Rain Rain Go AWAY!

[Susan126]

What a ride I had on yesterday's CATS ride! The rain coming down as I pulled out of my garage should have been a sign. But up north it was dry as a bone. Cloudy yes but dry. But the system was hitting the south sound and where did the ride route take us, you got it south. So instead of my Specialized carbon ruby bike (the one I've been riding on every single training ride. My high end bike) I decide to ride my new aluminum Cannondale (with the lower end components on it). Except for a few short rides on her this was the first long ride. What a difference between the two bikes. I normally ride at the head of the pack but yesterday I couldn't even hang on to the end of the pack. I was dropped. The ride leader was an awesome guy. He waited for me at all of the rest stops. Finally when we reached Ravensdale I told him and the other six riders to just go on without me. I knew the course and I didn't want to hold them up with the approaching rain. So after Ravensdale I was alone. I made it to the supermall and had only 18 miles left of the 73 when the downpour began. Riding my aluminum bike with cranks that felt stiff and wheel sets that hardly rolled and with the rain now coming down in sheets I had enough. PLUS a new saddle! I broke one of the golden rules regarding riding a long ride on a new saddle. My a$$ was raw and sore. I kept standing to releave it. After 55 miles the rain, my butt, and the bike . . . it just all got to me. So I called my husband and he came and picked me up at the supermall and drove me back to the Bellevue park and ride where my car was sitting. This ride was harder than last week's 100 mile course of the flying wheels. Lesson learned. Never ride a new bike in a training ride and now that I know it's capabilities and mine on it, if it is wet and I have to ride the aluminum bike I will move down to CTS and only ride CATS when I'm on my Ruby. I would love to upgrade all the components on my Cannondale (the wheel set, the cranks, the derailleurs, and the brakes) but I think that will have to wait until next year.

My last day of work is tomorrow, Monday, June 21st. I see there is a CTS pre-ride to check out the course for Saturday's ride and I think I will sign up and ride it (weather is supposed to be nice). 88 miles. They are stopping in Buckley for lunch! Should be fun.

[XMcShiftersonX]

Aww Susan! I'm sorry your ride was so crappy! I guess we all have a couple of those....

When is the CTS pre-ride? Do they have the same speed groups as the weekend rides? I might join in on that if I'm off.

That's cool that you're done with work for a little while. Maybe we can go on some rides together now. Because of my work schedule I end up mainly riding during the week. If we end up riding on Tuesday, do you want me to let you know? I'm not sure if we're going to ride on Monday or Tuesday.

[Susan126]

Yea it was pretty crappy but I learned a big lesson. Yes, I'm going to do the CTS pre-ride this Wednesday. It starts from Kent Park and Ride and it's 88 miles long. The course goes up to Enumclaw, into Buckley, through the back side of Bonney Lake, down into Sumner, pick up the Interurban Trail to finish. Lunch stop in Buckley. Rating is moderate which is 14-16 on the Cascade web site. It's a preview ride of the course for Saturday's CTS training ride. I've ridden with the ride leader before. He keeps a good pace and he's an excellent ride leader. Start is 8:30 AM. If the sun is out I will be there. Here's a link with more info on the ride:

Tuesday Ride Information

I'm celebrating today. My last day of work until fall. Kids are dismissed at 10:30 then staff will gather for our annual bbq and good bye presentations. And today is the official first day of summer!

Yes, we can ride together on the weekdays. Let me know the days you will be off Jessica! Will you be off the weekend we do the CATS 130 mile ride on Whidbey Island? It's on Saturday, July 3rd. That should be a good one!

[XMcShiftersonX]

Oh okay, I didn't know the ride was tomorrow! My husband and I were planning on doing a long ride tomorrow. We'd like to go on that one, but it's too early in the morning and someone has to take care of the dog!

I think we'll leave around 11am from our house, go down the Cedar River Trail, do Tiger Mountain, continue on a route that will lead us to the Black Diamond area, to the Interurban Trail, then back up probably to the Cedar River Trail again so we can go up the 140th St. hill, to our home. That will give us two really steep hills (8-12% grades), and probably about 70 miles total.

I'm looking forward to this weekend's CATS ride... 100 miles, but less than 2,000 feet of climbing! It should be pretty good after Flying Wheels. I won't be able to make it to the 130 mile ride though, I work that weekend

[Susan126]

The ride is Wednesday. I thought it was today too but my mistake. That's okay because today is my first full day off. Gee I love summer break! Anyway, I cleaned my entire house and went through my pantry and filled a large box with canned goods and food that I am going to donate to the food bank. I'm finishing my last load of laundry and then I'm going for a short ride in the sunshine. Tomorrow I will do the CTS pre-ride.

So did you and your husband ride today? Cedar River Trail, Tiger Mountain, Black Diamond, and returning on Interurban and back to Cedar River . . . now that's a good loop!

Yes the elevation for this week's CATS ride is disappointing but I'll make up for it on my weekday rides. I have a few routes I do with plenty of climbing and elevation. I hope the weather is nice for Saturday's ride. See you there Jessica!

[XMcShiftersonX]

I'm not at all disappointed that this weekend's ride has barely any climbing!! Finally, a long flat ride! My husband doesn't let me get away with that

Yes, we got a ride in, but we shortened it a lot. It was only about 40 miles with just over 2,000 feet of climbing. We left from our house, went down the Cedar River Trail, did Tiger Mountain, went down the street we came up, took lake Francis road to Petrovitsky and back home. I don't know what it is about this ride but it always kicks my butt. I've been doing it since January and it never gets easier. I think it's because there are a lot of steep climbs.

Anyways, I work on Wednesday, so I won't be there for that. But I'll see you Saturday!

[Susan126]

Jessica, you will be doing hills on this Saturday's CATS ride. They changed the route. It's now Tiger Mountain. Start is the same but they are not going to Flaming Geyser, instead they are doing a loop that is more hilly and that will include Tiger Mountain!

I did a 89.32 mile ride yesterday. It was posted at the bike club's web site. We broke up into three groups, fast, medium, and slow. I was in the medium group and our average after almost 90 miles (with quite a few STEEP hills) was 14.5. We stopped in Enumclaw for lunch around mile 48. On Friday I'm going to do a more easy fun ride, 35 miles from Kent Park and Ride to Sumner for lunch and then back. Then the CATS ride on Saturday.

Glad to see you and your husband got out on Tuesday for a ride. How long of a climb is Tiger Mountain. I've done it a few times but never can remember the total mileage. I just know it's long and steep!

Today I will be running around. I have to run up to the mall and buy some new bed sheets, a birthday gift for a good friend, and then later in the afternoon I'm going to help my daughter move some boxes and things into her new apartment. I'll treat her to lunch too.