MS Ride

Robin and I used to be very involved with the MS Society in planning, organizing and riding the 1 and 2 day bike fundraiser events. After several years of being frustrated with the seeming lack of commitment on the part of the organization to dedicate resources and move the event forward we finally gave up and turned our efforts elsewhere. A few years ago my friend Desiree started riding the newly revamped MS Ride after a family member was diagnosed. I got the feeling from her stories that things had changed and was curious about it. Finally this year I asked to join her company's team (Point B) who were also presenters of the event. It was great to see just how much this event had turned around!

During the MS150 days we were thrilled when we got 400 riders. The MS Ride now gets 1500! I'm sure the dedication of both the MS administration and a strong and active board have been the keys to this turn around - all for the benefit of MS research and support. The format has changed drastically from a 2 day rolling event requiring riders to do a minimum of 75 miles each day to a centralized event with route choices from 20 to 100+ miles. Usually at funraiser events the riders tend to be pretty novice so this makes the event much more palatable for them. Having a central location where you return each night to familiar surroundings is another plus. They now get many more teams and corporate sponsors involved making it professional and just a little glitzy. A big rider village with team hospitality tents, information booths, and eating and entertainment venues really make it nice for the riders. Prior to the ride MS had a very user-friendly way of setting up a webpage and sending out emails to friends and family for your fundraising use. It made that part of it much easier than going around with my little sheet and envelope for money in the past.

Desiree's company put up a great beach/tiki themed tent complete with music, leis, and a frozen margarita machine. They fed us snacks and provided a fabulous catered dinner on Friday. I had 2 great days of riding in the sunny Skagit Valley with Desiree and her husband Steve. I saw a few folks I know from randonneuring and from other bike events and enjoyed riding some roads I've never been on before.

If you'd like more information about MS and/or you'd like to donate to my efforts (pledges can be paid until October 21) please visit my page at:
http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/WASBikeEvents?px=5415474&pg=personal&fr_id=7600

Labor Day in Rockford IL

We spent Labor Day in Rockford IL to celebrate an aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary. All of my siblings and their spouses or significant others went along with my dad so we had 14 of the Seattle/Portland area Carolan clan on the flight together. It was a great weekend starting with a family gathering at the McGuire home in Rockford. Aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, out-laws - they were all there.











Saturday was the big day. Other family members arrived and we spent the day greeting them walking around Rockford first with my cousin Mary Ann and then with brother Paul and his girlfriend Anne.




















Saturday evening we attended mass at Boylan Catholic High School where my uncle Vince was the Principal until his recent retirement and then back to the Lexington Cliff Breakers hotel for dinner, dancing, and partying.

































































On Sunday Robin and Scott required some "down time" to recover from all the family exposure but they bounced back quickly and then it was back to the McGuire home for some goodbyes.





















Then off to Boylan again for a pool party and BBQ.

























Finally on Monday Rockford could rid itself of us but first I had to get a photo of Alan with the famous "spitting boar" of Rockford before we gathered at the Stockholm Inn for breakfast and then the drive to O'Hare to head back home.

MIA? - you'll be sorry you asked...

