Thursday, August 09, 2007

Exactly Two Weeks Since My Last Ride!

Yes, it's been two weeks since my last bike ride. To the day! Finally, this morning I got to ride my bike again, Yippee! Initially I was going to do my regular route. The one straight out my door down into Orting to South Prairie into Buckley and back to Bonney Lake which is between 30-40 miles depending on different loops and streets I take. But I felt adventuresome this morning so I winged it and let my bike take me where it may.

I began my ride following my regular route. Which is straight out my door to Alan York Park to Locust and then across 410 to Sky Island and down the hill. But instead of going left at the "Y" which would take me to Valley Ave (Hwy 162) and into Orting I went right and pedaled towards Sumner. I passed Riverside Park continued on and found myself riding by the Texaco station (which has great soft serve ice cream by the way) and Corliss' on the right. At the traffic light I turned left and continued riding until I reached Valley Ave. in Sumner. I turned right onto Valley and cycled by Fred Meyers and Sumner HS. At the end of Valley I turned right onto East Valley Hwy and then turned left at the next traffic light which took me into the Sumner Industrial Park. I meandered through the Industrial Park and came out in Auburn and saw Pacific City Park on my right. I knew I was close to the Boeing Plant in Auburn and sure enough came to the light where I turned right. At the next light I turned right again and was on A St/East Valley. When I reached Auburn White River HS I turned left and started the long climb up Lakeland Hills Way East. I wish I would have looked at my odometer because I would like to know how long that dang climb was! But I made it without stopping. I continued through Lakeland Hills until I came to the traffic light that intersects Lake Tapps Parkway. Craving a mocha and water I stopped at the Lakeland Starbucks for refreshments, rest, and a potty break! After my rest and a lovely chat with a very nice older gentlemen and his beautiful dog, which he said was a Shiloh Shepard, I started off again knowing I only had about 6 or 7 miles left until I was home. I turned left onto West Tapps Dr. E. and as I bicycled past Crestwood School I noticed that the road was very bumpy. The chip seal was terrible. Next time, I thought to myself, I will go to the next light and turn onto South Tapps Dr. East instead. I did not get my 30 miles in like I had planned. I only got 26.67 miles BUT that climb up Lakeland Hills Way East more than made up for the missed miles! In fact I really enjoyed today's ride. I plan on riding it again next week.

Tomorrow my daughter is off so she and I are going to drive to Enumclaw early in the morning and do a ride starting from the Enumclaw HS. So I will have two good rides in by tomorrow afternoon. Sunday Joe, Jackie, and I are going to drive to Tenino and ride in the TRYBR. I hope the weather will be nice. The countryside there is beautiful!

Hey NO headache after today's ride. I took advice from a friend and ate protein plus I drank a ton of water. I feel pretty darn good right now. Too bad I have to go and do laundry now.

8 comments:

wibnrml said...

Sue:
Nice job making it up Lakeland. Yes that’s one heck of a hill. I’ll make it a point to check the actual length of the hill on my way home tonight. If you rode all the way up on Lakeland Hills Way. I’m impressed. I have to zig zag up the side streets to make it.
Did you ride up the right side of the road all the way up?
That long right hand bend at the bottom third of the hill makes me nervous, because when I go home in the afternoon, the rush to get home drivers are out in force, and they tend to creep over the fog line as they go around the bend. I usually go up the hill on the left side opposing the traffic, until I turn on to the first street, which is 47th ST. And then a right on Mill Pond Dr. and back to Lakeland Hills Way. Hopefully I’ll eventually get back into reasonable shape that I too can make it up Lakeland Way non stop.
Good to hear about the lack of headache. We circlers have to remember. Food is fuel. And an empty tank means the engine doesn’t run right.
Now. If only if I could get some more horsepower.....

Pedal On!
Gary

Sue said...

Gary,

Yes, I rode on the right side of Lakeland Hills Way all the way to the traffic light where Top Foods and Starbucks are located. Rush hour would be a bad time to ascend that hill but at 11:00 AM yesterday it wasn't bad at all.

Today the inside of my left knee was bothering me on my ride this afternoon with my daughter. It never hurt before so I'm puzzled? I started wearing my orthotics in my biking shoes. I never did before. Maybe this caused my foot position to change? I will move my left cleat forward a bit and see if that will make it better. Always something isn't it?

My daughter was really having a hard time. We only did 20 miles. She said her legs felt like lead. She hasn't been riding like me. Between the three of us cyclist in this family (Joe, Jackie, and me . . . son does not cycle he runs) I am the only one who has been doing some riding this summer. Joe zilch because of over time and Jackie because of her summer job. And I'm not in too great a shape either because my riding has been intermittent.

Oh that would be great if you could let me know the distance of Lakeland Hills Way.

So you going riding today after work or more gardening?

Pedal On!

Sue

Sue said...

Forgot to mention this . . . that third ring on my bike sure helped on the climb!

:D

wibnrml said...

(8/13)
Sue:

I’ve got your numbers.
Starting from the stop light at East Valley.
.80 miles to the first stop sign. The hill becomes less steep at this point.
1.2 miles to the second stop sign, next to the clubhouse. It starts to flatten out at this point.
2.0 miles to the stop light at Lake Tapps Blvd – Top Foods.
And some days it just seems longer.

Where was your cleat located originally?
Per Bicycle magazine. If you are using stiff soled shoes. The cleat should be a little behind the ball of your foot. Not directly below it. This is because you are driving down to the bottom of your pedal stroke with your heel not with your toe pointed down.
Hence you use the stiff sole of your shoe to transmit your awesome power from the heel of the shoe to the spindle of the pedal.
You may also be putting to much emphasis of power at the top of your stroke where you use your knee more, than when you drive down with your heel using your hamstrings.
OR… You probably just overdid it for the first day riding after vacation.

