John’s Ramblings

Tuesday was the penultimate 20 mile run of this twice-weekly ride. The nights are definitely warmer, and true to the forecast of 30% rain we were rained on (exactly 30% of the time). The wet part was at the end, so definitely nothing to complain about.

After riding Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday my legs were really feeling it. I tried to ride hard on Wednesday night, but I could not get even to a moderate level on the heart rate monitor without some major thigh-burn, so I backed way off and just did a light recovery spin. When you’re out of gas, you’re out of gas.

Thursday night was the final Use It or Lose It ride for the season. The weather was absolutely perfect. The skies were clear, the moon was rising, and the wind held off on its usual springtime bluster for our ride up Frager Road to Tukwila, return via the Interurban Trail.

We had a nice turnout of 10 riders, and the pace was nicely brisk as we rode north along the Green River. The only “downer” for the night was that my co-leader for these rides broke a spoke nipple before the ride, and could not join us for this last turn of the valley.

The group split into two as we entered the straight, unfettered stretch of the Interurban, the lead group forming a paceline and cranking down the valley at 25mph or so. I hung with that group for a bit, before peeling off and doubling back to sweep up the last couple of riders. The evening was too nice to be too structured. After riding through some pretty nasty winter weather, it was a nice to ride as you liked, and enjoy.

I missed a couple of these Tuesday/Thursday rides due to scheduling conflicts, but I rode most of them. My totals for Use It or Lose It from October through March were 34 rides, 679 miles. It was a big time commitment that re-arranged our family routines for 5 months. I’m glad I did it, and I’m glad it’s over. I’ll likely also be glad to ride with these folks again next winter. Thanks to all that came out to ride, and thanks to Garry and the folks at Mountain Bike Outfitters for hosting our start line.

1,086 miles year-to-date.

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