8 posts tagged “bicycling”

I was sweep for a few Tuesday Night Surprise rides for the Cascade Bicycle Club. Last night I was officially leading the ride. Lynn was going to "sweep."

With the help of Google Earth and Bikely I put together this ride which renders like this in Google Earth:

Lost_in_laurelhurst

This is Seattle; Gasworks Park, where we started, is off to the left (East). The route we followed is the thin white line you see overlaid on the map. It roughly follows the shoreline of Lake Washington. To the right is Magnuson Park.

There were 17 riders last night, and due to the good weather some newcomers. I was a bit nervous, given the turnout there were likely people wrong for the ride. I was also using a mostly untested (in a group) route which would have a fair number of hills. The hills would certainly be a problem for some, especially a Dad with his two kids (largely "dead weight") on a tandem.

Still, despite the possibility of being "too hard", I was looking forward to some "new roads" in the route. The route followed many roads I've never seen other leaders chose: roads through the University of Washington campus (twice), roads of Laurelhurst and Windermere, Magnuson Park, and my favorite bridge over Ravenna Park. I included many roads I used to ride 10 years ago as a student. I also picked out a number different hills, some new to me.

We went through U.W. mostly together. There are a few hills and decents where I picked up speed, but I kept my pace at 14 mph on the flats -- the "moderate pace" meant I had to keep it at around 14-16 mph. Still, I went faster than many in the group. I was told to "keep it slow" and keep the group together. A couple of lights through U.W. a parking lot later, we were in Laurelhurst and I was having to check the cue sheet. Laurelhurst was really the main focus of the ride. My route was called "Lost in Laurelhurst" since the roads snake around a bit making it tough to navigate and I did make one wrong turn -- into a dead end! -- since my cue sheet was incorrect. And rounding the tip of the peninsula (shown in the middle bottom of the map), was a big climb which I think was hard for a number of riders. It was still hot!

I was to wait and regroup after every climb, which I did. It took some time to for all riders to arrive. I felt like apologizing to those late-comers who were having a bit of a hard, obviously. I took out a couple of extra climbs in Laurelhurst but there was still another climb until leaving the neighborhood.

Waiting in front of a gas station, Lynn (sweep) was telling me to "stop" and wait for somebody with a dropped chain. Given we had 17 bicycles, it was inevitable that something would happen to one of them. Then there was a lady who was walking her bicycle downhill, and who I later heard was recovering from a shoulder injury before she left the ride.

I knew Windermere was going to be easier, so I wanted to move along and redeem myself. Indeed, it was a fun ride and much flatter than Laurelhurst. Then there was getting to Magnuson Park, which was easy. I discovered the park was under serious construction and no water for the people who ran out. This was bad, although not really my problem since the riders could have easily carried enough to ride these 20 miles! Lynn also said goodbye to the injured woman and her friend, who I guess wasn't up for the ride.

Post potty break, we rode through the rest of the park, reaching the end, and there I was finding the road did not end up at the exit of the park, but instead pretty much dead-ended. With 17 people (now 15) you try to hide your mistakes a bit. Near the old Navy village, people were clamoring for water, but there was none, and we had to carry on.

There was one more big climb, and I sort of dreaded it, since I think people had their fill by now. I stuck with the plan. The decent was fun but lead to a busy arterial with no shoulder (NE 95th Street). It'd be normally okay, but with 15 riders it was pretty dangerous to take that road, especially uphill a bit. John with the two kids had enough and went home. And the rest of us went to Meadowbrook Community Center and had a water break. It was now getting on to sunset.

Lynn suggested a different way back than in my cue sheet to save a hill, and advised me to take a way not entirely familiar. I missed my turn to Ravenna Avenue NE. The group was split! Realizing my mistake we U-turned and the front half (me) eventually caught up with the back half.

Returning was mostly uneventful except for passing through a Block Party, which we weren't supposed to do.