I haven't updated my blog for over a month and I really have no excuse except letting everyday life run its course and I really have been trying to get our deck repairs finished so we can claim the remainder of our insurance money but the kitchen/sunroom project is still not finished either and we got our appliances delivered but there was something wrong with the range, fridge, and dishwasher and we need to do some wiring work before we can install the microwave so that can't be checked off the list yet and when I went to order a section of Trex deck railing I found out I could only order it in "sets" with a bottom rail section and brackets which I don't need and I emailed Trex for help and they called and said they'd GIVE me a top rail which is really cool but that was over 2 weeks ago and still no deck railing and Robin has been working a ton of overtime so when he finally has some time at home I don't like to hound him about the things that I need his help on and of course (on a good note) we like to get out and ride bike like we did Saturday to celebrate RUSA's 10th anniversary and rode a 200k on the tandem and had a great day and also got to spend an hour and a half at the BBQ/beer stop near Poulsbo and then dragged our sorry butts the rest of the 21 miles into the end of the ride and Robin will be leaving for England sometime in early September and the trip is "only" 30 days so I don't get a ticket and I'm getting grumpy because not only is he barely home now but soon he'll be gone for a full month and the utility folks have been ripping our street up for the past 2 weeks replacing gas lines and rattling the house with their equipment and I've been on the phone for literally hours over the past month and a half battling my mortage company because they decided to reserve the maximum amount allowed on our escrow account and when I enquired about closing it and paying my own insurance and taxes they wanted to charge me $250 and they have yet to give me a satisfactory answer as to exactly what authority they have to do that and it is really making me cranky and I've been trying to keep the yard and garden in good shape and the Olympics are on which I totally love but I've been spending WAY TOO MANY hours in front of the TV and staying up too late but man those athletes are phenomenal and I can't tear myself away and we had some out of town visitors for a couple of days and I had my great-nephew Henry for the day on Friday and we had fun but it was a bit hot for him the last couple of hours before his mom came to rescue him and he was SO tired but wouldn't take a nap and wanted to be held but we would just stick together in the heat but we had a great day together anyways and Robin's folks visited for a few days for the annual Hoquinault Tandem Ride and Robin rode tandem with his mom and they tried to bust a move on me on the way back but I happened to catch them in my mirror so they didn't get too big a jump on me and I was able to shut the dogs down and it was great weather at Lake Quinault and I helped out at the finish of the Cascade 1200 and it was great to see old friends and meet new ones as they finished up a a VERY challenging ride and then I got to help organize a 200k with my pal Peter McKay who was unfortunately not able to ride the pre-ride with us due to an ankle injury and the summer seems to be running away from me and I'm not ready to give it up yet so here's hoping for a return of summer weather soon and may it last until mid October and I hope the huckleberries have time to ripen before the cold weather returns and maybe I'll actually do a "real" blog one of these days with pictures and everything but for now that's about it.

World Harmony Run

Thursday I was riding across Stevens Pass with a group of friends (I'll blog about that later when I can filch some pictures from the other participants) when I noticed a guy standing in the shade with a torch. Hmmm. Further down the road I saw a runner carrying a torch so I crossed over to find out what it was all about. He was running very smoothly with a huge grin on his face. He told me about the World Harmony Run (more info here: http://www.worldharmonyrun.org/). He even let me carry the torch. How fun to encounter other folks out enjoying the beauty of the outdoors - only these guys had a much bigger agenda then just having fun.

Permanently RAMRODed

Among the ever expanding list of riding opportunities offered by SIR is a Permanent (a brevet that can be ridden at any time) that cover the RAMROD route. Mark Thomas felt a need to ride that route and put a call out to any interested parties earlier in the week. Friday afternoon I was finally feeling confident enough in the weather forecasts to call and say Robin and I would join him. With a 4-day mountain pass tour coming up and a lack of climbing in my legs I needed a big ride day. Robin and I had ridden the newly opened Stevens Canyon road up to Paradise 2 weeks before along with 2 of his co-workers and the girlfriend of one. We got drenched. Of course that was one of the few nice Saturdays we'd had in these parts this year but Mt. Rainier is a law unto itself when in comes to weather and it made sure we knew it that day.

I guess we paid our dues on the Stevens Canyon day because, although thick dark clouds loomed as we drove to Enumclaw we were not long on the road before large patches of blue took over and even more quickly gave way to all out blue sky and warm sun. 6 of us rode together out of Enumclaw: me and Robin, Mark T, Mark Roberts, Steve Davis, and Rick Blacker. Wait a minute - looks like Amy and her boyz ride again! As we approached Ashford magnificent Mt. Rainier towered over us with her glacier and snow covered flanks contrasting sharply with the tree covered lowlands and bright blue skies. Wow!

Mark driving towards dark clouds.













Relaxing in Ashford. Rick is feeling groovy.


After entering Mt. Rainier National Park we all settled into our own climbing pace enjoying the beautiful scenery and low traffic. Snow was in evidence even a the lowest elevations due to the huge snowpack this winter and the 2-3 feet added just the weekend before.



Rick enjoying the views. Tatoosh Range from Paradise








Avalanche path in Stevens Canyon



Steve waiting for the group before the climb up Cayuse.













Grove of the Patriachs

A quick descent of Stevens Canyon soon immersed us once again in the joys of climbing. I, however, wasn't quite so joyful as on the earlier climbs of the day. My legs were tired and by back getting tight but luckily the mountain continued to treat us to her show of natural wonders. At my much slower pace I enjoyed the numerous water falls, forest smells, chipmunk antics, and several glacier lillies. Mark T and I were the last to summit Cayuse Pass and I was pleasantly surprised to see the rest of the posse waiting with patience (and a chill) for our arrival. Back on with the extra clothes and a charge down to Greenwater for our penultimate control of the day. Despite the dropping temperatures a little celebratory ice cream hit the spot before we made a six bike paceline charge back to Enumclaw.

