Month: July 2013

Ann Weatherill Cycling Classic, Walla Walla

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For our second century in June we drove four-plus hours to Walla Walla, and a climate and landscape dramatically different from that of Seattle. And all for a great cause:

The Wheatland Wheelers ride honors Ann Weatherill, a cyclist and middle school teacher in Walla Walla who was struck and killed by a motorist while on a Mother’s Day ride in 2004.

The Bicycle Alliance of Washington and the local cycling community worked together for the Ann  Weatherill Safe Passing Act, which  makes it illegal to pass another vehicle if there are bicyclists or pedestrians approaching from the opposite direction on the roadway.

For that reason alone, the ride was worth doing.

But there was a last-minute hitch before we could get going …

In Paula’s hasty packing the day before, she’d grabbed a pair of bike shoes without bothering to look at them. Turns out they were her mountain bike shoes. No way would those cleats work with the Look Keo pedals of her road bike.  The day seemed headed for disaster.

But! Amazingly and day-savingly, Allegro Cyclery in downtown Walla Walla opens at 8 a.m. on Saturdays!

So we planted ourselves in front of the store at 7:55 a.m, and promptly at 8 got some emergency Crank Brothers pedals  (cheaper and faster than buying yet another pair of shoes …) and while we were at it, a couple of jerseys.

After riding “home” to drop off the jerseys at our Airbnb cottage, we started the century some 90 minutes after most other 100-mile riders.  That put us just about last at every rest stop — which helped us get to know the fine folks of the Wheatland Wheelers really well. What a friendly and helpful group of people. And an added bonus: the daughter of one of the club members strummed her guitar at every break.

As for the route itself: a tremendous diversity of wheat and alfalfa fields, vineyards, apple,  pear and cherry orchards, a lot of windmills, and the striking Blue Mountains of Oregon and Washington.

Oh, and the bees. Lots of bees, kept on hand to help the alfalfa thrive (and to produce honey while they’re at it).  An added element of interest!

For recovery the next day, we made our way to several wine tastings, plus the Walla Walla Multicultural Festival.  Sort of like a street fair in New York. Sort of.

Flying Wheels Century

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Our string of four weekends/four centuries during June kicked off with Cascade Bicycle Club’s Flying Wheels Century, billed as the biggest such ride in the state.

The route starts at Marymoor Park in Redmond and travels through the rural Snoqualmie and Snohomish valleys, in places such as Carnation, Fall City, Duvall, Snohomish and Monroe.

We had a great ride on a beautiful route, with lots of rolling hills and of course, a lot of greenery. Afterward, we learned that there had been some notable misbehavior by some cyclists, and a very high degree of unhappiness among some residents in the Carnation-Duvall area.

We didn’t witness anything untoward. But the the fact that we slept late, got a late start and thus ended up on the tail end of the window for starting the century probably worked to our advantage.  The elevated angst is disturbing,  both for this particular ride and for whatever effects the lingering anger among residents might have.  Some commenters to Cascade’s blog say they’re always hesitant to ride in that area, for some longer-term but related reasons.

That’s really unfortunate, as the roads there are exquisite and we like for residents to like cyclists and vice versa.

Juanita Park, Kirkland/North Lake Washington Loop

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In New York, a “routine” ride often means a quick jaunt to Piermont and Bunbury’s — a 40ish-mile round trip to a lovely small town with an excellent bakery (often jammed with like-minded cyclists) at the midpoint. (One of about a zillion ways to get there is here.)  Our Seattle equivalent has become the 40-mile RT North Lake Washington Loop, with a park, beach and ice cream shop in Kirkland at the midpoint.

After a few miles winding our way down (think 20 percent grades DOWN) from our apartment through lovely neighborhood streets, we hit the famed Burke-Gilman Trail and ride its last 10 miles to Kenmore. Unlike familiar NYC trails (Hudson Greenway, for example) this trail is wide enough to ride comfortably while sharing with many (but not too many) other people on bikes, on foot and in strollers. It’s blissful.

Then it’s on to Juanita Drive and a 2-mile climb with 4 to 7 percent grades, enough to make it worthwhile.  After a fun descent and a few more short climbs and descents,  we arrive at Juanita Beach Park.  This place is idyllic (as is so much of this area). Sparkling water, charming scenes of people enjoying their lives, boats, ducks, paddle boards. And ice cream. And hot dogs.

We linger there for awhile, then head on to the second half. This part features a bit of neighborhood meandering but also a fair amount of decent straightaway type riding where we can get a good pace going. Not quite like 9W for speed, but also much prettier.

We still miss Piermont and Bunbury’s. But this loop is a lovely alternative.