c r i m i n a l e . c o m | martin | cycling

Ride Calendar
2002

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YES = I'm already registered for this event and will be there for sure
NO = I can't do this event this year

Sunday 10 March
Ride with Martin - YES
Some local loop, 80+ miles
POST-RIDE COMMENTS - Well, it was 'cool' and 'damp'... but no wind! I rode from my house to the Goosebumps ride (9 AM every Sunday at the Redhook Brewery). We did about 50 miles in the Carnation valley and then I rode home. Those last 15 miles were pretty casual, believe-you-me. I didn't bonk, I didn't freeze, I rode a bike with fenders and it was pretty fun just to be there.

Monday 25 March
Ride with Martin - YES
Some local loop, 80+ miles
POST-RIDE COMMENTS - It was sunny today! Need I say more? Oh yeah, and since it was a weekday, there wasn't much traffic either. We went from my house up to Snoqualmie Falls via Newport and the old Issaquah - Fall City road. Then on the way back we climbed up to Preston and hopped on I90 for the last two miles back into Issaquah. Zoom! We finished off with a casual loop around the south end of Lake WA. Arm warmers were rolled down and gloves were off. Say goodbye to winter. And thanks to Kim for the company.

Saturday 30 March
The first in a series of RAMROD Training Rides - NO
UPDATE - "It is with sadness that I must announce the cancellation of the RAMROD training series this year. Due to recent serious developments in my personal life, it will not be possible for me to devote the time it takes to prepare for, and lead, the six rides. The ride details will remain available on the Redmond cycling club web site, in the hope that most of you will have the opportunity to organize at least some of the rides with cycling friends. Please have an enjoyable and safe training and riding season this year!"
Sincerely,
Paul Oelund (ride leader)

Sunday 7 April
Ride with Martin - YES
Some local loop, 100 miles
POST-RIDE COMMENTS - I learned a lesson today. If you have a fun ride planed with fun people, don't bag out if the weather looks a bit iffy... We took off from Leschi went down to Renton, out along the Ceder River Trail, Petrovitsky Road, Black Diamond, Ravensdale, Hobart, up Tiger Mt., May Valley Road and then back home. About 5 hours/85 miles total. Although we got misted on for the first few minutes, it cleared up nicely and after 20 miles the roads were dry and the sun was out. I was thrilled to be out as this was my first ride on my 'nice' bike. The cycling season is here! Thanks to John, Tom & Jay for the company.

Saturday 20 April
Ride with Martin - YES
I think it's time to hit the hills...! Tomorrow's Daffodil Classic is flat so how about something like: Seattle to Issaquah, up Issaquah/Fall City Rd., down the old Issaquah Fall City Rd., left on 202, left on Duthie Hill Rd, back into Issaquah and then up Cougar Mt. via SE 54th St. Probably only about 50 miles total. Other suggestions are welcome.
POST-RIDE COMMENTS - Or, I could just ride 20 miles around Mercer Island by myself... So little time, so many things to do.

Sunday, 21 April
Daffodil Classic - YES
POST-RIDE COMMENTS - Yeah! 100 miles, two loops, two killer descents, one equally killer climb and one slow leak. "Martin, I think your rear tire is a bit squishy..." Kim and I took out the tandem and I had forgotten how fast they really are on the flats. We were frequently doing 25+ and able to hold a conversation fine. There was one stretch where we sustained 27-29 for several miles. FUN! And a big thanks to Alan for keeping us company the entire ride when no one else would.

Sunday 5 May
Ride with Martin - YES
Hurricane Ridge! Start from Sequim and ride to Port Angeles (17 miles) and then head up to the Ridge (another 17 miles). From here we can add some more distance on after the descent or just head back to the car. Last year there was a terrific tailwind on the highway for the return trip - we were absolutely flying! Here's hoping... Here is a potential route for this day - 118 total miles. CAUTION: this is a 14+ MB pdf so it may take some time to download.
POST-RIDE COMMENTS - So, the rain moved in, the freezing level dropped to 2000' and the wind picked up. NOT a good time to hit the high mountains so we did a local loop instead. Seattle, Renton, May Valley Road, Issaquah/Hobart Road, Issaquah, Issaquah Plateau, the old Issaquah/Fall City Road, Fall City, Snoqualmie Falls, a little extra loop through Warehouser land behind the falls, Fall City, Carnation Valley, West Valley Road, Ames Lake Road, Union Hill Road, 116th, Slew Trail, Bothell, home. 6 hours, 110 miles. What looked like it was going to a very marginal day turned out to be very nice actually. Our route did a great job of minimizing the head wind and we had some fabulous stretches of sustained tail wind. And we got some hot sun twice, the second time being when I was riding my last 10 miles so hooray for today. Thanks to John & Elizabeth for the company.

