Seattle to Snoqualmie Falls And Back

Today was a perfect mid-December riding day: 40-something degrees and wet roads but dry skies. So I headed out to Snoqualmie Falls to get some hours in for the Base training I'm trying to do in preparation for next year.

The profile above shows how there isn't a whole lot of flat on this ride (and that's just the way out).


Map:


[full map link]

The first sizable hill the climb up to Newport Way through Factoria, and the second one is Black Nugget Road in Issaquah, which is 15-20% grade.. then you swoop down for a nice country ride out to Highway 202 and a little climb up to the Falls.

Thought I saw that pro who rides for Garmin-Chipotle out on Fall City road, but I'm not sure if it's him (he does live in North Bend though). (On second thought it looks like he's in Europe, so it must've been an impersonator)

Thoughts on Training

2009 almost over, but prep for 2010 has already begun. This season I'm doing a "real" training plan, e.g. the Base/Build/Peak/Race formula as described in "The Training Bible" book by Friel.

So instead of "Just Riding Around" like I've done in years past, I'm shifting gears a bit and slowing things down for the Base period, and just getting miles in - not worrying about sprinting, 5-minute attacks - at least not yet. OK, so maybe that's kind of like "Just Riding Around/JRA" except that I'm making it a point to go slower, err not go too fast.

The idea is to start with lots of volume, but lower intensity - then as the season moves on you dial up the intensity but bring down the volume. Of course "how much" depends on your racing category/goals, so my "big" base weeks are really just 12-14 hours total. But that can be a lot of riding when you're not doing it all at once, like the randos do.

So this is my third week of "Base 2," e.g. the second block of Base. I'm looking forward to the rest week next week, then moving on to the "Build" period.

Hell Hath Frozen Over

I recently did something I thought I'd never, ever, do: lift weights. Well, sort of. As part of the training plan I'm supposed to do some weight-training like squats, lunges, etc. (Focusing on the legs & core of course, I'm not trying to "bulk up" by any means, and the last thing I want to do is add upper-body mass)

So instead of going down to 24 Hour Fitness, I just threw a bunch big of computer-science books (like this bad boy) into plastic bags and stopped when they totaled about 30 pounds. Not a lot but you feel it after 10 or so reps of squats/lunges.

So who ever said being a computer nerd won't make you strong? I'll show them...

Crashed On Ice Today.

With a thick fog overnight combined with temps close to 30F, I should have left the Ciocc idle today. Some of the local roads here on Capitol Hill were visibly dusted with a little bit of "icing", and I saw a garbage truck slide a bit coming down the hill this morning - that should have been a sign.

So when I headed out at about 1 PM for a quick spin down to Seward Park and back, I figured that since the skies were now blue it was safe.

Coming down Madison St (a nice 15% grade) there was some moisture on the roads, and evidence the city had been out de-icing a bit on the major roads. Made it down Madison without slipping, took a few extremely slow turns on Lake Wa Blvd (like that one S curve), so by the time I made it down to Seward Park I had gained enough confidence to go at full speed since I hadn't seen any ice or frost (on the road at least) for 11 or 12 kilometers..

The Crash

I had just wound down a little sprint coming into Seward Park, as I usually try to go for the crosswalk near the sign for the park, just before you follow the road left to get to the park entrance. According to the Garmin I was doing about 20 mph when all of a sudden there was a patch of frost on the road in front of me, and though at first it seemed like I was riding through it successfully, before I knew it I was sliding on the ground and the world was turned sideways.

I probably made an interesting guttural sound as I hit the ground, and the crash was loud enough so that some bystanders asked if I was OK. Luckily I was, and the only visible damage on the bike was the bar-end had been scraped and pulled out a bit. Luckily the winter layers mostly protected me from road rash, though I did end up with a little strawberry on my left hip.

More Carnage

Only a minute or so after I hit the deck two cyclists approached and before I thought to warn them, one of them went down in the same patch I hit.. then 20 seconds later a guy in a UW kit slid out going the other direction seemingly just as he was asking if we were alright.

