Cycle the wave September 20

[salsabike]

My favorite forecaster says dry on Sunday under partly sunny skies, high of 69.

[Biciclista]

what a great ride!
great weather!
wonderful country side.
Lots of happy women on bikes.
Lots of cute guy cheerleaders (In particular the firemen, they were HOT! - they gave out redhots too!!)
I did the 40+ miles with a younger friend of the family, it was the longest ride she'd ever been on. She also was using SPD clipless pedals for the first time.
She had a blast too!

Gee, thanks to whomever suggested we do this ride!

[NbyNW]

Couldn't have asked for better weather!

Salsabike and I have found that we ride at about the same pace, so we basically stuck together and took turns leading. The route was fantastic and I can't get over how well organized it all was.

We saw Biciclista, MM_QFC, and LilBolt at the finish.

Susan, sorry we missed you -- MM_QFC said she saw you, though!

[Biciclista]

I saw Susan too. Hey, you used to be ***** NOW I get it. duh. sorry.
Love your new bike!

[salsabike]

I am kicking myself for not getting a picture of those firefighters! Gotta love a ride when you come around a bend to find a bunch of firemen whooping and cheering and handing out little boxes of Hot Tamales. These people are FUNNY.

I WILL post some portapotty pictures later on, though. Those were a hoot, too. What a great ride this is!

[LilBolt]

The firefighters were definitely a highlight! And it seemed like the ratio of riders to volunteers was 2:1.

Nice to finally put some faces with the Nicknames/Avatars. I waited for some friends who did their very first organized ride...they did great on the middle sister. I'm so proud of them! Lots of hugs.

[Biciclista]

sorry i missed you Lilbolt.

[lauraelmore1033]

I am a certified burly girl now. That was a great ride and I'm really happy I did it. I really loved all the wonderful little touches like flowers in the urinals and the funny pictures of stepford-husband types, fawning over our accomplishments. I have to admit, however, that having experienced domestic abuse (not saying where or when, just not right now), I found myself going into "poor me" mode as I passed all the signs stating statistics and facts about domestic abuse; where were these resources when I needed them, and so on and so on. I was feeling a little down on the menfolk by the time I passed the firemen, so my perception of the whistling and such were not as positive as everybody else's.

I didn't think Tiger Mountain was all that bad, and the descent was pretty darn fun. The last, never ending climb was fairly painful, but the view at the top was well worth it and the descent was smooth as silk. I was grinning like an idiot all the way down.

I did shake off the self pity and really began to appreciate what this organization was doing for society at large with this sort of outreach. Definitely a must for next year. And maybe a little extra donation.

[LilBolt]

sorry i missed you Lilbolt.

I was looking for you! Your jersey looked great out there. :-)

The She Loves Hills jersey was an appropriate choice by a couple of you (cute picture on the Wave's Facebook page). Due to the early morning chill, I wore my Cascade wool jersey. It was fun seeing so many people expressing their individuality out there.

Jessica...congrats on doing your first organized ride!