Scenic Loop Pas Deux

Last Saturday Leslie, Tom Baffney and I decided to go up the gravel (steeper) side of Scenic Loop, so that we could hook up with the Tour of Walla Walla Time Trial and cheer racers as they crested "our" hill.



As you can see, the going was pretty steep. Leslie noticed that my jacket was hanging from my rack into my spokes, so I had to stop. To get started again, I had to turn around and go back to a flatter spot.




Here's the view from most of the way up:













Finally, I crested the "summit" with a grin.








I had jokingly suggested that Tom bring the beer (to slow him down on the climb). Imagine my surprise when we got to the top of Five Mile Hill and he whipped out a can of beer for the three of us to split!

Introducing Emmeline to the world!

My law partner's wife, Sue, had their firstborn on Saturday morning. Here is a picture of the proud daddy holding Emmy:




Not that he's proud or anything!

It still hurts - you just go faster!

The above is a Greg LeMond quote, and sums up the pain portrayed in this shot of the great Sean Kelly at Tour of Flanders in '92. It also sums up my experience every Saturday morning. Endorphins are so addicting.



Tour of Flanders takes place this Sunday. It is the hilly cobblestone classic, around 155 miles, with climb after climb, some 13 relatively short, steep climbs in all. And all the climbs are cobblestone (or pave'), and with a little rain on them they are as slick as ice. You can check out more information here

Paris Roubaix, (or Hell of the North as it is also known) is a week later and is more well known to Americans. While it has cobblestones and is approximately the same distance as Flanders, those sets of cobblestones are all flat. More Paris-Roubaix background here

So, for my money Flanders is the tougher race. Everyone truly earns their "pain face" in both races.