Winding down

After my century ride at the end of June, I had non-specific plans to go on some local sight-seeing tours - day-trips or tours of a few days to a week, to Vancouver Island, along the Columbia River maybe. I have a "Places to Go" list that keeps getting longer. But I rested a bit in July first.

Then I joined in (uninvited) with a group that rides from Ferndale on Tuesday mornings. I think I'm the baby of the group, the others are closer to sixty, or in their seventies, but they are a brisk, lively group, and fun to ride with. They split into moderate (15mph average) or fast-paced groups and ride different routes of thirty to maybe fifty or sixty miles, usually with a stop for coffee and pastry or ice cream along the way. Last time I rode, they were talking about riding the Mount Baker Hill Climb, on Hwy. 542, even though the formal race isn't being held this year.

Unfortunately, I had been having back and leg pain that wouldn't quit for a couple of weeks, kept getting worse and kept me up at night. I was about to visit the doctor for the chronic pain alone, but finally one night in mid-August I woke up with stomach upset that left me sleeping on the bathroom floor most of the night. It was the flu. It was miserable. I was weak and shaky for about five days, and tired easily and slept a lot for at least a week after that.

Then I decided I was being a lazy baby, and am getting out for 25-30 mile rides a few times a week now. Still hoping to build up enough stamina for some easy tourist rides before the end of September.

Roundabout on the road to the Lummi Reservation

. . . and on the way out

Today I went for a random ramble out past the Silver Reef Casino, along North Red River Road. I rode about twenty-five miles, just exploring and following the road. School has started now, and the day was sunny, pleasant and peaceful, without too much car traffic at mid-day.

Later I ended up on some of the hilly farm roads on the hill northwest of Ferndale, where I spotted a pair of peacocks crossing the road. Someone used to keep peacocks, pheasants, quail and other game birds at Hovander Park, along with rabbits, pigs, goats and sheep of unusual varieties. After one or another phase of economic downturn and budget cuts, the exotics disappeared, but it seems someone has been keeping them privately. More than once before I've found peacock feathers along the road near the BP refinery, though it's hard to believe the birds could range that far safely on their own.

I thought maybe it had something to do with the Peacock Throne.

Artichokes at Hovander Park

And in other news:

They can, and so they do

Last week Burlington-Northern announced they would be putting in additional segments of track through Bellingham, Ferndale and Custer to Cherry Point. Turns out they meant "work starts on Monday."

This has been a local controversy: BN is moving train loads of soft coal in open cars through Whatcom County for shipment to China. People here have been concerned about increased train traffic, as well as pollution from coal dust, and danger of spills or fires. Not to mention the use of dirty soft coal as fuel worldwide.

Baseball, hotdogs, apple pie, but no Chevrolet

Just a few weeks back I picked up a little leaflet at a grocery store check-out line - the Bellingham Bells baseball team's 2014 game schedule.

One of the best things about my old neighborhood - the one I was driven from for keeping my bicycle in my living room - was living a block away from the box office at Joe Martin Stadium. Summer evenings, after a light dinner after work, I would stroll over to the gate at about 6:30, buy a $6 ticket, and enjoy a cool evening in the bleachers. It's a delightful little nostalgia trip.

The Bells are members of a regional minor league comprised of teams including the Rogues from Medford, Oregon, the Bend Elks, the Everett Merchants, and the Walla Walla Sweets and Wenatchee AppleSox. Some Canadian teams play as well: the Kelowna Falcons and the Victoria HarborCats from Vancouver Island. The players are college-team players from as far away as Hawaii, Florida and Georgetown University, who board with local families during the summer.

Last Sunday, after uncovering the leaflet among the heaps of paper scraps on my desk, I noted the Bells' final home game of the season was coming up on Wednesday, July 30. Fan Appreciation Night, with fireworks after the game. My last chance for an excursion this summer.

This time I left Ferndale at about five on my bicycle. I could have taken the bus in, but as I have mentioned so many times before, there is no bus service back home after seven in the evening.

Something decisive happened here, but I was
too busy fiddling with my camera to catch it

Joe Martin Stadium has a recently remodeled red-brick grandstand with the traditional food and beer concessions, but unfortunately the seats face in to the setting sun. My favorite spot is in the bleachers along the first-base path, where you can get a wide-angle view of the whole field. You can also get sun-burn on your right arm and the right side of your face, but after sunset it gets very chilly. You'll need some fleece layers and maybe a seat cushion if you stay the whole nine innings on the aluminum bench seats.

The final score

The Bells held the Rogues scoreless until the final inning, scoring three runs to win the game. They still have nine away games in August, but the win on Wednesday means Bellingham will host the regional play-offs later in the summer.

whoopee!

