North Lk Washington Loop- May 7

The morning started with wet roads and plenty of heavy clouds. Fortunately, this did not deter many from wanting to get out and put some miles on their bikes. It was good to see many of the regular riders, riders who haven’t ridden with us for awhile (Kurt and Eric), and new riders joining us for the first time (Lucas and Heli,). In all, we had 17 riders total.

The planned route was to go clockwise around the north loop of Lk Washington with an incentive to get through the Montlake Bridge before it was closed to traffic at 10:00 am due to opening day of boating season. The start was marked with several mishaps, within the first mile we had two individuals fall off their bikes while stopping with their cleats still clipped into the pedals. Luckily, it was nothing serious. We’ve all done that, my self included many times. There were a few other mishaps and missteps, Lucas throwing his chain while switching from the small ring to the larger ring, Eddie’s fender malfunction, and several riders taking an alternate route though the Arboretum and getting separated from the group.

We made it to the Montlake Bridge at 9:45 am (mile 10), we took a brief stop there to take in the festivities and watch the crew boats pass under the bridge. Dred (Ed) decided he wanted to stick around to watch the crew races and indicated he’ll catch up to the rest of us later….Ed, do you really think you’re that fast? . The rest of us rejoined our separated comrades at the Montlake Blvd overpass connecting us to the Burke Gilman trail. Though the weather was grey and dreary, there were plenty of other bikers, joggers, and walkers on the trail. Richard kept a decent steady pace on the trail and keeping everyone together, not an easy task considering all the traffic and all the crossing posts. While on the trail, I was expecting Ed to rejoin the group but no sign of him. We reached Log Boom Park and took a brief rest to refuel (mile 22).

At this point, we were about to get off the trail and head up the backside of Juanita Hill which was long and can be difficult, so I briefed the team what to expect. Phoebe, unimpressed with the factual truths asked if I could be a little more inspiring…wow, tough crowd! Richard took the early lead up the hill and Daniel and William looked strong keeping close to him. Heather also kept a steady strong pace up the hill. (Many of you may recall that during her nutrition sharing last night that by refueling properly she was able to out climb many of her male counterparts…I’m a believer…), Grace, I’m glad you enjoyed the hill climb…I was listening, but didn’t hear you sing a different tune (inside joke ). Pleasantly surprised, everyone made it up the hill without too much difficulty. Nice job! As in most cases where there’s a hill there’s also a down hill. While, most of us took the opportunity to coast down hill, there are always those who throw caution to the wind and pedaled down hill. William, how fast were you going?

We regrouped in Juanita, there we found out that Lucas’ chain had slipped off several times again hampering his ride and slowing him down. We made some adjustments to his front derailleur limiter…Lucas; I hope it’s no longer a problem. From there we continued on through the Kirkland pedestrian walkway, up and over Market street hill, and down to the Kirkland waterfront park (mile 28). The sun actually made a brief appearance at this point. It was also at this time some of us realized that we were running out of water. Lesson learned, for future rides anything over 25 miles we should be carrying at least two bottles of fluid. Btw, still no Ed.

After a brief rest, we headed towards Bellevue up 112th Ave hill adjacent to 405. This was the last hill of the ride and Richard again took the lead and reached the top first…Richard, you get the green jersey for the day. Through downtown Bellevue we connected up with Lk Washington Blvd were we encountered a stiff headwind but that didn’t deter a number of riders to take advantage of the long quiet uninterrupted flat roadway to stretch the legs a little. We made our way down Lk Washington Blvd over some rollers (not hills) to the familiar Mercer Slough which meant we were close to the end of the ride.

Over the East Channel Bridge onto Mercer Island. We stepped up the pace along N Mercer Way to see what was left in the tank. Keeping a steady pace of over 20 mph back to the PNR, Heli trailed us effortlessly the whole way (considering this is her first time out and after a decent ride is impressive). How’s the draft behind the tandem? Overall, it was a fun day for a ride, with wonderful people, and still no Ed. The total miles logged was 37.5. Hope to see you all on our next ride.

–Litespeed

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