Sunrise is later and later

This morning was another training ride, and although I started in the dark, it soon grew light and the morning was wonderful. The clouds were just about every color clouds can be. I didn't hammer myself so instead of needing my suitcase of courage I was able to get by with just my duffle bag of good humor.

I sat on a bench, ate a bar, snapped this shot, then headed back home to shower and go to work. Summer may be drawing to a close, but I'm still squeezing it for all its worth.

Signs that cyclocross is coming !

This is what greeted me twenty miles from my bed this morning.

I had actually practiced dismounts and remounts on Monday, so this didn't present any problems. A quick 44 miler and then off to work. The ride started dark and cool, and finished sunny and warm. I am looking forward to Cyclocross this year.

Climbing the walls no more

When my children were little my two oldest sons and I helped a friend remove a bunch of 3/4" thick plywood from his place. Shortly after, I got my hands on some fresh lumber and bought some climbing holds from a start up climbing equipment company. I remember how excited we were when these arrived. The person who took my order seemed to think I was a climbing gym so I got them at wholesale. I was afraid I would be discovered and the arrival of the holds meant we had gotten away with it! Several evenings and a bucket of screws later we had a climbing wall, complete with overhang, in our garage. My children swarmed the wall like ants on sugar. It was a hit and I have some very fond memories of time spent with my children. When we moved back in '97 I loaned the holds to a friend and to make this story shorter, I got them back this week.

The kids are generally gone and I'm not about to recreate the wall in our current home. So I listed these on eBay. I've sold a lot of stuff on eBay. It was a strange emotional journey to offer these holds to the highest bidder. While I will always have the memories, it is sad to see these physical bits of my memory going out the door.

Things come and go. Money comes and goes. Children come and go and come back and go again and, thankfully come back again. I love my wife. I love my children. If you must, take any material thing of mine. They can all be replaced. Leave my memories. They are the prize of my life. If I could charge for the memories these holds have in them, the bidding would start at $90,000.

One of the reasons we live here

This is a shot I took last week at 5:25 AM while on a before work bike ride. This is Lake Washington and it was another great day. We are so lucky to have gobs of daylight. Go to your favorite weather website and check our sunrise and sunset times. Yeah, winter is grey, but it is grey in most of the world, so not too much of a loss there. These summer days are amazing.

I didn't know he was running....

For a couple of weeks on my way into work I would drive under an overpass where a man stood in the sun, wind and rain holding a blue sign that said "JESUS" in white letters. If the sign had said Mariners, or Packers maybe the reaction would have been different. People would have likely honked or waved. Pretty much everyone just ignored the poor fellow. One day, from the car in front of me, a hand shot up through the sun roof with a single finger extended, but not to say, "you're number one." That was a little different. Then one day, he wasn't there anymore.

During election season the overpass is consistently populated with sign toting locals. When the Jesus sign first appeared, I joked to myself, "I didn't even know he was running for political office." I expect the election sign folks to fade quickly and don't miss them when they go. I had come to count on the blue sign that wasn't asking me to do anything, just saying, "Jesus." No great vision had come, no deeper meaning, but in a life where we all take comfort from predictability in all kinds of things, I was bothered when I didn't see the blue sign anymore.

I don't expect to see the blue sign anymore, but I do look every time I drive by and wonder where Jesus went. If I see him, I'll let you know.

Runnin on empty

Summer is going full speed and I've been catching up since returning from Syria-Egypt-France. To prepare for the team trip I started riding before work on Wednesdays. I have been spinning on Mondays and Fridays and those are pretty intense, but are short. I've been going 32-42 miles in the early mornings. For those of you who don't tickle the 48th parallel, it gets light about 5AM (sunrise 5:15 or so these days). I am able to rise, ride, shower and make it to my office before anyone notices I'm a little late. I feel pretty good until about 11AM when I feel like eating my desk.

As an added bonus, since returning my back has been strong and I've been running a little bit again. I heard from an old running friend who confessed to running a marathon not too long ago. It brought back some memories of my old running days. This is where you connect the photo to the text. While I am passionate (OCD) about cycling, it is fun to run a bit again. And since Zach is willing to run at the crack of dawn, we've been logging some miles together.

