Great Weekend . . . Beautiful Weather!

Joe and I arrived in Leavenworth on Friday, April 25th. We met up with our friends Jim and Kathy and their little pup Bandit. The weather was absolutely beautiful! After unpacking the truck the four of us, errr make that the five us left our condo and walked into town. We browsed the shops and then stopped in at the Munchen Haus for lunch. After lunch we walked around a bit more before walking back to the condo. Around 5 o'clock we went to dinner at King Ludwigs and then walked to the Ale Fest at the Leavenworth Festhalle. Joe and Jim sampled many beers. A featured singer, Vicki Martinez and her band, were playing at the Ale Fest on Friday night. They were great! Finally around 9 PM we left the hall and headed back to the condo. After all we had a big bike ride to do tomorrow and it had an early start!
I was up at 6 AM. Joe and Jim did not get up until 7 AM! Finally around 7:30 we left for the Ale Fest Bike Ride. We stopped and had breakfast at Kristalls first. We finally arrived at the start around 9 AM. Even with the sun shining against the bluest sky it was still a very chilly morning. There was also a lot of snow still on the ground but we were very excited about the ride, the sun, and scenery! We were ready to ride!
We did pass by some gorgeous scenery as you can see from some of the pictures that I took.
This is Joe and Jim chatting at our first rest stop. We were quite warm by mile 12.5 and we were all getting into the ride! The other bikers were feeling the same. I saw many happy faces and positive chit chat going on. Everyone I spoke with agreed it was a perfect day for a bike ride!

Here's a picture of Joe and me at the first rest stop. With snow and sunshine as our backdrop!

My Bike at the start of the ride leaning against . . . SNOW!
Our friend Jim all bundled up at the start of the ride with his bike.
A cyclist coming down the road walled in on both sides with SNOW! There was very little, almost zero traffic! The 75 mile course was cancelled because of snow. That left the 25 and 50 mile courses. Joe, Jim, and I did the 50 mile course. We had a great ride! The weekend couldn't have been more perfect! It was really hard leaving Leavenworth this afternoon to come back to the west side of the mountains. Don't you just love great weekends?! I sure do! I can't wait for the next great weekend!

Fun Weekend Coming Up!

I am so looking forward to this up coming weekend! Since January the weather,work, and the day to day routine has really gotten to me. And today at work, the day just dragged by! But finally the 2:20 dismissal bell rang and I almost cheered! My weekend had just begun with that dismissal bell. Joe and I each took a personal day. So tomorrow rather than going in to work we will be driving over to Leavenworth for the Leavenworth 2nd annual Ale Fest. They are also having an Ale Fest Bike Ride! Woo Hoo! We had initially signed up to ride the 75 mile course but received an email about a week ago from the ride director stating that the 75 mile course is cancelled because of SNOW! So we will be riding the 50 mile course. The temperature and weather for Leavenworth for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are AWESOME! I am on cloud nine at this moment. Work is over, the weather for our getaway will be beautiful and my day to day routine will be interrupted! AND I will be riding my bike! I will ride on Saturday in the Ale Fest Bike Ride but I am also going to ride tomorrow when we get into Leavenworth. Oh yea, I will first settle into our condo, maybe have lunch, unpack and then go for a ride! :-D We plan to leave EARLY for Leavenworth tomorrow morning. Probably around 9 AM. It's a 2 hour drive over so we should arrive at our condo between 11 and noon. So plenty of time and day left for a nice ride! :)

On my way home from work today I stopped at Papa Murphy's Pizza and picked up my favorite pizza, their chicken, bacon, artichoke, thin crusted pizza. I am also doing laundry and packing. I was initially on the desk top computer upstairs in our office but then I remembered that I wanted to watch Oprah today. Her guest is the family from the Learning Channel. The little people big world family, the Roloffs. So I grabbed my laptop, came downstairs, and here I sit. Watching Oprah, doing laundry, baking pizza, and typing an entry in my blog!

Well Joe should be pulling into the garage any minute now. The pizza smells wonderful and my washer just stopped. So I guess I better end this for today. Stay tuned for a report on my weekend getaway! With pictures I hope!

Cold Cold Spring!

