Two, Two, Two Goals in One!

I had 2 goals I wanted to reach this year and I had the good luck to achieve them both in one day - and - more importantly - had fun doing it.

Saturday, August 7 I finished up the last ride needed for my R-12 while completing the 3 Volcanoes 300km on tandem with rando extraordinaire, Peg Winczewski. I have a feeling our "record" for an all female tandem on that course will stand for some time.

A few pics courtesy of Jason Dul:

Me and my special Peg 3000 engine

Where to find randos in the early morning hours

Checking out views along the route











Jason, the photographer, his front wheel encountering gravel, and Kole and Jennifer climbing Babyshoe Pass

Randos at a watering hole - gotta watch out for crocodiles!



The tandem conquers Babyshoe and a group shot at the top while donating blood to the mosquitos (apparently the atmosphere at Babyshoe has a special quality that makes me extremely UNphotogenic)







A river crossing just outside of Trout Lake

Beautiful scenery to distract us from that final climb up to Elk Summit and and ominous looking sight at the top

Why Two-Year-Olds Rock

I should have posted about the great trip we took to Tucson in April to celebrate Archie's 60th birthday. We hiked, biked up Mt Lemmon (where I met Matt who has spent the last 2 years cycling around the US), watched the Huies rock climb, ate and drank around the pool, enjoyed hanging out with Spud and Tater, and were treated to a delicious dinner by my cousin John and his wife Peggy:









And I should have posted about the fun long weekend in East Wenatchee for SIR's Northwest Crank training camp.

And I should have posted about riding a 400km brevet in Oregon which was a fabulous route including 7 covered bridges and, unbelievably, headwinds no matter which direction I was riding and finished hearing the same birds at 4:30am that I had heard the previous morning at 5:00am:



But what finally got me to post was the simple wisdom of my grand-nephew Henry.




On Tuesday, as I was sitting in the back seat between Henry and Bennett we were discussing the concept of "it takes a village". Here's how the conversation played out:

me: Henry, you have a village.
Henry: nope
Mary: Yes you do Henry. Who are your people?
Henry: Gramma, Boppa (grandpa), Mama, Dada...
me: Aren't I in your village?
Henry: nope
me: Well I'd like to be in your village. How do I get in?
Henry: Open the door!

I'm not Mark. Or Vinnie, Or Geoff. And certainly not Kole!

Last year when some of my rando buddies started riding crazy amounts I kept saying they were nuts and that I needed time to recover between long rides. At least a week, maybe two, and three weeks in between would be lovely. I don't know when that logical approach got away from me but when I returned from Switzerland in mid-March I rode a very sensible 200k brevet and didn't feel trashed afterward. Knowing the Bellingham organizers were planning to target a nice day for their workers' ride (pre-ride) for the 300k I asked to join in. Turns out that would be only 4 days after my 200k. Luckily the group included Ralph and Carol on their tandem and Mark T so I had plenty of great drafting companions. Still, I was pretty tired by the time we finished and then still had to try to rustle up something to eat, drive home from Burlington, and get cleaned up before hitting the sack at about 3am. Luckily my sweetheart of a husband answered the 5:20am call from my sister for a ride to the airport so I could sleep a bit longer. A few more days rest and I headed out for a "short" weekend ride with the Cycle Tuesdays gang - which means intensity! I was still feeling like I had recovered well so when Mark sent out a note to the SIR list for a mid-week permanent on Thursday before the big storm hit I just fell right into the trap.

Company was great, route was good, weather wasn't quite as nice as we'd hoped but manageable and we got to see lots of friends along the way. Michael Gray, Mark, Vinnie, Dave Harper, and myself rolled out from University Village at 7:30, stopped in Snohomish at the bakery for some fuel and a tube change for me and then on to Granite Falls. I was doing pretty well and even taking a few pulls for the team but any uphill made my legs feel like lead. After Granite Falls we did the undulations along Lake Roesiger and hit some very nice pastoral roads heading into Monroe. By this time Dave had to take up babysitting duties and paced me nicely along trailing after the other riders. Early in the morning we'd seen Kole (after having ridden a 400k the day before - as had Vinnie!) on his way to work. Along the Snoqualmie River Road we came across Kent Peterson out for a jaunt planned to intersect our gang. We spent some time chatting with him and enjoying refreshments in Carnation.

