July 29 ride reports

[tulip]

I love when I get paid to ride my bike! I am a city planner, and we are working on a redevelopment project, and I had to ride my bike to and around the site, which is about 10 blocks by 10 blocks. It's about 10 miles from my house, so I know I got 20 miles coming and going, plus the very slow, stop-and-go tour of each street, stopping to look, think, make notes, and be creative!

[chickwhorips]

easy mtb ride to spin the legs after a hard run yesterday. felt good to get out and loosen the legs. a bit breezy 23 mph gusting to 32 mph went a total of 8.56 miles before calling it a day because the wind and new saddle got to me.

[mimitabby]

Next week we are doing Ride from Seattle to Vancouver (Canada) and Party, called RSVP, 183 miles in two days; so my request to my husband was to have an opportunity to go over one of the bigger nasty hills that we will encounter on this ride...
So we got up early and started driving to the Bellingham area.. The farther north we got, the greyer it looked, and just past Everett it started to rain a little... and then in earnest. we were not prepared for Rain, it was not even in the forecast.. so we drove a little further, getting cranky and cold just looking at it. So we turned around and went back towards Seattle.. where it was NOT raining.
We did the hills between Monroe and Brier and WOodinville, then we dropped down to the Burke Gillman, and then across the hills that parallel 520. We ate lunch at Marimoor park at the Veloddrome and watched some 1K time trials... then we went from Bellevue back to Logboom up Finn Hill.
We spent most of our time on hills, for 39 miles.. I guess we're as ready as we can be for the big ride next weekend.

[Bikingmomof3]

Another humid, bug filled evening ride. The pace was a lot slower since the twins wanted to ride along. Still it was enjoyable.

[Crankin]

Yesterday we did a beach cruise on the south shore (Cohasset and Situate) with our club. My friend was leading; since this was advertised as a leisurely ride, I was happy with the thought of a slow and fun day. I had been on this route once before, but it was cloudy and drizzling. This time, it was about 95 and sunny, not too humid. I can't find any seat bag that fits on my new bike, even with the modifications of the seatpost that the shop did, so I could try to use my detours bag. So, I had to wear my Camelbak, with the backpack. It was heavy, but I eventually I got used to it. However, the group very quickly split into 2; me, 3 others and my friend leading, and about 12 others who grouped up with the sweep. My friend was trying to stay at 12-13 mph, but it was hard, as the beginning of the ride is flat and downhill. I started getting annoyed and this bothered me. Even though it was hot and I had a fairly heavy backpack on, I still felt the need to go faster. This bothered me. I don't want to turn into this kind of person. Anyway, at the 20 mile mark we stopped at a beach, ate lunch and stayed for an hour and a half. Most of the people left before we did, so when we rode back to our cars (only 5 miles from the beach), we went for ice cream (my favorite, soft serve with chocolate dip). My husband and my friend's husband had left the ride and scouted out new routes and hooked back up with us. During this time they had an altercation with some idiot in a truck who told my husband that cyclists shouldn't be allowed on the road, along with some choice swear words! He called the police and reported the guy's license...this moron challenged my husband to a fight! Anyway, I have a sunburn on my back, even though I had #45 sunblock on. I think it's from when I was riding, not from when i had my bathing suit on, because it's in the shape of my cross strapped riding tank.
So, a fun and different ride for me. Today, I think I may end up being "a normal person," as we say, i.e., not riding.... (but I hit the 1500 mile mark on my computer, so only 1,000 to go).