I cannot believe the weather this spring here in the Pacific Northwest. Very unseasonably COLD! The last three days for example; that’s this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, April 18-20 we received rain, snow, hail, sleet, and high winds. The morning temperature all week long has been in the low 30s. Highs have been in the low 40s. Needless to say no biking was done by me all week. Last weekend I thought FINALLY spring had arrived. It was just a tease though by Mother Nature! Dang her anyway! Last Saturday it was in the mid 70s. It was sunny with very clear blue skies, warm, and just a gorgeous spring day. I actually wore shorts for my bike ride and no jacket! I was actually sweating on the ride too! Last Sunday wasn’t as warm or as nice as Saturday but it was still a decent day. I rode in the 33rd annual Daffodil Classic. It was my last ride for the week because on Monday the arctic weather moved back in. The only exercise that I did get to do on Monday – Friday of last week was at the gym. I was hoping to give up going to the gym with the arrival of April but no, spring decided to take an extended vacation.

On the brighter side, the weather report tonight looks just a tiny bit promising. If I can get a ride in tomorrow afternoon after work GREAT! If not I will be at the gym once again doing my usual workout. Sigh . . . here’s to warmer weather SOON!!!!

And here is the weather report for the week of April 21-25, 2008 by two of our local TV stations:

First from KIRO 7 TV

And from King 5 TV

Also from King 5 TV plus 5 more days

It looks like the nicer weather will not arrive until the week of April 26th! I was hoping for nice weather for the weekend of the 25th, 26th, and 27th of April. Joe and I are going to Leavenworth for the Ale Fest and we also signed up to ride in the Ale Fest Bike Ride. Stay tuned for a report on that ride! They closed the 75 mile route due to SNOW! Yep, I got an email from the people putting on the ride and the 75 mile route is closed. Can you believe it?! So Joe and I will be riding the 50 mile course. I will make sure to pack our warmies!

Desperately seeking spring . . . Sue

Busy Weekend

This weekend Cascade Bicycle Club had their annual Bike Expo in Seattle. For the first time ever it was held in the Princess Cruise Lines Terminal 30 just south of Safeco Field. Joe and I went on Saturday. We had a great time browsing and looking at all the bikes, clubs, rides, gear, and accessories. We came home with a lot of fliers and brochures with great information on rides that we would love to participate in this spring, summer, and fall. I also found some bargains at the bike expo, two marked down women cycling jerseys, one of which was a Discovery Channel jersey. I always wanted one. The price yesterday at the bike expo was just too good to pass up so I scooped it up!

Today, Sunday, Joe and I had planned on riding one of our favorite routes near Black Diamond but Joe's back was bothering him. So instead of Joe and me riding our Black Diamond loop I went out alone and did one of my favorite summer time rides. I started straight from my house. I got 36.59 miles in and had a great ride. I'm glad I went. I really can't aford to miss a weekend ride. I have my big event this July and I really need to get out every weekend and increase my mileage. My weekend ride will be my long rides. My weekday rides will be my shorter rides.

Today was cloudy, with an occasional sun break but the temperature was mild. Almost 60 degrees! Perfect for riding. Tomorrow the rain is supposed to return. If so instead of an after work ride I may go to the gym and do some weights. I haven't been doing weights lately and I really need to keep up with this too.

Well that was my weekend. Oh yes one more thing, we turned our clocks ahead and I love the extra daylight at the end of the day but I am going to hate tomorrow morning when the alarm goes off for work!

Great Weekend! Two Rides!

Yesterday Joe and I went to Banner Forest and had an awesome time mountain biking. Today we enjoyed a wonderful road ride on some of the most beautiful back roads in the area. The sun was out and the temperature was in the upper 40s. The sun made it feel a lot warmer. What a weekend. Sad to see it end!

Monday Morning

I will be leaving in about 30 minutes for work. I had consider taking a sick day today when I was watching yesterday's weather report; which claimed it would be "clear and sunny" for Monday. I don't know what the weather man was on the other day but it's raining right now and instead of blue sunny skies I see gray gloomy wet clouds floating by. So one more cup of coffee and then I will be off to work . . . in my car! I guess it's the gym and spin class for me this afternoon instead of a nice after work spring bicycle ride.

Foggy Start to Sunday

It's 7:30 AM and it's foggy outside my kitchen window. But it's supposed to be nice later. The weather man promised sun breaks this afternoon. So I will wait and see if he called this one right.

