Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Lots of GOOD riding this summer!

I noticed that I have not submitted any new posts since June 4th! Well, there is a good reason for this and that is I have been doing a lot of mountain biking and road cycling! Hey isn't that what summers are all about?! I even did a 40+ road ride on one of our hottest days (a record breaker here in the pacific northwest). I started my ride at 9:00 AM when I really should have started riding at 7:00 AM on that hot day. I finished a little past noon with the thermometer reading 93 degrees! Yesterday I went out with a friend who is training for this year's RAW (Ride Around Washington). And today I had an awesome mountain bike ride at Banner Forest in Port Orchard with another friend. This Thursday and Friday my daughter and I plan to road ride. Thursday's ride will start at 1:00 PM when she gets home, we will do our favorite 20 mile route, an out and back. On Friday she is off so we plan on doing a 50 mile ride. Another favorite route. Also on Friday, Friday evening at 6:30 PM, I am meeting a few friends for a mountain bike ride! Friday will be a kick ass riding day! I can't wait!

8 comments:

wibnrml said...

Sue:
Whooee. Yes it was HOT!
I didn't ride that heat wave, because I have to ride up through Lakeland on my way home from the Great and Wonderful Boeing, And at this stage of my reconditioning it's would be more than I could bear. I lost out on a week of riding, due to mechanical breakdown on my bike. I was riding though Lakeland on the last Wednesday of June, And on the steepest part of the climb, I started to feel my left foot moving around like I was about to unclip from the pedal. So I did the foot twist and put my foot on the ground when I heard a 'clunk' sound from under my foot. I then looked down, and saw sticking out from under my foot was the pedal and crank arm! HOLY MOTHER OF FRUIT LOOPS! I said to myself. Thank goodness I was only going about 6 MPH due to the uphill. If I was going my usual 50 MPH down Lake Tapps Parkway when that happened. I've could of lost control and flipped over the railing for the bridge over the railroad and become a hood ornament for a BNSF train! WHOO WHOO!!!
So after getting the pedal/crank arm unclipped from my foot. (a entertaining dance that was!) I put everything back together and when I got home put the bike up on the repair stand and in checking everything out, found that I had some frayed shift cables.
So I took it in to the Sumner Bike Shop. and had them give the bike a tune up, ect. So. with all that and the weather. My ride schedule has been kind of hashed up lately. But I plan to ride in the Headwaters ride come September. So I need to get some real training miles soon.
Pedal On!
Gary

Sue said...

Gary,
YOU ride up that hill from East Valley up to Lakeland?!!!!! WOW! Out of curiosity what is the grade? It must be 20 or more percent! Oh my God wasn't it hot last week?! I think I almost killed myself last Wednesday on that really HOT day! I had a throbbing headache the rest of the day after the ride. I tried everything to get rid of it but nothing seemed to help. I drank a ton of liquids, took tylenol, then ibuprofin but nothing helped. I think I really dehydrated myself.

You were lucky that pedal/crank broke on the climb up instead of on the going down part! That is really scary! What kind of pedal/crank was it?

I love the Headwater Century. It's one of my favorite rides. I especially love the Flaming Geyser rest stop. But that climb out of Flaming Geyser up to Black Diamond! Painful! But easy for you I'm sure seeing as you climb up Lakeland! I will have to miss the ride this year. It's on the same weekend that of the MS 150 in LaConner. My daughter and I are signed up to ride it. We got talked into it by our spin instructor at Prime Fitness in Bonney Lake.

You should ride the TRYBR on August 12th. My friend, who is riding in this year's RAW, has done it and says it's a beautiful ride. You can read more about it here:
http://www.capitalbicycleclub.org/main/trybr.htm
I plan on doing it with my daughter and maybe my husband too. He has not been riding as much as me because of work (he works for Boeing too) and he may not want to ride.

Hey what happened to our nice summer weather? All this rain and cool temps is quite the contrast from last week's weather! But I guess the plants, trees, flowers, and gardens need it.

Hope your bike is all better now! I bet you're a great rider! Anyone who can climb up Lakeland Hill has to be an awesome rider!

Sue

wibnrml said...