I learned a few things from this experience: 1) Moderate pace means picking a route with hills climbleable with moderate effort. (Though 80% of the riders were okay, it probably wasn't good to "kill" the other 20%) 2) Pick routes for groups not for individual riders. This means routes with fewer lights and lots of room for cars to pass. 3) People are very tolerant of mistakes made. 4) I might want a clipboard for the sign-up sheet, which takes a long time for many people to get through.

We had a pretty good turn out for the post-ride meal. At the Nickerson, we had a rider under 21 -- a first for this ride? -- and given the liquor laws, we had to eat inside, frustrating since it was hotter inside the building than out. I talked rides with Mike Wong, a ride leader off for the week, ate meatloaf, and had a Manny's.

I joined a fairly elite group of riders yesterday on a ride I wasn't quite ready for: 7000' of climbing over 115 miles. One rider ("John") held the record for Seattle to Spokane (285 miles, in 13 hours), one rider recently did a 600km ride over 4 mountain passes. And the ride leader wasn't a slouch either, one of these bearded old guys who's probably spent more time in the saddle than I've been alive.

Coming up from Ohanapecosh in the southeast corner of Mount Rainer National Park, ascending to Cayuse Pass and Chinook Pass in the rain, the temperature dropped from about 60 to 40 degrees. I was feeling just fine, hardly even tired, just wet and cold in my hands and feet. I managed to get ahead of most of the group, in fact. Then heading east on Highway 410, it quickly warmed up and the scenery transitioned from forests and snow patches to desert canyons. With a strong tailwind, even on the flats, sustaining 24-26 miles per hour was pretty easy, as we followed the Naches River into the Yakima Valley.

But then I found the group had me beat. Slowly I was falling away from the pack. One of the riders came back and pulled me back. We kept together, but I wasn't so confident anymore. I wasn't keeping up!

And then I "flatted" soon on the turn off to White Pass. The ride leader assisted. I learned an important lesson about embedded rock shards in tires: Apparently small pieces of rocks actually wiggle their way through the rubber surface of a tire and can be eventually pushed into the tube causing punctures. He removed a dozen or so of these pieces from my tire and suggested I "flat" and inspect my tires after every long ride. (I also learned what pump to buy.)

I rode ahead. The tremendously helpful tailwind turned into a nasty headwind and energy-wise I wasn't doing so well. I was riding alone and could have used a pack to save my energy. I ate furtively: Calorie Mate and chips. The temperature felt about 80 degrees on the pavement and I really could have used some sugary food. But lunch was a few more miles up the road.

Luckily, I found myself arriving for lunch just a few minutes later of the other riders. I don't think I could have stomached a hamburger and fries preceeding the climb back, so I settled on pie and ice cream. I should have gotten more food, but I had plenty of bars, but again I needed more carbs and sugar. (Why didn't I pack some onigiri?) And so with a significant headwind, the climb to the pass was brutal. I stopped every mile or less to rest.

The decent was obviously easy, but there was a little climb (300' back to Ohanapecosh) in the last few miles. I was delighted to be back at the car.

In some strange way, it was wonderful to discover my limit, and I really started to respect those other riders with me who made this ride look easy. And I was pleased with my performance at the beginning and middle of the ride, knowing I just have to eat a bit better, cycle just a bit more, and sustain to the finish. John, who I drove back to his home in Sumner, paid me a compliment on how well I did on that initial climb.

I rode yesterday (Monday). It was sunny and I had the day off and it seemed appropriate to spend at least part of the day riding.

It was very cold and icy. I managed to avoid the icy patches, but there's something my body did not like about the cold. Perhaps I wasn't breathing right with all the tight layers on. I felt pretty exhausted after about 30 miles, even on the flats. It could have been lack of sleep or not enough food. I needed to eat a bigger breakfast. I had to push my bicycle uphill. I finally got home, gorged on pizza, and took a nap.

