(Photo: ABC News, Australia)
This past Saturday, I was able to join the Cascade Training Series for another roadie cycling ride. This time, it was only 45 miles but there were good hills for the first half of the ride - one right after the other. After logging thousands of miles on my bike, there are still 'firsts' for me. This Saturday, I achieved 2 of them. The first one being that it was my first ride in the rain. Well, it wasn't exactly raining, but more of the typical northwest kind where the rain was a steady drizzle for the entire ride. In California, any hint of rain had me and my cycling buddies leaving our bikes inside and a beeline to the gym for an indoor spin class. But, not up here. Rain doesn't deter the sports enthusiasts from pursuing their favorite activities. So, it was time for me to toughen up again after going soft from living in the Bay Area for so long. I dug out from the back of my cycling drawer the neon green jacket that I had sworn I'd never wear and threw it on for my ride. I'm so glad I did because it kept my core nice and dry but my bottoms were soaked, my legs and face caked with mud and grit. The other thing I need to invest in, a fender...everytime I looked behind me, there wasn't someone right on my tail and it wasn't because I was blowing away people with my lightning speed, but because of the rooster tail I was creating that the riders were trying to avoid (haha). But, I got a ride in the rain out of the way and you know, it wasn't that bad and the shower afterwards never felt so good. When I think about getting muddy, I think of getting on my new mountain bike (more on that later), not my road bike.
OK, so the second 'first' of that day was that I was attacked by a dog on my ride. Thankfully, there were no injuries for me or the dog and it was towards the end of the ride and close enough to home. We were on the Sammamish River Trail and up ahead were 2 rollerbladers - 1 of them with a big dog on a leash. In my head, I remember thinking that I hope that she had good control over her dog or she was one strong rollerblader. Well, neither was the case. The riders in front of me got by OK, but for some reason, the dog decided to lunge at my bike. I really had no time clip out of my pedals to try and ward it off and if I braked, I was going head first over my bars and on to the pavement. I saw the dog had to weigh at least 110 lbs (I swear, it's head was the size of a mature bear cub's) so I just braced for the collision. Not even a yelp from the dog and, I managed to stay upright. Phew, I think all those years of playing ice hockey and learning how to take the contact on the ice helped me maintain my balance. We all stopped to make sure the dog was OK and that I was ready to keep going. I was wet and cold and all I could think of was a hot shower. The adrenaline rush from the dog encounter just motivated me more to get home as soon as possible. Enough adventures on my bike for one day. I didn't get to try out my new mountain bike today because I woke up with my right knee in pain and sporting a lovely bruise. I can only think of the collision with the dog as the cause of the pain. Sigh, maybe tomorrow. In the meantime, pass the ibuprofen and the bag of ice.
(Photo: ABC News, Australia)
OK, so the second 'first' of that day was that I was attacked by a dog on my ride. Thankfully, there were no injuries for me or the dog and it was towards the end of the ride and close enough to home. We were on the Sammamish River Trail and up ahead were 2 rollerbladers - 1 of them with a big dog on a leash. In my head, I remember thinking that I hope that she had good control over her dog or she was one strong rollerblader. Well, neither was the case. The riders in front of me got by OK, but for some reason, the dog decided to lunge at my bike. I really had no time clip out of my pedals to try and ward it off and if I braked, I was going head first over my bars and on to the pavement. I saw the dog had to weigh at least 110 lbs (I swear, it's head was the size of a mature bear cub's) so I just braced for the collision. Not even a yelp from the dog and, I managed to stay upright. Phew, I think all those years of playing ice hockey and learning how to take the contact on the ice helped me maintain my balance. We all stopped to make sure the dog was OK and that I was ready to keep going. I was wet and cold and all I could think of was a hot shower. The adrenaline rush from the dog encounter just motivated me more to get home as soon as possible. Enough adventures on my bike for one day. I didn't get to try out my new mountain bike today because I woke up with my right knee in pain and sporting a lovely bruise. I can only think of the collision with the dog as the cause of the pain. Sigh, maybe tomorrow. In the meantime, pass the ibuprofen and the bag of ice.
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