1104 For the Win!

Miles Ridden Today:59.1
Total Miles Ridden in June:1104.7
Avg/Day:36.8
So despite yesterday's little crackup, I went riding today - back out to redmond - I just wanted something flat so I could get it over with. Today I ran into an interesting group of riders (150+) - they are members of a church denomination celebrating 150 years. So members from various churches are riding from coast to coast to raise awareness for poverty. Apparently earlier in the week they had been out at the pacific ocean and were now riding to New Jersey (Really... couldn't they have picked somewhere a little more appealing? ;) The ages for the people riding ranged from 17 to 82 and they are going to do 3500 miles in 9 weeks - or averaging 55 miles per day - given that I only managed a little under 37 - it will be very impressive (at least to me). A quick websearch found a blog from one of the riders: http://www.krabbe.ca/seatosea.php - apparently the ride is for the Christian Reform Church.

But still - I won the renegotiated wager with Scott - so while it's not quite 1500 miles in june, 1100 is significantly more than I have ever ridden before in a month. At the start of the month, for me riding to the Redhook Brewery took just under 2 hours (1:57), and today - despite having a sore knee, arm, foot, blisters on my toes and fingers and spending a long time going slow talking with riders from the group of 150 - I still managed to make it to the brewery in 1:30. A significant improvement in riding performance.
The major downside to all this? I spent more on Bicycle maintenance than I won in the bet :)

Yet Another Bike Crash

Miles Ridden:30
Total Miles Ridden:1045.6
Miles Remaining:54.4
Today I rode over to REI and then called Peter and arranged to meet him for a ride. After running into the Pride parade it took me a bit longer than expected to get over to his house to start the Ride. For the ride, Peter and I rode through the trails in Discovery park - a beautiful day for it. After splitting up with Peter I rode around for a bit and eventually headed over to have dinner with Daniele, and on the way I took another spill - in the exact same spot as before (and I didn't even have rain as an excuse this time). So tomorrow morning I'm going to have to ride over to REI to get them to look at the derailer which got a bit bent - and then ride the remaining 54 miles while sore.... Just adding a bit more drama to the bet :)

Riding on the Peninsula

Miles Ridden Today:38.2

Total Miles Ridden:1015.6 (Finally past 1k!)

Miles Remaining:84.4

Days Remaining:2

Today I took the ferry over to Bainbridge Island and rode to the Bremerton Ferry. After a short (well 3 hour) rest stop just past the bridge towards Poulsbo, I rode over to Keyport then over to visit my parents. We had a nice dinner over at the Boat Shed restaurant then went to go look at Scott's new deck. Then off to the ferry - my timing on catching the ferry back couldn't have been better! I rode straight on as the last person getting on. If I had missed that one it would have sucked (90 minutes till the next). This was a very hilly ride - more so than the ride around the lake, but I took more breaks while doing it.

Visiting Panera Bread yet again

I really like their 1/2 sandwhich and salad combo (not to mention their bagels...)
Miles Ridden Today:59.7
Total Miles Ridden:977.4
Miles Remaining:122.6
Days Remaining:3
Avg Required:~41
Average So Far:36.2 (and since my average pace for the month is around 12-13 mph, thats about 3 hours a day - every day so far this month)
It was a beautiful day today - I overslept though and missed most of the morning. I rode out to have a late lunch at Panera Bread in redmond again (their strawberry-poppyseed salad is mmmm good). The trail was much busier today... don't people have better things to do on a sunny friday afternoon than spend it outside??

Short Ride today

I got distracted early in the day and never really got into riding...
Miles Ridden today:22.2

Total Miles Ridden:917.7

Miles Remaining:182.3

Days Remaining:4

I rode over to Freemont and called Dan to see if he was available for coffee... turns out he was working from home. I then rode over to the UW Bookstore.. wandered around in there for a while, then rode back to downtown. Was a colder, overcast day and just couldn't get the desire to ride for a long distance...