Later, I woke up to go finish my bicycle wheel. I apparently can't accurately true wheels yet. I approach asymptomatic trueness and seem to be stuck there. In truing, you work on the lateral side, then radially, then on the dishing, then on the tension. If your technique is good, one dimension of adjustment doesn't affect the other radically. My technique isn't so good.

I got the wheel to finally go, with a few choice spoke nipple turns from the expert. Rim tape went in, and I wiped off the outside of the wheel with some solvent to clean up oily residue and thread lock sauce and what-not. I have three more to build, wish me luck.

Last week's weather was a mixed bag. I got out kayaking once, then it was warm, cold again.

Ero picture. I got a poster of the following manga cover framed and Hitomi does not want it appearing in the bedroom. I thought it was cute.

Bicycling on Saturday: Froze my feet and hands and face going on one of Gary's rides. It was close to 30 degrees. I do remember riding in the snow in Japan, but somehow it seemed colder than that. Several people fell on the ice.

Later that day, we hosted a party for some guest relations people. Hitomi and I were cleaning and running around buying stuff. It was pretty low key. We watched some old anime, including Urusei Yatsura, where Mendou's sister Ryoko hosts a Christmas party. Plot summary: "Ryoko invites the main cast to a X-mas party and holds a contest that involves everyone being paired off in a race to climb a 200 meter tall Christmas tree." At the end, since nobody manages to make it to the top, she launches it off into space like a rocket.

Hitomi's show in Bellingham: Cold and quiet show. Not a lot of people interested in children's wear, perhaps because there aren't too many "Indie" parents? Coordinator shut down the show one hour early.

I came back from a bicycle ride last night, I rode about 40 miles yesterday with a coworker through the rural west side of Marin County. Curt, my coworker, invited me to stay for dinner, but I decided to head back and wash off all the sweat, and get out of my swampy bike shorts.

After my shower, and changing into fairly normal-looking clothing, I headed out of my room and was approached into a middle-aged couple in the hall, who asked what was going on here. Apparently, I "looked like an athletic person" and they were wondering why there were all these athletic-looking people staying at the hotel. I had on slacks, a Gama-go t-shirt, and sandals. So, surprised, I replied "No, I'm actually here for work. I work for Autodesk." They were there actually for some sort of Autodesk "survivor" meeting, people who once worked for the company together and I suppose were there to hang out.

It was probably the first time in my life somebody mistook me for an athletic person. These were fellow nerds, so I'm surprised they were deceived so easily.

One the joys of riding in the city, on city streets, is participating in "driver education." This is because, many drivers have gotten angry at me, and try to teach me where or how I should use the road. And then, it becomes a matter of me trying to correct their misconception.

A year or two ago, I got punched in the face (twice) for upsetting a passenger in a car, when I was using a bicycle lane on Ravenna Boulevard. He apparently wanted me off the road.

There have been other times, though usually I experience mild verbal harassment (threats) or intimidation. Both of which are illegal, though to what extent honking your horn to startle someone is illegal, I don't know.

This last week, I was on my way to Gasworks Park on Stone Way (south), on the beginning portion after Greenlake Way, before NE 45th Street. Riding in the left lane of a four lane road, I apparently was delaying passage of some driver. I didn't look back, but I heard some women shouting out behind me. I wasn't sure what was going on. The light crossing 45th was red, I stopped. The driver changed lanes to the right. I asked her what she was saying.

It was an older lady in a Lexus SUV. She started explaining her concerns... And I didn't really understand her point, but I did hear she didn't like was I couldn't keep up with traffic. Though ironically, I was at the same light she was at, so probably I wasn't inflicting any terrible delay to her drive home. And as for my part, I helpfully pointed out that I had every legal right to use the road and on this road, she could have easily passed me. It was her muddled understanding that if I couldn't keep up with the maximum posted speed limit, I should "move over". This has no basis in law.

Argument over? No, her final response was, "You should be polite." She was turning left at the light (probably blocking a line of cars), and I disappeared.

