Camano Chill

Went on my first ride with the Seattle Randonneurs today. What a great group! Way more people than I expected. There must have been 70 people or so. Everyone convened in Stanwood. That worked pretty well for me because I was up in Bellingham helping Ruth with her move to Ellensburg. I rendezvoused with Ken, who drove up from Seattle. He was a couple minutes late, but I was more late, and this group does not wait around! They shot out of the parking lot a minute before 9, and I was still scrambling to put on my stuff. Then I was in such a rush that I forgot my water and food, so Ken and I had to run into a convenience store to get my fuel that I would need for this 50 mile ride.

So the ride started out a little rocky, and the temp was about 31 or 32. So I was worried about ice as we were pedaling hard to catch the group. One bridge in particular gave me pause. Lots of traffic, and a little ice would not have been good. But there were no problems. Ken and I caught the folks at the back after several miles, then caught the main group at Camano park after about 15 miles when they stopped for a break. The ride had already been good up to that point, because the day was beautiful and the mountains were out. These were back roads with very little traffic. But the ride got better as we started to meet some of the Randonneurs. They're all into cycling, but in a fun way that I can relate to. They don't just talk about gear, and it is not at all a competitive ride. Everyone is out to enjoy cycling, get some exercise, and be social. Plus I met up with my old friend Jeff who I hadn't seen in 15 or 20 years. I think last time I saw him we were climbing Rainier.

The south end of Camano was particularly good, because there was so little traffic. I think our route on the east side could have avoided the main road more than it did this time. I need to study the map before the next ride. Also, I think it would have been much better to start out on Camano, rather than Stanwood. The highway from/to Stanwood was no picnic.