Accessorizing

Well, I've been spending a lot more time riding than blogging. Almost 700 miles on the new bike now. Last week I had a spell of bad luck with flat tires - the roads haven't been swept yet this spring so there's still a lot of glass and metal shards in the bike lanes. But it was good practice.

One small problem I discovered early on when I was equipping the bike with all those necessary little accessories: I couldn't fit two regular bottle cages on my 51cm frame. Luckily, the geniuses at Cannondale think of everything. They designed special cages which hold the bottles up a little higher so they don't knock together at the bottom, and open to the side so you don't need space to pull the bottle upwards. I found these in REI Co-op's online catalog, and spent the rest of my dividend and year-end clearance discounts on a new frame pump, and a set of new head- and tail-lights.

I'm definitely riding faster on the lighter, better-fitting frame, and hill-climbing is easier, too. I'm still experimenting with the seat height, but the stock saddle feels fine.

But I can't resist pointing out a couple of little quibbles. The bottle cage packaging specifies they are "right side" cages, but of course if you mount one on the seat tube and one on the down tube, one opens to the left and one to the right.

Also, note the typo. I really shouldn't snicker about that, since the package is bi-lingual in English and French, and my spelling in French is full of random errors. But, speaking as an under-employed English major, who has been called obsolete, worthless and useless more than once, I feel I have to demonstrate my value to bike-geeky, techie, engineer types. For whatever that's worth.

Complications

Shortly after my last post, my computer crashed irreparably. I had been having trouble with my internet service for months, and I guess finally my desktop PC was over-whelmed by all the diagnostics and systems restores I'd been running.

For now I'm back to using the library computers or Starbucks wifi (I bought a Kindle to use in a pinch, but it wouldn't connect with my home internet). This predicament kind of takes me back to the almost-homeless month when I stayed in motels before ending up here in Ferndale, but it's good to be reminded of what is or isn't necessary.

I'm putting off deciding on replacement service and hardware because I've been meaning to move for so long, this seems like a good time to finally get with it. Except that's a lot harder to manage without home internet access. So complicated . . . .

Also, I still love my new bicycle, but it's been too wet and stormy to ride more than about 120 miles this month (in February, I mean). In strong winds it almost feels like it will blow out from under me, but I'm getting used to it.

Cannondale Express

At last, I made up my mind on a new bike. I had almost definitely decided on a Salsa Vaya, though I was having a hard time choosing between blue and green.

Then again, thinking of waiting for REI Co-op's spring sales and member dividend, I browsed through the bike selection in REI's on-line catalog. Sometime before I had noted the Cannondale Synapse Alloy 7 Compact, which got good reviews from REI customers, as well as in cycling magazines. It has an aluminum frame with a carbon fork, and the rear triangle is designed to dampen vibration, which sounded especially good to me, with my tender spine and arthritic joints. Also, the women's version came in a 51cm frame with a shorter reach to the handlebars, a much better fit for me. And priced at less than $1000.

I hesitated for a few days about buying sight-unseen, and never mind test-riding. Besides, due to marketing agreements REI can't even ship online orders of Cannondale bikes to their Bellingham store. I would have to go pick the bike up from Seattle, Bellevue or Alderwood Mall.

Still, I wanted to get back to riding as soon as weather permitted - right after the groundhog declared early spring. And I have lingering doubts about the local bike shop that sells the Salsa - the shop that let me go home with the Surly that has been such a bad fit. The Surly Crosscheck is a great bike, and I probably shouldn't have been such an easy customer, but still . . .

Finally I said, what the hell, go for it. The bike was delivered to Alderwood Mall promptly, but it was several days before I could arrange my schedule to go pick it up.

I have been meaning to try using local commuter bus services for a trip south, rather than Amtrak, Bolt or Greyhound, and this was my opportunity. I had to leave Ferndale at about 5:30am to get to downtown Bellingham; I rode my old K2 hybrid bike, which I left parked at the transit center. I caught Whatcom Transit's 80X bus bound for Mount Vernon at 6:40am. At Chuckanut Station in Skagit County I caught SKAT's 90X at 7:30am, bound for the Everett Transit Center, where it arrives at 8:25am. From there Sound Transit's route 512 departs about every ten minutes, so I stopped for a snack and my second cup of morning coffee before continuing on to the Ash Way Park & Ride near Alderwood Mall. A local bus route goes direct to the mall, but the day was turning sunny, if coolish, so I walked about a mile instead.

The REI store people were friendly, quick and helpful, the bike was ready and waiting: sleek, glossy black with a sloping top tube and Shimano integrated brake/shift-levers. I took it out to the large Alderwood Mall parking lot for a quick test ride. I have used bar-end shifters, thumb-shifters and barrel-type index shifters, but never STI shift levers. It was easy to figure out how to shift up, but I had to stop to read the instruction manual to figure out how to shift down.