Next up, Issaquah-Fall City Road. A road that meets my definition of the Irish "a terrible beauty". It is a quiet, forest-lined road that kicks my butt every time. As said butt was already dragging a bit the kicking didn't take much effort. Vinnie managed to adjust his usual quick climbing pace to my slow slog and kept me company all the way. That's after he'd already waited for me before Carnation when I dropped off chatting to Kent and then getting stuck at a light. After this we saw Mike McHale and Jim Rupert just finishing up an afternoon ride and they turned around to ride with us for a short time and say hi. That left just getting to the I-90 path, a little jaunt around Mercer Island and back north to University Village. Now Mark was on duty shepherding me along as I got slower and slower on each hill. When we reached Mercer Island I called Robin at work so he could meet up with us on the other side of the lake and join us for dinner at the end. I started off in pretty good shape through the winding curves on the east side but once we hit the rollers on the west side of the island the wheels completely fell off and it was a real slog-fest from there to the finish. Mark showed incredible patience (as had all the guys the entire day) and got me back in one (albeit pitiful) piece. A big mug of beer and a bacon blue burger never tasted so good!

Next morning result - yes I do it for the glamour! If only my bike and I could defy gravity on the hills the way my hair defies gravity after going to bed with it damp!

Now, I'm going to take a long recovery break - really - don't even think about asking me to do a long ride - I mean it!

One Lucky Rando Girl

The three mega mileage amigos (Geoff, Mark, and Vinnie) were planning to baptize the new Three Rivers Cruise V2 route last Saturday. Earlier in the week looking at the weather forecast I thought Sunday looked better and managed to talk them all into switching the day. As the weekend drew near dire changes were shaping up on the weather front and I was facing the prospect of not only being scorned by my riding mates but also not being able to do any weather whining. Saturday turned out to be a pretty good day and the forecast early Sunday was still unfriendly. Okay, load all the rain gear and get ready to gut it out.

I was picturing a pretty wet and miserable day of about 11-12 hours. But no, Lucky Rando Girl emerges from the phone booth! Robin and I drove up to Arlington to find not only those amigos but a few others as well - Dan Jenson, Mike Richeson, Kole Kantner, and Ward Beebe had heeded the siren call. Notice all the male names there??? Like I said, Lucky Rando Girl! Another point of luck, they are all nice, intelligent, handsome, and look great in lycra!

A little bit of head wind and a very cold arrival in Darrington (which didn't prevent Kole from feasting on an ice cream sandwich - brrrrr) and I was still anticipating the rain at any moment. Lucky Rando Girl would not be so easily defeated - we changed direction here heading north and suddenly the wind was at our backs and seemed to stay there for the entire rest of the ride. Bits of blue sky appeared and we had fantastic views of snow capped Mt Baker while also sighting eagles along the Sauk River. Another change of direction (west now and still a tailwind) had us zipping along the Skagit River. Well, we were zipping once Robin got Mike and me in hand and pulled us up to the leaders...

We descended upon the Skagit Valley Co-op in Mt Vernon for a nice lunch break and then back out on the road, this time basically south but still with a tailwind - how is this happening??? At this point we had visions of getting back to Arlington before dark and the rest of the group would easily have done that but my legs were beginning to feel the efforts of the pace and they very kindly slacked off a bit for me. Now we had views of snow geese and Mt Pilchuck to delight the senses. Still, I was on the edge, just hanging on, and as we climbed a freeway overpass (it was a BIG one, I'm tellin' ya!) as we entered Stanwood I saw the group pull away. Well, it looked more like they were shooting out of a canon while I rolled backwards! After Stanwood I saw a tail light ahead and Mike had backed off to wait for me. Not much further along Robin was there and when we hit Silvana the rest of the crew was hanging out and harassing the locals. They could have been in Arlington already but they waited so we could all finish together - what a bunch of sweeties! I felt just a few raindrops as we neared Arlington and there was even a lingering bit of light in the sky as we pulled into the Haggen's parking lot.

What a Lucky Rando Girl.

Ain't no pretty here

I completed my slowest 200k ever today - bully for me. Included in today's route is a section of road with which I have a most curious relationship. I have ridden Issaquah-Fall City Road many many times and never well. My efforts on that climb from Fall City up and over the lump between it and Issaquah range from the low end of Embarrassingly Pathetic to a high end of Merely Pitiful. Those rare times in my cycling career during which I've gained some kind of climbing acumen (read about 2 days in total) have never coincided with riding this road. I always arrive at the bottom in a state of trepidation. I grovel and tuck my tail firmly between my legs never daring to raise my eyes. It regards me with true and undisguised disdain. As I move up the road quickly exhausting my supply of low gears I am forced to rise out of the saddle to maintain some sort of forward momentum. This effort it greeted by a derisive snort. I somehow claw my way forward while gravity gains strength with each pedal stroke. The bit of asphalt just passed over now attaches itself like velcro to my butt trying to pull me back. I begin to whimper and whine and degrade myself in every way possible in hopes of appeasing the road and somehow gain that little section that likes to pretend it is the top. I begin to rejoice in my success and am quickly slapped back down to my natural level. The road tilts up again. I begin to despair but salvation comes in the form of a caterpillar or a slug or, on very bad days, some road kill that calls out "on your left" as it slips effortlessly by me seeking higher ground. The road is momentarily distracted or perhaps has become so bored with me that I begin to make headway. Yes, the end is in sight. I have triumphed (?) once again! Take that you old so and so - until we meet again!

