28th Annual Lewis County Historical Bike Ride

On Saturday I rode the 72 mile course in this year's annual Lewis County Historical Bike Ride. The start was in Chehalis at Stan Headwall Park. I left my house at 5:40 AM and drove the 70 miles so that I could start by 7:30 AM. It was a cold morning, with a temperature of 38 degrees. But the sky was a crystal clear blue and the sun was shining brightly. After 20 minutes of pedaling I began to warm up nicely. By the time I reached the first rest stop at mile 15 I was peeling off my arm and ear warmers. The ride was through some of the most beautiful and scenic lands in this state. I had great views of Mount Saint Helens, Mount Adams, and Mount Rainier. The entire ride was on quiet low traffic back roads of pastoral farmland. And as the name of the ride says our rest stops were at old historical sites. It was fun, scenic, and educational. The course was very hilly and my partner of late my friend Mister Headwind was with me the entire ride. I finished a little after 1:00 PM. On my way home I stopped at a local Arbys and devoured a medium roast beef sandwich with horsey sauce. It was delicious!

Some of the historical sites where our rest stops were and some of the other historical sites I pedaled by were:

Jackson Prairie Court House just beyond highway 12 which used to serve as the first district court north of the Columbia.

We passed by the Lewis and Clark State Park which opened in 1923. It has the largest stand of old growth trees in western Washington.

Our first rest stop was at the St. Francis Mission which was first occupied in 1838 and the site of the oldest Catholic Mission in the state.

Evaline School, my second food stop, is one of the few remaining two room schools in the state. First through sixth grades are still taught in this building. The bathrooms were unique! Swinging doors and steps that lead up to the toilet!

Claquato Church, third rest stop, built in 1859 is the oldest standing protestant church in Washington. It is still used for special occasions.

Evaline School.

Claquato Church.

May Day Metric 2010

I forgot to post my May Day Metric ride. On Sunday, May 2nd I woke up at 6:00 AM and the first thing I did was look out my bedroom window to check the weather condition. It wasn't pretty. Gray low hanging dark heavy clouds greeted me as I parted my curtains. I decided to check the weather on my local news station and they said the rain would hold off until late afternoon. Always the optimist I decided to go for it. I made a pot of coffee, made toast and eggs, dressed, loaded my bike into my car and off I went. I stopped at Starbucks on my drive to the start and arrived just after 7:00. I registered and was on my bike by 7:23. It was chilly but after a few miles I began to warm nicely. There was a headwind (of course) and the route was very hilly. The ride was an out and back. Start was in Federal Way at Phil's South Side Cyclery and the turn around stops were in Orting (turn around here for the 50), next stop was in Wilkerson (turn around here for 75), and the third rest stop was in Carbonado (turn around here for 105 miles). I decided to turn around in Wilkerson. Passing through Orting on my return I did get a little rain but the majority of the ride was dry. Dry and WINDY! How is it possible to have a headwind both going out and coming back amazes me. Just my luck I guess. I would rather climb hills then ride against a headwind. Finally, after 74.5 miles I reached the finish. Next door to Phil's, in Johnny's Bar and Grill, they were serving peach and apple pie to all finishers. I had a slice of apple and my goodness was it delicious. I was so hungry I also ordered a Swiss and onion burger with fries too. What a great (and hard) ride. I slept soundly on Sunday night!

Rest stop at Wilkerson.

My beautiful bike.

Pie at the finish! YUM!

35th Annual Daffodil Classic

Sunday, April 18th was the annual Daffodil Classic Bike Ride. And what a great ride it was this year! The weather, the people, the routes, the entire ride was just wonderful. I rode the metric (but I got a few extra miles in because I missed a turn and had to back track). So my total mileage was 65.41 miles. It was a pretty hard course. Very hilly, lots of chip sealed roads, and I had a crazy headwind most of the ride. I began riding at 8:30 AM; it was a foggy start but the sun quickly burned away the fog layer and left behind beautiful blue sky and sunshine. The support was great! I especially enjoyed the second rest stop in Eatonville. They served beans and rice to all the riders plus there was a ton of cookies, bagels, peanut butter, jelly, Philly cream cheese, and fruit! Yum! The entire course had great views of Mount Rainier! And at the finish there was the famous TWBC's strawberry shortcake served with congratulations and smiles!

Spring Ride

I had a personal day today and I picked a great day for it! Sunny, warm, and beautiful. I got a wonderful 40 mile bike ride in. Started straight from my home and did my Bonney Lake/Sumner/Orting/South Prairie/Buckley/Bonney Lake Loop!

I dropped down into Sumner from Bonney Lake on a 3 mile fast downhill WOW! I love coming down that hill. I hit 40 mph. In Sumner the daffodil fields were full of gorgeous beautiful daffodils. This weekend would have been a perfect one for the annual Daffodil Classic Bike Ride but it's not for another month. April 18th. By then all these daffodils will be gone. We have been getting unseasonable warm weather all winter long. No complaints from me! I took all of these photos with my cell phone camera. Not the best quality.