A little practice with that, then I headed out to the street and rode back to the P&R lot, where I bravely loaded my beautiful brand-new bike on the front rack of the bus for the return trip to Bellingham. There is a mid-day gap in the northbound 90X schedule between 8:30am and 3:10pm, so I had to kill some time in Everett. I rode around near the station a bit, but was too nervous to go far. Since I hadn't brought a bike-lock with me, I brought the bike inside the station when I wanted to get a sandwich at the coffee shop.

As I was about to order, a security guard came over and warned me, "No bikes in the station!" Trying to look cute and appealing I said, "But it's brand new. I just picked it up from the shop, and I don't have a lock for it yet." He relented, telling me to leave the bike just outside the door where he could watch it for me while I got my sandwich. I sat outside in the sun to eat, and got both sun-burned and chilled in mid-fifty degree temperatures.

The bicycle and I both survived the ride on the freeway back to Bellingham, and I rode it ten miles back to Ferndale. Yesterday was another sunny day and I got out for a twenty mile ride. I like it.

Unfortunately, we have been having torrential rains on saturated soils and the rivers are near flood stage every other day. If the groundhog did return to his burrow he must have drowned in there by now.

And a Happy New Year

Still taking time off the road, until I make up my mind to get out my wallet and buy a bike that fits me right. Besides, my resolution this year is to do the sensible, responsible thing and go in for the dental work I've been avoiding for so long.

Last Sunday, after several sunny days, I went out for a short ride along the Nooksack River trail on my old K2 hybrid. It was only about twelve miles on a level trail, but it was a rattley, bangy ride. Some work had been done on the trail south of Slater Road over the summer, but after the first mile or two you can see where the river went over the banks a bit. No major flooding, but the water washed out the trail in a few places, swirling around, digging under tree-roots and under-cutting the trail.

Forecasts are for another "rain event" starting today.

Season's Greetings!

Since my thanks-giving trip to my home town in October, I've hardly ridden my bike at all. We've been having drenching rain storms, with winds gusting up to 80mph one day. Besides I caught a bad cold which gave me an excuse to indulge myself by spending a day or two bundled up at home, drinking herb tea, eating hot soup, and reading and napping for hours at a time - very enjoyable. I recovered fast, but it's been hard to face the thought of vigorous exercise in cold, wet weather.

Still, I was aiming to ride 5000 miles this year, without regular commuting to rack up mileage. By mid-December I still had almost fifty to go. Trying to catch up, I did a couple of easy, flat twelve mile rides, then on Christmas Day rode a 26-mile loop to Lynden and back. The lay-off from riding has had its effect: I was tired and sore after only 26 miles, and have decided I definitely need a bike that fits me better.

Wintering in Ferndale is already very isolating and lonely, and Lynden on Christmas Day wasn't very cheery, either - the town was completely closed down by afternoon. All the churches on Front Street have lights and nativity scenes but services were over for the day and everyone had gone home. The weather was a little warmer, with a hint of blue sky and sunshine, though, and some of the views of farms along the way reminded me of old English or Dutch landscape paintings. So it was good to get out and get moving again.

Still have eighteen miles to go before the end of the year.

Snow on the foothills, but not at sea-level yet.
Mount Baker is hidden in the clouds here.

Home Again

Seattle from Myrtle Edwards Park

Thanksgiving Day, almost exactly three months since I returned from my bicycle tour in Quebec, and I've fallen back in to my old routines. Not exactly, I'm making some changes.

All summer I had meant to take a trip to my home town of Issaquah, to try out some of the rail-trails and bicycle-pedestrian routes that have been developed around Lake Samammish and up in to the foothills around the towns of Fall City, Preston and Snoqualmie Falls. By the end of September the weather was turning autumnal enough that I knew I'd better fit the trip in soon, and I got a cheap fare offer on Amtrak, so I took off a few days in October.

Amtrak's carry-on bike service on this route has improved, and it was easier to book me and my bike online. The morning train from Bellingham arrives in Seattle at about eleven, just in time for lunch. After that, I loaded my bike on the front rack of a commuter bus for an express run via I-90 to Issaquah. I checked in to the Motel 6 near Lake Samammish State Park, only a few miles by bike from the Park & Ride.