Mark T and Amy at the Grove of the Patriachs - last climb still to come.











What a terrific day and what a tip top way to experience my first Permanent. Thanks to my fun, patient, and most importantly STRONG riding companions.

Driving Lessons - Do It RIGHT!

Pet peeve: 2, 3, 4, and even 5 lanes of traffic all moving at the same speed. I'm not talking about during rush hour traffic jam. I'm talking about the typical American driver who enters a multi-lane roadway and immediately moves over to whatever lane he or she thinks she needs to be in - with absolutely no relation to what speed current traffic is traveling. I have observed that most of us have an almost visceral fear of being "trapped" by anyone else - God forbid we are held up one nanosecond by someone else. So, despite these words taken directly from the Washington State Driver's Guide: "On a road with two or more lanes traveling in the same direction, stay in the right lane except to pass. On a road with three or more lanes traveling in the same direction, if there is a lot of entering or exiting traffic, use the center travel lane." (my emphasis) I rarely see any drivers move to the right when there is room for them to do so after passing or worse, they are cruising along obliviously going the same speed as the vehicle in the lane to their right, or even 2 or 3 lanes to their right. Taking this fear of the right to the extreme I have observed the bizarre behavior of drivers dropping passengers at Sea-Tac Airport from the 2nd or 3rd lane out from the curb - even if there is space at the curb! I guess they think someone will pull up on their left and they will be trapped, perhaps forever, listening to the recorded airport drive announcements again and again and again.

People, PLEASE - there is a better way! If you want to stay out of the furthest right lane to allow free access for those entering and exiting well bully for you but don't drive in the furthest left lane or lanes unless you are actively passing someone. After you have passed, move right. If you see another car come up behind you traveling faster than you, move right. If you are being passed on the right, move right. If a driver behind you flashes their lights at you, move right. Once we are all on the same page with this there will always be the opportunity to move left to pass a driver in front of you. Really, it works, I've seen it in action. Oh, and please use your turn indicators - it is safe and polite - 2 things we could all use more of on our highways and biways.

Now exiting the soap box. Comments in support of my position only accepted. Happy driving!

Amy and Her GIRLZ

Over the weekend I was one of 4 coaches at a women's bicycle camp in Plain, just outside of Leavenworth. Lisa and Bridgett did a great job of putting together an agenda to help these mostly beginner cyclists face their fears and move to a new level of confidence. It was fun to be there and watch them all blossom. We all stayed together in one house so in addition to the presentations, drills, and riding together we also got to have time to relax and socialize. Lisa's mom, Virginia, served as "den mother" and kept us all fed. The last bit on Sunday included a presentation on climbing skills and then we all rolled out to conquer Chumstick Pass. Unfortunately for Sarah she broke her chain at the start of the climb and I was recruited to fix it. I had just demonstrated on Saturday how to use a chain tool so here was a great opportunity to use my "skills" in real life. I was so excited that I actually got the kinked link out and got the chain back together without a stiff link until I realized I had misrouted the chain through the rear derallieur. As Sarah's chain didn't have a master link (and I didn't know to simply remove the pulley to reroute the chain) I detached another link but this time I pushed the pin all the way out and then it was "game over". I was about the transfer my chain to her bike but she said we were out of time and everyone would be heading back to the lodge soon. We took the "walk of shame" through downtown Plain before Lisa caught up to us and sprinted onward to retrieve the truck and get Sarah and her bike back to the lodge. Sarah was totally sweet and not upset about not doing the climb but I felt like a turd. My lesson learned is that I'm going to carry a spare master link with me from now on in my seat bag.

We had pretty good weather and it was stellar compared to the west side of the mountains. I got to do a small loop on Friday with Peggy before the other gals showed up and on Sunday Robin and Mark Thomas picked me up with the plan that we would conquer a partly unpaved route from Entiat to Lake Chelan. Mark had stayed up all the night before supporting SIR's 600k ride so he was very tired and decided to forgo a ride. Robin and I switched plans then and just did a climb over Old Blewitt Rd. It was lovely and warm and followed by a burger and pie a la mode at the Liberty Cafe.

I'll post some pictures if I get some from the other women at the camp.