I tried to warn a bunch of other cyclists on the way back up Lake Wa Blvd, hopefully had better luck on the ice than we did. So did anyone else crash today?

Wet Mercer Island Saturday Loop

It was about 44 degrees (F), and raining today. Perfect almost-spring riding weather, and a good warmup for tomorrow's 100km Populaire.

So I went out in the mid afternoon rain, decked out in wool knickers, two underlayer t-shirts, and my long sleeve SIR jersey. Even in the light rain it felt great. So far, I'm loving the fact that most of the terrible weather is over. Well, at least that's what I'm hoping. Last year it seems like it was cold all the way up until May/June..

An extra layer between my shoes & the semi-waterproof booties (plastic bag pieces):


The Ciocc on Lake Wa Blvd.


I think this was 19th Ave, somewhere around there heading up Capitol Hill. I took Crescent Ave off of 23rd (which sucks to ride up), which was a decent climb.
This was a "short but hard" ride - 44 km or so, 28 km/h average speed. I actually averaged 30 km/h for the first hour or so (from the hill around Mercer), which was the highest I've done in a while. But that was no accident, as I used the heart rate monitor to keep the BPMs around 180 or so (90% of max HR, or the upper edge of zone 4). Like they say, I'm trying to "make the hard rides harder, and the easy rides easier."

It was probably best that this was a solo ride, considering the drool/snot that riding hard seemed to generate.

But I think the (semi-structured) training has been paying off. My Functional Threshold has risen to a new level as of today, 3.25 w/kg (228 watts / 69.5 kg).

It's a decent improvement over my last best of 3.10 w/kg, a 4% increase. Nothing major, but something! I'll take it.

Mini Ride Report: Camano Island

On Saturday Robert was nice enough to haul us up to Stanwood for the second installation of this season's "Winter Training Series."

It was a super-foggy day, and one thermometer on the side of I-5 said it was 27F on the way up.. so it was a chilly & foggy start, but all indications were that it was going to at least be dry!

The pack of 30 or so riders rolled out at 9AM, and headed towards the island. The first section is on Highway 532, a busy little stretch, but before we knew it, we were on classic PNW backroads.

All went well, and Robert, Chris, Gus and I held together the whole time (and even tugged some newbs around the island too!). And even if we did turn into the wrong park, and descend the wrong gigantic hill, and the climb back up that same (wrong) hill, it was still a blast!

I neglected to bring a camera, but Robert did (so I stole a few pics from him, you can find the rest of his pics here).

Here's Chris heading into the fog. Sometimes cars would come shooting out of the fog, which was a little unsettling, but everyone stayed in their lanes.

And here I am (on the left), with Chris next to me.

Huge thanks to Robert for driving us up there! Camano Island will never get boring.

Downtown Seattle To Kayak Park Century - Riding For Nothing But Fun

So today (Saturday) I was supposed to be riding a 200km permanent with Jack, Robert, and a bunch of other people I've been dying to ride with.. but I missed the damn ferry!! When I got up this morning my stomach felt weird, and that did nothing but slow me down and make me re-consider doing a 200k..

But with maybe 15 minutes to spare I headed out anyway, hoping my little stomach would clear up.. which it did, at least! But by the time I got to the ferry, it was too late. Missed the damn thing, not by more than a few minutes! So there I was downtown, at 6 AM, all dressed up (in Ibex wool), with nowhere to go. I figured I might as well get some miles in after all, even if it won't "count" towards a future award/medal.

Where to go? I had to keep all the recent flooding in mind, and how I heard that Highway 203/202 around Fall City was closed (blocking the route I know to North Bend, my first idea). I also heard that Carnation was an "island." Hmm, what do do?

Head north, I decided.

A little while ago I'd planned a rough route out to Kayak Park (west of Marysville), roughly 100 miles out n' back. And I had a rough idea of how to piece the route together, so I pointed by Pacer north and started pedaling. Here's the route I took: (zoom out a bit)

(And now I realize that I essentially shadowed the route I was supposed to be doing, but on the east side of The Sound)



View Larger Map


Photos

The Pacer in front of the Seattle Art Museum, at about 6:15 AM:
The Ostrich bag in motion - riding with it no-handed (and loaded) was actually pretty easy, I just had to look out for bumps.

