Seattle - my fair city

Courage Classic 2010 Video

dru — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:06:51 +0000

Here is a video of my Courage Classic 2010 ride for the Kids. I bicycled with my friends Steve, Erik, Tony, Jen, and Kevin. It was an excellent 3 days of riding, although it rained on our way to Snoqualmie pass. I did better on all counts. Thanks to all of you we raised over $2,000, 100% of it went to the children in need of help. Also, with all of the love and encouragement from you, I did better on this my 4th year. My overall average was just shy of 16 mph and felt better at the end of each day compared to previous years. The total elevation gain for the 3 mountain passes, Snoqualmie, Blewett, and Stevens was over 11,000 feet, and we bicycled a total of 190 miles. I also plan to post the ride gps data with statistics and maps very soon. Check back here for a more detailed description of the ride.

Courage Classic Day 2

cam — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 21:16:36 +0000

Saturday August, 8th 2010

Incredible news for this year’s ride, for the first time in all the 19 years of the Courage Classic the ride is completely sold out, at full capacity, there are 700 riders!

Breakfast at 7:00 am of cheese blintzes and potatoes at Suncadia.

At 9:00 am Chandru was at the last stop before the summit of Blewett Pass.

10:00 am Happy at the summit of Blewett Pass with Eric and happy Steve.

Still eating, now with Tony.

Fed and happy, it is mostly down hill from here. Chandru thinks he will come home heavier this year, he is definitely eating more than he is burning up! I think everyone will be glad to hear this!! I told Chandru after his second 100 mile training ride last weekend (partly with Tony), that I was afraid I would wake up and find that he had evaporated during the night, that I would just find his empty sleep clothes next to me. Chandru always drops weight before the weekend of the ride, and it scares me out of my wits. Eat man, eat.

Noon at a picturesque lookout near Leavenworth. Chandru stopped for 20 minutes before this point to help another rider who had an accident. The rider is fine.

1:00 pm Setting up the tent at Leavenworth.

1:30 pm Cleaned up and ready to walk into town. At the end of Day 2 Chandru is feeling fine. He was concerned about riding this bike – it has more difficult gearing than the bike he has ridden previously. The only other riders who pass him are Steve and Eric and the professional riding team. He estimates he is in the top 20% of the riders, up from the 50% pack from previous years. He has officially turned into a lycra butt!

Courage Classic 2010 Day 1

cam — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 21:09:29 +0000

Saturday August 7, 2010

In the elevator at the condo, we left at 6:30 am.

In the parking garage at the condo.

All packed up and ready to go.

Waiting in line for registration at Snoqualamie Ridge.

Meeting up with Eric and Tony amongst the other 700 riders.

Chandru and Tony at registration.

Number 488 – assigned alphabetically by last name.

10:00 am – Chandru is at first stop for the day. He is doing fine and riding faster than last year.

11:30 am – Chandru is at the Summit of Snoqualamie Pass. Doug and Lisa drove up to meet him and made a lot of noise as he rode into view. He feels better than last year and is averaging 15 mph.

After lunch at the summit – it always many kinds of pasta, Caesar salad and fruit – all the riders and their bikes have to be transported to a point just before the next stop – The Ice Cream & Hula Hoop Stop, because of rode construction. They then ride to Cle Elum and beyond Suncadia, to make up for the miles they didn’t ride in the detour and end up back at Suncadia to camp. Chandru got very cold waiting for the shuttle, he was shivering. It wasn’t until later that the support crew remembered they had blankets and brought them for those that arrived after the first trips were made.

UPDATE:

3:00 pm from email with subject “A little coffee before dinner” – I arrived at Suncadia 40 mins ago. I am on my extra bit now, I got lost and did 10 miles extra instead of 5! I am at Roslyn now. But I went to cle elum first by mistake. 61 miles so far.

Photos sent via email 4:40 pm “In my cozy tent” Dinner was Spanish rice, tofu, potatoes, salad and fruit.

5:00 pm “Fresh as a daisy”

While the riders were waiting in line for dinner it began to rain. What was intended to be a picnic turned into everyone taking their plates and seeking shelter – mostly in their tents. There was a covered play area that they used to store their bikes out of the rain. It rained well into the night.