After enjoying the daffodils I continued on towards Orting. From Orting you have fantastic views of Mt. Rainier.

From Orting I head towards South Prairie. On the way I follow the Carbon River. I saw a lot of wild life today. Bald eagles over the river, mallards, and some domestic ones too. Horses, cows, sheep, and buffalo.
From South Prairie the climbing begins. Remember that hill I zoomed down at the start into the valley? Well now it was time to climb up out of the valley into Buckely. It was a long winding climb but it felt good. From Buckley I got onto Old Buckley highway which took me past farmland, fields and pastures, and some gorgeous homes.
40 miles later I was back home!

Tomorrow I begin my local bike club's training series. Tomorrow will be the first ride of the 16 week long series. 43 miles working up to our last ride on July 3rd of 168 miles with 9,000 feet of climbing. It's to get cyclist in my area ready for the big summer rides.

First Ride of 2010

I finally got my first ride in for this new year. A beautiful Sunday ride with the TWBC. We began in South Tacoma on Pacific Ave (hwy 7 just off SR 512). We had a foggy start but the sun finally came out as we crested the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. It was a great ride with beautiful scenery along the way. And a great lunch break in Gig Harbor.

Before we began our ride our ride leader Sue gives us instructions.
22 riders showed up today.

Tacoma Narrows Bridge this morning in the fog.

We broke through the fog just over the crest on the Narrows bridge.
This shot is looking back at the fog bank we just came through.

Tides Tavern and Restaurant in Gig Harber where we stopped for a lunch
break. I had the 2 piece halibut and fries. Delicious!

Shot from the Tacoma Narrows Bridge on our return to Tacoma.

Fog is gone! Great ride. 40 miles.

Happy New Year! 2010 Will Be a Great Year!

To repeat what I wrote at my web site . . .

I'm looking forward to this new year. I want to ride, I want to lose weight, I want to get back in shape, and I want to stay fit and healthy. A big order I know but I have a plan for achieving my goals.

First, I volunteered to lead rides for my bike club's "Series Training Rides". These will be weekend rides that the club will be offering this spring and summer to help cyclists prepare for major rides this year. The Ride Series begins in March and will continue every weekend through mid July. Now I won't have an excuse not to ride on the weekend because I will be leading the ride. I will also go to the gym after work on the weekdays with my daughter. And when the weather begins to get nicer and the days longer I will start to do my after work rides. Mix it up, a day at the gym to work on core and strength then a day of riding out doors to get a good cardio workout.

My list of rides that I plan to participate in (this list will probably grow). :)

• Daffodil Classic April 18, 2010
• Peninsula Metric June 6, 2010
• Seattle to Portland July 17, 2010
• RAMROD July 29, 2010 (by lottery . . . I may not get to ride this one)
  
• Crater Lake Century August 14, 2010

November First a Great Day for a Ride!

November started off sunny and warm. I went on a great bike ride today with the Cascade Bike Club. We started from Coulon Park in Renton rode past Seward Park and over the I-90 Bridge to Bellevue where we stopped at a Starbucks for refreshments before continuing over the Channel Bridge and returning to Coulon Park.

Rest stop at Seward Park

I-90 Floating Bridge

Starbucks break in Bellevue

Tolt McDonald Mountain Bike Ride

Joined Erik and 27 other mountain bikers for Erik's annual October Tolt McDonald ride. It was an awesome ride!

Regrouping at the top of the long steep climb.

On the trail!

Vashon Island to Alki Bakery Ride

Today I joined the Tacoma Wheelmen cyclists for a bike ride. We met at the Point Defiance ferry where we caught the 8:25 AM ferry to Vashon Island. Straight off the ferry we had to climb a 8-9% grade one mile hill. Then we cycled past some scenic sites of the sound and country side of Vashon before stopping in the quaint downtown section of the island for lattes, mochas, and baked goods at Cafe Luna's. After our wonderful break we continued on to the northern tip of Vashon where we caught the Fauntleroy ferry to west Seattle. The route after we disembarked from the Fauntleroy ferry was gorgeous views of the sound all the way to Alki Beach where we stopped at the famous Alki Bakery for lunch. After lunch we did the route in reverse returning to Vashon Island and then to our starting point in Tacoma via the ferries again. What a wonderful day of cycling!

Cloudy 8:25 AM ferry crossing to Vashon Island from Point Defiance ferry dock.

The famous Vashon Island tree that swallowed the bicycle!

Coffee stop in downtown Vashon at Cafe Luna.

Approaching the northern tip of Vashon and the Fauntleroy ferry dock.

Leaving Vashon for west Seattle on the Sealth ferry.

Group photo op on the beach in west Seattle.

Beautiful lawn art.

Famous Alki Bakery! Yum!

My sandwich! It was so good! And fresh squeezed strawberry lemonade!

Posing with "Bert". The owner was outside and gave us permission and told us his name! :)

Returning from west Seattle to Vashon Island.

Approaching the southern tip of Vashon to catch the ferry back to Tacoma.

On my way back to Point Defiance.