Riding around Redmond

Miles Ridden Today:59.5
Total Miles Ridden:895.5
Miles Remaining:204.5
Days Remaining:5
Average Required to Ride:41

Today I rode out to have lunch at Panera Bread in Redmond. Then I rode back via Redmond Town Center and got distracted for a couple of hours in Borders books.... Yet another beautiful day for a ride. The only real problem was that on the way back two riders came flying by about 5 mph faster than I was going (I was doing about 15) so I rode to stay with them for about 15 miles *wince* that killed my legs for the ride back up capital hill - but it was fun :)

Visiting Scott

Miles Ridden Today: 60.7
Total miles ridden: 836
Miles Remaining: 264
Days Remaining: 6
Avg/day: 44
Average to date:34.8
Today I started at Daniele's place in Ballard an rode down to visit Scott in Renton. I rode down via the Duwamish River Trail onto the Green River Trail then via the Interurban trail to 228th. After a brief conversation with Scott and Julie I continued on 228th to the Green River trail and came back up north. After a brief stop at my apartment on Capital Hill I continued onto Ballard via the U-District. On the whole a trip that was notable mainly for the nice weather in the afternoon - though I keep being reminded that I hate wind.

Lunch at the Brewery (yet again)

Miles Ridden:48.6
Total Miles Ridden:775.3
Miles Remaining 324.7
Days Remaining:7
I rode out to the brewery for lunch today. I was going to do something else - but after yesterday's ride my legs were killing me. I stopped by the bike shop on the Burke-Gilman trail just past the UW - and they were kind enough to adjust the front derailer and give me a brief tutorial on the workings and how to adjust it. On the way back I somehow got sidetracked at Barnes and Nobles and lost track of 3 hours... no idea how that happened :)

Around lake Washington

Miles Ridden: 67.3
Total Miles Ridden:726.7
Miles To 1100: 373.3
Days Remaining:8
Need to average:46.6

Today I rode up to Kenmore and met up with Jeffrey to ride around the lake. Ouch. On the east side of Lake Washington there sure are alot of hills... Near the south end of the lake I started having problems shifting - making for a fun ride going up hills. After taking a break in Colum(?) park (and having a milkshake at Kidd Valley) we rode around to Seward park and rode around there. We then kept going north up the lake and I took a wrong turn and Jeffrey and I ended up crashing a wedding that was occuring along the lake :)

On the whole this ride was alot hillier than just going out to the brewery or down south along the interurban trail.

Over to Redmond to watch Soccer

Miles Ridden: 63.2
Total Mile Ridden:659.4
Miles remaining to minimum payoff: 440.6
Days Remaining: 9
Miles required/day: 49-
Today I rode over to Redmond to watch a soccer game. So I rode along the Burke-Gilman trail over to Samamish River Trail (Freemont was crowded today in preparation for the solstice festival). This was my fastest ride to the Brewery - 1:30! At least I'm getting faster... thats about 20 minutes faster than at the start of the month.

Sunny day along the beach

Miles Ridden today:39.5
Total Miles Ridden:596.2
Miles Left to Ride: 503.8
Days left to ride:10
Miles Needed to Average: You do the math
Today i rode over to have lunch with some friends at a mexican restaurant in downtown Seattle. After a nice long lunch I went for a ride along the beach in West Seattle. I got to the southworth ferry then came back. A very nice ride along the water :) (Other than all the people along the path... gee what are people doing out walking on the path along the water on a sunny day??)

Thursday

Miles Ridden: 15.2
Total Miles Ridden:556.7
Today I was going to go for a ride, but then I decided to call a friend and see what he was doing for lunch.. turns out he's quitting at the end of the month, so I rode over to have lunch with him... Then I decided to go for a ride around the west seattle waterfront via the locks - when I got to Freemont I decided to give Dan H. a call and see what he was doing - so he and I sat talking for a bit and I found out that today was the day that a previous employer of mine was laying off a large number of staff - Ouch. Those various talks took a while to occur and since I had to finish up early to go get ready to go see Avenue Q in the evening (Hilarious show), I just went down to Golden Gardens park and back. So a short day.

