Run, Bike, Run

After two surgeries this year (First one a left  knee scope with repair and the second the end of May removing a neuroma in my left foot) I have done what every fat man would think of doing, competing in a duathlon. When I had my first surgery & laying on the couch recovering,  I started looking for a fittness  goal. Then I found it, a true sign if I had ever seen it, a run that is collecting food for the Ronald McDonald House. Just in case you are wondering it’s not MY house, but a charity that provides a place for families and children to stay while receiving treatment at hospitals such as Seattle’s Childrens Hospital.

The event that I have chosen is the 3rd Annual Lake Easton Duathlon put on by AdventureWorks, LLC. It will be a 2 mile trail run followed by a 8 mile mountain bike ride then finishing up with another 2 mile run. I’m going to have my work cut out for me. I currently run 5-6 days a week and try to throw in a couple of bike rides on top of it.  You can follow my training on Training Peaks , Go Wagon as user themickeyd and on my twitter account “recumbent_clyde”.

The morning of April 19th turned out the nicest day of year so far, also made a great day for the Tacoma WheelmenBicycle Club’s Daffodil Classic. With expected high temperatures to be near 70, the 500-600 pre registered riders were joined nearly 1000 more riders signing up the day of the ride. 

Not having voluntered for a while I signed up for driving Sag. I was one of 2 drivers on the 60 mile Eatonville Loop. This loop amount, with 3,341 feet of climbing, was going to be a good early season challange.

While driving I was able to stop and help 6 riders having  problems with flats. Due to the amount of snow this area got this year and the amount of shoulder debris, I think most did pretty well. But I’ll let you know, nothing makes a rider smile more than having some one walk up with a floor pump after they had been  trying to use a micro pump to get a tire up 120 psi.

While at the rest stop in Eatonville I did see the first recumbent of the day, a couple riding a Rans Tandem Recumbent.

Along with the assistance with the flats, I also ended up with a few  passengers, 2 with leg cramps and 2 more with mechanical problems. I was able to drop off the rider who taco’ed his rim sending him flying, at the local bike store. The owner didn’t have any rims in stock but he was going to really try and get the wheel straight enough for him to finish the ride. Big thanks for the guys at the Eatonville Outdoor center for giving the rider a hand.

 Back at the rest stop, at the end of my shift, it was 1pm and riders were still coming in droves. I needed to head back to the start and ended up taking a rider back with me, same story as my first passenger, having leg cramps. Prior to arriving in Orting, I stopped and picked up another rider that had his 2nd flat in 5 miles and just wanted to call it quits. All in all it was an awsome day for the ride and judging by all the smiles I think many would agree.

With the snow and ice that covered Western Washington today it’s hard to think that March is starting this weekend. But with March comes 2 of my favorite events.

The first of the events is the Cascade Bicycle Club’s Bike Expo on the 14th & 15th.  Held at the Warren G. Magnuson Park in hanger 30. This show is huge, with all of this years exhibitor booths sold out. There will be more than 150 exhibits ranging from local shops, training and cycling events from around the state. More at Cascade.org

The next event is the following weekend on Saturday the 21st. It’s the McClinchy Mile bike ride that is put on by the B.I.K.E.S. Club of Snohomish County. The ride starts in Arlington Washington and depending on the particular loop you take,  the distance can be 20, 34 or 47 miles. And if you feel up for it you can do multiple loops for a full century. I have done this ride before and it will be my first event to test my post surgery knee. Go to the BIKES web site for registration info.

It appears that the BB Snipers from Bainbridge Island were caught. The Kitsap Sun newspaper’s  Bainbridge Conversation  had a short note about it.

“A pair of air gun-armed Bainbridge teens were arrested after trying to pickoff cyclists during Sunday’s Chilly Hilly ride. No one reported injuries. A female cyclist was reportedly shot, but pedaled on.

For next year’s ride, look for the new essential in Chilly Hilly riding gear: Wind resistant, moisture-wicking, Gore-Tex polyfiber-weave Kevlar bike shorts. The sales slogan: “Deflects wind, rain and BBs.” I’m filing for a patent tomorrow. Pre-orders start today.”

Not feeling up to riding a Puget Sound ride “Chilly Hilly” due recent knee surgery. I was catching up on the Amgen Tour of California twitter postings, a note from @mtbakerbike caught my eye.

“From @cascadebicycle – people were shooting BBs at cyclists on the Chilly Hilly? Is that true? Anyone have details (and the outcome?)”

The attacks were confirmed by @cascadebicycle (Cascade Bicycle club puts on the event) and is asking anybody that saw anything about this to contact the Bainbridge Island Police Department.
(206) 842-5211 PoliceDept@ci.bainbridge-isl.wa.us

It’s nice to know I’m not the only rider with this problem.
From the Corvallis Gazette Times Opinions story-

 Roses ‘n’ Raspberries (Feb. 20)

ROSE (roz) n. One of the most beautiful of all flowers, a symbol of fragrance and loveliness. Often given as a sign of appreciation.

It’s simple: Bicyclists and motorists need to know and obey traffic laws to avoid collisions.

• RASPBERRIES — again — to a common — but misplaced — act of motorist “courtesy” that routinely puts bicyclists in danger.

Well, it’s amazing what 3 days in Las Vegas will do to you. Well, tomorrow will be back on the diet and back on the bike. The wife and I did a whole bunch of walking but the meals at Rao’s, Thomas Keller’s “Bouchon” and Wolfgang Puck’s “Postrio” really didn’t help. So back to my after work intervals on the trainer for a real work out.

While in Vegas the Tour of California started and it was a bit hard to follow on my iPhone at first. But the Twitter community has really kicked into overdrive. With Twitterrific I was able to follow the race pretty much up to the minute thanks to the likes of Twitters @tourdetweets, @cyclefilm and @jonofTeamWill. Once back on the ground in Seattle I was able to get caught up on the events that happened while in the air, even before the jet got to the gate.

I managed to get a short ride in today. The weather kinda sorta held and I was able to take a 9 mile ride from the house to Fort Steilacoom Park. There were a few sprinkles when I left and light showers by the time I got back home. While at the park I took time for photos of my Rans F5 XL for a report later on.  Although it was a short ride as always, it was great being out on the bike.

Seeing that I haven’t been able to ride for a few months, it seems like a strange time to start blogging about cycling. Between the record snow of December and the record flooding that is currently going on, it’s not been great weather for riding. I have the Rans hooked up to my trainer in the garage, but it’s just not the same.  But the sky has opened up this afternoon and it’s looking like I might get a few miles in this weekend. It would be nice to hit the foot hills trail, but seeing that it’s a few feet underwater it’s looking like a few laps around 5 mile drive at Point Defiance on Saturday.