2008 Bike Ride #1: The Chilly, but Not Hilly

[wickedwords]

Ride Length: 27 miles (approximately)
Elevation: Not much
Where: Sammamish River Trail and Burke-Gilman trail
Start Time: About 9:15 am
How long: 2.5 by guesstimate, 11 mph avg speed including stops. So 12-13 without?
Calorie guesstimate: 1400

My first outdoor ride of the year! Every year on the last Sunday in Feb there's this huge ride in Seattle, the Chilly Hilly. It has 2700 ft of climbing over 30+ miles, and when we tried the route last year at the end of summer, I just about died. There is no way I want to do it in Feb.


However, a cold, flat ride, that I am up for. As I had a meeting just after 1:00 pm and I needed some time to get in the miles I wanted, it was around 9am and chilly (low 40s) when I started. It was my first time outside with the new cycling shoes, and honestly, I was a little nervous about that. I had a vision of myself falling off my bike at the first stoplight at the bottom of my hill, because I wouldn't remember to unclip my shoes in time. I took the safer route through town, and didn't actually clip in until I got to the trail, just to avoid that scenario.

Once I got to the trail though, wow, did those shoes help! I just sped along it seemed like, click through the miles pretty easily. It took me a half hour, more or less, to reach gateway park and while I was cold, I felt good enough that I blew through it, up and out to the rest of the trail. I'm not sure when I made it to log boom park in kenmore, but I was feeling good enough and warm enough that I thought I'd go just a little further; it was only when I saw the milepost 14 sign that I remembered I had to get back home for my meeting. *oops* Without it, I might have called Lar for a pickup somewhere in downtown Seattle.


Logboom Park in Kenmore this morning

So I turned around and headed back to Log Boom for a comfort stop, then back to gateway park where I watched this dog run around for awhile, playing fetch. it was just nice to hang out in the sun for a bit and feel warm.


Dog at Gateway Park in Woodinville
note my handlebars at the bottom of the screen.

When I got back to Redmond, I made my way to the local starbucks that's just off the trail, almost ramming into a post as I was so focused on warmth and a nice rest that I forgot I had to unclip (oops!). I called lar from the store and got a tall hot chocolate, then settled into a comfy chair to enjoy the heat for a bit; my thighs were so cold, you would not believe it! I warmed up, and completely spaced stopping the bike computer, so I have no clue how long it took me just in on-bike time. But it was a great day for a ride.

Comments

[kimberlite.livejournal.com]

Yay! That sounds like a fabulous ride. :)

[wickedwords.livejournal.com]

It was great. I'm a fair weather rider, and this was the first nice day that I could ride this year, so it was really exciting to get out and get going.

[barkley.livejournal.com]

Go you for getting out there in the cold!

Also, you remembered your camera! Yay. And I am feeling the clip shoe pressure. I have to take my bike in for it's yearly tuneup, and I need new pedals and...and...I don't know!

[wickedwords.livejournal.com]

What I remembered was my cell phone has a camera in it, and I figured out how to send photos to an email address, so they don't just sit on the phone. *g* And man, yes, about the pedals. I had to get new ones myself, which is why I decided to make the jump to ones that I could clip into--but I'm also an anxious person, so I got the platform kind where you can choose either to clip in or not. (They are the mullets of pedals--clip in on the front, platform in the back) As my bike is a hybrid and not a straight road bike, they seem fine; I don't know if they'd work on a regular road bike or not. It's nice to have options, though, and in my head, I see me biking to the store in summer, and not having to wear bike shoes to do it. Commuting I think I'd still wear the shoes.

[sobelle.livejournal.com]

whoa... cool pix... and great ride... totally enjoyed it...

and will be the closest I ~ever~ get to it ;)

[wickedwords.livejournal.com]

LOL! I'm hoping to remember to take pics during my other training rides. I really like it when other people do that, and so I'd like to return the favor. Thanks!