First cycling day in Greece!

This is our third day in Greece, but the first "real" day of the bicycle tour. It was a great start. Leisurely riding around a beautiful little island called Spetses, in the southeast corner of the Peloponnese peninsula. It was a good chance for Cath to try out a road bike for the first time since college, including her first real ride using pedals and cleats. She didn't fall even once and had no trouble keeping up with everyone, even on a couple bumpy stretches.

Since it was just a 15 mile ride, we took every detour to various beaches, and stopped lots of times to take in the scenery and take pictures. Once we got away from town and its buzzing motorcycles, there was almost no traffic around the whole island. And the road surface -- not counting the short detours to the beaches -- ranged from good to excellent. One slightly hairy stretch took us down a super steep road, on a very bumpy surface with a mishmash of grooves and layered concrete to a nice little beach. It was tricky riding both directions and a couple people in the group walked it.

At one beach, Colleen led us along a path to a cave. The cool thing is that you could approach the cave either through a hole in the rocks, or by swimming. It had a low ceiling, and went back about 50 feet or so. There was one strange large formation in the very back, with a kind of large depression carved in the top. It made me think of a throne and creatures that Ulysses might have had to fight off!

There's no question that we came at a good time. The weather is warm enough to swim, but not too hot at all. More importantly, the summer crowds are gone. Apparently most of these beaches are pretty crowded, and there must be a lot of cars on the road. Today the beaches were nearly deserted. Lunch was at a perfect little cafe overlooking the water. We wound up eating in town. We did stop and check out a couple other places around the island, but they were closed now that it is off-season.

Cougar-Issaquah-Sammamish

My objective was to simulate the first day of the upcoming Arizona ride, so I planned out a 100 mile ride with nearly 10,000 vertical feet. I came close. Randy, Gary, Clint, and Kevin were along on most of the first half and agreed that it was a pretty good route. We wound our way over to Hilltop, then Pinnacle, then Cougar Mtn Drive, all in the general direction of Cougar Mountain. Then we did Squak Mountain. At that point the others split off and I headed north and east to do a loop around Beaver Lake and Sammamish, which was the reverse from a part of the Randonneur route in February. On the way back, I went up the "zoo hill" from Newport Way. To round out the 100 miles, did Mercer Island and followed the I90 lid to downtown, and came back via Dravus and Fremont.

Cycling the Cougar-Squak Suburbs

As most cyclists in the greater Seattle area know, if you feel like getting serious about hills - head to the Cougar Mountain area. There are lots of great climbs on mostly light traffic roads. This weekend I tackled them both days. Saturday morning Kevin joined up with me and we slogged through a non-stop downpour for more than 50 miles and about 5,500 feet. It was not cold, and we had a lot of fun discovering new climbs and getting turned around. The cue sheet I'd made in advance was mostly correct, but had several problems that caused us to circle around a few times in a couple places. After a few hours, we headed back home and included M.I. on the way back.

Last night I studied the maps more closely and made some modifications to my cue sheet, and added in some more hills. Today I waited till noon for the showers to end (no rain all afternoon!) then tackled the hills again. This time things went quite a bit better - though I still had to make an extra loop or two - and I added in Squak Mountain and Lakemont climbs for a total of about 70 miles and 7,500 feet. Have now studied the maps more, and have updated the cue sheet again to make things even more interesting the next time.

Blown away in Death Valley

It was quite the contrast. Exactly one week ago I cycled 85 miles in the rain and wind, with snow on both sides of the road, past the forests, beaches, and vistas of Puget Sound and nearby lakes. It was a great ride. Today I cycled 150 miles through Death Valley. This was just as spectacular, and an unforgettable ride. I don’t think the grandeur and vastness of Death Valley can be captured in words or pictures. The rocks and soil are naked of most vegetation. The walls surrounding the valley are amazing colors and shapes. It is land in its rawest form. This was supposed to be the springtime in Death Valley, and I had coaxed Catherine into coming with me by promising stunning flowers. But this was an off year for rainfall. We didn’t see much other than bleak cactuses, shrubs, and grasses. Fortunately she too was taken by the beauty of Death Valley. But we agreed to come again when the flowers are really there!

There were 300 riders registered for this event, which was the maximum allowed by the Park Service. About half were registered for the 100 mile version, and half for the 200 mile version. I figured 12 hours on a bike in Death Valley would be plenty for me, so I split the difference and did 150. That was a good call. The ride out from Furnace Creek to Shoshone is 150 miles round trip, for a total elevation gain of about 9,500 feet. My GPS ran out of battery at 132 miles. I almost ran out of battery myself at about the same point. But my problem was mostly dehydration. I was feeling good at 100 miles, and had been almost over-hydrating. But the headwinds got really nasty for the last 50 miles as we headed back north up the valley. It was relentless - easily gusting to 30 right into our faces. Plus I let up a bit on the water intake from 100 to 130. That was a mistake. I took my time at the next stop and drank up a couple sodas and lots of water. I felt better, and headed out with my new friend Jens. He had also decided to pack it in at 150. But he helped a lot on our last 20 miles by letting me draft for a while till I felt better. Then I had a nasty leg cramp at about mile 145 which practically knocked me over. It was probably another consequence of the dehydration. Jens stayed with me until my leg relaxed, and then we pedaled the last few miles in dusk back to Furnace Creek. Cath was waiting and it was very nice to see her there – although I guess I wasn’t looking my best! We joined up that evening with Jens and a few of his friends for a great dinner at the Furnace Creek Inn.