Wednesday

Miles Ridden:12.5
All I did was ride across the locks and ride around - then went and played on the computer...

Another Day Off

Miles Ridden: 11.5
Total Miles Ridden: 529
Today i got distracted working on the computer. So all I did was some small rides. However I have managed to renegotiate with Scott - with some gracious concessions on his part we added a new payoff level at 1100 miles. Still a very impressive total for the month, but much more reasonable for me.

To the Brewery! (but not beyond)

Miles Ridden today:48.5
Total Miles Ridden:517.5
Miles behind pace: many many
I may get around to riding more tonight- I'm not sure, I have some errands I have to do.

Today I rode out to the brewery for lunch and rode around some on the way back. It's very nice when I find someone else going in the same direction - I find that when theres someone else that I'm working to keep pace with I push myself much faster - about 5-6 mph faster (for about 10 miles at least) then when riding by myself.

On a side note, I'm trying to renegotiate with Scott the terms of the bet - since I don't think that 1500 is a realistic goal now... that involves too much time on the bike and I don't think my butt will survive it. (plus I'm already getting blisters on my fingers and toes).

Samamish River Trail

Miles Ridden: 69.3 (I had to circle around and around to get the .3!)
Total miles Ridden: 469
Miles I need to average/day: 64.5 (though I am not going to make that tomorrow - I have to head over to Bremerton for fathers Day)
Today I rode over to REI in the morning to take care of that tire that popped a sidewall yesterday. It was VERY nice - since I had bought the tire there last week they replaced it and the tube at no cost. As an added benefit they were doing some samples of outdoor foods - the spaghetti was very good (though the cheesecake was great!).

So after getting the tire fixed I rode out to the Samamish River trail and this time I rode to the very end of the trail - first time I've ever done that. Then on the way back I rode all the way to the end of the Burke-Gilman trail out at Golden Gardens. Technically this would be the first time I've ridden the entire BG trail at one time.

Friday

Miles ridden:72.7
Total Miles Ridden: 399.7 (Ack! I wish I had known... I could have stayed on the bike for another .3 miles - maybe)
Total miles that I should have ridden by this point: 650
Miles behind pace: 250.3 (barely better than on the 9th!)
Miles I have to average daily to get to 1500 from this point: 65 (ouch!)
Today I rode down the Duwamish River trail to the Green River trail, hooked up to the Interurban trail and stopped to visit Scott. After a short stop to get water, I continued on the Interurban trail down to auburn - at which point it seemed to end (I couldn't see where it continued, and it was about 15 miles on the trail which was the length listed on the posterboards along the way). On the way back I jumped onto the Green River trail. Just past 228th I had a flat tire - it seems the sidewall on my rear tire has a hole and the tube blew out the side. Not fun. After patching the tube I found the hole in the tire and realized that I had to do something about that - so currently theres a dollar billed folded up and covering that, preventing the tube from poking out the side. I'll be stopping by REI in the morning for a new tire. I only bought that one last week so I'm hoping theres some type of warranty....

Thursday

Miles Ridden: 69.5
Total Miles Ridden: 327
I picked up my bike from REI, rode over to meet up with Dan H. in the morning over in Fremont, rode across the locks back to my apartment. Later in the afternoon, I rode over to Redmond Town Center and had dinner with Vu. After spending too much time in Borders (big surprise) I rode back to town. I'm glad I brought my cycle light with me since I didn't get back until 9:40pm.

Yet another short day

Miles Ridden: 8.5
Total Miles ridden: 257.5

Dropped my bike off at REI to take care of some break issues and have them rebuild the rear wheel to take care of the repeated broken spokes.

6/9 - I hate rain

Miles ridden today:9
Total miles: 249
Miles behind pace for 1500: 251

Short day

Miles ridden today: 7
Total Miles Ridden: 240

Unfortunately I had a study session for class in the middle of the day - so not much riding.

