John’s Ramblings

Sunday I hooked up with my friend Kevin to ride the Daffodil Classic, a local annual cycling event ride. There were routes available of 40 or 62 miles, which could be combined for a century. While my goal would have been to do 100 miles on the day, my general fatigue factor correctly informed my brain that I should try the 62 mile loop, and evaluate the wisdom of adding the 40 at that point.

I wanted to arrive at the start and get rolling around 8 a.m., but it was closer to 9 by the time we got registered, souvenir-ed, whizzed, and buttered. As I waited to get rolling I saw several cycling friends, including the tri-rific Ms. Julie. She was attempting the 40 mile loop, so I would not see her again on the day. The weather was a tad cooler than last year, and we had a solid cloud layer obscuring any blue sky, or a view of nearby Mt. Rainier.

The Kapowsin Loop (map, cue sheet) was modified from the previous year, when it was an even 50. The route is fairly scenic, but way more so on a clear day. There are some sections that are paved with some rather less than friendly chip ‘n’ seal, which causes the bike to vibrate (and irritate) as you ride over it. Also to the down-side, the loop crosses and/or joins State Highway 7 a few times. Other than that, I found that the roads were pretty quiet and there was not much automobile traffic. I recorded 2,200 feet of ascent over the course of the ride.

There were two rest stops along the route, at miles 20 and 42. Notable was that I never saw a single SAG wagon patrolling the route. These vehicles offer mechanical assistance to the broken, or transport for the weary on long rides. There were few enough of them on this day that I never saw a single one.

A block before the 42 mile stop in Eatonville, Kevin asked me what the clicking sound was coming from my bike. I figured I had something stuck in a tire, which turned out to be a sheetrock screw. This forced a longer than expected stop so that I could change tubes. It was shortly past noon at this point, yet some comedian felt compelled to ask me whether I would require lights for my bike in order to finish the final 20 miles.

I had an o.k. day in the saddle, but I felt less than myself on the climbs. I had done my hill work for the week on Thursday (instead of Wednesday) due to weather, and had ridden 23 miles on Saturday. As soon as the grade kicked up, my thighs would catch fire and the heart rate shot up. My surmise is that Thursday’s hill repeats were too much, too recent. I am going to make a concerted effort to taper mileage and effort before an event. The net result was that I was “done” after 62 miles, and have had to take a few days off since then in order to even feel like getting back on the saddle.

1,534 miles year to date.

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