. I stood there in the fading light until i heard far far in the distance, Raleighdon's whistle. at that point i rode back until i saw them all, gathered around, changing a flat tire. No wonder

she couldn't keep up, she'd been on a flat tire for MILES.

Once the tire was fixed (hey, i helped get it back onto her bike) we spun home the last few miles all on flats and trails, including the awesome footbridge that goes across the bay.
I was so cold, jumped into a wonderful hot bath and never wanted to get out. 36 miles, 2200 feet of climb