Thursday Off 6/7 - Friday short

I took thursday off. It was raining and I was very tired after class.
Friday it was raining and I was just getting to the Burke-Gilman trail in Freemont and slid going around a corner - putting my bike down on it's side and bending the derailer, so now it's skipping gears. On the plus side I was riding my mountain bike since it has fenders. On the downside I was very sore and only finished 14 miles before calling it a day.
Miles Ridden Today: 14.3
Total Miles Ridden: 233

I Crashed

Ok - well I didn't - but my desktop computer did, which is the one with the software to download the maps etc. So until I get some time to go through and resolve that problem (or switch over to just using my laptop) I'm just going to be posting the mileage.
Today I rode 48 miles
Total miles Ridden: 219

I rode up to the Redhook Brewery again for lunch, then had to head straight back after spending too much time reading at the Brewery and didn't manage to get my 60 miles in. Hopefully soon I can get back on track (School is really interfering with my unemployment!)

Making Scott miss a meeting - 6/3

Miles Ridden Today: 56.04
Total Miles Ridden: 171.21
Hours on Bike today: 5:02
Total Hours on bike:15:24
Average Speed: around 10.7 mph

Despite the rain, today I rode the Duwamish trail down to the Green River trail, from there I got on the Interurban trail and rode down to have lunch with Scott. We went off campus to Kent Station and had lunch there. Unfortunately he had misjudged his schedule and was late getting back for a meeting. Serves him right (making me ride in the rain!)

After lunch, I continued south on the Interurban trail until it connected up with the Green River trail - then rode that trail north. Somewhere along the ride I broke a spoke on the rear wheel - so on my way home I decided that I needed some rain gear and to get the tire fixed.

So Off I went to REI to get the gear. They were kind enough to fix the spoke when I brought the bike in. Sadly, it looks like it's supposed to rain a few more days.

Taking a look at my heart rate - you can certainly tell when I take a break :)

Lunch at the Brewery 6/2

6/2/08


Miles Ridden Today: 55.03

Miles Ridden Total: 115.17
Time on Bike: 4:44
Total Time on Bike: 10:22

I ran short on time since I have a study session and class this afternoon.

I decided to post my heart rate for the ride as well :)

I rode north to the Burke-Gilman trail then over to the brewery. Had lunch at the brewery then rode back to the locks then through Myrtle-Edwards Park and back up to the top of Capital Hill.

Ok, 1 day done
Miles ridden today: 60.14
Total Miles ridden: 60.14
Time on bike: 5 hours 38 min
Route: South Seattle - down duwamish river trail to green river trail down south. At costco in kent turned around and came back north the same route, then continued north along waterfront, across the locks then along burke-gilman trail to eastlake. Across the bridge then onto Barnes and Nobles then on up to top of Capital Hill. Circled around the block a couple of times to get the total miles above 60.
Breaks: Lunch at costco. Break at coffee shop south of Qwest Field. Iced Tea at Barnes and Nobles. Dinner at gameworks.

The Garmin Edge 705 is very cool - but it has some issues, during the ride it froze up a couple of times when I was switching between functions. After resetting it, once it thought I was 400 feet higher in elevation than I was. But it's still very cool - once I get the cadence monitor on it, it'll be even cooler.

Origination of the wager

My brother and I were talking while driving down to Oregon about what I would do with myself since I had quit my job and planned to take the summer off. I figured I would try and get into reasonable shape - so I bet him that I would be able to ride 1500 miles on my bike in June.
Conditions of the bet:
I have to start and finish the rides at reasonable locations - no getting a ride to the top of one of the mountain passes and riding downhill for 50 miles.
It has to be outside riding - no windtrainers or stationary bikes.
If some extraordinary life event occurs (I find a job I'm willing to take before the summer is over for example) then the bet is nullified.

There are a couple of different stages in the bet (not all or none - or I would be too likely to just decide screw it and pay off):
<750 miles - I owe him 2 betting units.
<1500 miles - I owe him 1 betting unit.
>=1500 < 2000 - he owes me 2 betting units.
>= 2000 - he owes me 3 betting units.

I plan to post each day in june how many miles I rode and my running total. I just got a nice new Garmin Edge 705 cycle computer and plan to upload the routes that I rode once I figure out how to work it.