Issaquah Park & Ride

When I was growing up, the green welcome sign that the school bus passed on the way in to town showed the population as 4210. The bus route ran through woods of pine, maple and alder. There were fenced pastures near town, usually just home to several horses. The dairy farms and herds of cows were already gone. Now those fields are covered by malls, office complexes and parking lots, and the human population has multiplied many times over. In the old business core there are still many landmark buildings, especially the salmon hatchery on Issaquah Creek, but I didn't find many fond memories. The old town is so engulfed by new development that it's hard for me to feel very nostalgic. Besides, I was a sulky and discontented teenager, and couldn't wait to get away when I turned eighteen. I visited the Hillside Cemetery and left flowers at my parents' grave site. It's said that funerals are for the living, and so were the flowers, I suppose, but I am grateful for the inheritance from my mother that paid for my tour this summer.

The Motel 6 is practical and cheap, and well-located for bicycle exploration. There was an IHOP next door, a Tully's coffee shop down the street, and a Taco Time within walking distance for dinner - not haute cuisine, but reasonably cheap and nutritious and hearty fuel for bike trips. There are paved bike lanes on most nearby streets and easy access to the paved trails along Lake Samammish.

The Preston-Snoqualmie Falls Trail, which I'd come to explore, starts just beneath the freeway overpass near Gilman Boulevard. It is paved for the first few miles, but turns to packed gravel most of the way, with some rocky places, mud puddles and patches of wet leaves. It's pretty much up-hill for the whole twelve miles, but at an easy rail-road grade. The scenery is pretty and woodsy, but within hearing distance of I-90 most of the way. I'd seen some descriptions of the trail that recommend riding a mountain bike, but I had no trouble on my Surly Cross-Check.

Trail crossing at Preston-Fall City Road

I think, back when I was in high school, the cross-country track team ran on undeveloped trails out this way, but I wasn't an athlete back then so the terrain was all new to me. My parents did take my sister and me out for car trips to Snoqualmie Falls when we were kids, though. It was a treat to view the falls, then stop for lunch at the Colonial Inn in Fall City. This time I took a side-trip at the road crossing, and found that the inn is now a jazz-age style road house, with pretty much the same country diner American food.

The bike trail continues past Preston-Fall City Road to a little bridge, where I remember stopping to climb on the rocks and admire the mossy trees by the Raging River. As I recall, the bridge was only local access then, but now the trail continues four or five miles farther through the woods along the old railway route. Shortly after crossing this bridge, there is a steep hill with series of switch-backs, where you have to walk your bike - or horse, as this is an equestrian trail, too.

The trail ends at a view point a few miles farther on, where the lodge, dam and power plant at Snoqualmie Falls are barely visible through the trees.

End of the trail

After finishing the group bike tour in August, I'd been thinking about buying a carbon road bike. I hadn't felt I had any trouble keeping up with the group, but some people had made some unkind remarks - such as, "So, Anna, do you know anything about drafting?" I thought, maybe if I was riding carbon like everyone else, instead of a 28lb steel frame, they would have been nicer. But after this ride, when my Surly went from Seattle city streets, to commuter bus racks, to paved bike paths, to gravel/rock/mud trails, and then back again, I'm happy with steel. I just need to find a frame that fits me better.

Since October I've only been riding about once or twice a week, 25-30 miles at a time. I've been doing more yoga, and trying out a TRX strength-training program. The plan is to do more cross-training and rehab over the winter, while I figure out what routes I'll ride next year.

One Last Look

Ste. Catherine's

In the last few days of my stay in Montreal a lot of my time was taken up in running around trying to find a place to print out my shipping documents; then a sweaty, grimy afternoon spent in a parking garage packing up my bicycle; finishing with a maddeningly itchy case of bedbug rash. Usually when I travel, near the end of the trip I just want to rush home to my cat, but this time I was trying to forget that I'd be returning to an empty apartment. So I had to make an effort to shake off my bad moods and enjoy the last two days of my stay.

What else can I say to sum up my travels? I want to go back. My only regrets are that I didn't prepare better, study my French, and plan a solo tour between the cities.

Next time.

I took my bicycle for one final spin to the old waterfront neighborhood of Montreal before I shipped it back home, then I wore myself out on walking tours. I spent several hours at the Redpath Museum at McGill University, which has a whole floor of displays about the geological and natural history of Quebec, and an interesting assortment of fossil dinosaurs, animals and plants, as well as human artifacts from Egypt, Africa and elsewhere. And I walked and window-shopped at random on the upscale commercial streets and quiet residential neighborhoods of the Plateau.

Nice spot for lunch across from the Visitors Info Center

At construction sites there are always signs saying "RUE BARRÉ" which are to be avoided, but there is an actual rue Barré near the waterfront.

Many neighborhoods also have folk-artsy signs with colloquial sayings, warning about speed limits, street crime or other local quality-of-life issues. "Tout doux dans ma rue" means "every thing's cool on my street."

Bike rack at McGill University

Cool places to rest sore feet