Coffeeneuring Ride #7!! In the books....and in the Rain!

With today's ride, I have completed my Coffeeneuring Challenge Ride #7 today! Craig joined me as the only other rider crazy enough to ride in the rain we have been experiencing. We hit the "other" Starbucks in Redmond Town Center as we kept the ride flat and shorter given the standing water and leaves that were out today. Still it rained pretty continuously all the way through the 14 mile ride. At the start I contemplated using the pull buoy as well as wearing my swim goggles but elected at the last minute to just wear normal biking rain gear (although the goggles and pull buoy were in my panniers.....just in case.) And, here a shot of the precipitation this storm is bring us to enjoy! Most of our rivers are on a flood watch if not already flooding!

 1. where you went (From Wilmot Gateway Park in Woodinville, WA to Redmond Town Center & back)
Starbucks
Redmond Town Center West
7345 164th Ave NE Ste I147
Redmond, WA 98052-7805

2. the date you went there - today, Nov 14, 2015

3.  what you drank - a double espresso!

4. a detail or two about your coffeeneuring ride, including your assessment of the “bike friendliness” of the location - ride route is pretty flat and bike friendly but....it was really really wet today!

5. total mileage - 14 miles

 Pull Buoy and Swim Goggles....and why not!?

 At Starbucks with my double espresso

 Craig Coffeeneuring

Heavy Rain!

Alisa and Viv Visiting! And another strong swim and bike workout day.

Today I was able to get in a quick visit with Alisa & Viv as they headed back eastward after a short visit to the Puget Sound. Both were in great spirits but needed to get over the passes before the predicted November storm arrives! Had a great chat and hope to connect again next month! Here are some pix from today! Including the front end of her car where some of the deer fur is left (the results of a slight disagreement between the Subaru and the deer on who had the right-of-way on Highway 97). And a graph of what is headed our way (which is why the visit was short!)

Starbucks Girls

The wind is already starting to blow

Subaru - 1;  Deer - 0 ...less a little fur

Residual Fur

And here's what is coming at us!

Now I can start to look at the bike workout today!  Yesterday's intervals went so well, I am thinking of repeating them and adding a few extra!   The early morning swim of 2400 yards went fabulous...no residual tiredness after the 3K yard swim on Tuesday.   So here is today's set of bike trainer intervals - hard to do 5X 120% FTP but hung in there for the last couple of intervals. 

A Swim and A Hike - the "off" day from Biking

Today I did my long swim  (US Masters Swimming - ePostal Challenge - 3K yards swim - US Masters ePostal 3K Yards Challenge ) at the Samena 25 yard pool....while still not where I was last January in terms of lap speeds, at least I could do the distance even if ever so slowly.  I realized it was going to be a victory just to complete the swim and not become a sunken pool toy!  Since this was a national challenge with rules and all, I couldn't wear my "rubber pants" and, wowsers!, did the lack of flotation show up in my times.  I knew the neoprene swim shorts were good for something like 20-30 secs per 100 yards but I also noted that my times systematically declined during the swim as my form deteriorated.  Interestingly, not only was I faster last January but I didn't have the drop off in lap times as my bride (who kept times for me) noted that I was very much like a metronome in terms of lap time consistency. 

However, not all was lost today as Vanessa and I got in another hike on the only day in sight with sun and some blue sky....and even then, only for a few hours!   This time we did a point to point hike and brought along her chocolate lab, Steve, who managed to photobomb into a few pix.  5.9 miles and 1954 feet elevation.   

At Poo Poo Point

Really?

Thanks to Vanessa for the maple bar - it didn't make the photo but here's the bag it came in.

Coffeneuring Week 6 - The Penultimate weekend!

Coffeeneuring Ride #6 for me - the penultimate weekend.   The advertised rain did show up this morning for our ride and persevered through the ride.  While wet, it wasn't windy (like last week) or cold (like it could be in the future) - so all in all, it was a "reasonable" day for a ride in the Pacific Northwest for November (or even June in some years!). 

The route today went up to Bellevue via Redmond, and we noted that the cities have really worked to clear the bike lanes of the gunk from last week's storm - maybe not so much for cyclists but certainly to keep the drains open and avoid flooding.   In any event, it was much better riding today than it would have been during the week. 

Our ride this week

Just a couple of hills

Our Rain Patrol (with moi photobombing the group shot)

And the group as it should be

 

At the coffee stop in Bellevue

Al with his coffee

Joni with her coffee

Robert and Deb

and if you want to know how were the riding conditions, here's a closeup of my glasses:

1. where you went (address and website, if possible), 

Quality Foods Center (Starbucks inside store) 

Address: 15600 NE 8th St K1, Bellevue, WA 98008

Phone:(425) 865-0282

Hours:Open 24 hours

2. the date you went there:  Nov 7, 2015

3.  what you drank - Double Espresso

4. a detail or two about your coffeeneuring ride, including your assessment of the “bike friendliness” of the location:  Steady rain all ride - sometimes harder, sometimes lighter, but always rain.  But the local cities had cleaned the bike paths of the downed junk from the last storm and we had a great ride (although in the rain).   A very acceptable ride for a rainy November Day.....although I have made this kind of ride in similar conditions in June around here!

5. total mileage.   34.0 miles (I added a couple at the end) / 1296 feet elevation.

Another Non-Biking Event! Poo Poo Point 2015 11 04

Fabulous November day for a short close-in hike - went up Tiger Mountain to Poo Poo Point* and explored just a bit. Got to use the new trail running shoes which felt great today. By starting early-ish, there were only a few cars in the parking lot but it was over 80% full by the time I returned a couple of hours later. My first visit to Poo Poo Point and what a spectacular day for it with big views of the local "mountains" and Lake Sammamish. Too hazy to see the Olympic Mtns or the Cascade Mtns but on a clear day in the winter, they should be spectacular. Shown below are a couple of selfies at the viewpoints. Not sure why launching (presumably para-gliders, not missiles) isn't allowed when horses are present....... And, yes, it is November as you can see by the ice still present on a bench by the western viewpoint. Looks like there might be good mountain biking for the Bride and I also on the Tiger Mountain Access Road which ends up at the viewpoints as well. Future trips will hopefully clarify that opportunity as well!

* From a King 5 TV report: "Loggers used whistles to communicate from the logging tower operator to the workers down the hill. According to the Issaquah Historical Society, the whistle would be a signal that two logs were tied to a cable, ready to be towed.
The whistle made a sound like poo poo, hence the name Poo Poo Point."

Hike:  5.2 miles / 1886 feet elevation gain (Garmin Data) 

At Poo Poo Point

Presume this refers to para-gliders and not missiles or other projectiles

At Western-most View Point

Ice on bench this morning!

The route today

The Elevation Gain (and Loss)