Tulip Pedal April 14

[mimitabby]

Hi, I am registered for the Tulip Pedal on Saturday, April 14, a charity event ride in La Conner, Washington. Will any TE members be there? There is a 20 mile ride and a 40 mile ride through the blooming tulip fields. I plan on biking the 40-mile route.

http://www.skagitems.com/tpedal_main.htm

I will be driving up from Oregon the day before and staying at a hotel in La Conner. My husband is an invalid, so I need to bring him with me, and I will leave him in the hotel suite to watch television while I am on the ride.

I haven't experimented with it yet, but I hope to take the wheels off my bike and put the bike in the trunk of the sedan, rather than put the bike rack on the sedan and have the bike get stolen when I stop for a meal.

If anybody wants to ride with me or meet up with me or just say hello, I will be the lady on the pink Pilot with the pink and white helmet.

Darcy

Lock your bike to t he Rack Darcy, then they can't steal it.

[Susan126]

Hi Darcy,

You are going to LOVE this ride! Joe and I did it in 2004 . . . here are a few pictures from that ride:

2004 Tulip Pedal . . . Joe and me.

We may do it again this year. Our daughter wants to ride it. She has become quite the "addict" and loves road riding. She is looking through the 2007 Bike Tour Guide (which we picked up at this year's Bike Expo) and she is picking out rides she wants to do this year. And the Tulip Pedal is one of them. I told her we'll have to wait and see because her dad, my dh, is out of town the week before. But I think the chances of us doing it this year are pretty high. I will definitely look for a pink Pilot and a woman wearing a pink and white helmet if we do come up to ride in the Tulip Pedal!

Sue

[KnottedYet]

I really want to do this ride, but I'm not sure if I'll have that weekend free. If I do, I will definitely contact you! I'd probably do the 40 mile.

[Susan126]

I hope you will be able to make it too, knottedyet! And I hope dh gets back from his out of town trip early enough and rested so that we can ride it too. I'm keeping a positive outlook for this ride!

[East Hill]

Mr. East Hill and I will be in Yuba City, for the Ride Around the Buttes!

Got to visit his mum...figured the ride was a bonus .

East Hill

[Xrayted]

Oh, wow. That looks like a gorgeous ride. I would want to do the 40, I think. I will be living in the Portland area by then so I'm off to mapquest it to see how far it is from me...

[DarcyInOregon]

It will be great if there are TE people on the ride.

I like the event rides. The Tulip Pedal is how I ride, meaning I stop to look at the flowers and appreciate the beauty that surrounds me. I do it on my daily rides because I ride on the farm roads, and there is always something beautiful to see. When I stop, I use the time to drink and munch a few bites and move my rear off the seat. Then back on the seat I go and pedal off down the road.

Lock your bike to t he Rack Darcy, then they can't steal it.

Mimi, my TE friend Suzie got her bike stolen last year while it was locked to her vehicle rack. The thieves are brazen. I don't want to take a risk on getting my Pilot stolen. I love this bike too much, and it would be very expensive to replace.

Susan, I love those photos. I am bringing my compact camera, so I hope another cyclist will take a photo of me against the background of blooming tulips. You looked like you really had a wonderful day with lots of special memories.

Darcy

[mimitabby]

Duh, you're right Darcy, but you can get a pretty heavy lock to put on your car (that you would not want to carry on your bike)
Having said that, I wouldn't leave a nice bike unattended in a car rack either.

[lauraelmore1033]

Darcy, I would love to do this ride. I live about 25 miles away from tulip country, but I've never been during the blooming season because of traffic. This sounds like a fun way to get around that problem. I've already signed DH up for 2 other spring rides, so I'm sure he will think a third ride is pushing it, and I wouldn't want to do it alone. I would also be perfectly happy with a stop-and-smell-the-tulips pace with opportunities to snap photos

[KnottedYet]

I did not register in advance... so no T-shirt unlesss I wanna buy one. (that's ok, I don't wear t-shirts much)

I'm planning to show up on the day of the ride and register then. I have a friend who is planning to ride it with her kiddo. If they do go, I'll ride the 20 with them. If I go alone I'll probably ride the 40.

Keep your eyes open for a gold bike and a rider in screaming yellow.

[dex]

I think I'm going up for this, but probably only the 20 miles for me...unless my body happens to be feeling *really* good that day.

[DarcyInOregon]

Just so everyone is prepared, the weather forecast for the ride as of today is rain showers, with a high of 54 degrees and a low of 43 degrees.

If the forecast looks accurate on the morning of the ride, I will wear knickers under my winter tights and with rain pants as the top layer. On the top I will wear a thick long-sleeve jersey and the rain jacket. If the sky looks like it might rain, but maybe not for a few hours, I will have the rain pants rolled up into a tight wad and carry them in the back pocket of the rain jacket. I can always stop the bike, get off, and put on the rain pants if it starts to rain.

Darcy

[Susan126]

Susan, I love those photos. I am bringing my compact camera, so I hope another cyclist will take a photo of me against the background of blooming tulips. You looked like you really had a wonderful day with lots of special memories.

Darcy

I will definitely have a camera too! So if we go I will definitely keep my eyes peeled for your pink pilot and you and then we can get a picture together!

And like mimi said . . . Please keep your eyes on your beautiful bike! People can be so . . . grrrrrr you know what I mean!