Team trip to Lake Chelan

The gang just up from the training table on Saturday..

With eager anticipation I awoke before my alarm was set to go off at five AM. A quick shower and then I loaded my bike and travel bag into the war wagon and headed down to the rendezvous on Capitol Hill. There I hooked up with other men who were likewise eager to be underway. Quickly over the pass and then to a stop in Cle Elum to grab some been beverage and baked goods. My coffee was full of grounds, and I ended up pouring it out. Our early start brought us to Chelan mid morning. We found the condo, and in mere seconds the vehicles were emptied and ten brave souls were soon dressed in lycra.

The ride was so fun we needed full face protection !

The riding was wonderful. Riding along the north side of the lake and then back in the vineyards and hills the scenery was very European. Almost no traffic, warm air, good pave’ excellent companions; it was the riding we had been dreaming of during the long winter months spent on trainers or bundled up under layers and layers. We were like children at a party. The climbs and descents were a joy and we were immersed in the joy of cycling.

The reward after a long climb, the beginning of an effortless descent

After thirty-six miles and thirty three hundred feet of climbing we stopped for sandwiches. El Presidente’ made his presence known at the counter and the lunch makers paid him the honor he deserved. We all enjoyed some cool liquids and listened as Dave told us what the rest of the route would entail. With our tanks topped off, we rolled south and down to the mighty Columbia. After just a few miles we turned up Navarro Coulee and began a steep climb. The climb soon mellowed and some took the time to look around and enjoy the scene. Others kept the tape measure out and pressed the pace. Soon enough the road turned downhill and we were on the shoreline of Lake Chelan. The miles along the lake went quick and approaching the city limit sign the traditional sprint broke out. More than one rider started their sprint only to back off when quads cramped. Although it had been a great day of riding; pretty much everyone was spent. 70 miles, 5,300’ of climbing none of it slow or even moderate.

Time to strip down and take a plunge !

The balance of the day was spent swimming, sunning and consuming a huge dinner.

If you could have weighed us before and after the results would have been scary !

After waddling from the dinner table we drove the cars to the market and bought yet more food. Then some quality time to lick our wounds in anticipation of the next days suffering.

Back at the condo the stiff bikers lounged and munched. A trip to the hot tub loosened up some tight legs and then after Brother John shared some stories about reading and rabbits, we retired for the night.

Sunday we felt better than we expected and got an earlier start.

Coffee and pastry was a good way to begin the day’s journey. Hank had a lapse in judgment and ordered some kind of sausage-egg-tart thing that slid down his throat and left his fingers shiny. A quick descent down and across the Columbia at BeeBee bridge led us to the base of McNeil Canyon. The ride there was quiet. We knew there was a plan for pain awaiting us on the climb. On the climb, Hank looked as though he might be earning a new nickname as he almost herfed his breakfast. The climb varied from 5 to 14 percent and climbed from 700’ to 3,100 feet without a break. More than one rider was fumbling in their suitcase of courage.

From the top we could look east and almost see Idaho, and back west was Chelan. A fast descent and then a left turn pointed us towards Manfield. We covered the 8 miles in about fifteen minutes as a tailwind and crisp pace line technique paid off.

Enjoying the shade in Mansfield

We defiled the grocery store and after stoking up on fluids, fruit and bar we headed out. A little reconnaissance work and we were on the right road only to hit the dreaded “pavement ends” sign. Some strong emotions prevailed and we retraced our steps. We formed a rotating pace line as we fought headwinds back towards the top of McNeil Canyon. The final climb to the pass saw some of the weekend stragglers move up in the field as the weekend miles kept it real.

The descent to the river didn’t take long and Davo clocked 48.5 mph on the way down. The final climb was fun and then it was time for sandwiches, a swim and the return home.

Pretty much every one of us was wiped out. A strong visual image that I did not think to photograph was the kitchen trash can stuffed with empty bags of potato chips, Gatorade bottles, and a pair of wet bike shorts. We stopped to eat on the way home and eat we did. More than one of our group ordered food to go as we ate our meal. With bags of food in hand we climbed back in our cars to head home and tend to our wounds. Mentally refreshed and physically exhausted. Hearty thanks to Dave, my fellow riders, and our wonderful supportive spouses.