Spring cleaning

term 

This was a shot Hottie took of the SSCXWC last year. Just as the grown ups (and I use that term only in chronological content) like to play in the suds, so did these kids.  

We are off the visit the world famous Zach in Damascus.  Look for more diligent blogging in mid June.

Gray Miles

Caught ! by the Ballard bridge last Saturday. An uneventful ride down paused while a boat passed under the bridge and we waited. I made it down through Ballard, on to Discovery Park and past the waterfront and across the West Seattle Bridge. A steep, no REAALY steep climb up to 21st street and then along the ridge while the skies opened up on me. I smiled, wiped my glasses and made it to the Fauntleroy ferry terminal. I plunked down a Lincoln and boarded and grabbed a cup of Joe...

On Vashon I took the steep 103rd climb and found that gravity is not just a theory. Having lost my map somewhere in Seattle, I was pleased to remember the way.  The sleepy morning was nice and the peaceful farms and quiet forest seemed to welcome this old rider.  Watching the clock kept me screaming for the ferry and I made it with a minute or two to spare...

This is the view from the porthole on the side of the micro ferry.  

That is Point Defiance in the background and Evo in the foreground.

I didn't take my camera, these are shots from my phone.  Have a great day.

Sunshine Spring Ride

What can Brown do for you ?

With our new uniforms and warmer weather, anyone who dared complain would have been rightfully flogged. It was a beautiful day and (at least my) clothing performed wonderfully.  The group swelled to a full dozen riders. This was a great contrast to some of the winter rides where three or four of us would brave the morning twilight and ride with frost on the ground. Temperatures that STARTED in the 40's greeted us for the Mercer loop. Sam was back in the saddle and his smiling face was a welcomed sight. 

Racing into Spring

Above is my start of the Carnation time trial held last weekend.  In a cruel twist of fate, we rode under grey skies that had just stopped SNOWING before the first rider went off.  The air was a crisp 34 degrees and the slushy roads in combination with the big trucks that passed us on the first five miles managed to speckle every rider with mud. As a 'cross rider, this would have been just fine, but as irony is my friend, by late afternoon the sun was ablaze and I was wearing sandals and a T-shirt.  I managed just over 21.3 mph for the 20k distance. 

Our long awaited new team kit arrived and I will confess I have been lounging in my new jacket and if I had team pajamas I would have been sleeping in them as well. The wrath of Deity weather ended yesterday morning (snow in the highlands of Shoreline) and we have sunny weather for riding and gardening this weekend.  So I will be able to use the kit for its intended purpose.  Sam is shown in one of our jerseys visiting one of our sponsors, Fuel coffee.  Note the 2020 Cycle logo, Fuel Coffee and the Lion of Flanders.  

Here I am with Professional Bull Rider, Wiley Peterson. Hottie, Son #2 and Hottie's mom and I went to Tacoma and watched the bulls and the riders do battle. Wiley is my favorite as he breaks the mold of the stoic Cowboy. 

One of the things that makes our neighborhood fun is the Gnome who decorates our mailboxes. Our first reaction when we discovered we have been "adorned" was that someone had violated our personal space. Then, when the character that was atop our US Postmaster approved box had fallen to the ground, we were quick to put it back in its place as we didn't want to be left out.

Finally, we sent our passports off to obtain Visa's so we can visit "Zach in Damascus."  That will be a story in itself.

Hottie and I took one of my handsome sons and his girlfriend skiing in Leavenworth recently.  As time goes by my goals for outings get smaller and smaller. Often the goal is just not to get hurt. Like my kids always say, "it isn't a real trip until you think you are going to die."  

With that in mind, a sunny day with decent snow, good food and loved ones enjoying a great day was a wonderful treat.

My Underhanded Glove Reviews

Each fall, as the air gets crisp, I dig deeper into my suitcase of gloves and promote them to my cycling tub for more frequent use. Then I seem to take most of the next three months to remember what works best for the given conditions. As a permanent note to me, and perhaps to any pathetic soul who might meander to my blog; here I go…..

PI AMFib Gloves

I know they make a lobster version, but I have the five finger model and it keeps me warm.  Awesome Mike has the lobster version and he still has all his digits. This is a serious cold weather glove. This is great for temps below forty degrees and when I have worn them below freezing, they have protected me. The downside of this armored car protection is that if you elect to take them off to don some lighter gloves, they take up a ton of jersey pocket space. You trap heat with bulk and so unless you get creative (read on) you have to accept some tradeoffs.  When I ride in the depths of winter with my team, gloves are a “hot” topic with many of us looking like cartoon characters with skinny arms and huge gloves.

GORE Glove

This is a reasonably warm glove and it keeps your hands dry for a long time in epic wet conditions. I like these because they don’t have a lot of bulk, so you don’t have to take them off for everything. I was able to take my camera from my jersey pocket and snap photos without having to remove either glove. They are good from about forty to fifty five degrees. While they do keep the water out, they can get sweaty and so if it is going to warm up, or if is dry, I’ll opt for the PI Full Finger Gloves instead. If I am going on a long ride, or one where rain is certain, these are hard to beat. These also are the most Darth Vadar like of the bunch.

PI Full Finger Gel Glove

This is a great glove that seems to rarely be too hot and has a big temperature range.  The padding is spot on and I was sad to see the improvements they have since made to this glove. I have tried on the new ones in stores, but they don’t seem to fit as well or have the quality of padding that the older style had. This is a good glove for temps in the mid 40’s to the 60’s.

SWIX (unknown model) Gloves

I don’t know the model of these, but they are designed for cross country skiing, I wore them with some polypro liners in 33 degree weather and they were perfect. I don’t use that word often, so you should know I was impressed. These have a leather palm and just enough padding on the palm for a good ride and more padding on the back of the hand and fingers so they are warm without making me look like I’m wearing catcher mitts on my hands.

Creative Gloves

Pull on some shell gloves or mittens over your existing gloves. Then throw a heat pack inside and enjoy the warmth. Remember, you won’t need much insulation on the palms, (but padding is nice) so if you are in the market for winter gloves, look for ones with the bulk of the insulation on the back of the hand.

Talking to the eldest younger

This is what it looks like to talk to Zach in Damascus.  And it is fun for all of us. Using the wonder machine Hottie gave me for Christmas with a built in camera we were able to talk and he got to enjoy a tour of the deck we had built after he left for the land of sand. Hottie also was able to jump in and it was a regular reunion.