100 miles - Cycling to Flaming Geyser State Park and back

(Photo: Courtesy of LUNA Chix Cycling - Seattle)

After five days of paddling around San Juan Island and upper body work, my legs were ready for a good ride. Besides, just before I left for my trip, I finally got my new compact-double chainring installed and I wanted to test it out and see if I would be missing my "granny gear." Ever since the accident I witnessed at the beginning of the month where I watched a woman lose control of her bike on a descent and flip head over heels, I've been really tentative going downhill on my road bike. I hated that I had lost that edge and I knew that by squeezing more on the brakes and riding on the hood of my handlebars, I was increasing my chances of getting into an accident. I had to take care of that. So, on Saturday, I attended a workshop on descending (emergency stops, turning, etc.). It was held by the local LUNA Chix chapter in conjunction with Cycling University. It was the best 2-hour clinic I've taken. By the end of the class, I was way more comfortable than ever descending in the lower position (hands grasping the curve that comes under the bars), and had better body position (my ass way back and off the seat) for emergency braking on a downhill.

But, that wasn't enough time on my bike. That same day, I found out from one of the people in class that there was a 100-mile bike ride out to Flaming Geyser and back the following day (Sunday). It was perfect because the ride was mostly flat which gave me lots of time to play with my new gears. And, I had to work off some of that awesome food I had consumed the week before on my kayak trip.

OK, so Sunday was also the hottest day in Seattle...by the time the ride started at 8:00 am, it was already in the 70s and we were heading southeast out past Auburn so it was going to get warmer. The ride also felt more like a cyclocross event (the bike is like a hybrid where the tires are a little fatter for handling the off-road obstacles, but the frame is light enough so you could carry it over the obstacles when you needed to) because of the number of times we had to dismount and carry our bikes due to closed trails, and routes cut-off by a local marathon. Once we even had to carry our bikes across a teeny bit of a golf course. The ride out was fine and we reached our turnaround point just before noon. But, I was so hot and all I could think about was filling up my water bottles with cold water so I stopped at the first restroom and didn't even ride all the way in to see the infamous Flaming Geysers. Going back sucked. It was hot and there was a good headwind (isn't there always?). I rode with the larger group so I could poach off of someone's tail (all-in-all there were 60 riders in our group....I thought I was the only insane one who willfully chooses to ride 100 miles on a hot day). Once we entered Seattle proper, the first test of my compact-double was coming up. One long steady hill into Seward Park, followed by a shorter, but steeper hill up from Lake Washington and through the Arboretum. The first hill was loooong....and there were no trees to shade me. I always thought it was cool when pro-cyclists poured the contents of their water bottle over their head as they rode up a hill. I was so hot on that hill so I got my chance to do it. I made sure that I grabbed my bottle that didn't have my energy mix in it otherwise it would be a sticky mess. Wow - the water felt great and it gave me enough energy to finish that hill and coast into Seward Park. I wanted to be one of the first ones in so that I would have more time cooling off and resting. Time to refill - again, one bottle for dumping on my head, the other with fresh energy mix. By now, it had to be in the upper 80s or even the 90s. I looked around and others had gone for the shaved ice station and were happily munching on grape and cherry-flavored ice bits....WAAAAH! I had no time to buy one because just at that point, the ride leader gave us a 2 minute warning. I poured one more bottle of water over my head, threw on my helmet and was mentally prepared to attack that last hill.

I enjoyed the view along Lake Washington and traded stories with Alain who I met on previous rides. He's a much stronger rider now, while, before I used to cruise by him on hills. Now he's right up there with me....(Great riding, Alain!!! Keep it up and good luck on the STP!!!) We got to the final climb and I was behind 2 riders who immediately geared down to their grannies...to my left, I saw Alain ride by me so I maneuvered out of that rolling roadblock, hammered, and gave chase to Alain and others who had just blown by me. Wow.....I LUV my compact-double!! I quickly gained ground and was at the top in no time. OK - thank you, Oleg (from Veloce Velo), for recommending that change. I made it back to my car just in time because I was beginning to get punch drunk. I didn't pack enough food and, oh, did I tell you it was hot (LOL)? So, I treated myself to a chocolate shake and a Kidd Valley burger afterwards (I had a few calories to spare after burning probably close to 6000 that day). I can't believe it took me this long to eat one since my move back to the northwest. Normally not what I would recommend as recovery food, but it was close by and I had to eat soon. Yummy! Within an hour, I was back to feeling human again.