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Late Season Permanent

29 Saturday Nov 2014

Tags

200k, a. homer hilsen, ahh, bicycle, bike, brevet, SIR, Whidbey Island


I saw the opportunity and took it.  I’ve been meaning to try a ride around Washington State’s largest island since I’ve been coming up here in 2003.

My wife and I fell in love with Whidbey Island at some point, and we’ve had properties here twice in the last 11 years.  Last week, I decided to take the holiday week off, and spend some time up here.  Now “up here” is a mere 35.7 miles from “home” in Seattle, so I feel a little funny going up to the cabin, as we say in Minnesotan.  This is less distance than a lot of folks commute to work every day!

When I was growing up, a trip to the “cabin” in northern Minnesota was a 4 hour trip one-way.  It was always the last half hour past Brainerd that I really felt like we were getting out of dodge.  Now it’s just a short drive north that takes a bit over an hour, and I’m in another world, my happy place. The ferry ride helps.  Once you get off the boat, it’s sort of another planet from the urban/suburban bustle of Seattle. There are large tracts of forest, farmland, and a few small picturesque towns dotting the island.  A lovely place, really, and it just feels sleepy and awesome!

Anyway, on to the ride.  The last brevet I had done was a mean, rainy 300k at the end of March.  A long, long time ago.  Now I’ve been commuting plenty, and had several 50-80 mile weeks going, so I felt that stepping up to the 126 mile 200k was reasonable, and my fitness was still good.  I also tried to ignore the little bird telling me that this ride had over 7500′ of climbing.  I figured that this was just a few more hills than a more normal 200k.

//ridewithgps.com/trips/3818194/embed

I thought I would be well prepared.  I brought both my rando bikes up with plans to ride the A. Homer Hilsen.  I wanted to make sure the shimmy was gone, and the Swift bag worked well on a longer ride.  I had most everything packed up and ready the night before, and got plenty of sleep knowing I had a big day in front of me.  In the morning, I made eggs and coffee, and still managed to get down to the ferry dock around 8:15.  I had set my start time for 8am, so I was already running late.  After a few more minutes of figuring out where I could leave the car all day, I parked and was off at just past 8:30am.

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Then I started climbing.  The first hill off the ferry wasn’t too bad, but they seemed to just keep coming.  I was happy I had a 34 big ring on the cassette, so I had extra granny help.  Entering Langley – a small town with an artsy vibe, I wanted to stop at the local coffee shop, but I wasn’t ready for a break.  I had packed a rain jacket, camera, phone, wallet, and a few food items in the Swift.  I had my tool bag under the seat.  I felt that I was packing light, but I did have 3 full water bottles.  I wasn’t into the photo mode yet, but couldn’t help but take a snap of the local museum.

BH-2.jpgAs I rode on towards Freeland, I wondered if I had too much.  The weather was great, and my thin wool undershirt, SIR jersey (also wool), and reflecto vest were keeping me toasty.  There were lots of eastern beach vistas on the high bluffs to keep me occupied, and there were about 3 cars that passed me in 10 miles.  No traffic to speak of, which held true most of the day.  The roads were also glorious!  Smooth, fresh blacktop that looked to be laid in the past year or two.  These islanders keep there roads up really well.  That said, I started noticing the many squashed slugs, as well as some small orange salamanders.  1000 slug trails seemed an apt ride name.

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I hit my first walking hill just after Freeland. Resort Rd. climbs back up to HWY 525, and at 10%, it was a bit much. It gave me a chance to stretch my legs. A nice walk in the woods, really – no traffic at all.

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The first jaunt on the main island highway was a nice few miles downhill. I was doing 30 with the cars only going slightly faster. Greenbank is a tiny town at the thinnest part of the island, where if you stand on the field by Greenbank Farm (an old loganberry farm), you can see both Saratoga Passage to the east, and Admiralty Inlet to the west. Here, I stopped to photo what turned out to be 20 herons resting/hunting in the marsh below the farm. They all took off when I circled back to get a photo.

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Onward – I still had a long way to go. The next walking hill was Rhodena Rd. at about an 8% grade just before Parker. This one was a bummer, but it was in another pretty area.

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I realize that all these hill pics look flat, but believe me, they went UP!!! Phew – made it to Coupeville on some nice twisty roads. This is a Washington’s second oldest town, founded in 1853 by a guy who evidently was the only person to have sailed through Deception Pass with wind power alone. X-Games circa a long f’ing time ago! Now I could nearly smell the halfway point.

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The aptly named Madrona Way around inner Penn Cove offered great views of the mussel farming rigs. This was one of my favorite rides, with light traffic, nice curvy roads, and great views of the cove.

