John’s Ramblings

I ground my way through my second century ride of the year yesterday. Got it done, but it was not pretty. The plan was to ride a century of my own design, developed as a training ride for RSVP back in 2005. From Auburn I would ride north on the Lake Washington Loop to Kenmore, continue on the Sammamish River Trail to Redmond, East Lake Sammamish Blvd. to Issaquah, then south to Black Diamond & return to Auburn. I have dubbed it Two Lakes and a Quarry, but yesterday it was more like “two cramps and a back spasm”.

I left my house at 8:30 in the morning. It was sub-40, but I warmed up quickly with the climb that I have to do to leave the house. It was partly cloudy, with a moderate little wind out of the south that had me second-guessing the wisdom of starting a 100 mile ride with 38 or so miles of tailwind. No one is lucky enough to have the wind turn so that they can have 38 miles of tailwind on the way home as well, especially me. I did a little creative detour off the Interurban Trail in Auburn, and was rewarded with this picture of a Great Blue Heron perched over one of those little manufactured wetlands that they are putting all over the valley. The theory is that it’s o.k. to put up three ginormous warehouses if you dig out a pond and stick some dead tree trunks in it.

So the first 38 miles went swimmingly, as you might expect with a freshening tailwind to hustle my ass along the road. The sun was present on occasion, but the ambient temperature maxed out around 11:30, when I made my stop at the Great Harvest Bakery. I wasn’t paying as much attention to eating and drinking up to this point, so I snarfed down a sticky bun to keep me rolling. Back on the trail in short order, I continued on the Sammamish River Trail through Redmond. Just about as I was even with the Red Hook Brewery, my rear tire began a distinct thump-thump-thump. I stopped to inspect, thinking I had maybe picked up some glass or other debris. Instead, I discovered a two inch long bald spot, a little kevlar-belted grimace reminding me that I should have bought new tires for the new season.

I marshaled on toward Redmond, knowing that Sammamish Valley Cycle was located there and could probably hook me up with a new tire in short order. I called 411, was connected to the shop, and was given some rather vague directions. I exited the trail a bit too soon, but was able to locate the shop without much difficulty. They sold me a tire, mounted it, adjusted my rear brake, and lightened my wallet. 10 minutes and I was on my way again.

I had been fighting a fairly strong headwind since Bothell, and it gave no signs of letting up as I rode south along East Lake Sammamish. I was pretty sure I was starting to bonk, not having paid attention to my eating and drinking. My goal at this point was to make it to Issaquah, get some food and drink at a mini mart, and then consider my options.

When I stopped, I sipped some Powerade and took inventory. My lower back was quite fatigued at this point. Doing core training at home on my own sounds like about as much fun as a root canal, so I never seem to get around to doing it. This is about the point where I curse my own lazy-assed tendencies, and pledge to do better. Legs were fatigued (I was at mile 66, after all), but knees were fine. Toes were a little cold, as was my body when I was stopped or going downhill. 2/3rds done, and some pretty good climbing to go. I decided to ride on (like I had a choice, other than catch a bus), and make a bail-out decision at Cedar Grove Road. A right turn there would bypass all the big rollers through Hobart, Ravensdale, etc., and after a tamer climb over the ridge I would end up on the gentle downslope of the Cedar River Trail.

I stopped and stretched at Cedar Grove Road, and decided that my lower back would thank me later if I made the right turn. I was disappointed, as I figured I was going to significantly shorten my mileage for the day. Not so. My total mileage ended up being just about 2.5 miles shorter by cutting out the Black Diamond section.

My day ended with one more steep climb, to the housing development where I live. It had started raining about 30 minutes earlier, adding damp to my other list of discomforts. My right calf also started protesting at about the Kent City Limits, so I completely focused on my left leg for the final hill. The individual leg training intervals from this winter’s HIT sessions paid off!

97 miles for the day. Close enough for this cyclist. I have no idea what was going on with the right calf, other than perhaps some kind of dehydration thing. It went away pretty quickly.

I’m starting core work tomorrow. Really.

Tags: Cycling, ride_report

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