My daughter's favorite quote

Quote: "Though she be but little, she be fierce." -Shakespeare. This quote always reminds me of my mom! :)

Aw gee!

Hot and Hilly

A hot, hot rider. Well, actually, it was only 89 degrees on the climb back out of Elgin...I knew it would be a hot day, so I left home around 6:30. I didn't feel super energetic to start with, but just went at an easy pace up the Milton-Freewater hill. After a stop in Weston at the store, I began climbing the back grade, and feeling stronger.




I kept on going up and up. To my disappointment, the Tollgate Chalet is still closed (fond memories of homemade pie ala mode as a reward for the climb from years gone by), but the store at the top was open.
When I got to the store, I went to the ladies room, but I couldn't pee-form. So, I bought a quart of Gatorade and some string cheese. Drank all of the Gatorade and still couldn't pee. Bought another quart and drank most of that and put the rest in my 70 ounce Camelbak. Finally was able to show that I was hydrated.


About then Justin from Allegro showed up, along with Charles Stanger and a couple of Justin's friends from Anacortes. We chatted, and I contemplated going back down with them, but I really wanted extra climbing and hills so that I KNOW that I can do STP in two weeks.
So on I went, past Langdon Lake, the Spout Springs Ski area and the sign denoting the high point of the Blue Mountains at 5136' in altitude.



Then I was at the top of the 13 mile downhill to Elgin. Should I go down or turn around then and there? It was getting awfully hot, and in retrospect turning around there would have been a good choice, but the long downhill beckoned. Swoosh! Thirteen miles of sweet downhill. The last part of the descent I actually had to pedal as there was a headwind, but I told myself that would make the climb back up easier.
I got to Elgin and went to the little park at the edge of town where Jim and I had agreed to meet. It was after 12:30, so I was surprised that I still hadn't seen him. I laid in the shade in the soft green grass, getting all too comfortable. I couldn't get into the restroom of the gas station as you had to have a code; fortunately a co-op member came to fill up his truck, and punched in the code for me. Relief!
I waited a bit longer and contemplated; I had just eaten my last energy bar, and had refilled my Camelbak with water from the tap. I called Jim on my cell, and found out that he was still 40 miles away because he'd had to work late. I sat around in comfort on the grass a bit longer, then decided to head up the hill. I met up with Jim 5 miles later, and he agreed to meet me another 5 miles up the hill. It just got hotter and hotter. By the time we met up, I was done - roasted, toasted, gagging and queasy. I got in the wondrous coolness of the Passat, drank cold liquids and ate. As we got back up to the top of the mountain, I contemplated having Jim let me off, but the lure of the cool was too much. So, I missed the dynamic descent that I had earned, but at least I'd done the hard part. I hope that I'm ready.

George II: Legacy to Bicycle Commuting

Here is a chart which shows the rise in gasoline prices dating back to 2002.
As you can see, gasoline was $1.31 in 2002, and probably even lower when George II took office. Currently the national average is $4.05, and rising.
In his own inept way, George is helping Americans to take a serious look at alternative means of transportation.

Council of Mayors weighs in on Bicycle Commuting

This bit is from the RoadBikeRider.com e-newsletter (which is free, by the way):

---The U.S. Conference of Mayors has adopted a resolution that bicycling should be integrated into the country's transportation, climate, energy and health policy initiatives. The resolution makes interesting reading, as it provides solid reasons why cities should support cycling. Two examples: ". . . bicycle commuters annually save on average $1,825 in auto-related costs, reduce their carbon emissions by 128 pounds, conserve 145 gallons of gasoline, and avoid 50 hours of gridlock traffic; and . . . 10% of global oil production goes solely toward fueling America's cars and trucks, and the U.S. could save 462 millions of gallons of gasoline a year by increasing cycling from 1% to 1.5% of all trips. . . ." The entire document is on the League of American Bicyclists website. Scroll to "Resolution Submitted to the United States Conference of Mayors" here
I see more and more adults riding bikes.

A small accomplishment & the last big one

This morning, while chasing the guys, I rode up the steep side of 5 mile hill without shifting into my granny gear. It's been a number years since I've done that. Now I just need to be able to do it without getting popped off the back...
The last big training ride is coming up this weekend. The guys are riding to Bluewood and back on Friday via Lower Hogeye. While I would really like to go with them for the company and the pace, looking at my desk I think that my day will have to be Saturday. To Elgin and back. According to map my ride, it's 87 miles each way. According to my memory it's more like 70. Perhaps I miscalculated when I "mapped" my ride.
Any volunteers among my tiny readership for riding part of the way with me? On the long haul, all sorts of topics could be discussed, we could solve world hunger, discover the meaning of the universe.
Jim will be doing the ultra-sag per usual. :)

5/7 of the Seven Hills Ride

The view from the top of Scenic Loop.
Yesterday, continuing in my post-event decompression mode I went on a ride. It was a lovely, temperate, day. I didn't know how the legs would feel or how the mind would do. I just knew that I needed to go out and relax.
So, I set out on Baffney's Seven Hills ride, which has lots of opt-out places. This ride is as follows: extensions of Birch Creek, Cottonwood, and Russell Creek roads, as far as the pavement. Then do Scenic Loop, Five Mile Hill, Spring Creek and the Elevator Shaft.
I did the first five and felt good, climbing a gear or two higher than normal. At that point I was out of water and cookies (leftovers from the Ann Ride). I debated getting some more water and food at Klickers and continuing on, but decided that this ride was just about right for this particular day. Judging from my slightly-but-not-terribly sore legs, this was a good call. It was just right!

