She's a far better cyclist than I am, I watched her whip out her cell phone and snap a picture of the view over the dam while still riding. I had to come to a complete stop in order to do the same, or wreck. I have crappy balance.
View from the dam
The day started off cool at 52 degrees but was perfect for this sort of work. It is a beautiful day! Oh yeah, I'm on the Pedal for Pets ride which offers all sorts of distances, anywhere from two to forty miles so there's not a lot of reason for not doing it. The shorter distances are all on bike paths. I'm humping the forty miler certain my wife's vigorous training routine has prepared me for such distances.
I latched on to Kaylee heading out to the actual course after asking permission from her and her buddy Pinky, some girl in an all pink jersey. This is my second 'event' ride, the other being my somewhat disastrous sixty miler. What I'm learning about event rides is staying on course can be a little tricky until you figure out how to look for the somewhat cryptic 'signs' spray painted on the road indicating where to turn. In this case it's either a white arrow pointing the way or an orange 'W' with an arrow off the W indicating the way.
Both Kaylee and Pinky appear to have an ability to spot these things and ride around my level so if it's OK with them I'll hang out so as not to get lost. It was.
Kaylee, though claiming not to be, is somewhat slightly competitive dropping her pal Pinky when Pinky got confused and turned into the events one and only rest area which was near the lower left corner of the 'rectangle' we were following. So you could eat at mile eight or mile thirty six. A bit long but I understand the event organizers trying to have anything manned out there and it's location served all the variations on distance they offered.
So these events (based on my knowledge of both of the ones I've attended) have a little registration booth where you sign up and pay (in this case it was $25 + $10 for the t-shirt I got) and they give you a bling bag and tell you to go ahead and head out whenever you're ready. I found the price and the cause very reasonable.
The only one warm at this point was the person in the dog suit on the left
The parking lot filled up with bikers that were serious to family types looking to help out Fido.
Joe Serious (in red) attempting to intimidate me with a frosty stare
Kaylee has launched into a near diatribe about the 'serious' bikers you find at these events being particularly irked with the arrogant ones. This broadside came after we were passed by some club riders blowing by us at whatever pace it was. These groups seem to consist of about four guys and two girls in general. I'm not sure what makes up that dynamic but it appears to be a common ratio. I think I know of what she's gabbing about, I've come across one or two who's conversational repartee consists of, "Where did you get that Madone?" and "What's your average mph?" before smirking and dropping me.
I'm getting a kick out of Kaylee, I don't have to talk much and she's apparently got a lot on her mind. It's passing the time and I'm learning allllll about her in that vein of pouring your guts out to a stranger in a bar. Kaylee is particularly fun in her delivery, "I don't want to talk about Jim..." (the aforementioned fireman whom I didn't bring up) followed by a good ten minutes of nothing but Jim-ness. This pattern followed on most topics that came to her mind like what it means to be an ER nurse (it's 'sucky' but also addicting in the trauma (gunshots) department and by the way she doesn't trust doctors). Kaylee is a real character and I like her.
I'm hoping for a pretty good workout on this ride and I'm getting it. The twisty curvy part of it is through neighborhoods and bike paths so you have to keep the speed down (getting to the rectangle) but once you hit the country you're on your way. I asked the route planner about that after the ride and he told me that he wanted us to depart and arrive back at the animal shelter so folk would learn where it was at. Made sense. I wish I had set a lap counter for when I hit the country but I didn't. The only other annoyance what that my fancy bike computer decided not to record my speed (note to self, I still need to fix that) so thank heavens for the Garmin!
At the upper left part of the rectangle (see below for the course route and understanding of what I mean by rectangle) Kaylee pulls over to tighten a cleat. She's starting to bonk so I offer one of my two Clif bars. She's refusing like it's going to obligate her to have sex with me or something but eventually allows me to give her one and thanks me.
She decides to stop for eats on the way back but I go on figuring it's only seven miles or so to go and I'll grab something to eat there (spaghetti and a hot dog it turns out). Adios Kaylee.
As I'm headed in on the bike path I'm given a real treat! I see my entire family on the path with Layla waiting for me (I headed out all by my lonesome) YAY!!! That made me smile and was completely unexpected.
Arrival
I fully plan to attend this event next year (Kaylee promised that she'd provide the Clif bars on that ride). The weather was great and it's not some soul crushing distance and once I hit the country I felt safe on the roads. If you want to help out some pets and enjoy a nice morning ride check this out.
Layla, ready to go home!
My bling
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