The Bells take the field after their win

Un jour sans

More than one, honestly. I didn't ride at all the week after the Red-Bell 100. Since then I've been riding three or four times a week, 25-35 miles each time. The new softer, wider saddle I put on my bike seems much better for my middle-aged sit-bones, though my knees feel a bit unstable. The twinge in my right knee has gone away, but my left knee seems to slip out of place a little, and I get some pinches and twinges when I sleep turned on my side, which I take as a sign that my bones and ligaments are realigning themselves into better position.

We've had alternating heat waves with temperatures in the mid-to-high-90's, followed by rainy spells to remind us what being a Pacific Northwesterner is really all about.

Supposedly on Wednesday we had record-breaking rainfall, but I didn't notice particularly. It seemed normal.

So I am gradually returning to riding, and wondering what will be my next little adventure. In the meantime, some pix of the ever-evolving Nooksack River woodpile.

It is evolving, too. A bare willow tree trunk is sprouting branches, and there are clumps of Chinese knotweed, an invasive noxious weed, getting established in the middle of the river, which is silty and low whenever the rain stops.

The bird life is most interesting - iridescent black/blue/green/purple-backed swallows with creamy breasts, some kind of crested brown bird with a yellow and cream throat and belly, and maybe some bars of red on the wings and tail. Much more interesting to watch than the usual gulls and pigeons.

A Few More Observations

• Since I began training for the Red-Bell 100 back in February, I've logged more than 2100 miles. Looking back at my training calendar, it seems I usually alternated weeks riding minimal mileage because of bad weather or school conflicts, with weeks when I crammed in two long rides on the weekend, plus added extra miles to my commute to campus or errand running trips during the week.

• No doubt I would have done better building my distances more consistently, but this is the Pacific Northwest. Besides, it was a lot easier to get motivated and stay committed when I rode with Team in Training than when I was riding alone this year. Although, probably my biggest contribution to the team back then was just that I always showed up, ready and eager to ride.

• On my last few longer training rides, of 62+ miles, my sit bones started to feel sore and achey. I finally decided to order a softer saddle from the Terry catalog, but didn't receive it in time for the century ride (my own fault for procrastinating). This afternoon, after taking a five-day rest, I cleaned up my bike, put the new saddle on and discovered the old one was broken - the nylon shell base was cracked at the back of the cut-out. It probably lost its springiness and shock-absorbing property because of the crack, which made my butt hurt. Besides, the rails were scraped and corroded and the white dye was rubbing off the cover, making it look sort of pinkish. In short, after four years of year-round riding, it was worn out.

• The old saddle was a Terry Falcon X; the new one is a Terry Liberator X. I'm looking forward to trying it out as soon as the Fourth of July rain blows over.

• Did you know the intercom system on Amtrak trains can pick up cell phone signals? Don't use your cell phone on the train, especially if you're the kind of person who uses the word "like" on average more than twice per sentence. Because, like, you know, she was all like, you know, and then she got all you know, like that. And then she goes, she goes, whoa you know, like that, and . . . 

All Over Now: Red-Bell 100

The event weekend is past and I've had a few days to recover my wits. I felt better physically than mentally on Sunday - no injuries or major sore spots (other than my sit bones) but I felt spacey and sleepy all day Sunday and Monday.

Travel Plans

For a couple of years I've wanted to try using the public commuter bus system to get from Bellingham to the Seattle area. I know from a past trip that if you start out very early in the morning you can take Whatcom Transit to Mount Vernon, catch a Skagit Transit bus to Everett, then take the Swift commuter bus in to Seattle, all with bicycle on board. But in the end I didn't want to improvise before my big ride, so I booked a one-way trip on Amtrak, then caught a Seattle Metro commuter bus across Lake Washington to Redmond. 

The outdoor velodrome at Marymoor Park

To make sure I could find the ride start at Marymoor Park on Saturday morning, I explored around the town of Redmond a bit on Friday afternoon. Thanks to Microsoft, the town has been transformed from a dull little Boeing-suburb to an upscale techie haven. Because of construction and street improvement projects, many streets were blocked off and trail access points were detoured.

. . . the only one I know of in the Northwest

I had delayed too long to book my hotel room and ended up staying five or six miles away from the ride start in Marymoor Park, at the Totem Lake Carlton Inn. It was cheap but had received some very ominous ratings online, so I was a little alarmed when I looked out the window and saw police, fire and Medic One units (two each) outside the entrance. But they went away soon, with no disturbance. My room was big, clean, quiet and comfortable - everything I needed to get a good night's rest and get out early in the morning. The decor was dated and the carpets were dirty, but that's for the best when you're bringing a bicycle along.