Finding a new rhythm

Robin and I have been in England since mid-June and it has taken me a while to figure out my daily "routine". Just before we left home I got 2 new contract jobs lined up but had kind of put them on hold while we did some work on the garage (repairs and painting) and I tried to make up for a whole spring of neglect in the yard and garden. We have a wonderful housesitter this time who is an avid gardener (and horticulturist by training) so I wanted something she could get into and maintain (and as a bonus have some homegrown vegetables awaiting our return!).

The first week and a half here Robin was working 2nd shift and we both struggled with sleeping since it is getting light here around 4:30am and we are used to getting up early anyway. This week he switched to first shift which suits our personal styles better especially for these long summer days.

I am finding a completely different rhythm of life here this time around. My first long trip here I was training for Ironman Canada which gave me a very structured schedule and the 2nd and 3rd trips I was fortunate enough to make fast friends with first Brenda and then Rachel (other Boeing spouses) giving me some wonderful pals to explore and play with. Rachel was due to come this time as well and I was very much looking forward to spending time with her again but her mother became gravely ill and she instead went to Tennessee to spend her last days with her. A blessing for both of them. After getting the apartment set up the way we like I got stuck in with a daily work schedule trying to get a firmer handle on the more demanding of my new jobs (still working on that!) and this week I have incorporated an exercise routine as well so finally I am in a groove.

So, what exciting things have we been up to since we got here?

We've done a couple of nice walks with Steve - one to a beerfest and another past one of my favorite houses - Dipley Mill. I've only ever seen Dipley Mill zooming by on the road on our bikes so taking a walk that actually went around 3 sides of the property was a treat. Here we are on the little humpy bridge in front of Dipley Mill.
and a photo of the house and garden. We pretty much think our place will be looking like this soon...

Over the weekend we drove to Wales to watch the British Cycling Road Race Championships. We arrived on Saturday just in time to see the Junior Men finish their race and then the Women had their race in the afternoon. The women's' race ended with 2 circuits of the town and we found a great place to see them pass by a couple of times and then got to the finish line to see Nicole Cooke take her 9th consecutive national title and 10th altogether. Nicole is also the reigning Olympic and World Champion and is Welsh so we were very surprised at the lack of crowd there to witness the event. I had deliberately reserved a B&B in a neighboring town to avoid what I assumed would be a zoo in the host town of Abergavenny. A few pictures of the day:

The start/finish in town:

The start of the Women's Race - that's Nicole in white and the world champion stripes:












Walking around Monmouth Robin liked this wonderful 4-story skinny building:

Sunday was the men's race and there were a few more people around but still not at all what we expected with big names like David Millar, Bradley Wiggins, and Mark Cavendish - all big Tour riders. We stayed in the lovely town of Monmouth, visited the ever-present local castle ruins, had a great dinner, got a bit lost on a walk, and had time the next morning to drive to Skenfrith and ride the 13 miles to Abergavenny. We watched the start and then headed out to catch the action on the big climb up and over Iron Mountain. That's where we finally saw some crowds as many people drove and rode to the top. We got there early at about noon and decided to go to the nearby pub for some lunch. I made the mistake of skipping the prepackaged sandwich and ordered the jacket potato (that's a baked potato back home). The result - we missed the race going by! Oh well, back down the mountain and into town to catch the 10 finishing circuits which were very exciting and then the finish.

At the start line for the Men's race one of the neutral support mechanics is put to work before the race starts:

Here are some folks riding to the top of Iron Mountain to catch the action:













The view from Iron Mountain over the southern Welsh countryside:











The longtime race leader on the finishing circuits - cruel fate dictated he ended 4th on the day:









We both thought the ride back to the car might be a bit of a grind but the quiet road over the rolling hills with the fabulous views of the Welsh hillsides dotted with farms and sheep was very enjoyable. Back in Skenfrith the ruined castle was now a bustling local craft fair with lots of folks out enjoying the warm and sunny afternoon. Two boys were hitting a tennis ball against the side of the castle - how casual is that?










Back in Farnborough on Monday evening I grilled some sausages from the organic farm shop and Robin fixed some greens then proceeded to eat THREE of the sausages which he immediately regretted. He was sick for the next 2 days! I did my best to nurse him and he seems back to his usual self now. No pictures to share of that you'll be thankful to know!

So, life goes on here with extensive coverage of Wimbledon on the telly and the Tour de France starting this weekend seeing us spending a bit more time on our fannies than we should! Pair that with my complete lack of will power when in comes to the plethora of high quality cakes and goodies here and I'll be having a hard time wearing anything but a (large) sack soon!