Sue:
Let's be clear.
I go DOWN Lake Tapps Blvd. (12% grade).
I go UP Lakeland Dr. (8% grade). Starting near the High School and wind up the hill by using Mill Pond Dr, then back to Lakeland Dr, ending up at Top Foods.
No. I'm not that good a rider, yet.
I bought my bike a year ago March, and am still trying to lose more weight and get fit.
I used to run a lot before I injured my knee snow skiing, (32 min 10k), so I know how to pace myself going up hills. Yes the hill going out of Flaming Geyser is a killer. That was the one I used in training for the Chelan Ride.
The bike, a Specialized Roubaix, is fine now. It just needed the stock crank arm to be placed back on the shaft and retightened. No fault of the manufacture. That just reinforces the fact that one should check the tightness on all the screws and bolts on the bike each time you clean/repair it.
This afternoon I plan to ride though Bonney Lake, up past Snag Is. Turn right on to Lk Tapps/Buckley Rd. Right on Sumner/Buckley. Right on Connell Prairie. Then back through Bonney Lk to home on Lakeridge Dr. About 18mi. Will do 33 on Sat weather permitting, by riding down to the Foothills trail, then riding to Buckley, and then back home.
Yes, the weather has been goofy lately. But it’s the humidity that gets me. Even when it’s only 75 deg, but it’s 80-90% humidity – Oh Geez! Don’t forget to drink your sports drinks. You are getting hypoglycemic as well as dehydrated, and that’s what gave you your headache Bicycle Mag last month had a piece on drinking a liter BEFORE your ride. The body responds better over the long ride. Personally I can’t drink that much at once before a workout. But it does point out that you need to fill the tank before you get thirsty.
Well back to work.
Pedal On!
Gary

Sue said...

Gary,

Glad to hear that your bike is ok. I’ll have to remember to have Joe check all the bolts and screws on my bike and our daughter’s bike oh and on his bike too. :P

Ok so you go up Lakeland Drive. I got it now. But still, that’s quite the climb!

It sounds like you ride similar routes as me. Here are two that I ride straight from my front door:

I live on the south end of Lake Tapps just off Church Lake Road East. One of my rides is out my door then onto Church Lake Drive East which then turns into Church Lake Road. At the “T” I take a right onto old Vandermark Road then a right onto 214th Ave. East. I turn left onto Connells Prairie Road then a left onto Old Sumner Buckley Hwy East all the way into Buckley. I cross 410 in Buckley, where Walley’s Drive In is located and take the road that runs behind Buckley (where that school is?) Levesque Road which turns into Ryan and then back to Buckley. Stop at Walleys for a drink then home. 20 miles I believe. Another favorite is out my door, to Bonney Lake Blvd, left onto Locust, sometimes I go via Angeline Road and other times I go through Sky Island, then down into Orting, to South Prairie, to Buckley, onto Old Sumner Buckley Hwy, Buckley Tapps Hwy, 230th Ave. East, then onto 40th Street East, left onto 218th Ave East which becomes 214th Ave. E. back onto Vandermark Road and home. About 35 miles depending on which back roads I take.

Hey thanks for all the great information on hypoglycemia. I did a google search on hypoglycemia and did a little reading up on it. It can be bad for you. I’m the same way though. I cannot drink a lot of fluids prior to a ride. But it is important. I take two water bottles and try to plan my routes so that they run by rest stops, like parks with rest rooms and water, or towns with shops and/or restaurants i.e., Walleys, Starbucks, gas station etc.

I’m always happy to hear when people keep active after an injury. It’s sad when others just let themselves go. Joe also has a bad knee. He had three major knee surgeries when he was still in the military. Finally after the third one he was medically retired in 86. He went back to college finished his degree worked for one year for the USDA in White Fish, Montana for the Flat Head National Forest before going to work for Boeing in 91. He’s been with them ever since. We started biking in 1999 and we just love it! Our daughter started riding two years ago but our son shows no interest. He likes to run.

This Thursday I am a volunteer for RAMROD. I will be working one of the rest stations from 11 - 7 PM. It’s the one that is 18 miles up 410 from Enumclaw. I am thinking it’s the deli in Greenwater but I’m not sure. They are supposed to email me with more info this week. It should be fun. I hope the weather is nice for the ride.

Well time to do some laundry. I just love having my summers off. It’s going to be so hard going back to work once school starts again. I work for the Sumner School District at Lakeridge Middle School. I am never ready to go back!

Have fun on your ride this afternoon and be SAFE!

wibnrml said...