It's now 10:05 PM. The weather man was right. The sun did come out and the day was a gorgeous one! But we did not ride. We both got caught up with other things. Oh well there will be more nice days as spring is only 3 weeks away. And in another week day light savings begins! It's so nice to see the days get longer again. Well with that said I think I will go and make a nice hot cup of tea and perhaps read a few chapters in my book before calling it a day.

Gorgeous Saturday!

Today the weather was beautiful. A true sign that spring is just around the corner. Joe and I left the house at 10:00 AM for a bike ride. The temperature at ten was 41 degrees fahrenheit. The first 5 minutes of our ride I must admit we were cold but the sun's rays and our pedaling soon warmed us up nicely. We rode one of our favorite routes on back roads with gorgeous views, little traffic, and perfect roads. I took along my camera and shot a few pictures. As the saying goes a picture is worth a thousand words so I will say no more and just let you see some of my pictures from today's ride.

So Far . . . A Great Weekend!

This has been a great weekend because the weather finally got nice! A tad bit chilly but beautiful otherwise. Yesterday Joe and I got a nice ride in and today we got another nice ride in. When we began our ride this morning the first 10 miles were the hardest. That was because the temperature at the start was only 38 degrees fahrenheit! My face was numb and cold! But around the tenth mile I finally began to feel warm and toasty. My working muscles were putting out some heat and the ride became enjoyable. We weren't the only bicyclist out either. We saw quite a few. All like us taking advantage of the sunshine and lack of rain and wind. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice too and then on Tuesday the rain returns. I'm off tomorrow for President's Day but Joe has to work. Too bad because I would like to get one more ride in this long weekend. Maybe I can still get a ride in tomorrow. I could ride the local trail. Better than nothing.

February Soggy and Wet

This has been one of the rainiest winters! If this keeps up I may be growing fins and gills!

Good Bye January!

This was definitely, no doubt in my mind, one of the longest most drawn out months I have ever lived through! I will be so happy to see the month of January finally end tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow is the last day of January, hooray! The weather this month has been the worst! Cold and snow and rain, BOTH snow and rain, hail, and high winds! Needless to say I did not get many opportunities to ride my road bike outdoors this month. I did get a few mountain bike rides in but only one road ride. The road ride was on a sunny but cold day. Joe, Jackie, and I rode on the Orting Trail. We did have a good time on this ride. It felt wonderful to be outside in the fresh but chilly air. I must admit the start was difficult at first because of the 39 degree temperature that afternoon but the brightly shining sun made it feel a lot warmer than it actually was!

Because of the cold weather this January I went to a lot of spin classes at my gym. Don’t get me wrong, the gym and spin classes are better than nothing. The gym and the spin classes will help keep me in shape until I can finally go outside and ride! But still there’s nothing like the feel of the wind and the sun on you. There’s nothing like riding on your real bike on a road outside! It definitely beats indoor spin classes any day in my book. Plus the views you see on a real ride! Beautiful trees, streams, pastures, and mountains that just lift your spirits. Yes, I would have to say that the real thing is definitely by and far the best!

I need to also get serious regarding my training. This July 31st I will be riding in the 2008 RAMROD (Ride Around Mount Rainier In One Day). That is just six months away! I will need to build up my mileage until I will be able to ride 154 miles in one day. Not only ride 154 miles in one day but ride it plus climb! Total elevation for the RAMROD is over 10,000 feet! This spring and summer I also want to participate in many organized rides. And I want to start running again. Not a lot of miles, no more than 3 miles minimum to 5 miles maximum. I hope to run at least 5 days a week. I feel that running will help build my stamina and increase my metabolism. I also believe that a little bit of running will benefit my cycling. It will “round out” my training.

