Sunday Ride

After yesterday's long hilly ride, today we did a leisurely twenty mile ride. We just wanted to stretch our legs and enjoy the beautiful day. Here are two pictures from today's ride that I took with my cell phone's camera. Not the best pictures but you can tell it was a sunny afternoon!

Hilly Saturday Afternoon Ride

Joe and I went on a very hilly bike ride today. The day was absolutely beautiful. Mid to upper seventies, sunny, and pleasant. We started in the town of Black Diamond then dropped down into the valley. We cycled through pastoral farmland, past raging rivers from the spring snow melt from Rainier, and other cyclists. At mile 11.57 we began the 9 mile climb out of the valley back up to Black Diamond. Continuing through Black Diamond we rode all over the Covington, Maple Valley, and Ravensdale area before returning back to Black Diamond. It was a glorious day and we had a great ride! We got a wonderful 63 miles on this beautiful spring day. Of the 63 mile ride Joe calculated that we were climbing for 45 of the 63 miles, over two thirds!

Sunny . . . 81 degrees!

After work I went and did a 15.03 mile ride. For some reason my legs were very tired. I initially was going to do 30 miles but with legs that felt like lead I stopped after 15. I did enjoy the sunshine and scenery though!

Memorial Day Family Ride

Short ride, 15.33 miles, with my family on the Orting Trail! A beautiful day! We had Route 66 pizza after we were finished. It was so gooooood!

Memorial Day Weekend . . . Day One, Fabulous!

The weather for this Memorial Day weekend is sunshine, sunshine, and sunshine! This is the first time since 1969 that all three days of Memorial Day will have sun! And I am not going to let it go to waste! This morning Joe, Jackie, and I went for a ride. Joe and Jackie rode with me for the first 30 miles then I continued on without them getting an additional 57.90 miles! It was wonderful! Sunshine, upper 60s lower 70s. I got some great climbing in and I fought a horrible headwind but I wasn't complaining! I was on cloud nine, my legs felt great, and my lungs strong! Tomorrow we are going to ride again. I can't wait!

Thursday Afternoon Ride

I got off work at 1:00 and went for a ride. The weather was beautiful. Only complaint - a very bad headwind. I got 30 miles in!

Repeat Weather . . . Beautiful!

Jackie and I did a 30 mile easy ride today. We just enjoyed the sunshine and warm weather. We stopped at a Starbucks for cookies around mile 8 (we needed some energy it seemed) then resumed our ride. At mile 24 we were so hungry that we stopped at a McDonalds and ordered cheeseburgers, fries, and a cold drink. We took our food outside and enjoyed our meal while sitting in the sunshine.

This weekend has been the best weekend in months. I'm happy that I got two great rides in with my daughter.

Long Hilly Ride

Finally our weather turned nice! This morning my daughter and I went on a long hilly ride. We got 72.17 miles in. The course we chose today was very hilly. What were we thinking? Besides the hills we had to deal with a strong headwind and the sun which meant it was quite warm. We had a very cold spring and our bodies really were not acclimated to warmer weather workouts. The last 10 miles almost killed us and I think I got a little dehydrated! But we persevered! Tomorrow we plan to ride again (another nice day) but it will be shorter. A recovery ride. We'll probably do a 30 miler.

Our bikes with drinks balanced on the saddles! We stopped at one of our

favorite espresso stands for a cool refreshing drink! They sure hit the spot!

The Best Mother's Day!

I had the most wonderfully perfect Mother's Day! Breakfast prepared by my husband and two kids followed by a perfect bike ride. I didn't want the day to end! The entire weekend was just so special. Family, weather, and two super bike rides! I'm so happy right now! I am truly blessed!

Today Joe and I went on a wonderful bike ride through Enumclaw, Black Diamond, and Ravensdale area. Here is Joe in his brand new Chevy Silverado just after he loaded our bikes onto the bike rack.
Here is Joe on the bridge that crosses the Green River. This bridge is in the Flaming Geyser Park.

Joe on his bike.

Me on my bike

Steep descent but a steeper climb awaited us!

Soon after our rest stop at Ravensdale we began to see a lot of cyclists go by in large groups. It appears there was a big race this afternoon. We stopped to watch a group go by and I took a few pictures.



Joe and I had a great time and an awesome ride this afternoon. The weather was just perfect! And my two wonderful kids treated Joe and me to dinner this evening. An early Mother's Day dinner. I couldn't have asked for a better day!

Great Day!

I thought my weekend was going to be horrible. Yesterday it was raining and the report for Sunday did not look promising. But when I woke up this morning the sun was shining and the sky was a brilliant blue! I couldn't believe it but I wasn't going to question this Godsend! Joe and I ate a hearty breakfast then went on one of the best bike rides ever. We mixed it up. We started slow to get our legs nice and warm. Then we hit our first steep hill at mile eight. The climb wasn't that bad. We easily made the 2 mile long hill in good time. At the top we sprinted for 7 miles. Then we slowed and spun, resting our legs. We reached the downhill and it was thrilling! With only 7 miles left to our ride we opened it up again and pushed ourselves until finally about half a mile from home we once again slowed to cool down our legs. What an awesome ride! I'm happy Sunday turned out to be such a nice day!