Last Day of February - Beautiful!

Today was absolutely beautiful.  I woke up to bright sunshine and a brilliant clear blue sky which was deceiving because the temperature on my thermometer read 37 degrees.  I got my bike ready and then I dressed into my riding clothes and off I went on a bike ride.  I drove to the Foothills Trailhead in Sumner and started my ride.  I headed towards Orting and continued on to South Prairie and then to Wilkeson.  After reaching the town of Wilkeson I headed back.  I stopped at the Orting Bakery on my return trip for a coffee and one of their fine toffee crunch cookies.  Refreshed I got back on my bike and finished off the last 8 miles of the ride.  Although it was sunny, with a warm sun beating down on me, the air that was blowing into me (yes a headwind) was "arctic" cold.  I'm happy that I rode today because the weather is taking a drastic turn beginning tomorrow.  They are calling for snow, AGAIN!  Yes, rain mixed with snow.  Hopefully it will not be as bad as they are reporting especially for Sunday as I have a ride to lead.  Here are a few pictures that I took on today's ride . . . 

 Bridge that will be part of the Foothills Trail. Connecting South Prairie to Wilkeson.

 A neat old barn on AP Tubbs Road.

Coffee and cookie break at the Orting Bakery on the way back.

GR2R - South End #2

This was the second ride in the 7 ride series of Getting Ready to Ride - South End Series. Our first ride was cancelled last week because of SNOW! I thought we would be cancelling today's ride too because of weather but the rain held off. Though we had no rain on this ride we sure had wind. 25-30 wind gusts.  Going north we had a tailwind but when we turned south we hit the wall of wind!  It felt like we were riding in Boeing's wind tunnel. But we had 17 hardy riders show up and the ride was great. A nice workout.  Here I am giving ride details and safety briefing to the riders.

2014 Is Going to be a Great Year!

I'm really excited about this year!  I'm back on my bike, I'm a ride leader, I'm doing the GR2R South End series rides and after this series ends I am helping out with creating rides in the Pierce County area for CBC.  And I've signed up to finally ride the RSVP, one ride I have been wanting to ride for years but never gotten around to it.  I've done the Daffodil Classic, the Chilly Hilly, the May Day Metric, the Flying Wheels, the STP, RAMROD, and many many other big event rides but the RSVP has eluded me all these years but finally this will be the year!

Besides my bike riding I have been doing a lot of archery with my husband.  This is another pass time I truly enjoy.  And I'm getting pretty good at it too.  Last year I shot three Robin Hoods!  A term given to two arrows shot end to end, the second arrow embedded into the rear of the first. Happens rarely, so the arrows are usually kept as a trophy.  And I have all three of mine!  Here are pictures of two of my Robin Hoods . . .

Here's to a great year of cycling and archery!  

November Rides

I posted four rides this month.  The first one was on November 2nd which I had to cancel because of a severe wind storm.  The second was on November 9th, A Steady Lark to Madison Park".  Here are some pictures from that ride.  We had a great afternoon on our bikes!

My third ride was a very wet and soggy ride but fun never the less.  I had six people sign up but half way through two had to drop out because of frozen feet!  Besides the rain and wind the temperature was quite chilly and these two riders came without booties to keep their feet warm.  Here is a picture of the four remaining riders and me at Panera Bread in Kent.  We enjoyed coffee, soup, sandwiches, and pastries before continuing on.  Even with the constant down pour we had a great time!  All riders who came were happy I did not cancel the ride.  As one rider said, "If you don't ride in the rain, you'll rarely ride in Washington"!

