Scout Ride, March 30, 2023

 The Scout ride was to confirm some parts of the routes we planned to use on April 9 and 16 as well as familiarize Ed H., another ride leader, on the route issues since he would be leading a different paced group on those days on the same routes.

Lee S. took us off the base route and we did some unplanned exploration of Seattle Center and the waterfront area in Seattle up to Pike Place Market. Some fun riding but the latter was definitely not a route which we would want to take a big group due to the pedestrian traffic and the ever changing construction obstacles.  However, it was a fun route to keep in mind for the future.

We had our coffee/snack stop at Fisherman's Terminal which on a sunny day would be a pretty good place for a group.  They have a deli now open on Sundays with pretty good treats and coffee as well as a fish-n-chips place for takeout.

 We stopped by the fire fighting ship demo area on the Ship Canal Trail to talk with a guy inside the fence. Apparently they are still using it actively to train people on how to fight ship board fires. Very cool to see and learn about.

On the way back, we stopped by the University of Washington campus to see the cherry trees in bloom....lots of blooms and they aren't at peak intensity yet!  However, it was mid week and there were lots of people.....I suspect it will be a real zoo on the weekend! 

I used the ebike today as I lacked motivation to want to do the work needed on the Roubaix.....my Bride thought it was a riding hangover from earlier rides.....she might be right....she is usually right.....she is right.  I will have to deal with that in the future as my recovery from hard rides is often slower than what I want! 

Coffee Ride to Newcastle, March 26, 2023

 17 of us joined the weekly Sunday Free Group Ride for coffee ride out of Woodinville. Our route headed toward Newcastle for a big loop returning via Bellevue and Kirkland. While largely overcast, we never encountered any rain...so that automatically makes it a great ride! We tested our hill climbing skills coming up SE Newport Way and 164th Ave SE...and enjoyed the swooping downhills on Lakemont Blvd SE and continuing roads. Our coffee/snack stop was on top of Rose Hill (Snyder's Corner). One of our riders discovered a tire pressure leak at our coffee stop - so Allan assisted and we had a short clinic on changing the tube on a tire.....we tried to figure out how many CEU's could be given for that "class"! While there were clouds around, our return route was modified to keep us off of what looked like a busy afternoon on the Sammamish River Trail. All in all, a solid ride for all of us!

 

 

Mentoring Ride for Anita, March 25, 2023

 On Saturday morning, a dozen of us gathered at Magnuson Park for a ride to Mercer Island using our two Lake Washington Floating Bridges. The morning seemed colder than the temperatures, perhaps due to a stiff wind, but since everyone came to ride, we did the ride! Crossing the Montlake Bridge we found that there was a rowing club regatta going on so we got see a very short bit of some race. After crossing the SR-520 Floating Bridge we found sunshine on the east side which stayed with us for the rest of the ride! Our coffee/snack stop was at the Metropolitan Market on Mercer Island which had a wide range of attractive options (note the picture of the chocolate chip cookies). Returning in the sun, we found that the day became quite a bit warmer than what we had experienced at the start. This ride was also a first mentoring ride for Anita to meet the requirements to become a ride leader for future rides.

 

 

TREATS Group Ride, March 21, 2023

 15 of us left Marymoor Park in Redmond, WA for a hilly ride over the Sammamish Plateau to the Snoqualmie Valley (Carnation for coffee) and returning via Union Hill Road over Novelty Hill.  This was the second mentoring ride for Karil who did a great job in turn leading and sweeping. Despite the 0% predicted chance of rain, we got pretty wet for a short while traversing the Plateau. I was glad I elected to wear my light rain jacket rather than go without.  I don't think it really warmed up as much as predicted today as well so having the extra layer made the ride more enjoyable.

I had the singing bike again as even with new pads the front inside caliper was lightly rubbing on the rotor. I know it was sucking watts out of me but I wondered if I could ever correlate the tone pitch with the number of watts I was losing? I rode at the back of the pack in consideration of the others but it was a long 38 miles of whining bike!  Fortunately I was at the far back when one of the ebike riders ran into a problem with a cable and was unable to ride up the last big hill. I told him to stay on the route (he was walking at that point) and I would bridge up to the group and see what help we could generate. Turned out a couple of riders had a similar bike and they went back and help him sort out the cable problem. I waited for them as I did know the course route so someone had to be there to lead them back the last 7 miles or so!  Always an adventure on every ride!

