# Saturday, June 27, 2009
« Friday 26 June 2009 - core | cardio | Main | Monday 29 June 2009 - commute | ride »
Saturday 27 June 2009 - ride
posted by: Martin Criminale
Hours Sleeping: 6
Pulse (waking):  
Pulse (rising):  
Difference:  
Weight:  
Body Fat:  
Time of Day: 9:30 AM
Distance: 70 (Google maps/MapMyRide) or 73 (my cyclometer) miles depending on who you trust.
Time (total): 3:51
Time (moving):  
Time (stopped):  
Speed (moving): 19 mph
max speed - 39 mph
Speed (overall):  
Total Ascent:  
Weather: low 50s to mid 70s, dry, sunny, windy
Workout Type: ride

Breakfast: 5:30 AM - smoothie
Lunch: 2:00 PM - water, tons of iced tea, a few bites of rhubarb pie and ice cream
3:00 PM - 2 beers, Cheese-it crackers
Dinner: 8:00 PM - Asian noodle salad, tofu, 2 beers, water
Workout Food: 2 large bottles each w/2 scoops HEED, 2 scoops Endurox R4 and 2 scoops maltodextrin

Course: Liberty Cafe on Hwy 97, old Blewett Pass Hwy, Peshastin, Leavenworth, back the same way
Results:  
Comments: Today was supposed to be a nice group ride with some IJM.org teammates and some friends from Lenovo but the Lenovo gang flaked and one of our own slept in so 30 minutes after we were supposed to roll out Greg K and I finally hit the road. As it turned out everything was fine - I should quit my bitching.

The sky was that perfect eastern WA blue as we parked the van at the Liberty Cafe and there was not one cloud in the sky. There was lots of shade on the road however and it was barely 50 degrees so both Greg and I donned arm warmers and I even threw on my vest.

That lasted all of maybe four miles.

ASIDE - I have not ridden in ages and I find that the fitter I am the longer it takes me to warm up. Conversely, if I'm not so fit I can start fast but then fade dramatically. Today I took us out of the parking lot at 22 mph going up hill. Maybe you can make a prediction about how the ride ended up…

Soon our speed and sun had me taking off my vest and just before we turned off of Hwy 97 and onto the old Blewett Pass Hwy I also took off my arm warmers. We stopped for a minute to stretch at the base of the climb and I also rolled up my shorts and sleeves! So much for the extra clothing. :)

I love this road. It's not maintained (see the pictures!) but is still open to vehicles and bicycles. Greg and I were both commenting on what a shame it will be once the road completely disintegrates as it probably will never be repaired and that would be a huge shame. In many places it's covered in sand, there are pieces of pavement missing, the asphalt has settled in places and there is rock fall. And all that makes it so much more appealing than a boring old highway. Oh yeah, did I mention that we only saw three cars on this section of road all day? Nice.

On the way up/north I was actually feeling pretty good. That combined with the fact that Greg was not warmed up yet let us ride together and even chat a bit.

The descent was wicked fun. I went just fast enough to force myself to pay attention and to make it exciting but not so much that I felt like I was in danger.

When we got back on Hwy 97 there was the familiar head wind and it was really blowing today. We were both fresh and it was a real chore to maintain 26-27 mph going down hill!

At the bottom I was trying to find the shortcut so we did not have to ride through the big Hwy 97/2 interchange and we found one but it was gravel where it went under Hwy 2. No big deal I thought, it's just gravel so I Hardly even grabbed my brakes.

Not 50 feet into the gravel Greg and I both got a rear flat at the exact same time. So we walked our bikes to the other side and had a flat fixing party. Luckily not a big deal, Greg needed a small boot in his tire but mine was fine.

From here I had planned to ride through Peshastin and the orchards to Leavenworth but there was construction one mile from Leavenworth and they would not let us through! Bummer. The lady with the Stop/Slow sign was really nice, she offered us bottled water from her cooler and was really sympathetic but we had to turn around.

Greg had his heart set on a cup of coffee so we tried the store in Peshastin. OMG was that an experience. It was like a bunker inside. The walls were bare cinder block and the ceiling was sagging, moldy, stained acoustic tile. Done. There was a wall of coolers in the back and maybe three isles of shelves for pork rinds and chewing tobacco down the middle and no coffee.

The lady behind the counter was a real visual treat too.

Having recently fixed a flat my hands were kinda dirty and so I asked her if I could use the sink to wash them. She pointed me around a cinder block wall to the 'kitchen' and rarely have I been so careful not to touch anything. I practically turned the water on with my elbow and did not even ask for a paper towel, I just shook them dry and got the hell out of Dodge. Filth was everywhere.

We had seen a big fruit stand on Hwy 2 as we rode back to Peshastin so in search of coffee we rode back to that. No luck but they did have a super cool cow train for kids to take a ride in and two uber cute orange kittens.

Riding back up Hwy 97 we had a strong tailwind and once again we were topping 20-22 mph going uphill. I was still feeling okay although I could tell the end was near. Once I put my head down while leading and did not shift for a rise and separated myself from Greg. But the glory was brief and not lasting.

When we got the climb proper/the old Blewett Pass Hwy I started to fade. I managed to hang with Greg for a couple of miles but then had ask him to slow down. He did but after another mile it seemed silly as he was constantly half-wheeling me so I just told him to meet me at the top and he proceeded to ride away from me.

But that was okay. The scenery was amazing and I was not cramping or bonking, I just did not have the fitness to keep up. About one mile from the top I had to get off and walk for 50 feet to give my back a rest but then I was there.

ANOTHER ASIDE - someone had painted "500 m" (to go) and "200 m" (to go) on the road on this side of the climb. :)

We descended the old hwy and got back on 97 and once again we were assaulted by a vicious head wind. It seemed even stronger this time and we were really pressed to maintain 26 mph. We started taking shorter and shorter pulls in an effort to keep the speed up and it worked but thank goodness the car was only about five miles away because by the time we got there I was spent.

Then we hit the Liberty Cafe for iced tea, pie and ice cream and drove home. On the way back we caught each other up (read: Greg mostly caught me up) on the team gossip. Greg is fun to talk to because he doesn't spill all the beans and doesn't necessarily name names but you still get the picture. :)

What a great day and it felt SO good to finally get in a ride. Outstanding company sure helps too.
Equipment: Ti Cycles Hyak, Neuvation wheels, 42/53, 12-25
Clothing: shorts, sleeveless undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, wind vest, cap

Here are some pictures.

road ride
Saturday, June 27, 2009 2:23:00 PM (Pacific Daylight Time, UTC-07:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [0]  |  Related posts:
Sunday 7 March 2010 – ride
Saturday 6 March 2010 – ride
Friday 5 March 2010 – ride
Thursday 4 March 2010 – ride
Wednesday 3 March 2010 – ride
Tuesday 2 March 2010 – ride

Bookmark and Share