My last ride in November was my favorite.  It was a sunny gorgeous day.  Blue sky but frigid temperatures.  The start of the ride was a frost biting 29 degrees but by the end of the ride it was a balmy 43 degrees.  The sun made it feel balmy and the hills of Vashon helped keep us nice and warm.  Four people signed up but only two were able to make the ride.  The three of us had the best ride and a great time riding and chatting and enjoying the views that Vashon had to offer.  One rider complimented me by saying it was her favorite ride she's attended this fall!  She's glad I posted it and looks forward to more adventure rides like the one we had that day.  We took the 10:05 AM ferry from Point Defiance to Vashon Island and began our afternoon adventure.  We stopped by the tree that swallowed the bike, which was followed by a stop at Cafe Luna to warm ourselves before we continued our roller coaster ride around the island.  November was a month of extreme weather and riding conditions.  The month began with a severe storm of high winds and rain, followed by rain and more rain, but by the end of the month the sun finally came out but with freezing temperatures.  I wonder what the month of December will bring with it?

Rides from February through October

Just a few pictures of rides I've done these past months . . . 

February

March

 April

 May

 August

September

 October

Ride Leader

On May 13th I attended CBC's Ride Leader Certification class.  It was the first step towards becoming a ride leader for Cascade Bike Club.  The next criteria was leading two rides with a ride mentor.  My first mentored ride was on May 18th with Page.  We rode her Fall City Carnation route.  My second mentored ride was with Marizel on May 23rd.  Her ride was the South Lake Washington route.  With all criteria met I am now a ride leader for my club.  I've only lead three rides since becoming a ride leader because my daughter was in the hospital for over a month.  Now that she is home and healing I hope to lead more rides in the future.  

I'm Back!

After a year off my bike I am back.  I started riding again in February and my hope is to be back in shape by the time summer arrives!  I even signed up to become a ride leader.  I figure if I lead rides I will ride more often!  

My sister wants to start cycling too.  When I visit her in Aspen this summer I'm going to help her look for a bike.  I believe this will be a good year.  Another good thing is my daughter is on her way to health.  She has been very sick this past year (one of the reasons besides my back that I was off my bike).  She is scheduled for surgery in June and will be coming off all the nasty medicines she has been on this past year.  So good things are coming!  I believe this in my heart!

Off the Bike

I hurt my back last year and it has progressively gotten worse instead of better. I am finally at the point where I can no longer ride my bike or even do simple daily chores. I am going in to see a specialist this Thursday, March 22nd to see what is going on. I hope he will be able to help me because I want my old life back. This stinks!

Good Weekend

I went for a long hard walk yesterday with my daughter and my husband. We did a 3 mile loop with a steep hill (12% grade) included. Today I went for my first bike ride of 2012. It was sunny but very cold. The starting temperature on today's ride was 34 degrees but by the time I finished it was 47 degrees and with the sun shining down it felt a lot warmer. I only rode 16.43 miles but it felt like I rode a century. I guess that's to be expected when one has not been on ones bike since November 6th! :-P But it sure felt good to be outside today in the fresh air and sunshine. I guess it's time to start riding again! Spring is around the corner and some great seasonal rides are coming up in the months ahead! It begins! :)

Slacking Off Again

The weather is miserable and as I normally do every winter about this time I've stopped riding. I guess I'm just not a winter rider. When the rain, fog, ice, and snow appear I look out the window and shudder. Oh well I will try and get a few short rides in during my winter break. I will be off from Wednesday, December 21st through January 4th a good time to get back on the saddle.

Fall Riding

I've been riding a lot this fall. Both September and October had some pretty nice days. I completed my third P12 this month and in fact I've been doing a lot of metrics these past two months. Four in September and so far two metrics for the month of October. I usually ride any where between 30 and 70 miles on my rides. My hope is to ride through the winter months to maintain my fitness and mileage and then really picking it up in the spring.

Riding along the Carbon River in September I pass many fishermen fishing for salmon.

My daughter and I joined CBC on a beautiful fall Sunday to Alki Beach in West Seattle.

Beautiful day riding through Enumclaw farmland.

Getting ready for October fun!

Riding with CBC from Renton to Black Diamond.

Riding with the Seattle Randonneurs on the inaugural ride of the Pie Run 100k metric in October completing my third P12. Great picture of Don and Mimi.

Beautiful autumn afternoon in October. The trees are beginning to put on their fall foliage.

The Old Fishing Hole in Kent farmland.

Farmer's stand in Kent.

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