This is a new women's ride to support the Eastside Domestic Violence Program.

Jocelyn and I rode the 25-mile Girly route. It was a fine workout. You can't ride in Issaquah, gateway to the Cascade foothills, without hills. So it was a mildly hilly route for that area, with nothing hideously difficult, but with plenty of work to do. I loved it.

The food stop was great--PBJs, cheese and tomato sandwiches, candy, and I'm not sure what else, since I'm not a big middle-of-ride eater. There were guy volunteers at strategic places along the route, pointing out key turns and checking bib numbers to make sure that everyone who went out came in eventually. A lot of people putting in a lot of time standing outside, just to help out a new ride.

I thought it was well marked--maybe a few more marks would have made it perfect, but they did a pretty good job, including marking hazards like uneven manhole covers. The ride organizers said they put the dan henrys on yesterday, in the pouring rain--each time, they had to flame-dry the pavement, spray the paint, and flame-dry the paint. Wow!

I still wasn't hungry at the end but they were well supplied with tacos, I believe, and also I took some bagels home from the Panera booth. And some luna bars from the Lunachix booth.

And that goody bag! Full of stuff. Pens, a nice little plastic bag of goo that could be used as either heat or cold pack, a little first aid kit, tootsie rolls, a truly excellent truffle, a little container of cool bronzy mineral powder, several perfume samples, a water bottle commemorating the first annual Cycle the Wave ride, a good T-shirt, a bunch of coupons (REI, Helly Hanson, Road ID). I'm sure I'm leaving out things on the list. They sort of outdid themselves on the goody bag, I would say.

NICE organizers and volunteers. I thought they did a wonderful job, and would like to both volunteer before next year's AND ride it, maybe the longer route next time.
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