Sunday 19 May
Millersylvania Two County Double Metric Century - YES
POST-RIDE COMMENTS - So, it did not look promising on the drive down to Olympia; as we watched the rain strike the car windshield with more and more vigor, this ride seemed less and less likely to happen. Then, as luck would have it, we arrived at the park and the rain stopped. To further complicate matters, everyone that promised to show up actually did! I love you guys [choking back a sob] First - everyone that started finished! Right on. Second - everyone seemed to be having a super day. How excellent! Paul attacked the first hill we got to, David bridged several gaps and all that showed were up for going fast. I felt pretty energetic myself until about 20 to go and then, just like every year, I realize that this is the longest ride I have done so far this season and start to struggle. But hey, the streets were dry by the halfway point, I got to take off my arm warmers with 10 to go and everyone we rode with was just awesome. Thanks to EVERYONE for showing up and being in such a great mood, to Kim for keeping me company to the finish and for this really tall guy we met that was a pleasure to draft off of when I needed it those last 20 miles.

Saturday 1 June
Wenatchee Century - YES
POST-RIDE COMMENTS - Hot baby, just like it should be. Well, I guess it was only 80 degrees but compared to 65 in Seattle, it was soooo nice. Every year I see people here that I haven't since last summer and every year we start too fast. This year I believe we set the record for paceline length... Being on a tandem doesn't help slow you down on the smooth highway either. And for those of you that think this ride is flat (Kim), it turns out that you gain about 2500 by the turn-around point. Thanks to Kim for riding the tandem with me again and to Brian, Jim and Rob for being so consistent which enabled us to draft.

Sunday 2 June
Peninsula Century - YES
Er... I was too tired, this just didn't happen.

Saturday 15 June
Tour de Blast - YES
POST-RIDE COMMENTS - OK, so like when I started this ride today, it looked SO cloudy and all I could think was, "damn, here goes another foggy, no visibility, wet & cold Tour de Blast..." [booties and vest were in my pockets fer sure] Having the visibility go down to less than 100' just after the first food stop didn't allay my fears either. But, I started this ride alone (Alone, ALONE, aLONE) and so I had no one to gripe to and had to carry on. Well, all of a sudden I was noticing that the fog was no longer feeling cool and 'misty', it was now feeling like steam! It was warm! Off came the arm warmers and up went the pace. Two miles later - brilliant sunshine. And I could see the mountain. Thank YOU weather Princess, thank you very much indeed. Off came the knee warmers and down went the jersey zipper. By the time I got to the last four miles of climbing, my sleeves and shorts were rolled up and I was loving life. When you can see, it's BEAUTIFUL here. The snow was still quite white, the wind was calm and the air was so clean. I had a quick lunch and started back down. It just kept getting warmer and just as I finished rolling down my socks, three guys passed me on the descent. What luck! Turns out we were quite compatible and so Martin didn't have to ride home alone. Nothing like a bunch of ex-triathletes who like to hammer to pick up the pace to bring that average back up. It was a happy day...

Sunday 16 June
Mountain passes at Rainier - YES
I'll be starting from the base of the Crystal Mountain road/the RAMROD 'deli' stop at 9 AM to ride up to Paradise and back. This should be about 85 miles. Anyone is welcome. The route is up & over Cayuse Pass, up to Paradise via Stevens Canyon and back the way we came. Bring $5 for the park entrance fee.
POST-RIDE COMMENTS - Not so bad, not so bad at all... It started out looking like it was going to be quite foggy, got nice and warm and then ended up being pretty socked in at Paradise. [grin] We were siting in the lodge just DREADING getting back on our bikes thinking we were going to totally freeze on the descent but it could have been a lot worse. And it warmed up again very quickly as we descended. The huge fireplace in the Paradise Inn never felt so good! We must have done something like 10,000' of climbing (we did three 1/2 passes after all). Thanks to Mark Gorman and Alan Wiley for the excellent company.

Saturday 22 June
RAMROD Training Ride - NO
NOTE - this is the best one of them all in my opinion...

Saturday June 22 - Sunday June 30
Bike Tour w/Kent Davis - YES
POST-RIDE COMMENTS - What a blast! Seven days of 95 degrees, I am not complaining... Rolling hills, high plateaus, locusts on the road.