The next morning I woke up early and headed out to a nice little scenic road called Artists Drive - very aptly named. The road goes up about 1,000 feet along the lower edge of some stunning cliffs and formations. The road surface was poor the first few miles, then it was smooth asphalt. Click on the link below and play the route in Google Earth (let me know if you don't know how to do this). Not quite the same as being there, but it is pretty interesting (well, wait till after the straightaway - then it gets interesting).

Sticky Snow at Cabin Creek

With all the fresh snow up at the pass over the weekend, Cath and I agreed it would be a good idea to try out the trails at Cabin Creek today. It was Cath's first time there (at least since a long ago trip with Bruce & Gro), and certainly the first time skate skiing at this neat place. The hills of the Viking course are respectable. Both of us felt that we are getting a lot more comfortable with the hills than we were at the beginning of the season.

The snow was surprisingly sticky. It didn't hurt going up the hills, but it really slowed the flat and the downhill runs. It would sort of catch you as you were going along. The poles would stick too. I don't know just what the conditions were that caused this. It was about 32 and there was a lot of new snow. The poles seemed to stick the most on "the road" (that's what they call the main access to the trails) where the snow was the most packed.

We both agreed that Cabin Creek is a very good place to go, maybe better than the trails at the top of Hyak. Other than the sticky snow, the conditions were fine. Not too much view because of low clouds, but no precipitation either. A worthwhile trip.

Conway north: Cold, wet, windy, and ideal

Yet another great Randonneur ride! This time it was a small group, around a dozen people. The poor turnout was understandable, because it was raining, around 40, snow along the sides of the road, gusting to 25 knots or more, and the route was a long 85 miles. But as is always the case, all you have to do is dress warmly and keep moving. The rain was sporadic, and can even be fun if you're not cold. So we kept breaks to a minimum and it went very well. The only really dicey aspects of the ride were some sudden gusts from the side. And on way south through the Skagit Valley the headwinds made the going tough at some places. But even there the bad spots only lasted a few miles before the road would turn, or you'd get into the lee of a hill.

The route was excellent and I plan to do it - or parts of it - again. The one thing I would definitely change is the last few miles where Beal Rd. hits the T-intersection of Fir & Moore. Instead of going right on Fir (which is what we did), it is better to go left on Moore and go to Skagit City Rd (or maybe Dry Slough Rd.). That is what one of the subgroups did, and they said it was much better. Our route on Fir had a bit too much traffic, and coupled with the south winds took the fun out of that stretch.

But overall I had a great time. We saw lots of eagles and herons along the way. Towards the end we passed a huge flock of snow geese. It was mostly a beautiful ride. Even the stretches that paralleled I5 were fine. There was very little traffic on Chuckanut so that was great too. The views from that road are better enjoyed from a bike than a car. And the cue sheet was flawless. My GPS came out almost exactly the same at every turn.

Spring Skiing in February

For about the 10th year, we celebrated the President's Day weekend with the same three wonderful families. There are fewer kids along than when we started, but the tradition stays the same -- Lots of good food, beverages, conversation, cross-country skiing, and hot tubbing. This year we had me, Catherine, Ruth, Fritz, Heidi, Michael, Bart, Esme, Luke, Sam, Ben, Bruce, Gro, and Marina.

Although there was plenty of snow, the temperatures were much warmer this year than ever before. Even so, early morning skiing was great. The temperatures were near freezing and the groomers did an excellent job. The fish hatchery trails were very fast. But by late morning the skiing conditions got a bit soft, and slushy by afternoon. On Sunday afternoon, Bruce, Gro, and I tackled Ski Hill. It was so slushy, and the snow was so dirty, that we got out of there after less than an hour. We headed over to the fish hatchery, met up with some of the rest of group, and salvaged the outing on the flatter and more open trails.

This morning I had a great time with Luke, Sam, and Ben who were enthusiastic beginning students of skate skiing. I'm just a beginner myself, but I had been to a ski workshop last December. So I was able to pass along a few pointers. They picked it up quickly. Within an hour or two, they were cruising right along. In fact, they did so well they could skate up some of the gentle slopes with no poles! Not bad at all. I hope they keep it up, and send me a card when they win their first competition! Here's the route we did - more than 8 miles - pretty good! So good we wrapped it up with celebratory Italian sodas and hot chocolate at the trailhead.