The Yuppie Pawn Shop, Tavern and Food Cart is next door, and the Veloce Cafe with espresso and pasta for dinner. Before I left Seattle I had cruised the waterfront a bit and stopped at a deli to eat a huge veggie sandwich, so I just bought fresh fruit, sparking water and Luna bars at a nearby Trader Joe's for a light dinner in my room instead. I brought my own instant oatmeal with nuts and raisins for breakfast, plus Clif bars and Powerade for the ride.

My plans went a little awry in the morning. I was able to retrace my route back to Redmond along the Sammamish River Trail pretty easily, but all the road blocks and detours from Friday afternoon had been removed by Saturday morning and I lost the trail somewhere between downtown Redmond and Marymoor Park. I backtracked on a bike route under the Hwy. 520 interchange a few times before picking up the route again, but I rode nine miles just to get to the start area.

The Big Event

Very orderly crowd at the starting line

According to the announcer at the ride start, about five hundred riders were starting out, but the crowd didn't seem that large. Because I'm a slow, steady rider I went up to the head of the crowd to get out the gate early, knowing I'd soon fall behind. I had a panicky moment on a tight curving trail access ramp when I downshifted and my chain jammed - while I was in the middle of a group of club riders. But I managed to back-pedal then start up again until the chain caught smoothly, without taking the whole group down.

I saw some Cascade Bicycle Club jerseys, and several other club/race team jerseys - from the back, as they passed me. The first eight miles were easy, along the flat Sammamish River Trail, but then there was a monster hill-climb on Woodinville-Duvall Road. The team riders passed me easily as I chugged up a mile-and-a-half climb, and I struggled to keep them in sight, then catch up on steep down-hills. I've learned not to be embarrassed to take big breaths, and huff and puff loudly on hard climbs so I can recover faster, and I was able to manage my gears and momentum on downhills to help me up the next hill. But I was trying too hard, and regretted it farther on.

Machias rest stop, mile 28

After the hilly section we followed easier roads until we picked up Snohomish County's Centennial Rail-Trail at about mile 23, and rode five miles on to the first stop. This is where I realized that I would wear myself out before the end of the ride if I didn't take it easier and recover from the hard start. The Centennial Trail is a lovely, flat, paved trail with a down-grade as you travel north for the next twenty-five or so miles. There is a wide, grassy equestrian trail next to the paved bike and foot trail, and you can ride straight for miles listening to birds, seeing nothing but moist greenery. It actually gets a little tedious.

Dairy monument in Arlington

About three miles before the Arlington rest stop (at mile 45) it began to rain hard. We were back on city roads by then and I was skating fast on the smooth, wet pavement, but a couple of people crashed crossing wet railroad tracks - no major injuries, just muddy, gritty scrapes. I waited out most of the rain storm, snacking, stretching and chatting with other riders under a pergola in the park, leaving the park at around 11am.

After leaving Arlington and the Centennial Trail, the route followed Old Hwy. 99 parallel to I-5, which is not the loveliest scenery, but it is a pretty direct route to the lunch rest stop at the Skagit Valley Produce barn by the Hwy. 543 overpass across I-5, 64 miles along. At this point my stomach was full of a pasty glop of Clif bars and Powerade, and I really didn't feel like eating even though I knew, with forty miles to go, I'd need more fuel. Some nice wrap sandwiches were provided, but all I could manage was a big helping of Greek salad and some Talking Rain seltzer. Fortunately this seemed to lighten my stomach a bit.

Lunch break

After lunch the route moved on to roads that are familiar to me from my spring training rides - near the Skagit River, around the tulip fields, and the stretch of Avon-Allen Road I had followed the Saturday before on my way home from LaConner. Our last rest stop was at mile 84, at Allen Community Park, where we were served some refreshing watermelon. By this time I was feeling a bit hungry and knew I'd need more substantial food to make it through the Chuckanut Drive rollers, so I ate the two bananas I'd been carrying, then set off for the final, familiar 20-mile stretch.

I posted photos to Facebook at each rest stop on the way, and at the Boundary Bay finish party, which is a pretty high technological achievement for me, under the circumstances. But my cellphone photos weren't very good quality and I didn't take any others after the lunch break. So the only way to see the fabled Chuckanut Drive bay views is to go ride it yourself.

I was tempted to turn off the road and take the flatter Interurban Trail, but I'm too stubborn, even though there was no one around to see if I did. I reached the lemonade stand at the top of the last hill climb at 5:10pm. The last #27 bus to Ferndale leaves Cordata Station at 5:20pm on Saturdays, so at that point I knew I'd be riding my bike all the way home. I rolled on to Boundary Bay Brewery to enjoy a leisurely and excellent dinner of a veggie-burger, fries and lemonade.