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After a wake-me-up short ride on HWY 20 with lots of cars ripping by, I was back on the easy streets heading into Oak Harbor. I stopped to get a few pics, but I was starting to worry about time, as i was taking pics, and my legs were starting to get tired. I wasn’t quite halfway yet, and I knew I would be fighting a headwind going back south. The forecast was for 15-25 mph gusts, and I was quite tired from the climbing. I had no idea how much of the southerly route echoed the hills on the east side of the island. It was already 1:30, so I was 5 hrs into the ride, but not halfway yet. Hmmm…

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After a few more hills, and some duck hunters on Dike Rd. I stopped for a bathroom break a mile from Deception Pass. This was technically past the halfway point, but I didn’t consider it that until I was at the top of the island. I had a reuben and some “power milk” and this picked me up. At the Pass, I watched a seal swimming around the kelp in the shallows. This is a beautiful spot with a high bridge over fast-moving bright green water famous for their whirlpools and standing waves during tidal surges.

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This was the turnaround point.

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Next stop was Ault Field after a jaunt down the highway again. This wasn’t too bad, but I was ready to get off the main road for a while.

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The Navy evidently put their air station on Whidbey partly due to it being in the “rain shadow” of the Olympic Mts. I just figured it was due to the natural beauty – a great place to fly over if you ask me. Just past Joseph Whidbey State Park (closed) it was starting to get dark. There was a great big hill climb here, and halfway up, I noticed writing on the road, “Legs Up Shut” – ahhh, there have been cyclists before me on this! The infamous Jens Voight “shut up legs” quote. That was a major pick up for me, and got me to the top of another 400 foot hill.

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I’m not going to lie to you. I thought about shortening this ride many times over the course of the 12 hrs on the bike. As I got closer to the end and realized I would make the 13.5hr 200k time limit, I knew I had to finish, but every time I went by one of the Island Transport stops on the highway, I thought hmmm…

I made a stop at the Keystone Ferry south of Coupeville for another bathroom break. A bit further south at South Whidbey State Park, I filled out my control card while standing in the dark entrance by the street. At this point, I found that I really liked Clif Shots gummy energy bar nuggets! Yum – there is nothing like junk when you are feeling tired. The tiny bits of rain were good at keeping me focused, but really it was just a long old slog back down to Clinton.

I had one more walk up Lancaster hill, but that was short-lived, and the last few miles were mostly a cruise along the summit of the hills of south Whidbey. The ride back down to the car was awesome! I had a bikers high for the rest of the night thinking about this great day in the saddle and everything I’d been able to see on the way. Pretty cool way to spend a day off.

Special thanks to a very special wife and daughter for giving up Dad on the day before turkey day!

Posted by Stonehog | Filed under Cycling, Randonneuring

≈ 7 Comments

Bahn Mi Brevet

02 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by Stonehog in Cycling

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

300k, acorn bags, brevet, Cycles Toussaint, cycling, harlequin wrap, nitto, noodles, rando, randonneur, Seattle, Selle Anatomica, SIR


190 miles in a day is a long way to ride your bike!  I don’t know if I’ll ever get over that part of randonneuring.  It’s a simple fact that most people will look at you funny when you talk about doing this sort of thing.  I hate to say it, but I feel that way when folks talk to me about running 20+ miles.  I think “why would you want to abuse your body like that?”.  I am a serious hypocrite.

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This guy doesn’t look particularly abused, right?  He was in great spirits for the first 100k while I rode with him.  He was chatting with me and several other riders.  Jason really loves these rides for the social aspect, I’m sure, as do I.  We were riding side-by-side for 10s of miles in the rain and wind when drafting would have been the prudent thing to do, just chatting about bikes, trips, rides, work, etc…  We were having a great time even after we bombed down a brutal climb (500+ feet at 13%) only to realize we should have studied the queue sheet harder at the control up top. We had missed the turn and ended up climbing up Lorde Hill again with 3 bonus miles and an extra half hour on our day.

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At the first control, an espresso stand, I realized I had forgotten my wallet.  After a short moment of panic, I decided the prudent thing to do was continue.  I had a lot of drinkable food (Perpetuem, Tailwind) and knew that I would be able to stock up on some goodies at the lunch stop.  Calories were not going to be the problem.  If I didn’t have a major bike issue, it was simply a matter of getting the ride done.  It did feel a bit strange to not buy anything at the couple of controls where I had a cashier sign my brevet card.  I’m sure this is really just my own issue, right?

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This seat continues to rock.  I had no saddle soreness.  When you are pedaling for 15+ hours, that says something.  There is no way any of my other seats would have been this comfy. As for the other contact points – no issues there either other than wetness.  Even with “waterproof” gloves and booty covered shoes, both were soaked by mid ride.  I am especially amazed that my hands were not numb with only a thin glove, and cotton tape wrapped bars.  The diamonds really help with hand comfort!  😉  As for my knees, they ended up not tightening and bothering me on this ride.  I would like to chalk it up to the 100k, 200k, and hip abductor exercises I’ve been doing, but I’m sure the Aleve helped.

