mrs-roboto's Diaryland Diary
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Saddle Time
As you may recall, way back in January I signed up for the RSVP, AKA the Bike Ride of Death. Okay, so that's not a formal nickname or anything but trust me, it's going to be quite a challenge. Think I am fooling around? Just view the charts below.
Day 1
Day 2
Okay, so you see all those squiggly lines? Those are hills, big ass hills! The kind the Pacific Northwest is famous for. AND they are steep. See that one on Day 2 called "the Wall?" That's like REALLY, REALLY vertical (as the name suggests).
All along, I have been putting in my saddle time doing runs out on the Burke Gilman Trail and riding to and from work. I've biked around Lake Washington and through Ravenna. I've cycled on the Green River Trail. I've bought the right gear, had my bike tuned up professionally but even with all of that, I wasn't 100% prepared for Saturday's practice run, the first 31 miles of the RSVP.
Around 10:30 AM Pete and I hit the Ballard end of the Burke Gilman. The actual start point of the ride is 9 miles down the trail at Sandpoint so we knew right off the bat that we were looking at 80 miles round-trip, our longest ride yet. Now there are a few things you should do before a lengthy ride to ensure a good and efficient workout. You should dress for the weather. You should make sure you have enough fuel for the activity. You should hydrate adequately. You should wear sunblock and carry ID/Debit cards/cash. You should review your route and know where you are going. Pete and I did NONE of these things.
We made our first stop at mile 2 to duck into a bike shop and purchase some Gu and possibly get a windbreaker since it was a cool and clear morning and all I had on was a sleeveless jersey. It was at this point that that we realized neither of us had brought a wallet. Perhaps we should have turned back instead we counted our pennies out and decided we could make it on a few dollars. I got Chocolate Gu and Pete got a Cliff Bar and we called it breakfast. Yum.
We then continued on a familiar route towards Bothell. The ride is level, green and pretty. We then crossed off the Burke Gilman (with a little bit of confusion and a tiny bit of bickering about the super expensive yet seemingly useless GPS we possess) and headed out towards Woodinville where we came across a farmers market. Having little cash, we took the tactic of looking really pathetic till some guy gave us peaches for free. We hit Taco Del Mar for a little extra fuel and to refill our Camelbacks. Then we began a treacherous climb seen in that first day. It was HARD, like terribly hard (and I swear Heather I have been practicing my hill repeats). I think we averaged like 1 mile an hour (or less going up) but you know we hit 31 miles an hour coming down which is pretty damn scary. Question for anyone who hill cycles regularly - should I pump my breaks to slow down or just hold them lightly against the wheel for friction? I really don't want to get going that fast again.
About this time, my legs began to hurt and our collective concentration began to wane. We started making lots of wrong turns and headed down hills that weren't even on the map only to have to turn around and head back up them. I became angry and decided that GPS was my enemy. Why the hell doesn't it beep when you go the wrong way?!!!! We managed to locate a major highway that runs parallel to the bike course and take that for a bit. At least it was clearly marked.
I will stop at this point and say that the scenery was very nice. There were some beautiful territorial views and we passed by a number of farms and nurseries. Country roads make for beautiful biking. Had I not been totally frustrated by being so lost, I would have really had a blast. Truth of the matter is, neither Pete nor I have any sense of direction. Even with a top of the line Garmin GPS, we find ourselves completely disoriented. The instruction as laid out by the RSVP organizers are pretty clear but we are simply stupid.
Somehow we did find the final road to the first rest stop and we were feeling pretty good again but then a redneck in a monster truck drove up behind us and made a ruckus about having to drive around us. It's funny how much some people hate seeing bikes on the road. When he finally did get around he did this little trick with his gears where he got down real low and shot a bunch of black smoke out of his tail pipe all over us. I hope he dies. Seriously.
We arrived at the rest stop around 3:30 PM and relaxed for a bit before turning around and heading back. I'd give you the details of the ride back but it was a whole lot like what I wrote above only in reverse. We biked up hills and got lost and bickered (once again I threatened the GPS within an inch of its life). Somehow, we made it home 8 HOURS LATER. However, on a more positive note, we traveled 85 miles in a single day (12 miles of which I estimate to be "lost" time). Our moving average was 10.5 mph (not very good) but I blame this on a whole lot of slowing down to check our maps. Oh and the hills slowed us down a bit too (Pete has refused to do the hill repeats being more of a spontaneous athlete). We hit that high speed of 31 mph coming downhill but most importantly, I think I proved to myself that we will make it to Vancouver. It'll be slow going but we'll get there (Heather and James fear not - we'll meet you at the finish line).
On Friday, Heather and James arrive and we immediately head up to Orcas Island for some kayaking, a little cycling, a bit of hiking and some much needed rest. We'll stay till Monday and then head back to Seattle for a little touring about. There's a Modest Mouse show on Monday night and a visit with Chiara and I have many ideas of places I want to show off while we have visitors in town.
On the 5th, we leave for the RSVP. We should arrive in Vancouver on Saturday evening and have tacked an extra day on to the trip for sightseeing around the area. Then it's back home and time to knuckle down. After all, schools starts in three weeks. Sigh.
12:37 p.m. - 2005-07-25
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