My road-time for the 104-mile route was about 7.5 hours (not counting rest and lunch breaks); including breaks, my travel-time was 10.5 hours. Add the nine miles to get to Marymoor Park before the start, and the (slow and wobbly) ride home to Ferndale, and I rode a total of 124 miles for the day.

I celebrated my 55th birthday this June, and I'm glad I pushed myself to complete this event. But from now on I'll stick to shorter, more touristy, sight-seeing rides.

Ready Now

For Saturday, I had planned an 85-mile round-trip ride (Ferndale-LaConner-Ferndale) but deviations from the route I mapped on Google turned the ride into 92 miles. Out of habit, I turned off Hwy. 11 south of Chuckanut Drive and rode through the tiny towns of Bow and Edison, before realizing my Google cue-sheet gave other directions. Referring to my Skagit County map, I decided to follow Farm-to-Market Road as far as Young Road, then zag over to LaConner-Whitney Road in to LaConner. There was one short but steep hill on Farm-to-Market that I couldn't take, and had to dismount and walk half-way up, but otherwise I enjoyed a nice tailwind going south, though I was aware all the way that the ride home would be harder.

Tulips in the spring, wheat in the summer

On the return trip I rode LaConner-Whitney to MacLean Road and on in to Mount Vernon. The town seems to be going through a general remodelling right now - there are lots of vacant storefronts, and the waterfront boardwalk, usually the site of a summer Saturday Farmer's Market, is being rebuilt. I stopped to rest and read my maps again, and decided to turn back and follow Avon-Allen Road back to Hwy. 11/ Chuckant Drive. This turn-off is a little bit tricky: just before Hwy. 11 is an intersection with Sam Bell Road, where it's tempting to turn left, but that would send you out to Padilla Bay and Samish Island, which is a whole ride for another day.

The Skagit Valley farms seem to be less mono-culture than they have been: tulip and daffodil fields are now planted with wheat and pumpkins or squash, and there are tree and blueberry or strawberry farms, which smell delightful just now.

Edward R. Murrow lived here, according to local legend

Chuckanut Drive, as I've mentioned before, is a beautiful but difficult ride because of the short rollers, rough pavement and narrow road. The Samish flats are difficult going north as well because of the prevailing headwind, so I was pretty tired and weaving a bit on Hwy 11 as I approached Chuckanut Drive. My odometer turned 3000 miles just past the Edward R. Murrow house, where the Chuckanut rollers begin, but I had to ride on a half mile or so before I could stop safely to celebrate with a Clif bar and a slug of Powerade.

I got fired up somewhere along the way and made the last hillclimb before Fairhaven pretty well, and was just past the 80-mile mark near Boundary Bay Brewery in downtown Bellingham. This will be the finish area of the Red-Bell 100 next Saturday. However, after eighty miles on that day, I would still be back somewhere on Hwy. 11, just approaching Chuckanut. Still, yesterday I had to ride twelve miles more to get home, and the 92-mile ride is pretty close to a century, so now I feel confident I can last for the whole ride. I probably won't make it in less than seven hours, but maybe eight, and I expect I can get back in time to catch the #27 bus back to Ferndale after the finish party at Boundary Bay. If not, I might have to sleep in a doorway or something, and crawl home on Sunday morning.

Postcards from LaConner:

Swinomish Tribal Center, across the channel from LaConner

Nice weather for March

Too bad it's June. I had planned an eighty mile ride for one of my days off last week, Friday, Saturday or Sunday, but the weather turned stormy and I only managed a few 25-35 mile rides all week.

Next week I only have one more day of class, a review session, then a two-hour final exam. (I think, but the professor seems to be improvising the syllabus in these last few weeks.) I'll need to find some study time, but I'm hoping to fit in a long ride some time during the week, weather permitting.

I have noticed I don't recover as quickly from longer rides as I did back in 2007, when I trained and rode the Seattle-to-Portland. Rides of 30-35 miles are comfortable and refreshing for me; 45-55 miles is pushing a bit; sixty miles or more and I feel tired, spacey and dragged out the next day. Now that I've worked up to the 60+ range I have to make sure to eat well to be fueled up for a long ride - but when the weather turns bad, I don't burn off the calories the way I'd expected. I don't really ride hard enough to have sore muscles, except for stiffness in my back, I just feel very fatigued afterwards. By contrast, the summer I rode with Team in Training for the STP, the training program actually made me feel more energetic. Of course, I'm seven years older now, but I'm not sure whether it's age, or that I'm riding alone, without the support and enthusiasm of teammates, that makes me feel sometimes as if I'm just grinding along out of stubbornness.

In fact, this spell of rainy weather has reminded me of how I trudged through the winter day-to-day when I wasn't working. I will really need to pull myself together and find better use for my time. After spring quarter ends, I'm finished with school; then I'll ride the Red-Bell 100 on June 28. Then I have no other plans.