Cycle the wave September 20

[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.

[salsabike]

Lauraelmore, you did the Burly Girl! That's SO cool. Wish I'd figured out who you were. LilBolt, it was really nice to meet you.

[lauraelmore1033]

If you saw a woman with jazzy striped socks, that would have been me. Everybody commented on them.

[Susan126]

NbyNW yes I did see Mary and I also saw Biciclista. I finished the Burly Girl course got my goodie bag then went and found FOOD . . . delicious chicken burrito and was enjoying the last bites of my meal when Mary spotted me. We chatted for a bit and then she said Biciclista just crossed the finish line! So I went over and said hello!

It was a great ride. The Burly Girl course was awesome. The last leg of it, I would say the last 18 miles was climbing. STEEP climbing. We left Cedar River rest stop entered Renton then began the climbing by first going up Washington BLVD. Like Laurel said it was the never ending climb. There was a thrilling downhill about 4 miles away from the finish that was a blast.
Weather, food, course, cyclists, support people, firemen, cheerleaders, it was all great!

I took pictures of those posters on the sanicans and of the flowers in the urinal. I'll have to post later as I'm off to work in half an hour.

[salsabike]

Portapotty decor, on the inside of the door, gazing at you as you sit:



Dahlias in the urinal:



Food stop:

[MM_QFC!]

Cool pics! Yes, it was great to see a few of you yesterday and it looked like a very well-organized ride. What a beautiful day you had too!
I've done a lot of those roads on the route via other events and training rides over the years and am glad that it looked and sounded like a great time was had by all...tailwinds!
Mary

[XMcShiftersonX]

This was my first organized bike ride and I really enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to doing more! I think it was a good ride to get started on.

-Jessica

[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!