Sue:
I didn’t make it out of the drive yesterday. Got all suited up and ready to go, walked the bike out of the back door of the garage and… RAIN! GEZZ !
So I turned around, went back into the garage and jumped on my spinner and watched a DVD of riders going through the Valley of Fire in Nevada, and cranked up the CD player. A hour later, the sun was out and the ground was dry. And thanks to the humidity I was soaking wet with sweat.
Yup. I know about where you live. I ride right by your house on the way out to 214th and beyond. In fact, in the 80’s. I lived in a house at Church Lk Rd and 71st on the water, and then on Inlet Is. Before moving over to a series of houses near Bankers Is/Jenks Park.
Question. Is Victor Falls open for mountain biking any more? I used to go out there years ago, but got out of the sport due to excessive hours at Boeing. Thought I’ve heard that they closed it up.
I didn’t know that you could get through the Sky Island Rd area to go down the hill. I have to look into that. Thanks.
Yes. The hypoglycemic issue is something I know well. I suffered headaches for years, until I found out about controlling the type of carbs that one should take in. Even then. Since I just started cycling. I found out last summer that I needed to take in more carbs before, during and after my rides, or I will get headaches, or bonk as some people call it. It also helps me to take a supplement called Hawaiian Noni every morning. It helps with the body to regulate its release of glucose. But like you said previously. Once the ride is over, and you are suffering. There is not much you can do but take something and lay down and take a nap.
Well I hope the weather settles down soon. Because I want to get some miles in without having to ride the spinner. I’ll save that for winter.

Pedal On !
Gary McCune

Sue said...

Gary:

Isn’t this weather just the pits! Grrrrrr! You’re lucky to have a spinner in your garage and with a DVD player and a CD player, bonus! I have to drag myself to Prime Fitness if I want to spin. But that’s ok. You have to do with what you have. I would prefer, and I’m sure you would agree with me, riding outdoors on a beautiful summer day. I think our weather is supposed to get nice next week. That being the case, I will definitely be on my road bike Monday and Tuesday and on my mountain bike on Wednesday. Thursday I am working a rest stop for the RAMROD. It looks like they will have a nice day. Friday my daughter has off so we will do a ride together. Where has not yet been determined.

Hey I know where Jenks Park is, right off West Tapps Drive East. I used to drive by there all the time when I worked at Crestwood Elementary, before taking the Library Secretary job at Lakeridge! I believe the last time I went by Jenks Park I noticed all the new homes going in! Bankers Island and Jenks Park is a very nice area.

Oh yes there is a cut through via Sky Island to I believe Rhodes Lake Road. Then you take McClutchen Road East to 162 and straight into Orting. That is my weekday summer morning ride. I love it! I drop down into Orting where I pick up the Orting Trail for a bit. Then I get back onto the road in South Prairie. I usually stop at the little espresso stand at the end of the trail for a drink before climbing up into Buckley. It takes me about 2 ½ - 3 hours including my break at the espresso stand.

Joe and I used to mountain bike at Victor Falls all the time. It was so close and the trails were awesome! We started riding there in 1999 and then in 2005 everything was closed. No mountain biking, hiking, nothing of any sort allowed. It’s sad. Every where you go more and more trees and back country are disappearing to development. That’s why when we retire we will probably move back to Montana. My husband was born and raised in a little town there. His family still lives there. His mom still lives in Havre as does his sister and one brother. His other two brothers live in Missoula and Billings. It’s always nice going there for a visit. It feels like another world. I can see myself retired there.

Well I hope the weather settles down too. And like you, I want to get my miles in on my bicycle, not at the gym on a spinner. Yes, the gym and spinner is definitely for the winter!

Hey we will have to meet up for a ride some time. Maybe in August? We are leaving for vacation to Glacier National Park next weekend. We will be mountain biking, hiking, and white water rafting.

Here’s to clear blue skies, summer temperatures, smooth roads, and a nice tailwind!

Sue

wibnrml said...

Sue:
Yes we must get together for a ride sometime. Maybe show me how to ride though the Sky Island area. I really like riding on the highway into Orting. Makes me feel like I’m going faster than I really am. On that whole Foothills loop. It takes me about 3 hours as well. 14 mph average for the whole ride. My neighbor was my usual riding partner, but he’s has developed some ailments this year and hasn’t ridden at all. And I’m sure you know riding alone to much is not as fun.
I have a acquaintance by the name of Bruce that lives right near you. On the water, about 5 or so houses from Church Lake Park. Retired Dean of Green River CC. He and his wife bike/hike a lot. I’ll see if I could line you guys up for a get together or whatever.
Have a good time in Montana sheepherding and what else was it you were going to do…… ?

Pedal On !
Gary

Sue said...

Oh yea, sheep herding, cow tipping, and snipe hunting (with a stick and a bag!)

Pedal on!

Sue