Luckily we had sun on Camano Island at the apex of the route.  Several hours of dry weather, even.  That made things much more tolerable – I almost dried out, even…

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Turkeys were out.  Also, hawks, rabbits, lots of worms on the road, and a couple crazed barking rural road dogs that surprised the heck out of me and 3 others riding nearby.  Luckily we were at enough speed to get past without incident.  I would expect that Darwin will take care of those guys before we pass by that way again.

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As I was pedaling out of Arlington and joining up on the Centennial trail for a really nice woods ride, it started pouring again, and didn’t really stop until I was back in Seattle.  I’ve got to work out a better way to see the queue sheet at night.  With this much moisture, it was wet (from having to change it in the rain), and was fogging up the plastic cover on my rando bag.  The tiny light was OK, but my odometer was off enough at that point that the math I had to do in my head was becoming a chore for my weary brain.  I ended up teaming up with Bill and Patrick for the ride back to Woodinville and the Burke Gilman.  At that point I knew the way back, so it was auto pilot.  At one point Bill came up behind me after a bit of a weave and asked if I was OK.  That was a good wake up!  Shortly thereafter we just about ran into this tree/bush that had blown down across the trail.

flic.kr/p/mB5uDF

That last encounter kept me awake for the last few miles home…

 

2014 – Escape from Seattle Brevet

16 Sunday Mar 2014

Posted by Stonehog in Cycling

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

200k, bicycle, bike, brevet, Cycles Toussaint, cycling, harlequin wrap, low-trail, nitto, noodles, rando, randonneur, Seattle, Selle Anatomica, SIR


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Yesterday was iffy.  I wasn’t going to do this ride if it was going to be starting out raining.  Luckily, most of the day stayed dry, so I went out and enjoyed it.  There were  99 folks signed up in the pre-registration, and I saw several folks there who hadn’t been on the list.  A 100+ turnout is huge (for me).  I started out slowly as my knees were sensitive after last week’s 100k.  This time I had a bit of soreness at the halfway point – nothing a bit of ibuprofen didn’t take care of.

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The bike functioned flawlessly, and I was comfortable to the end.  Great frame, saddle, pedals, tires, and fit.  I can’t wait to test this on a longer ride.

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The amazing thing about a brevet – it seems like 10 miles out, you hardly see anyone anymore.  Folks spread out quickly at these distances.  There is a lot of time to catch up with old and new acquaintances, and meditate (as I did on the beautiful mossy green forested road along Lake Roesiger between Granite Falls and Monroe).

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At the finish, there was chili and beer, and then a short 1 mile hop back to my home.

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Great day to be outdoors!

Full set of photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stonehog/sets/72157642413443174/

Ride map: http://cyclemeter.com/51cfa6724f84c700/Cycle-20140315-0657?r=e

Brevet Season

10 Monday Mar 2014

Posted by Stonehog in Cycling

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

650b, brevet, Chilly Hilly, Cycles Toussaint, SIR, Velo Routier


I know – misleading title for some of the folks who never stop doing long rides…

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For me, the brevet season is getting started here in the Pacific Northwest.  My first long ride was the Chilly Hilly.  This is a course that circumnavigates one of the islands near Seattle in the Puget Sound.  It includes a nice ferry ride with hundreds of bikers taking up the car deck.

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The official distance is 33 miles, but I ride to the start, so my distance is more like 55 miles.  This year was an overcast day starting in the 40s, and ending in the 30s Farenheit.  It started raining hard after the ride, just as I was departing the ferry in Seattle.  This made the ride home a bit miserable, but I felt pretty good, however, and it was a great start to the season.

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I rode the Hunqapillar to try out flat pedals.  No knee problems encountered, and I didn’t really notice the extra weight of the bike except for the amazingly steep hills on a few sections of this infamous ride. I also went without any hand pain using the Albastache bars.  It was a nice and comfy ride!

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Next up was the Spring Populaire put on by SIR.

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This is a 100k ride (around 62 miles) and starts nearby in the Greenlake neighborhood.  I rode to this one, as well, so added a few miles to the ride.  It was my first long ride on the new Velo Routier, and I was excited to get some miles on it to get a feel for 650B, low-trail, rando geometry.  The bike was ready to go with lights (though I wouldn’t need them) and all the normal gear.  I did forget a pen, however – kind of a faux pas for a seasoned rando like myself (sic).

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I saw a few friends at the start, but after we took off, I was on my own for the whole ride.  The bike handled great, and I was towards the front of the 100 or so riders that showed up for the ride.