Breakfast in Shoreline (this is that convenience store across from The Crest on 165th or so):

Now on Aurora Avenue (yes, that one, Highway 99). As I've said many times, it's actually not that bad - you get a turning lane to yourself for about 10 miles:

Now in Everett, on Grand Ave. Some nice views, even if everything was gray and there was light drizzle coming down:
Now at that little park looking towards Marysville & Marine Drive (across the water, where I'm headed):

Although the quickest way to cross that water is on Highway 529, and it's a real doozy - a few bridges you get to cross, and then you make the choice of using the super-narrow sidewalk, or the road itself. I chose the road:

But traffic was actually pretty light and nobody seemed to mind - and I didn't have to slow down to stay upright either:
Now heading west on Marine Drive in Marysville, I saw a cool old house (quite the contrast, starting in downtown Seattle):

Tulalip Tribes Police Station:

View of the woods along Marine Drive:
Marine Drive has a decent shoulder too:

But it also has a lot of ups and downs:

Now at Kayak County Park, overlooking The Sound (technically this is the Port Susan bay I think):

Looking northwest:

A very PNW shot:

After enjoying Kayak Park, you get to climb a short but steep section. I think this route would make for an interesting permanent and/or brevet:

An interesting sign from the Tulalip Tribes about buckling up.

A quick lunch of Sprite & a mystery-meat burrito - it really hit the spot!


Harvy's Bike Shop on Aurora in Lynnwood or so. Interesting place, but seemed geared towards BMX riding (although they did have a good Brooks selection, and a really packed interior):





So after heading out at about 6 AM, I returned to The Hill at about 3 PM.

Funny to think that one of my first big rides was a 12-hour affair (one way) up to Stanwood, using mostly this same route. Of course, that was on a hybrid bike w/ flat bars, and I hadn't ridden much at that point.

But it's nice to know that I can do almost the same route (out n' back) in the same time it took us to get up there! Progress.

You can find the photos in full size on flickr.

On The Road Again

Well the snow has finally melted enough to get out there! That is if you don't mind riding a little more left than usual, given that there's still a few inches of snow/ice on the side of the roads.

So I went out for a spin yesterday, figuring that if I stick to main roads they'll be more or less cleared up. 

You can see how messy some of the side-roads are (this is Thomas st) - unrideable on a road bike:

But the main roads are bare and wet, just how I like 'em:

Waiting for the bridge in the U-district..

Bryce Lewis (fallen cyclist) memorial on Eastlake: 

12th Ave, up near 75th St:

Today (Sunday) I went for another ride. While the snow is still melting, I'm pretty sure the I-90 trail is out of the question (which cuts out the Mercer Island option), and that the Burke-Gilman trail is probably in a bad condition as well. So I headed up north again, via 12th Ave, Roosevelt, and 180th/Perkins.

The Pacer on Perkins, way up in Lake Forest Park:

Icy Burke-Gilman Trail - I rode on it for about 25 meters before deciding it wasn't worth it..

Now headed back up Perkins Way/180th - lotsa snow:

Heading south:

A snowy shoulder up north:

Mileage

So the year is coming to a close, and my mileage stands at 12,417 km (7,715 mi). If I do a 200k permanent on Tuesday, I'll still be short of 8k miles! Oh well, I guess it's just an arbitrary number anyway.

The plan for next year is to do around the same amount of miles, or less - but at a faster pace. We'll see.

Snowbound, Impatiently Awaiting Studded Tires..

The other day I got tired of not being able to ride (due to snow/ice everywhere), so I broke out the Pacer (with slick 25's on it, I'm sure you can see where this is going) and set out to see if I could make it to the store, just a few blocks away.

After a few tentative turns of the pedals, I was rolling! Sometimes sliding sideways, as the road was a mix of packed snow and ice - seems like they aren't clearing the roads at all around here. Well it was fun while it lasted..