Monday 8 July
Martin's Rainier Ride - YES
120 miles with shorter options.
Start from the base of the Crystal Mt. Road, head over Cayuse pass, up to Paradise, back to the top of Chinook pass this time, then back down Cayuse and up to Sunrise and then to the car.
POST-RIDE COMMENTS - Persevere, that's the key. After just about EVERYONE decided that this ride was not going to work with their ride schedule, it was down to Elizabeth and I. So, we decided to take out the tandem. Going up Cayuse was OK, but at the top, it got very 'misty'. The descent down the south side pretty much soaked my front and the spray from the front wheel soaked my feet. Looking up towards Paradise, it only looked worse so we just headed down to Ohanapecosh and turned around. Since we didn't think that we were going to ride anything after Cayuse we put the hammer down. What FUN! We scooted up Cayuse at a steady 11 mph and crested doing 14. After coughing up a lung, we started to descend and lo and behold, it began clearing up. Sunrise here we come. The roads were dry and it got warmer all the time. I was even able to sit outside at the lodge and not freeze. And the descents, yeah baby! Tandems just fall a lot faster than singles. we hardly had to pedal at all coming down from Sunrise, just let go of the brakes and watch the speedo sit at 42 mph. The extra speed sure makes the corners seem like a ride at an amusement park. It's all swoop left, swoop right, so cool. So, we got in 75 miles and had a good time. thanks Elizabeth for being such an enthusiastic tandem partner and to Paul for his his moral support at the start. Yes, he showed up too.

Saturday 13 July
Death Ride - YES
POST-RIDE COMMENTS - If you've ever thought about it, or wondered if you should, the answer is YES! We had great weather (80-90 degrees & dry), the best support of any ride I have ever done, closed roads (unHEARD of, and WAY too much fun) and scenery like only the Death Ride can provide. Although wholly inadequate in terms of telling the whole story, you can see my pictures here. NOTES - to those that like to come prepared, I rode the equivalent of a 39x25, several others used a 39x27 and many others used a triple. EVERYONE was glad they had the gears they did. I also went 60+ mph on a bicycle for the first time in my life.

Saturday 20 July
Pedal the Pinchot - NO
Note - the long mountain bike loop is the best option for this event. You climb higher than the road loop and the scenery is simply awesome. It's not too technical, just long.

Thursday 25 July RAMROD - YES
The pinnacle of Martin's season, the raison d'etre, all my efforts are geared to peak for this event. But in a totally low-pressure, relaxed kind of way. [grin]
LAME-ASS UPDATE - So, due to a broken web site, I got closed out. Anyone got a f'n entry for sale...?
RETRACTION OF LAME-ASS UPDATE - Well, I got in. It seems the ride organizers sought it fitting to have pity on my miserable state; and in light of the fact that their web site was not working, they added me to the list. Thanks to Kent Davis for lobbying my case!
POST-RIDE COMMENTS - Just another great day in the Cascade mountains! It was a bit misty at the start but a great weather forecast meant we all could leave most of our extra clothing in the car with confidence. My vest lasted all of 15 minutes and then got carried the rest of the way... [grin] The mountain was brilliant as we climbed out of the fog heading up to Paradise and it actually stayed cool on the return from the deli stop so no one got overheated. Once again we did roughly 9:40 total time and 8:30 on the bike. It broke up on the climbs and regrouped in between and for the last bit. Thanks to Glen and Chris for showing us that you don't have to weigh less than 200 lb. to climb and to John, Marty, Alan, Elizabeth, Pete and Chris (a different Chris) for their excellent company. I didn't have a camera along but Alan did. You can see his pictures here.

Sunday 25 August
North Cascades Highway - YES
100-120 miles
Start from Newhalem or similar and ride up and over Washington Pass. Lunch in Mazama and then return to the car the same way. I think it's about a 2-2.5 hour drive so we'll start riding at 9 and be back home by 8...?
POST-RIDE COMMENTS - A short description will not do this ride justice so click here for the long-winded version. 'Epic-ness' was attained once again on this now infamous road.

Saturday - Sunday 7 September
Iron Horse Trail - YES
POST-RIDE COMMENTS - YEAH! What could be cooler than to ride through a 2 mile tunnel? To do it after a lovely picnic of home-made sandwiches, cookies and a glass (or two) of wine! Top that off with a pretty decent day, a mechanical failure that has a happy ending and a good time was had by all. Thanks to Cameron and Elizabeth for the company. Complete pics here.

Saturday - Sunday 21 - 22 September
Tour des Lacs - NO
Because if the potential for truly awful weather on this ride, and because I don't *think* it has a max number of riders, I heartily recommend signing up at the last minute.

Saturday 5 October
Fixed Gear Fever starts today!
Rides are HOPEFULLY every other Saturday AND Sunday at 9 AM until the snow falls and skiing starts and then just every other Sunday through the end of January. That means they will be the 5th & 6th, the 19th & 20th, etc. They could be every weekend if someone else can lead them too. Route is to be determined but something like: Leschi - Renton airport - Mercer Island - clockwise around the island - Leschi.
How can you possibly have more fun than riding a fixed gear...? You can do it at night and in the rain! Say hello to mid-week rides after work. Please bring fenders, a light and a smile.
POST-RIDE COMMENTS - OK, so it turns out I was more excited about these rides than anyone else... But, I had two very nice rides (I stayed almost totally dry on Saturday and met an old friend on Sunday) and had a blast cruising around Mercer Island both days. For those that care, this loop took me almost exactly two hours to complete. That included doing a lap around the island. I hope to see some others on their fixed gear bikes in the future.