After the ride, another ride leader helped me (ie he actually did the steps) to realign the front brake. We'll see if it holds on our Thursday ride this week! 

Woodinville to Ballard Locks, March 19, 2023

 On this last Sunday of winter 2023, 15 of us left Woodinville on our weekly ride for coffee with this week's route taking us to Golden Gardens, Ballard Locks, Fisherman's Terminal, and back through Bellevue and Redmond. Although the skies were generally overcast but with temperatures in the 60's by ride end, many of us had our first ride of the year without jackets! It was wonderful! This ride was memorable also because it was the second (& final) mentored ride for Jeff who has now completed the requirements to become a Ride Leader! 

 And in a sure sign of spring, a bald eagle was in the tree with the big nest by Redmond City Hall.....probably they are house hunting as that nest has been used the last couple of years by a pair of eagles!  

Woodinville to Bellevue for Coffee, March 18, 2023

 Our Saturday ride out of Woodinville was blessed with sunshine and warming temperatures! A dozen of us headed generally southward to the I-90 area and returned via Rose Hill and Kirkland. The Olympic Mountains were really showing off at a mid-ride stop overlooking the SR-520 Bridge. At this stop, our photo showed our group and Jason's Trek 520 from 1990 with the bar end shifters...very cool bike from the past!  While our planned routing generally kept us off of the multi-use paths, we made a return route adjustment to totally avoid the Sammamish River Trail as we expected it to be quite busy on this warm Saturday afternoon.   Oh, and did I mention it was warm at the end of the ride - perhaps 60F+?!

 

 This was a mentoring ride for a RL candidate who, after today's successful ride, only has one more ride to complete to become a ride leader! 

Scout Ride 2023 03 16

 I was joined by 5 cycling compadres for a scouting ride on a route I planned to use in a couple of weeks. I had earlier been on most of the route but there was a central section which I hadn't been on in probably at least 7 years!  Since things might change in that amount of time, I really wanted to validate my recollection of the route. It also turns out to have a lovely hill climb which is a fabulous workout hill!! We lucked out with a sunny day (still cold at the start but warming by the end) and clear skies so we could get views of both the Cascade Mountains and the Olympic Mountains during the ride. Definitely a great day weather-wise. One of our riders was kind enough to take a group photo with me in it so my Bride could see that I was really out cycling and not stuck in some sports bar watching basketball games (the March Madness tournament started today)! At the parking lot at the end, we ran into 3 other Cascade cyclists who also took advantage of the day and did a loop around Lake Sammamish.....probably similar to the one we did the previous Tuesday.

 

 

TREATS Cascade Group Ride March 14, 2023

 I joined the group on a pleasantly sunny but cold morning for this week's Tuesday ride.  It was a mentoring ride for a ride leader candidate who we all expected to do well....and, of course, she did!  Our route was a simple loop around Lk Sammamish as one wants to keep the mentor ride routes fairly simple as she has a lot on her mind for the first couple of rides.  I was able to join the group for the first half, but I had an appointment in the later afternoon so I rode back solo.....and was able to jack up the speed a bit! :>)  I saw several other Cascade cyclists heading south on E Lk Sammamish Parkway as I was heading north - just a wave and a loud "hey!" but no stopping.  A great day for a fairly flat ride and still make other appointments work out! 

Cascade Group Ride March 12, 2023

 16 of us headed out in the cold but dry conditions on Sunday morning for our weekly Free Group Ride out of Woodinville.....this time our route went up to the Issaquah Highlands. Our turnaround point was the circular Village Green Park which seemed high enough for the day.....and which led to a swooping downhill run into Issaquah for coffee (and snacks!). We had a favorable tail wind on the return which we needed as we were riding at the edge of the rain showers all the way back to the start. All in all, a very good day for a ride!