TandemHearts

King’s Ridge has been on my list of rides to do for awhile. It’s about a two hour drive north of us and there are no stores for about 40 miles of the route. Those two things made it logistically a little difficult. But everything I had read about the route made it sound wonderful: some tough climbing, some white knuckle descents and gorgeous scenery. When my friend Sarah e-mailed me that her Team in Training group was doing an informal ride up there and a friend would be providing SAG, I knew it was time to tackle King’s Ridge. This would also be my first long ride after having my bike fit done. Because I could not shake my nagging knee problems, I went to professional to see if my bike setup was part of the problem. It was. With some adjustments of less than an inch in various directions, my bike felt great and my knee was happier on the test ride. I knew King’s Ridge Road would be a great test ride with lots of climbing to test the knee and descending to test my nerves. Thumbs up to both.

On March 1, I rode the San Francisco 300 K Brevet (188 miles). I knew this ride was going to be a stretch for me since I have not ridden more than 63 miles since September. The ride started at the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge at 6 AM. Thom drove me over and took some photos. The start was kind of cold and the bridge was very wet. Riding across the bridge is a cool experience, but every other time I’ve ridden it, it’s been a little crowded and I’ve felt rushed. We rode across the east side of it, so I had a great view of San Francisco Bay. I was hanging back from the bulk of the group, as going around the towers can be a little dicey and I wanted to enjoy the experience. There were no riders or walkers coming at me to navigate around, so I could enjoy the view. The bay was gorgeous. It was still dark but it was pretty clear and I could see lots of lights and the various islands. (more…)

My 2007 cycling season did not go quite the way I had hoped. My mileage and climbing were down from 2006. My accidents on the mountain bike threw me for a bit of loop, too. Finally, I injured my knee at the end of September. It was a tough year. On the plus side, I did complete 3 very hard double centuries, each with more than 10,000 feet of climbing.

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On September 22 I rode my sixth double century - the Knoxville Fall Classic staff ride. A rain storm had been forecasted for Saturday and Thom had been keeping his eye on the radar for much of the week. He thought we wouldn’t get much rain. He was wrong.

There were about 34 riders total, with the bulk of us leaving at 4:30 AM. A faster group left later at 5AM. As we rolled out we saw a huge bolt of lightening off in the distance. It was far enough away that we couldn’t hear the thunder. It was definitely a portent for the day. (more…)

We drove to Glacier National Park as part of our Work is Over Rated Tour 2007 for 5 days of camping and hiking. This park has some of the most jaw dropping views (and tamest animals) we’ve ever seen.

Glacier National Park is in Montana, on the Canadian border. The park is tied to Waterton National Park in Canada, so if you go, take you passport so you can visit “the other side”. We didn’t have time for that, so saved the Canadian side for our next visit. The park is named not for the glaciers that it has, but for the ancient glaciers that carved the dramatic landscape. Even so, the glaciers are a rare treat. Global warming threatens these glaciers, with some sources estimating that there will be no more glaciers in the park by 2030. In 1850 there were 150 glaciers in the park; today there are 35. There is some irony in lamenting the loss of the glaciers and then driving 1,000 miles to see them. The park has added a shuttle bus system to limit crowding and pollution, but if you are going to visit the park, leave the gas hog at home.

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