But just a half block down, I saw the cleanup scene of a car accident. It looked like one car hit the side of another in a turn. There was glass on the road, a tow truck, people milling about, and traffic was trying to get by. Perhaps they were impatiently driving (or exceeding) the "speed limit" and maybe they should have been driving slower? I assume nobody was badly hurt.

Coincidentally, just a few days after this event, I was driving down Stone Way. Stone Way has now been repainted and become a two-lane street with a middle turn lane and bicycle lanes on each side. They have effectively taken away one lane and given it to bicyclists.

I left work at 5PM. The professional services group was off to an evening hockey game. I said goodbye to fellow engineer Scott Ding, who was returning early tomorrow. I showed off my travel bicycle to the instructor, who despite being a 300+ pound man (with 8 children) was interested in bicycling and had several bicycles, mountain and road.

It's hard to say I'm learning a whole lot from the Weblogic class, since I spent more time on researching deployment containers and fixing bugs -- which QA found quite a lot of. Things are starting to gel: I'm fairly certain what direction I want to take my projects at work. It's not certain though, if Autodesk, is a good challenge for myself. Oddly, I like being overwhelmed at times.

I took the Bow River trail east and south. East of the city I passed a number of homeless people loitering on benches and many with heavily laden bicycles parked where they smoked or spoke in packs. The trail curved (without any banking) and went up and down, and numerous walkers or joggers with dogs kept me from getting up to speed like I did the day prior.

Matching my frustrations with snow patches yesterday, today I ended up in mud.  The trail was being worked on, and where the main paved path was, was instead a gravelly section leading above the river bed, up 200 feet or so. In my road bicycle, it was a challenge to keep going. And being clipped in meant I would likely fall over if I had to stop. And if it were my old bicycle I wouldn't care, but here I was trashing (again) my $3000 baby.

I went on, the trail wandered further into a few parks. Crossing a suspension (pedestrian) bridge over the Bow River, I ended up in yet another park, this time through a field where dogs were running all over the place.  The Bow River trail was closed here.  It was closed for vegetation rehabilitation.

I gave up going further and turned around. Just as well, I was hungry at this point. I imagined if this were Thailand I would be only a stone's throw from a snack stand, or if Japan a vending machine. Instead, there were only houses, parks, and industrial sites. A gas pipeline, terminated at (or passing through) a pumping station out-gassed some strong strange organic chemical odors, which did not smell like gasoline or oil. Trains moving around in a rail yard above the trail rattled and banged together. In the distance was a freeway.

The sun was dropped low and was now behind a bank of clouds. I stopped once at a dam on the river, which I suppose was for flood control, but didn't read the signs.  There were many signs, warning of drowning, thin ice, currents, etc.  Often signs on the trail told me to "dismount" to cross empty residential streets with no cars in sight, which I ignored. Signs around every lake also warned of thin ice: My favorite iconography I spotted was of a hand reaching out of a broken sheet of ice.

In Seattle, every few years when it stays cold, you hear of children stepping on thin ice, but I imagine there are more dying in places like Calgary.
 
I was getting closer to downtown: There were more bums than when I left. I guess they were getting ready to camp out along the river. Why not? It was forecast to be above freezing tonight. I got back to the hotel famished, changed out of my sweaty bike clothes and headed out for food.

My new bicycle (Ritchey Break Away) and I took off to San Jose without incident. It took me about an hour to put it away. Although it was fairly easy to disassemble by simply unscrewing the correct screws with either a 6, 7, or 8 mm hex wrench, it was quite difficult to insert all the pieces into the bag. And although I managed to place everything by shifting parts around, things did seem to rise out of the top of the bag more than I would have liked.

I took a 6AM flight on Saturday to San Jose, which I later discovered was a mistake. The people from Playphone kept me in an all day meeting until about 6PM. We did then go to dinner, but once again I found that eating with people who talk a lot keeps me from enjoying my food. It was a dinner I was being paid to eat, so perhaps I shouldn't complain so hastily. I was exhausted at 9PM, so I pleaded to be driven back to the hotel. It would have been nice to go out with Saji, whose company I enjoy. Perhaps I will next time?

