Ridden Words

I knew it had been a while since I posted but didn’t realize it was May.  I’ve had some posts in my head and have some workouts to catch up on from my Edge 305.  Not much riding going on recently as I’ve fallen into the trap of too much time at work.

My last ride was from North Bend to Issaquah to return fabric swatches to Lay-Z-boy (looking for a sectional for the family room).  It was a fun, but hot ride, basically the bike commute route with a little tacked on to get off of the plateau and down into town and then back.  ~38 miles.  It was hot since I usually ride in the morning but riding in the sun was quite nice.  Only problem was that I rode harder than I should have for my fitness level and was WIPED out for the rest of the night.  I actually went to bed feeling the workout and woke up feeling it still.  Guess I diserve to feel that way for not really having any regular miles in my legs but still trying to hold speed up climbs and on the flats.

I say that was my last ride but that’s not completely true.  Kim and the girls and I did the Tour de Peaks two weeks ago, in the rain.  We did the Family 4 mile route but tacked on ~3.5 miles x 2 on the ride to the start and back from the house.  Kim’s second ride on her bike and she did great.  I had both girls, V on the tag-a-long trek and S in the sidecar.  I was really impressed with my girls, nobody hesitated as we headed off in the drizzle.  V was navigator again this year reading the Dan Henrys and S happily wrote notes in her notebook all the way.

Then last weekend Kim ran the 10K at Snoqulamie Railroad days and the girls and I rode down to cheer her on.  But this time V rode her own bike.  Kim says she wouldn’t have done it and there were some times I questioned doing it myself.  I asked her to ride in front of me but she wanted to ride behind.  That lasted for 30 seconds until I ‘left her behind’ at the round-a-bout when I road through and she stopped to look for cars.  She then rode in front of me the whole way and I worked on the coaching and parenting.

Me:  “Ride on the right side of the white line.”

V: “Is this my right?”

Me: “Okay, no shoulder so ride close to the edge but not too close.”

V: “Where’s the shoulder?”

Me: “Shift to 1 to go over the bridge.”

V: “Ok, can I go to 3 down the other side?”

Me: “Don’t swerve out into the middle of the lane.”

V: “What’s a swerve?”

She did great but I was a bit more stressed than I imagined.  With Veronica on her own bike, Samantha was not content to ride in the sidecar but I didn’t have time to lower the seat on the tag-a-long so she didn’t have a choice.  She wasn’t too happy and when we stopped to cheer Kim on she didn’t want to get back in.  She ran along side us for a little while until V fell trying to go up a driveway.  She recovered well which was good since it would have been a long walk to the car if she didn’t get back on that horse and ride it.  That was ~5 miles of family fun.

I love to cheer Kim on with the girls and when we weren’t where we said we’d be Kim realized she loves it too.  Because it was an out and back we got to cheer twice which was fun for all.  It was another drizzling day but  in true Northwest fashion it didn’t slow us down.

The children are tucked all snug in their beds - after only one request for blankie which was left downstairs on the computer and dad having to BEG them to let him read “The Night Before Christmas”.  The presents are wrapped and Ma and I are readdy to settle down for a winter nap, though it won’t likely be long enough.  There are creatures stiring all around, but that’s to be expected with two dogs and two hermit crabs in the house. (more…)

Wow. Elvis, fireworks, and 15,000 runners make a pretty bag spectical. According to Robin Leach (yes, the Lifestyles of thr Rich and Famous Robin Leach) it took over 22 minutes to clear the starting line.

We (Kim and I) met up with Beth, Lisa, Phil, and Steve at the “porta-poty” meeting place. Brad and Andrea were already lined up for there attempts to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

After wishing everyone good luck I went to near the start to watch and see if I could spot Kim. I didn’t pick her out of the see of runners but I know she’s off and running. Now to find some breakfast…

Gettitng ready to go to sleep. Have to be up at 4:45 to get Kim to the start line for her first Half Marathon tomorrow. Sweat365 pre-race dinner was great - good food and great people.

It’ll be cold in the morning but good for running. Brad and Phil are ready to compete and Phil’s hoping for a “win-win” he win’s the bet, Brad qualifies for Boston. We’ll see.

Got a clean bill from the orthopedic surgen on Monday on my collar bone so nothing’s broken or banged up too bad.  I’m going to keep an eye on things as I get back on the bike after I kick this cold that caught me but I think I came out smelling like roses given the circumstances. (more…)

Today I went to SingleTrack to get new tires for the Ciocc and my Mtn Bike. After my ‘glass inspired’ flat on Friday I decided it was really time to get some heavier duty tires for the Ciocc and since I never ride my Mtn Bike off road I wanted something with a less aggressive tread. (more…)

I was somewhere recently and I noticed a yellow “LIVESTRONG” bracelet on the wrist of another man.  I wear one.  I’ve worn it for 3+ years since my mom gave it to me.  My sister had/has cancer - I never know what the correct verb is there.  She had thyroid cancer and had her thyroid removed when she was 13 and has been in remission ever since. (more…)

After 6 weeks of build time I finally finished the tackboxes this weekend.  As always, the final touches took longer than expected and even entailed a text message conversation with Kim as she got me 4 screws that were long enough since I forgot that part of the boxes were thicker than the other. (more…)

I grew up in a small town - ~20,000 people. I went to maybe one football game before my Junior year in high school. Then my girlfriend was in the marching band so I went to all of the home games (and got in free by carrying her trumpet case and following the band through the gate). (more…)

Still working on the tack boxes I started over Labor Day weekend.  The weekend job has now stretched out to a month.  Progress is steady but slow.  Today I made my first big mistake.  I was trying to speed things up and I cut the drawer fronts and backs for both top and bottom drawers in one cut.  I cut the hand hole on the front and the notches (they’re not rabbits, they’re not morteses, not sure what they are) for the drawer sides and did a test fit only to find that… (more…)