I drove my truck today to Sunset Chev in Sumner for service. And then biked in to work from there. Will ride back in the afternoon to pick up the truck. So it will be a short ride today.
Saturday I rode around Rainier School out past Buckley. I had a very hard time NOT buying any homemade blackberry pie they were selling at the park in Buckley.
Geez. The sacrifices we have to make sometimes.

Hope you had fun on your ride in Tenino yesterday.
I look forward to reading about it on your next post.

Pedal On!
Gary

Sue said...

Gary,

Thanks for the information on the distance of Lakeland Hills. And on the cleat too. I think I may have over done it on that hill climb. It had been two weeks since my last ride plus a steep hill to boot! What was I thinking?

Today is beautiful. An afternoon ride is definitely on my agenda for things to do today. When I looked out my kitchen window this morning the overcast sky was a discouraging sight. But now the sun has appeared and the clouds have dissipated and my need to ride has returned! First a few errands and after a small lunch I think I will head out the door.

That's a good ride out to Rainier School in Buckley and back. That was Joe's and my "official after work ride" when he did not work over time and got home at a decent hour. Hopefully with his new job, starting August 30th, he will be back to regular hours and no more over time. That should mean a 4:30 home time I think. I'll have to check on that. If so, maybe we can meet at Alan York Park and ride together on nice fall days to Buckley and back? Also, if it works for you, let's meet this Saturday at Alan York say around 9:00 AM for a ride. We can do the Sky Island down into Orting and then to South Prairie, Buckley and back or something different if you prefer. I can't make Sunday. We are going to wash the house and then next weekend PAINT the house. Hmmmm this should be interesting. I've never painted a house before. Joe wants to do it himself and our son and I will help. Jackie said she will watch! LOL

So you biked into work today? You must work at the Auburn Boeing? Our good friends Jim and Kathy both work at the Auburn Boeing plant. Jim mountain bikes with us and sometimes road bikes too. He has been so busy lately though with his second "profession" as a photographer that we have not been on a ride with him since . . . hmmmm . . . I would have to say since May. Joe says as soon as the kids go back to college this fall, and the house is painted, and he starts his new job we will start biking a lot more again. I told him we better!

You turned down homemade blackberry pie?! Man what discipline you must possess! Jackie and I rode to Flaming Geyser last Friday. We started from the Auburn park and ride just off hwy 18. We saw a number of people along the side of the road picking blackberries. They are every where on that road. Ripe, juicy, and ready for the picking. So I guess it's official . . . "autumn" is just around the corner. Another tell tale sign, I received my "official welcome back to a new school year" letter from HR at Sumner School District. All staff have to report on Monday, August 27th to the Bonney Lake High School for the official opening day convocation which will be given by our new superintendent, Dr. Gil Mendoza replacing Dr. Donald Eismann. Eisman had been our superintendent for 30 years. Did you know that Eismann was a mountain biker and road cyclist? When asked what his retirement plans would be he said first he will be attending a bicycle mechanic school in Oregon and then do a lot of biking! I'm going to miss him!

Oh we did not do the TRYBR. Joe was not feeling well when he woke up yesterday. He had a throbbing sinus headache that he could not rid himself of all day long.

Oh well . . .

Pedal On!

Sue

wibnrml said...

Sue:
Yes Saturday at 9:00 would work for me. I hope I don’t slow you down to much. But will just see what happens.
Yes it sounds like fun joining you guys for a midweek ride. I need the diversion of riding with others. I start getting bored by the end of the week riding the same direction everyday..

Yes I turned down pie. But somehow the earth kept spinning.

I work at the Auburn Boeing plant, in the 17-10.2 building. I am in Tool Design, designing tools used to build the airplanes. Been doing that for 23 years now.
If you need to contact me for a afternoon ride or whatever. My e-mail is:
gary.w.mccune@boeing.com.

Well. Time for my lunch time walk.

Pedal On!
Gary

wibnrml said...

Sue:
I agree with your husband. You have no right to complain!
Summer and Holidays off including Grounds Hog Day.
Geez. Some people are just never happy.

Your friends the Grill’s work in the same building as I. I think I may know one of them, but it’s been a long time since I’ve been out to the shop floor. I work in the office area on the second floor.
Well the more people Saturday the better. We can then take the road by storm!

Pedal On!
Gary

Sue said...

Gary,

Great! Looking forward to our ride this Saturday. Don't worry you will not slow Joe or me down. It's more about having fun. Besides I think we all average the same average speed. 13, 14, and on a really good day (and when in shape) 15.

Joe can tell you what he does for Boeing. He has told me numerous times but I never seem to get it exactly right. He is currently working with the navy as an engineer in Renton.

And if you need to contact me my
school/work email address is:
susan_krezelak@sumner.wednet.edu
I go back real soon. I get off from work at 3:00 PM.

I am not ready to go back to work. Joe has no sympathy for me. He says, "If I had all summer off and holidays and spring break I would never complain."

Our friends who work at the Auburn Boeing plant are Jim and Kathy Grill. They live near "Bonney Lake" about a mile from us. Maybe Jim would like to join us on Saturday if he is free. He may have a wedding or another photo appointment scheduled.

Enjoy your walk and lunch. I am going to get dressed and get my bike and go for a ride. The day is just too nice not to be outside.

Pedal On!

Sue

Note this post was originally posted on Thursday, August 9th at 11:56 AM but I had to edit it and when I did it moved out of sequence. It should be above the previous post.