Methow Fall Bike Festival 2009

It was a beautiful morning and my son was psyched to race. He knows the course and was confident he would do well. He rode the 11 mile course in just over an hour and came in first in his age group getting beat only by two men, in spite of two crashes.

RSVP 2009

RSVP 2009 was a great ride as it always is. This year Mother Nature was kind sending us cool, cloudy weather and no rain. We had no mechanicals and enjoyed the nice group of riders who participated. The only detriment from riding next year is it would be hard to beat our ride in 2009. We didn't get many pictures but we did make time to get the obligatory photo at the border crossing. B.B. Bobke was impressed with the ride and claims he will do it again in better form, whatever that means. If you want to signup for 2010 the ride sells out very fast so get your money in by the first week. It is a Cascade Bicycle Club sponsored ride.

Wauconda, Chesaw Road, Bonaparte Lake

Camping last weekend at Bonaparte Lake east of Tonasket, WA. This is a pretty lake at 3400 feet and although the fishing was not good it was a great place to camp and ride bikes. There even was a Hillbilly karaoke night at the nearby resort. We rode to Wauconda and beyond and found some interesting information about the history of that area. We also rode to Lost Lake and found the roads pleasant and empty of car traffic. We definitely will go back for more.

The Perils of Cycling

Butterball, and myself were having a great ride to Cougar Lake. Coming down toward Campbell Lake is just a great descent through a pretty meadow. I guess the exhilaration got to me, over the handlebars I went when the front wheel stopped in some sand. I didn't want to know how bad it was when I picked myself off the trail. Luckily, it wasn't all that bad, fractured collar bone is all. When you think of all the other things that happen with sudden deceleration and blunt objects. Anyway, be careful out there. 

LiveStrong Challenge 09

My son Jake rode with with me in the LiveStrong Challenge last Sunday. We opted to ride 45 miles because for Jake that distance was an unknown. No worries, I chased him all morning and we rolled into the LiveStrong village at the Seattle Center finish line at 11:30. It was a perfect day for a bike ride and the course was pure Seattle. Great views of Lake Washington and the surrounding mountains. 

We are thankful we could participate in this event and for the people who donated to this important cause. 

Wishing everyone a great summer of riding.

Methow Valley Tour

Today Leslye, Jake and I rode the Chewuch loop opposite of the bike races and had a fun time watching the various pelotons go past us. There were over 200 racers here for the fourth annual Methow Valley Tour. The weather was perfect and we hope everyone had a good time.

For more information go to http://www.mvsta.com/summer/mvtour.html. It was fun to see the racers go through town and stop traffic at the main intersection.

Andrew's Creek ride

What a beautiful day! bb and me rode to Andrew's Creek which is up the Chewuch to the end of the pavement. That's 26 miles from my doorstep. Slight uphill climbing all the way up and nice descent down except today a headwind made it a little more challenging. There were quite a few people riding today and very little car/truck traffic. That makes for lot's of conversation and an enjoyable day. And like all good rides it ended at the bakery. Our regular hangout after rides. Remember the Methow Valley Tour coming up June 13 & 14th.