"Ah! My Quads hurt"!

Alert: Jason has been a slacker lately. Be advised that he will blog about two rides in this post!

Redhook Ride:

I woke up to the sound of rain drops dancing on my window. "A little rain, no big deal" I told myself. I was up in Bothell at the time taking advantage of the girlfriends guest room and had to make my way back to Seattle by 11:00am to meet Ry at my house for a ride. I ate a banana, threw on my biking clothes, said my goodbyes and mounted myself on the bike for the ride home. Did I say it was raining? It was also very cold and windy! The trip back home was miserable. I lost feeling in my toes, my shoes were soaked, and my legs and arms were starting to suffer from frostnip (which is not to be confused with frostbite). I FINALLY got home and had an opportunity to warm up in the shower and make myself a quick breakfast. Ry showed up and we headed out.

The trip started out fairly well. The pavement was still a little damp, however it was not raining and the temperature was tolerable. 15 some miles later we ended up at Redhook. To my surprise the bike traffic wasn't very busy. It is usually crowded. I think we had the weather to thank for that. We ordered a new seasonal beer which I forget the name of, but it was very good! A pilsner for you beer snobs. Along with my beer I ordered a california burger which was good, but I was disappointed that no fries came with it. Did I mention the service was horrible?

We hopped back on our bikes and headed south for Lake Sammamish. To our surprise the pavement dried up and the clouds were holding there precipitation. We approached the northern end of Lake Sammamish and hugged it's east shoreline making our way down to the southern tip which would eventually lead us to the city of Issaquah. It was here we both got a little turned around...a.k.a. slightly lost. We zigged and zagged our way around eventually ending up back to the southern most part of Lake Sammamish. "Bah! We just came from here" I thought to myself. We both climbed an extremely steep hill and halfway through my quads felt like they were on fire. I was also having a problem with my rear derailer where it wouldn't make up its mind of what gear it wanted to be in. This made the climb a bit more difficult, but eventually we made it to the top which brought us back on course. We hugged I-90 and made our way to Bellevue where the clouds off in the distance were not looking to friendly. The inevitable was going to happen and that was us getting soaked. We parked our bikes underneath a bridge and threw on our rain gear. The ride back was miserably wet, however we took a new route through the arboretum that was amazingly technical and fun! Here is a treat for you all that I took during one our rest stops. It is seemly becoming an inside joke for us.

Mt. Rainier Ride:

The weather called for rain and cloudy skies and when I woke up and looked out the window I was in awe to see sunshine and clear skies. The day looked to be a good one for riding. I arrived in Auburn about 30 minutes past 10am and chugged a cup of coffee that Ry brewed up. We geared up and headed out. It was a bit chilly, however it was sunny, dry, and there was minimal wind...I was happy. Our trip for the day would take us into the chinook mountain pass near the base of Mt. Rainier. The total roundtrip mileage would be 70 miles. The ride from Auburn to Enumclaw was not the greatest. The road was littered in glass, garbage, and gravel and the logging trucks zoomed by too close for comfort.

At one point I was tailing behind Ry and all-of-a-sudden I noticed a large object explode in front of me as it hit the ground. Unfortunately Ry's headlamp saw the last of its days. It apparently came loose from the mounting on his bike. Around the 15 mile marker we arrived in Enumclaw a.k.a. hickville. Ry and I got the impression that biker shorts were not in fashion. Before heading up the pass we stopped at the local McDonald's for a quick snack and a bathroom break. As we stood outside enjoying our McDoubles we noticed that the ominous rain clouds in the distance were getting closer. We crossed our fingers that they would miss and that we would stay dry.

The climb up the pass wasn't too bad. I was feeling energetic and on top of my game. I've never realized up until this year how important it is to watch what types of foods you put in your body. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous! Granted it wasn't the clearest of days, but to see the clouds moving through the mountains was a beauty in itself. I love Washington. In my eyes it has the best scenery for biking. As we continued to push through the pass we noticed that we were going downhill most of the time (or so it seemed). To our surprise we were moving uphill, but it didn't feel or look like it. The mountains seem to showcase this weird optical illusion.

We reached our destination 35 miles in and took a rest. Ry discovered an enormous anthill in the ditch. I've never seen one and it was quite fascinating. Apparently a redheaded ant's bite is slightly painful not be be confused with a redheaded's bark. I could see it on Ry's eyes after he was bite. It was even more funny to see how paranoid he was about getting bite again when he was inspecting his backpack for ants (I was too). After a good 5 minute check to make sure no ants were on us we headed back to Auburn. The wind was a bit brutal on the way back and it was cold!! The clouds started to move in and soon after the rain started to fall. Apparently my bike really likes to throw up mud. Ry was drafting behind me and looked like a ginger (sorry Jennifer) with all his mud freckles on his face. Near the end of the pass I looked behind me and saw Ry WAY behind. We were cursing at a good 38 MPH down the pass and apparently Ry hit the side road bumps that threw off his balance and he almost crashed into oncoming traffic. I'm glad he chose to stay alive. Biking can be dangerous!

I felt great on this ride! My quads were burning like the great Chicago fire of 1871 and my groin was screaming "you'll never have kids", but my energy levels were off the charts! I was maintaining a good 22 mph for the last 15 miles of the trip and didn't feel the slightest of a bonk. I would say it was a personal best for me. I finally got my gears decent on my bike...I just need to go through and make a few adjustments but what a difference it can make. I'm loving the journey so far! 219 miles down for me!

-Jason