March cycling: In like the Lion of Flanders, out like...?

[marni]

and I'm sure that you thoroughly enjoyed Californias brief 10 day spring green period which can be so clearly seen in all of your beautiful photos. Amazing, a car free ride. If only.

[khg]

We had a lovely weekend up on Whidbey Island. It was a 27 mile ride from Seattle to the Mukilteo Ferry, and it was a better ride than I anticipated. The Interurban trail has been much improved since I last rode it, and even a lot of the suburban unfriendliness of Snohomish County has a bike lane or a reasonable shoulder. Then, after a short ferry ride, just 6 more miles or scenic island roads, and we were at vacation!

The best part was even though the bike ride wasn't too strenuous (we both took it easy, and had a huge tailwind), it was just enough to help work up a good appetite for the wonderful dinner we had reservations for.

Though I took no ride photos (the Mukilteo Speedway just isn't that scenic), here's my bike on the balcony of our room:



And a couple of the views we had:







Biking into a monster headwind today to get home seemed like an appropriate way to be welcomed back to real life... But headwind and all, it was really fun to get there under our own power. I foresee more trips like this in the future!

[VeganBikeChick]

Beautiful pics! And looks like you had gorgeous weather, too. I'm moving back to Seattle in a few weeks and your pics make me happy

[Jolt]

19 fairly hilly miles today, with quite a bit of wind at times. I've decided crosswinds are worse than headwinds...headwinds make me have to work harder, but crosswinds are just nerve-racking! At one point as I was going down a hill, I felt like I was about to get blown into the crapload of sand on the side of the road, which might well have resulted in a wipeout. Other than that, the ride felt pretty good for being about the third one of the season so far. Only averaged 12.5 mph though...I guess the headwind at the beginning and my slow climbing really brought down the average, because I felt like I was really cruising along nicely during the second half of the ride.

[khg]

19 fairly hilly miles today, with quite a bit of wind at times. I've decided crosswinds are worse than headwinds...headwinds make me have to work harder, but crosswinds are just nerve-racking! At one point as I was going down a hill, I felt like I was about to get blown into the crapload of sand on the side of the road, which might well have resulted in a wipeout. Other than that, the ride felt pretty good for being about the third one of the season so far. Only averaged 12.5 mph though...I guess the headwind at the beginning and my slow climbing really brought down the average, because I felt like I was really cruising along nicely during the second half of the ride.

I totally agree about crosswinds--they can be really scary! On one climb I did, the wind was strong and unpredictable/gusty, and before I knew it, I was riding perpendicular to the road in the downhill (opposite) lane. It was just luck that there were no cars or cyclists coming down at that moment. After a couple more moments like that, I decided that walking my bike up the rest of the way would be just fine. Better to swallow my pride and still be alive to tell about it.

Did you see any of the highlights from Gent Wevelgem? It was so bad that even the pros were getting blown off the road



Only 39 finished out of almost 200 starters...

[Crankin]

I did my first commute of the year today, a whole 10.4 miles RT. 36 degrees in the AM at 9, 46 on the way home at 6:20. Slow, but fun. Only one big pot hole from the storms had to be avoided on the way home, as the rest have been filled. Anything else was there last year! Been wearing my heated gloves, which work very well. We got them at half price, and that pretty much solves my cold weather riding problems. Any other gloves/mittens that kept me warm compromised my shifting and made my hands feel strangulated. I've had everything else dialed in for a couple of years.
Don't think I'll be commuting again this week, but I am going on a hard group ride tomorrow.