A photo of 12th Ave on Capitol Hill (from Thursday):

After heading north on 12th for a block and thinking "I can do this," I turned around and headed towards the store. Mistake. I should have walked in the first place, but a bike addict just doesn't know when to put it down I guess..

So yeah, I bit it, but not too bad - did kind of a head-first baseball style slide in the snow. Nothing broken, and the bike was OK.

And in the end, I turned the bike around and rode down the sidewalk (about a block away from home at this point, I didn't get far) resigning to the fact that these slick tires just won't do in these conditions.


And there was about 10mm of snow packed between the tires & fenders post-ride (of 100 meters):

So I ordered some Nokian A10 studded tires!! They'll be going on a fenderless Miyata 312, and I'll be running it as a fixed gear (less crap to get snow on and/or freeze). This is gonna be fun, if those tires ever show up.. now I just hope the conditions stay like this until these tires come in, so I can give 'em a shot soon.

Hope everyone's having fun in the snow! Be careful out there..

Hills & Chills - The Lake Washington Loop In December

Today I did a ride I've done probably more than any other - the Lake Washington Loop. Given the snowy forecast, I was definitely hoping to see a few flakes along the way!

There wasn't any snow (or rain) as I rolled out from Capitol Hill, and headed towards Madison St. It was about 31F as I started, and the temps were only headed down. Sure, this isn't anything like the hellish weather of the midwest, but bad enough to keep most cyclists (and people) inside.

Out of the five other cyclists I saw in the 50 or so miles I did, probably four of them were local racers. It also seemed like it was one of those days where everyone you pass is going the opposite direction, so there weren't really any "rabbits" to chase. But I set out with a goal of keeping a "decent" speed, whatever that means. (In the case of this ride, it means anything above 15 mph average)

My choice of gear was: Ibex merino wool base layer shirt, SIR short-sleeve wool jersey, Ibex wool knickers, wool socks, light booties, ragg wool gloves/mitts, bellweather liner cap thingy, and my latest and greatest weapon in the fight against the elements: the Marmot dri-clime "wind-shirt" - my new favorite clothing item.

The Marmot jacket is more of a wind-breaker, but it's also waterproof - at least so far. If anything I was too hot a few times! While I haven't tested it out in hours-worth of rain, so far it's been good on commuting and recreational rides.

I didn't bring a camera, figuring there wouldn't really be anything of note to get a snapshot of. But I was wrong, as Newcastle and surrounding hills had been lightly dusted by snow from the night before. Besides that, I only saw a few flakes of snow up north, when I was climbing up Juanita Way.

My new Ostrich handlebar bag worked well; I think it'll really allow me to carry more on future big rides.

Ride Stats

Distance: 52 mi (84 km)
Total time: 3:39
Avg speed: 14.2 mph
Max speed: 37 mph
Total Gain: 3,565 feet

Eastside Tour: Bellevue, Issaquah, And Tolt Hill

On Sunday I headed out with a rough route idea in mind: Renton, Issaquah, Tolt Hill, and... possibly back around to Seattle via Renton, which would have easily been a 90 miler.

But it was way later in the day than I would have wished (1 PM), leaving me with about 3 1/2 hours of light outside. Which of course isn't really an issue with the dynohub and all, and after a summer of a lot of riding at a night (and sometimes through the night!), darkness is something I can deal with, and sometimes even enjoy.

So I set out anyway, to see how much ground I could cover before I felt like calling it a day. The roads were wet, but it wasn't raining - yet. I brought enough gear just in case it did, and my new booties did well to withstand water.

Photos

Lake Washington, as viewed from Lake Wa Blvd: (heading towards Renton)

Kind of boring, but it is what it is - Rainier Ave near Renton:

Now heading out of Renton, I took a pit-stop. Note the new rack and "handlebar bag" (actually a Carradice saddlebag) - I'm loving it so far!

From Renton I headed north on the Lake Washington Loop route, using the I-90 trail to head east to Issaquah.

Behind-the-back shot on ? road, in the Sammamish/Issaquah area:

Now heading down Issaquah-Fall City Road, a destination in itself.