Ann Ride Decompression Day

The ride was a success, with 77 riders. More importantly than the numbers, we had good comments on the survey form, which RJ has already sorted out here . People seemed especially enthusiastic about the food and volunteers, and the new rest stop 10 miles out at the Camps' was a big success, as riders used it both coming and going. A big thank you to all of the volunteers.

Personally, I'm in recuperation/figuring out where everything-needs-to-go mode. My legs are telling me that I did a lot of lifting and carrying yesterday. Perhaps not an aerobic workout, but I'll take what I can get.

T minus 1 and counting

Tomorrow is the Ann ride, so today is filled with trying to make sure that all the details are done, hoping that we get more registrations, and a bit of an ache inside.
I always miss Ann, and a day never goes by when I don't remember her, especially when I swing my leg over a bike. Doing this ride is a tribute to her, and to her respected place within Walla Walla and the cycling community in particular.
Because she taught at Garrison Middle School for 17 years, there are many people in town who remember her fondly, both former students and parents. Since she was fluent in Spanish from her years in the Peace Corps in Paraguay, she always taught at least one class for second language learners. Part of our closeness was our common experience in living in the Third World, as well as my years at WWCC teaching English as a Second Language to adults.
We both came to cycling later in life than we would have liked, and bemoaned the fact that we were just old enough to miss Title IX and its positive effect on women's sports.
We tried to make up for lost time, though. We once figured that we had ridden the equivalent of around the earth at the equator together. There wasn't the larger cycling community in Walla Walla then, and the group rides were small and didn't even ride all year round together. So, the calls went out each week, where should we ride on Sunday? Can you ride Tuesday evening? What bike tour can we do this year?
And then there was coffee together, when weather or schedules precluded biking. Coffee, and lots of it.
Our birthdays were a few days apart in October, and I never failed to mention at birthday time that she was older. By not quite a year. The fall before she died she turned 50. I had been trying to find the perfect 50th birthday commemorative joke for months. One day I was driving down Tietan towards Safeway when I spotted a yard sale. There stood the perfect 50th birthday gift. We had talked about how when we were young the "exercise" rage for women our mother's age was a machine with a motor and a belt which you placed around your middle. You turned the motor on, and it was supposed to "shake" the fat off.
There it was - one of the ancient fat shakers (I know there's a name for it, but it escapes me at present). At $20 it was a bargain. It weighed a ton - all steel. I had to get Jim to come pick it up with the Suburban, because there was no way that I could lift it up.
A call to her principal got permission for us to place this in the teacher's lounge the evening before her 50th. We put it there with one of the styrofoam "50th birthday" tombstone pieces, with her name poked into the foam.



The next day I waited for a telephone call. None came. Fearing that I had overstepped the bounds, I dropped by her house on the way home. I walked in and was met with laughter. She related that she had come around the "L" shaped section of the teacher's lounge, and heard other teachers laughing. When she saw what it was, she just about fell over. She loved it.
Eventually, she gave it to one of the janitors, who said that using it (yes, it still worked), helped his bad back.
I felt bad about the styrofoam tombstone when she was killed 7 months later, but Jim gently reminded me that Ann had a great deal of enjoyment out of the gag, and that's the way that it should be remembered. So, it is.
So, ride on Ann, and may the wind be always at your back.

Wooten, Wooten!

RJ and I rode up to Camp Wooten on Sunday, another STP training jaunt. We had a great time!





This old grain bin is melting!



A sneak peak over my shoulder as we rode up to Camp Wooten on Sunday.







A triumphant RJ and Deb enjoy their chocolate milk martinis.



On the way back we stopped by some of the windmills:



The windmills on the Tucannon are BIG!

TOWICH (Tour of Washington & Idaho with Cheryl's Harem)

Climbing out of Harrison.
The entrance to bicycle heaven.
Starting on Saturday.
At least I'm dry.
Debi & Tom Baffney on the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes

This last Saturday and Sunday I participated in the second annual TOWHICH. The two days could not have been more different. The people (twelve in all, 5 from WW) couldn't have been better.
Day One projected forecast: 62 degrees and scattered showers. Day One reality: 40 degrees, increasing rain all day long. We left from the Gould's 7 acre "ranchette" south of Spokane, with just a sprinkle as we climbed the hill on Thorpe Road. Nothing like a good hill to get you warmed up!
Then it began to rain harder. And harder. Someone said "at least it's a dry rain." But it felt wetter and wetter. By the time we got to Spangle, it was pouring buckets, 40 degrees, and there was a nice brisk wind to increase the chill factor. Tom said that he was getting into the van - was I done? Was I! Those last 20 miles could be done in warmth. We cranked the thermostat on the van up to 90 degrees and dried out. As my bag was buried at the bottom, I couldn't get to my clothes, so I wore Kirk's sweatpants. I just about swam in them, but they were dry.

Day two was heaven on the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes (mostly). The weather was cool but not wet. When we got to Harrison, our sag driver, the infamous Buzzy, told us that the trail had been washed out 5 miles further on, but the good news was that there was an alternate route, about 12 extra miles. However, the first two miles of that were up a 13% grade out of Harrison. You just had to drop it into your lowest gear and spin. I love to climb, but I can't climb as fast as a lot of people I ride with. From there Route 3 kind of rolled up and down until we got to the next trailhead.
At the end it was onion rings at the tavern, then driving to the Goulds for barbecued salmon and steak. A great time was had by all.

My next bike - a cool $1,000,000

Talk about custom! Here is a truly custom bike, designed for world Track champion Theo Bos for the Olympics.

Elevator Shaft Pictures

Jon is smiling because he is at the top!

The other survivors.

And finally me, apparently shocked at something at Merchants after surviving Saturday's ride.