Saturday I led a Cascade Bicycle Club ride to/from the Issaquah Brewhouse.  The route led us over the ridge at Eastgate, down the Lake Washington Loop to the new Seahawks training facility in Renton, up the hill & through May Valley, then a little side trip to Tiger Mountain Road.

The pedal-by-pedal account of this ride is not really important, but here are the highlights:

• Beer and Bicycles is apparently a worthy combination.  Despite cold temperatures, we had a stellar turnout.  I had 20 riders for my “faster-longer” version, while Allyson and Jim must have had close to that for their “shorter-slower” version around Lake Sammamish.
• The McDonald’s at 44th (just off I-405 in Renton) is apparently worth the stop.  4 people from my group went inside to use the facilities and came out exclaiming “Wow, a posh McDonald’s”.
• The climb up to Coal Creek Pkwy. from 44th still sucks.
• The climb up Tiger Mountain Road sucked worse.  I was pretty gassed at this point, and re-dedicated myself to doing intervals on the bike.  I felt as unfit as I did 2 years ago, which is not all that fit.

Now about that truck.  We were heading East on Issaquah-Hobart Road (the from-Issaquah/to-Hobart direction).  I had a dozen or so riders still in tow (the others had chosen to head back to Issaquah without doing the Tiger Mountain portion).  We were riding on the shoulder of the roadway, all riders below the fogline.  A largish red diesel pickup (Dodge Ram-like, but don’t quote me on that) passed close by my left shoulder.  The passenger threw a small object at me which passed just in front of my front tire.  It looked like a cigar butt, but it could have been a dog turd for all I could tell.  Once he was just past me the truck then pulled onto the shoulder just in front of me, shifted gears so as to severely “lug” his diesel motor, and laid down a very large cloud of black diesel smoke directly in our path.  After 30 or so yards of this he downshifted and hurtled back down the road, out of sight.

I got neither accurate description, or a license number.  Unfortunate, because this guy is a danger to cyclists, and who knows if he may escalate this behavior in the future.

Ride Information

I’m on the hook for doing some smokey ribs for the neighbor’s party tonight, so I slipped out for a quick loop on the bike before I fire up the BBQ.  The Green River Trail is compromised on the west by the levee repair, and the Interurban is cluttered with people and strollers because it’s Kent Conucopia Days.  Go home, people, you are in my way!

I’ll try to get to bed at a decent hour tonight, and maybe head up to Sunrise on Mt. Rainier for a little solo torture.  I’m still fighting a bit of upper respiratory congestion… nothing too malevolent, but I must hack and spit every 50 yards or so, an activity much better performed in solitude.

We had 8 total riders, however 4 of them ended up being Cascade Ride Leaders (a couple of other leaders came out for an easy spin). Note how everyone is bundled up with long sleeves and/or jackets, and full-length pants. This weather is getting to be a bit much. Come on summer, it’s mid-June for cryin’ out loud!