So I say good bye to January. Good Bye to snow, cold temperatures, high winds, hail, and icy rain. I want to say hello and welcome to spring. Hello to sunshine, warmer temperatures, tulips, robins, dogwoods blooming, spring bicycle events, and the beginning of a new riding season! :)

Sunday Bike Ride

Today the sun came out! Yes, the sun! But even so the temperature was only in the upper 30s. Even though it was very very cold, that sun was just too inviting. Plus it has been such a long time since I was on my road bike. So Joe, Jackie, and I decided to go for a ride on the Orting Trail. We left the house at 1:30, late enough in the day to give the sun time to warm things up. We dressed warmly; you know layers, warm riding gloves, booties, all those good warm things! We started our ride a little before 2:00 PM. At the start we were naturally very cold but once our legs started pumping we warmed up nicely. The sun felt wonderful. The ride was perfect. We had a great ride on a beautiful but cold day! We did not regret our decision to ride. After our ride we stopped at Starbucks and treated ourselves to some warm drinks. They were delicious!

First Ride In a New Year!

When I looked out the window this morning, as I was enjoying my very first cup of coffee, I noticed that the sky was grey and overcast. And the trees were telling me it was very windy! Definitely not a day for a road ride but a good day for a mountain bike ride. And so Joe and I decided to go for a mountain bike ride at Lake Sawyer. We have not been riding a lot the past couple of months and it showed on our ride this afternoon. Our endurance and stamina were gone but we still had a good time. We hit some of our favorite trails riding slow and steady. We were enjoying the day, the ride, the trails, and each other. After the ride we looked at each other and asked why we had let our riding get away from us. We had no good answer. We promised to ride again next weekend. Either road or mountain as long as we get on our bike and out the door on a road or trail!

Here is a picture of me at the start of the "toy trail". So named because of all the toys, bike stuff, and other offerings placed on an old tree stump by mountain bikers as homeage to the trail gods! It's one of my favorite trails at Lake Sawyer.

Last Day of Three Day Weekend

Today is the last day of my three day weekend. Today is Veterans Day. Of the three days I rode on only one, Saturday. Saturday was beautiful. It was warm, sunny, and mild. I started my ride at 10:00 AM and finished by noon. It felt wonderful to get out in the sunshine and to feel the sun and wind in my face. It was more of a leisurely enjoy the day ride. It was the best day of my three day weekend. Today is the worst. I woke up at 4:30 AM to the sound of wind. HIGH wind! I thought my roof would come off. Following the wind came the rain. It is, to use a cliche, raining cats and dogs out there right now. Oh well it is winter here in the pacific northwest. To ride in the winter you have to be an opportunist. You have to grab those nice days and get out and ride. So here's to those "nice" winter days. And here's to spring, summer, and fall 2008!

Another Beautiful Day!

What more can a person ask for? Two beautiful weekend days! Yesterday a fun mountain bike ride and today a great road ride. Joe and I waited until the temperature got a little warmer. It was only 31 degrees F when we woke up at 8:00 AM. So we waited until the sun had a chance to do it's thing and it sure didn't let us down. Around 11 AM it was in the mid 50s. Perfect! We drove to our favorite starting spot for a nice 20 mile ride. I think I over dressed a bit because I was sweating 10 minutes into the ride.

The day was absolutely picture perfect. We rode through the back roads of Enumclaw's farm country. The trees were decked out in all their gorgeous fall foliage. Mount Rainier was out and white as a white snow cone. There was no traffic, no headwind, just a nice steady ride with beautiful scenery for a backdrop. I did not want it to end. How often (especially here in the pacific northwest in the fall/winter) do you get two back to back gorgeous days on a weekend?!

What a weekend!

Mountain Biking at Banner Today

Joe and I went for a mountain bike ride today. The weather was beautiful. It was 31 degrees at 8:00 AM but the sun was shining and the sky was a beautiful blue. Cyrstal clear! By 10:00 it was warm! So we loaded up our mountain bikes, stopped at Starbucks for a mocha and a piece of pumpkin loaf and then drove to Banner Forest in Port Orchard. We crossed the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and the view was awesome! We arrived at the trailhead and off we went. The trails were sweet! The ride super fantastic! After three hours we returned to the truck for the trip home. We stopped for a late lunch in Puyallup. We also stopped at Blockbuster Video and picked up three movies for tonight. We got a cowboy pizza at Pappa John's Pizza. Now it's time for a little relaxation. What a day!

If the weather tomorrow will be as nice as it was today, then Joe and I are going out for an afternoon road ride. I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed for a repeat day like today!