As I've been typing this Serena Williams has been playing her semi-final match against Elena Dementieva and she just won a very tough match! Oops - it has taken me a day to get the pictures loaded and since then now Venus Williams won her semi-final making a Williams' Sisters Final on Saturday and tonight Andy Roddick upset British favorite Andy Murray and will meet Roger Federer on Sunday. GREAT tennis watching and a guarantee of at least 1 and possibly 2 American Wimbledon Champions this year!

Staying up all night

When was the last time you stayed up all night? and why? Now in my 5th decade on earth the reasons to stay up all night have changed since my teens and twenties. Back then the only time I would stay up all night would be either to finish a paper or project for school or to party. These days I am either doing a long bike event or I am at the hospital with my mom. Staying up all night is weird if you are the standard daytime person. 24 hour places like hospitals and even convenience stores don't seem to really notice that they are out of step with the rest of the world. They carry on as if most of those around them aren't snoozing peacefully in their beds respecting the circadian rhythms of their bodies.

Last weekend I rode the Fleche Northwest put on by my club, SIR. My team captain, Geoff Swarts did a great writeup so for the full story go here: http://greenhornetrandoing.blogspot.com/2009/04/amy-et-ami-food-friends-fun-and-biking.html.



Amy et Amis Fleche Team in Westport around 11pm. Nice how I managed to get on a team with 4 tall guys eh??? Notice the stylish matching reflective ankle bands - nice!



After catching up on sleep Saturday and Sunday nights it was off to Lacey on Monday where my mom was scheduled for hip replacement surgery. Cut on Monday, PT on Tuesday, and home by Wednesday was the surgeon's schedule. My mom doesn't follow schedules well. Short on sleep Monday night I was happy to get back home on Tuesday evening to my own bed again. Wednesday did not bring a hospital release for my mom. Back to Lacey and a night in a recliner in my mom's room to help monitor and make sure she got back on track. Luckily I have lots of siblings and the overnight guard could be switched daily. She is back home as of yesterday - yay!

In future if I get the choice I'd much rather be out riding and taking catnaps in Denney's at 4am rather than hanging at the hospital. Those in power - please make a note of it...

DNS

DNS stands for Did Not Start and that is the status I had for Saturday's 300k brevet. All conditions were perfect - weather forecast right on, some confidence in my legs, and Robin was planning to come out and ride the start. Bikes ready to go and alarm set for 4am - all systems go.

Okay so 10pm is a little later than I wanted to hit the hay with a 4am alarm but I could sleep all I wanted Saturday night. For the first couple of hours in bed I couldn't figure out why I wasn't getting to sleep. I'd think I had drifted off and then something would wake me up. I finally figured out it was my sweet hubby. He is feeling a bit overwhelmed at work and also realizing the effects of just getting back into his riding routine after 6 weeks off. He was so stressed out that every time he started falling asleep he was jerking himself (and me!) back awake. Another couple of hours trying to get him to relax but no real success. By the time the alarm went off I figure we each had about 1 hour of sleep in 2-3 minute intervals. It was a "no go" decision. I suggested he go in to work for a few hours of uninterrupted time to get some things under control and we could head out in the afternoon for a ride. Seemed to do the trick because after that we both fell soundly asleep for the next few hours.

We did get up to Mukilteo (about 9 hours late for the start) and caught the ferry to ride some of our favorite roads on south Whidbey. A GORGEOUS day out on beautiful rolling roads. We got back to the mainland in time to see the fastest riders finishing up the brevet. Sad not to be among them (although I wouldn't have been among them anyway - I would still have been at least 3 hours out from the finish) but happy to have had a nice ride with my hardworking man.

It would have been nice to gain the confidence from the 300k to help me out mentally with the upcoming 24-hour Fleche (380km) in two weeks but what can you do? Just a tad worried that one of my Fleche teammates - Ward - was there with the extra fast boys on Saturday. He did claim that the Fleche is an entirely different animal so hopefully he and my other teammates will have all the patience they will need to drag along the Amy Anchor.

PBP Memories

I was looking at some of the pictures from PBP07 this morning and it brought back so many memories of that year and of the year I did it in 2003. I plucked a few of the pics that seemed to demonstrate the highs, lows, and in betweens of riding 1200 km in 90 hours or less.

Arriving in France is so great.













Here is the SIR gang the day before start day full of anticipation and nervous energy.









And then the real start line.








Many highs, high fives, and smiles.















































































And a few lows: Shermers neck and examples of carnage (carnage with energy bar wrapper, carnage by road signs, cafeteria carnage).















































And finally the triumphant (?) finish!













The agony and the ecstasy. It is a strange sport.