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I quickly made my way through the controls, and was having a great time.  The tires floated, and the scenery rolled by.  I was feeling good, and eating/drinking enough to feel strong.  The rain started to become oppressive, and I was soaked through by the midway point, so at a bathroom stop in Renton, I took off my outer wool jersey and put on my rain jacket.  I had to wring out my gloves, so I put on my extra pair.  Not much could be done with the shoes, however.  They were a brand new pair I had gotten for the ride.  I wanted a light pair of hikers with a stiffer sole, and they fit the bill, but by the time the ride was done, my feet were soaked and numb from the cold.  Hmmm – time to rethink this?

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About 40 minutes from the end, I picked up a flat tire from a glass shard.  It was a slow leak that I quickly found, but it still took nearly a half hour for me to get the tire changed and pumped up.  Nothing like new tires to make you work hard!  At this point in the ride, it had been raining hard, and I was cold and wet, so the I-90 bridge I was under made for a nice umbrella.  After the change, I had one more mechanical.  As I was climbing up Lake Washington Blvd towards the arboretum, I downshifted to the small chainring.  The chain stuck to the large ring, however, and managed to come up and past the derailer.  I had a sticky ring incident before, so I was trying to be careful.  Luckily, there was no damage to the derailleur, and I was able to pull the chain back around the cage.  I’m going to follow up with Compass – I may have some oversized chainrings from the first batch…

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Back in business, I nearly missed the “secret” control, and had to backtrack a bit – thanks to the cyclists that warned me!  By the time I got to the final, I was so wet, I bypassed the pizza and beer, and just got the card signed.  I headed back home and spent the afternoon drying my bike, clothes, and self.  This was a really wet ride.  Not one of the memorable brevets, but I felt OK at the end, and the bike was comfortable and fast.  After I get a few things adjusted, it should be ready for some really long trips.  This is a track of the ride route:

http://cyclemeter.com/51cfa6724f84c700/Cycle-20140308-0829?r=e

Someone was definitely glad to see me at the end!

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2013 Cycling

03 Friday Jan 2014

Posted by Stonehog in Cycling

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

2013, a. homer hilsen, Artist's Point, Babyshoe Pass, Hunqapillar, llandover woods, new years ride, randonneur, rivendell, Selle Anatomica, SIR


This was my best cycling year yet.  I rode over 3000 miles on my bikes in 2013, and a couple of the rides were really long.  Now, the vast majority of my miles are commuting, and I added to my commute mileage this year by taking a longer route home.  It is much more scenic, and it allows me to stay on lightly used trails for the majority of the way.  This makes my commute much less stressful, and adds a ton of scenic beauty.

Serene

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I rode a few events with the Seattle Int’l Randonneurs club this year.  It’s still tough to get out as much as I want – it takes a full-day commitment for most of the events, but I’m shooting for more in 2014.

Your's Truly

An early March 200k  was a good starter for me.  The ride went really well, and sold me on the Selle Anatomica Titanico X saddle.  I experienced no numbness or pain at the end of the ride.  I was also able to do this one right from home, so there was no drive to the start, or long ride home.  It helped me get the confidence I needed for August’s 300k.

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Another highlight was a ride in early June where some new friends and I went in search of the famous Babyshoe Pass.  The folks I camped and rode with were an awesome, eclectic bunch from Portland, Seattle, and Enumclaw.

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This was a ride that reminded me how much fun exploring mountain roads can be.  The 3-volcano area is one I’ll be back to explore.  I also got a taste of riding the A. Homer Hilsen set up in rando garb through a snowfield, and down a rocking mountain bike trail at speed.  Underbiking at its best.  Perhaps it would have been smarter to pick the Hunqa that day, but the AHH did just fine, even after a flat and an unplanned endo into the snow.

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Alas, we were a few weeks early, and the snow had not melted up to the pass, so we migrated back before the summit, but the ride down was the best ride of the year, easily!

I was able to introduce a couple folks to commuting in 2013.  One of my neighbors wanted to start riding once a week.  He works near my office (downtown Seattle) so I showed him a few routes that I use regularly, and tried to give him enough advice to keep him safe.  Another friend bought a new bike for the first time in years, and we rode home off and on for a few months.  We also did a nice ride around North Seattle and found a good trail in Llandover Woods. Unfortunately, we found that the trail was closed to bikes (after we traversed it…)

TroyD

The apex of the riding year was my first 300k in August.  This was both awesome (Artists Point) and brutal (needed lots of advil to get home).  My knee gave out just past the 200k mark while I was riding with a fast group.  I dropped off the back when I started to feel like I couldn’t push down on the pedal with my right leg.  I stopped and stretched in a field by the side of the road for a bit, and limped along for another 50k before I found a gas station where I could buy ibuprofen.  This helped ease the pain so I could continue riding, but I was basically using my left leg and only lifting with my right.  That ride was tough and took all my willpower to get through.  I felt elated at the end, however.  It was amazing to go so far in one day.

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Happy New Year!  I hope you all get out and ride more this year!

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