Weekend Recap

Saturday no biking was done. We had a ferocious windstorm on Thursday and one of our trees was taken out by it. So on Saturday Joe and I cut it up, placed it onto the pickup and took it to the waste and recycle drop off. We also did some shopping and went out for lunch at Famous Dave's. It was a strange day. But today, Sunday, more than made up for yesterday. Joe and I went mountain biking and had a BLAST! We rode for three hours at Sawyer and hit all of our favorite trails. There were a lot of vehicles parked at the trailhead but once we got on the trails we saw maybe 5 people all afternoon. It's amazing how big Sawyer is and how many trails are out there! It was FUN!!!!

Weekend of Mountain Biking

Weekend recap . . .
On Saturday, October 6th Joe and I helped our club with "Take a Kid Mountain Biking". We had 30 kids sign up. We divided the kids into small groups according to ride ability and assigned adults to each group. We had fun! Both the kids and the adults! We had some gutsy kids too. We found a steep hill and the kids all went for it. We stayed at the hill well over half an hour. Going down and then climbing back up to only go down again. After the ride we went back to the staging area where we grilled up hamburgers and hot dogs. We had assorted chips and an ice chest full of sodas. After lunch we went and watched some awesome demonstrations of jumps and bike tricks by some pretty talented and well coordinated riders. No rain just lots of fun!

On Sunday Joe and I went out alone to ride. We had a blast at Lake Sawyer. The trails were great. The ride sweet. Didn't want to see it end. Again no rain!!!! Great weekend!

Mountain Bike Ride

This morning Joe and I left the house at 9:00 AM and drove to Black Diamond. We parked near the trailhead of Lake Sawyer and entered the woods for a 2 hour fun fest of mountain biking. The trails were great. No mud (yet) but not dusty either. The little rain we had this week just compacted the dirt and made the trails wonderful. We met perhaps 2 or 3 people while we were out there this morning. It was just a great ride. We returned to the truck tired and hungry but elated. It has been a long time since we rode our mountain bikes. August 18th I believe was the last time. It's a totally different ride experience than road riding. We packed up and headed for home. I'm glad we got out.

Weekend Ride

Here it is Tuesday already! I was so busy these past few days I never posted my Saturday ride. To be honest it wasn't that great of ride. Initially we (Joe, Jackie, and me) were going to ride the John Wayne Trail, a 40 mile ride. 20 miles out and 20 miles back but after thinking it over Joe knew he would not be able to do it. He realized that his massive overtime this summer, which left zero time for riding, has left him completely out of shape for anything longer than 15-20 miles. So we changed our plans I believe on Thursday and decided instead to ride our 25 mile Enumclaw loop.

Well Saturday arrived and Joe got the bikes ready. We started from the Enumclaw High School parking lot. It was overcast and grey but it at least did not rain. We had a headwind for most of the ride but Jackie and I felt great. After 13 miles Joe said he didn't think he could finish. So we turned around and by passed the rest of the ride. We returned to the high school with a total of 16 miles. Joe said his work is cut out for him. He is going to try and rebuild his bike endurance but we are going to have to start slow. So that was my big weekend ride.

On Sunday we went to the Puyallup Fair. We had a good time. We visited the exhibits and displays, saw the animals and ate elephant ears. We got rained on and rode the extreme scream machine. I bought my official fair "mug" which I have been collecting since we moved here in July 1997. So this year makes 11 official Puyallup Fair mugs that I own. Joe's going to have to build a case or cabinet for them one of these days! I'll just add it to his honey do list.

This Saturday we won't be able to ride because Joe, Jackie, and I are driving to Cheney to move Aaron back into his dorm. His last year! He will graduate June 2008! Only one more to go! Jackie graduates winter 2008/2009.

I guess Sunday will be ride day. Depending on the weather . . . either mountain biking or road cycling. Jackie is praying for nice weather because she only rides her road bike.

Well that was my exciting weekend. I am back at work and my days have been draining all my energy. I come home tired and ready to vegetate in front of the boob tube. Hopefully I will adjust and my energy will return.

The weather doesn't help. It looks just the way I feel. Grey, dreary, and chilled. I don't even want to go to the gym. Sigh . . . I hope it gets nice again.

Finally finished my slideshow with pictures of the MS 150 ride from the weekend of September 8th and 9th.

Check it out here:

Slideshow of 2007 MS 150