The Pacer near Carnation, on that one little stretch that connects Hwy 202 with Tolt Hill Road:

Up to the point that photo was taken, I hadn't really done any serious climbing besides Black Nugget Road (which is hard, but only lasts a few minutes). Now it was time for Tolt Hill road, a hill climb I used to do all the time, and have done a few times this summer (once on the 100k "Issaquah Alps" populaire).

But after having done at least 10 passes over the summer, and doing Cougar Mountain countless times, Tolt feels way different now. Not necessarily easier, but it's been put in perspective. (Which begs the question, where's the local pass that will put Blewett/Stevens/Cayuse in perspective? I'm sure the next brevet season will offer plenty of opportunities for finding this out!)

After blazing down Tolt, I was on 202 for a mile or so, and then took a left on 244th Ave SE, which is a dandy of a little climb. Pretty steep at first, but it didn't last that long. On the plateau I went through what I suppose is "downtown" Sammamish, and enjoyed another downhill on Inglewood Drive. 

From there I took a left on E Lake Sammamish Road, which was flatter than I'd remembered. Even though it was dark by now, the views of hillsides covered with lights weren't bad. It wasn't raining anymore, and I was just cruising around, enjoying life at the moment:

• I wasn't lost
• Wasn't missing a control time
• No mechanical issues
• Nobody was waiting on me, and vice-versa
• Not sick
• Not cold or wet

Sometimes it's nice just to enjoy the fact that things are going OK. It helps when you've had all of the above happen to you, as we all have I'm sure. For me the best moment is when I can just point the bike in one direction and "go," with no worries.

And this was luckily a worry-free ride. The last little climb up Madison St & John St to Capitol Hill were quite the end to a decent stint in the saddle. Definitely good training for next year's adventures.

Total Distance: 76 miles

Total Gain: ~4,500 feet

Map w/ photos: here

Mercer Island Loop & Some Random Snow

This was the scene yesterday on Mercer Island: (the last part of the video was me trying to turn the camera off, sorry)



The ice patch was luckily abnormal for the day, go figure. This was just off the I-90 bike trail on Mercer Island. It was cold, but a great day to do another loop on Mercer Island. Got caught by two racer-types, but held their pace for a while. I think the handlebar bag gives me the advantage of surprising people when they try to drop. (Not that I'm the fastest kid on the block, but I like to try not to be dropped anyway)

Total Disance: 40 km
Distance this year: 637 km

SiR Winter Training Series #3: Camano Island Loop

The Seattle Intl Randonneur group held another of their Winter Training Series rides today, way up in Stanwood, Washington. It was a loop around Camano Island (not Camino Island), so we were excited to take in some new scenery.

Here's a map of the route:


It was great - 80-something kilometers (50-something miles) of rolling hills. It was picturesque: gray skies, but no precipitation, open fields, views of the Puget Sound. I didn't bring a camera, so you'll just have to bear with me on this.. The winds were decently strong, and the temp was supposedly 40 or so, but there was ice all over the place, on the side of the road. Camano Island is kind of like the Mercer Island Loop, except the trees are taller, the hills are bigger, and the houses are fewer and further between.

The only thing was that we started 30 minutes after the peloton, which always rolls out at 9:00 AM sharp. I thought we'd be able to catch up to them, but we only caught one other rider, who started when we drove up. We leap-frogged him a few times and eventually passed him shortly after the southern-most point. We saw two other randonneurs coming up the steep hill out of the beach park, and we never saw them again. I think the are two riders that have already done the 1,200 km/750 mile PBP, so this was more like a walk in the park for them. We never saw them again.

There's one insane downhill, after the State Park, I'm sure we hit 45+ mph on it. But then there was an almost equally large climb, it was like a gigantic half-pipe. The legs felt good, and although I didn't have an odometer on the bike today, Dennis said we were at 20 mph on the flats, although I'm sure the average came out to more like 14 or 15 mph, it was that hilly!

You can see the rolling hills in this elevation profile:


Distance: 81 km
Gain: 988 m
Start time: 9:30 AM
End time: 1:30 PM

Total Distance this year: 594 km