The hotel, located on a major road through Cupertino, receives quite a lot of guests working or training at the local Silicon Valley businesses, such as HP. It probably was built in the late 70s or 80s, the same vintage of the hotel I usually am at in San Rafael. There's a few oddities in the room. In the bathroom is a black and white TV which is tuned using a dial, like an old fashioned radio. The room has an Ethernet jack (no wireless) and you have to go down to the front desk to borrow it ($50 fine if you fail to return this $2 cord.) Business hotels are soulless affairs. (I suppose one exception is the "Dormy Inn" I stayed at in Akihabara, with the open air bath on the roof.)

I made a mistake of not bringing or buying a map. Luckily the hotel front desk had one, but all the points of my interest were off the left side of the page, up in the hills surrounding the valley. The valley -- formally farms, now strip malls, housing developments, and some small universities and colleges -- was not interesting at all for bicycling. I saw some serpentine roads snaking off the edge of my map and knew that these would take me into the better geography.

On my way to the edge of the map, I tried to avoid some major roads by entering the housing development areas. I got lost and turned around. I ended up on some road that took me south, not west. Of course then I ended up off the bottom of the map. I stopped a woman and asked for directions. She told me to turn around. Finally climbing the hills, the roads got increasing confusing. But I followed the major roads to the Stevens Creek County Park visitor center, which provided me with information further west.

My bicycle took me up some fairly steep hills, covered in sage brush and straggly vegetation. It was about 70-80 degrees, sunny and dry. I passed an ugly reservoir, with numerous fisherman lined up on the banks fly and cast fishing.

Continuing on, there was a road to the right which follows the creek. Although I had no idea where it might take me, I had hoped someplace scenic at the end of it. The creek burbles down the hill quite steeply, and although the road seems somewhat flat, climbs quite significantly. The road (Stevens Canyon Road), walled in by steep terrain on both sides is forced to criss-cross over it. Along the way are ugly, dilapidated houses, trailers, etc., with signs warning people (especially government officials) to stay the hell off their property. The elevation and constant shade of the valley wall and trees made it quite chilly. Signs near the wooden bridges warned of ice. Stevens Canyon Road ends at a gate and I was forced to turn around.

I returned to the main road and continued around the county park, climbing uphill into wine country. There was a winery at the top of this small mountain. The founder, a NASA test pilot back in the 40s and 50s, started the winery as a hobby. Numerous pictures of strange experimental aircraft and planes were hung up on the walls. Below was the usual winery gift shop merchandise. His children run the business now. The shop tender (his daughter) allowed me to sample some the wines (which I did not actually enjoy as much as I had hoped) and provided me with a map and some directions down the hill.

Coming down the hill was much faster than the climb. I was warned of blind driveways and other drivers so I stuck to the middle of the lane. I met up with a major road (the one I mistakenly took to the south), and went further south into Saratoga village.

Saratoga village, unlike the strip malls which surround it, actually has a bit of personality. Of course, it's vaguely the same personality in most tourist towns: Art galleries, expensive clothing stores, romantic (pretentious) restaurants, knick-knacks for grandmas and children, ice cream stands, etc. I noticed a sandwich shop that attracted quite a few local bicyclists, who were sitting outside in their jerseys and bicycle shorts, enjoying a drink or some food.

The uniform of cyclists is quite garish, but it allows us to easily identify each other. I ended up talking to a few other cyclists about the area. Two men Tom and John (or Dave, I forget) allowed me to join them on their ride and took me on some more interesting back roads back to my hotel.

One of the men asked me if I knew any crazy cyclists in Seattle. I told him I actually don't know of any. I asked what he meant, he gave me an example of Race Across America. I said I never heard of it. It's a 3000 mile race where there are no rest periods. People on tandems take turns sleeping on their bicycles.

I returned to the hotel, packed my bags and left.

Here is my bicycle route recreated from memory.