The First Training Ride

After spending some time getting the bike set up and several test rides to the grocery store and various errands around the neighborhood, it is time for the first training ride.  The plan to do an overnight training ride/full gear test has been scrapped due to some extremely wet weather and has now become a day ride around Lake Washington.

First Training Ride

It was a bit of a damp day but not nearly as wet as the forecast called for.  It was a good test of the fenders, they did a great job keeping the road slime off of my gear and myself.


It is clear that the stock saddle will have to go.  My ass will toughen up with some additional miles but the stock saddle is going to make that process more of a PITA than I care to put up with.  I will definitely be swapping out the saddle for the next training ride.

A New BIke

        I have been convinced that a proper touring bike, designed and equipped for carrying large loads, is the right decision for this trip.  The bike I have selected is the Surly DiscTrucker.  This is the disc brake version of their popular Long Haul Trucker.  I became a solid proponent of disc brakes during my past mountain biking days and many days spent commuting on the rainy hills of Seattle.   

        I found one available in the right size for me at a local shop here in Seattle and after selling my old road bike, I made the purchase. 

The new ride

Now to figure out what I need to outfit the bike for the trip…and figure out how to continue to forget that I have signed up for two months of climbing hills.

Border to Border or Bust

        The South Pacific sailing trip planned for this spring has fallen through.  The boat that I had arranged to crew has experienced mechanical issues that will keep it in Mexico for several additional months and perhaps until next season.  The upside is that I now have April, May and June available for another adventure.  I have agreed to join a friend for an extended bicycle tour in May and June. 

        
        A little background: while I have not been very active on a bicycle in a while, in the past I used to spend quite a bit of time on bicycles and have participated in several endurance events.  All this means is that I know how much it is going to hurt before it becomes fun. 

       To compound the fun (pain?), the route we will be taking is the Adventure Cycling Association’s Sierra Cascades route .  This route will take us through several National Parks new to me and up and over more hills and mountain passes than I care to think about right now.  We will be starting in Early May and so we will be doing the route from South to North, taking us from the Mexican border to the Canadian border.

The Route

       Fortunately, my companion for the trip has transformed herself into the bicycle touring queen over the last few years and so I will be relying heavily on her logistical planning and contacts along our route while I contribute mechanical skills.  This will be a trip where all I will have to do is show up and pedal and fix stuff when it breaks.

      There will be plenty to do to get ready for the trip including outfitting a new bicycle to handle all the gear that will be coming along on this self-supported trip.  There will also need to be some ride training ahead of the trip.  While there will certainly be plenty of time to ride into shape along the way, the route from south to north means that the hilliest sections will be near the beginning of the trip.

Family visit

Since I now have more schedule flexibility, I decided to make a visit to see my family in post-holiday January rather than spend four times as much for the same plane tickets in December.  I am not sure the four week difference in time would have made much difference, but my schedule meant that I got to visit Central Indiana and Chicago in the middle of some damn cold weather.

There were definitely more days with below zero temperature than there were days with above freezing temperatures.  This put a bit of a damper on outdoor activities but the visit was great anyway.  It was really nice to be able to take the time to enjoy a relaxed, extended visit rather than trying to cram everything into a short stay.  This visit definitely reinforced the correctness of my decision to prioritize what is important in my life.  At no point did I feel like I should be going to an office rather than hanging out with my family.

Days were spent attending some nail biter overtime basketball played by my nephew's 12 year old team with the incredible score of 4-6 (yes, basketball and not hockey), and attending some pretty impressive displays of 10 year old gymnastics put on by my niece and her team.  Those girls are freakishly strong!

I was able to squeeze in several days in Chicago with my Grandmother who still manages to kick my butt at scrabble at the age of 91, attend a few college basketball games with my niece and nephew (the score there did get past 4-6), and go to the gym several times with my mother (something I never imagined doing).

Enjoying the game with the kids

The visit was great but I will admit that by the end of it I was beginning to look forward to the 40 degree, rainy weather that awaited back in Seattle.