The time for Courage has arrived!

dru — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 05:13:22 +0000

I will be riding the Courage Classic starting tomorrow over 3 mountain passes – Snoqualmie, Blewett, and Stevens. I am, of course, riding for the kids supported by the Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital. Please see this space for continuous updates. Thanks to you, we have been able to raise over $2,000 this year. This is more than ever before. This could not be achieved without your generosity and kindness. If you have not contributed yet, you can still support the kids by donating at http://www.firstgiving.com/dru2010. Every small donation counts and goes a long way in helping shaping a promising future for our kids in need. Thanks for your support!

Novelty Century

dru — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 15:46:46 +0000

I did another century mile ride this weekend. Part of the ride was done with my friend Tony. This century included 2 good climbs (max at 20%!) grade, Novelty Hill and Cougar Mountain. The ride went through Lynnwood, Duvall, Novelty Hill, Redmond, Lk. Sammamish, Cougar Mt, Newcastle, Renton, Beacon Hill, Golden Garden Pk and back home in Seattle. It was much tougher than my Urban Century ride 2 weeks ago which went on the mostly flat BG and Sam. bike trails. This was also a beautiful ride through the country side with relaxing stops for breakfast in Duvall and snacks at other points. I am using Ride with GPS to embed the details of the ride along with pictures. Also, check out the scrolling playback and 3D view, it is quite amazing. Please let me know if you like this entry. Of course, this is the last big ride in preparation for the Courage Classic next weekend. As I write this, next weekend at this time, we will be scaling Blewett Pass!. Thanks for all my friends who donated, if you have not done so, you can click on the fundraising widget on the right. There is still time!

Team Ride To Work and Party

dru — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:07:09 +0000

Michael, Joachim, and I did a team ride to work yesterday. It was a challenge as Michael and Joachim had not ridden their bicycles in a long time. In fact, they did not even have bicycles! We loaned my old bike and Cam’s old bike and outfitted them with full bike clothing regalia. We had fun and rode back at the end of the day via the Bikefest at Magnusen Park. The two of them rode back home in their motorbikes with bike clothing still on, it was quite a spectacle!

The Urban Century

dru — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 03:00:52 +0000

I completed my first century ride this weekend. It felt particularly good that I did it by myself, I do wish I had some company though. My last record for a long ride was almost 12 years ago done with Cam! We went across the Puget Sound for that one.

For this ride I went around Green Lake, Lake Ballinger, Lake Sammamish, Lake Washington and Lake Union. Some of my big hills came at the very end. One was particularly important to me. I went up from Golden Garden Park to Sunset Point. I walked up those steps with my Dad when he visited me in Seattle. He was almost 90 years old then. It was hard for him, but persevered and I was very proud of him that he did it. I did it on my bike when I already ridden 90 miles. It was hard, especially with the uncontrollable tears streaming down my face. This ride is dedicated to the memory of my Dad.

I also do it for the abandoned Kids in the State of WA where I ride the Courage Classic to raise funds for the Mary Bridge Children;s Foundation. Please donate whatever you can in support of our Children by clicking the donate widget on your right.

Circumnavigate 3 Lakes: Union-Washington-Sammamish

dru — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:34:16 +0000

Circumnavigate 3 lakes – Lake Union, Lake Washington, and Lake Sammamish in anti-clockwise direction. It was a tough ride. I did it without much rest, I could have gone further with some breaks in between. I also realized that I could have made it a tour of 4 lakes if I had included Green lake in the trip. You can see it and the other 3 lakes in the widget below.

I did have myself a feast upon coming home. In front of me, I have a cup of tea, biscuits, kettle corn, cashews, and carrots!

Walk along the Waterline

dru — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 05:45:06 +0000

Ride around Lake Washington and the Locks

dru — Mon, 31 May 2010 00:11:02 +0000

This was equivalent to Day 1 of Courage Classic with slightly higher elevation gain. I felt good, but it rained on me the entire way. I bought a veritable “ton” of fruits at the Vietnamese market and carried it all the way home on my back. It felt fine. I had an entire basket of mangoes in there along with Egg Plant, Oranges, Bananas, Ginger, & Cliantro.