February 25th Sunday rides

[mimitabby]

Today i didn't want to ride. Rain was forecast, and low 40's temp.
We went to breakfast with the club, and everyone groused and whined
and thrreatened "Well, i'm not riding very far today"
so we were off. Got on the burke gilman trail in spitting rain. The wind wasn't up, and so we warmed up nicely from our own work. It was exhilerating because I was staying right up there with everyone else (okay, i was bringing up the rear, but I could actually hear them talking. Then we went up the hill in Juanita and it started to rain. By the time we got to the top of the hill, it was REALLY raining, so the "fun" downhill was pretty wet and scary. I couldn't see well because of all the dirty water on my glasses, and I was afraid that cars couldnt see me either. But we did it.
THen we got back onto the trail and at about 34 miles I was getting tired. Stopped for a minute and ate a bar of something, and got back on the bike (now completely wet) and finished the ride.
When we had gotten back to Gasworks Park, it was raining pretty steady. I was no longer wearing the glasses, i couldn't see with the foggy dirty things. My DH wanted to go for sushi, so with an extraordinary act of courage and good will, i rode past all our friends who were putting their bikes into their cars and going home; and we rode another 1/2 mile in the rain to FReemont and ate at Blue C sushi. It was delicious and fast and in no time we finished the last 1/2 mile and racked up 41.3 miles for a cold rainy february day

[twin]

Today was in the 40's with sun and wind and I got in a 40ish mile ride. I made the mistake of choosing to ride back into the wind and it was hard with the wind blowing so much. Overall it was fun and a bit of a challange.

[Bad JuJu]

Had a lovely ride today! The sun was shining after a windy, rainy night and a foggy morning, and temps in the upper 60s (don't want to shout it out too loud, in sensitivity to those of you still dealing with 40s and lower.) I did a short, quick ride from home, 20 miles, crossing a bridge over Pensacola Bay to the south, then back. Not too much traffic, very comfy weather, and what was the coolest thing was that I actually had a tailwind coming back--on this route, the wind is usually in my face on the way home. Ah, it felt positively luxurious!

[salsabike]

Yet another 30 mile flat trail tandem ride, a few hours after Mimitabby and her group, I'm guessing. Showers eventually turned into rain, but the Sugoi Resistor booties and the water resistant tights (and the tandem captain's shadow) kept me pretty dry. Winds maybe 10-15, headwinds on the way out, tailwinds on the way back. Pretty fun, actually. Good cure for having slept last night from midnight to 2:30 am...and that was it!

[mimitabby]

Yeah, Salsa, at least you and me are going to sleep well tonight!

[salsabike]

Truthfully, I love riding in this weather--it's energizing to me. Mimi, how come you got so wet? What are you wearing on your feet? And congrats on doing Juanita Hill on your single!

[mimitabby]

Truthfully, I love riding in this weather--it's energizing to me. Mimi, how come you got so wet? What are you wearing on your feet? And congrats on doing Juanita Hill on your single!

Salsa, we caught some good rain!! (trust me, we just did) I have booties
and my good raincoat. My double layer on my legs got pretty wet, I guess.
I keep wanting to wear my rain pants, but I am afraid that i will just get too hot and sweaty. (can't win in the rain!)
It's the 4th time I've done this hill on a single, and this time went surprisingly well; but i still have a LONG ways to go.

[mimitabby]

two comments about the ride yesterday.
One; in Lake Forest Park, I got forced off my bike at an intersection by a lady with a dog.
(Lake Forest Park is a lovely little town that hates the bicyclists going through on their trails and streets)

I was in the curb cut and she stopped right in front of me and started screaming and cursing what about me, don't i count even though i'm not a biker?
she literally blocked my bike.. She had a dog on an 8 foot leash on this crowded multiple use trail. She could have used a part of the sidewalk without a curb cut. I was so flabbergasted that there was nothing i could say, but I did stop in time of course.

Later on down the trail were a pair of mallard ducks (I told you it was wet and rainy) the girl duck was in the center of the trail. Just as the guy in front of me approached her, barely missing her, she stuck her neck out in front of his bike tire. We didn't crash, but it was close. She did just fine, on the way
home, she was on the other side of the trail (apparently got tired of teasing bicyclists)

After my interaction with the lady, i feel kind of odd; what could i have done? If i'd had my wits about me i would have told her to wait her turn, to walk across the street with her dog on a tighter leash, to not expect to get the right of way in the curb cuts, and to say "I'm sorry, i should have been further to the right")