Bridge Pedal and Packing for the Big Ride

Road down to Annie and Shawn's late Saturday afternoon. Everyone tried out the trike. Shawn got it up on two wheels. Ellen road with a huge grin on her face. Annie was giggling the whole time she was riding. A neighbor and his son also tried it out. Annie, Shawn and I went out for dinner and ice cream yakking it up the whole time. Before bed we played a game of clubs. It had been a long time since we played cards. Shawn killed us.

Got up at 5 am Sunday to get ready and head out to the start of the Bridge Pedal. I was surprised how quiet the esplanade was. I thought it would be crowded with riders also heading to the start. It was early. I arrived at the starting line around 6:15 behind at least 1,000 other bikers. It felt funny to be surrounded by upright bikes - everyone was so tall. The ride was good. I was a interested to see how I would handle the hill up to the St. John's bridge. It looks intimidating just driving past it. Dropped the gears down and spun my way to the top. I wasn't much faster than the people walking to the top but I really didn't care. Met a woman I know from the recumbent rides as we road up and she asked "When did I get that thing?" and then "When did I switch?" meaning when did I stop riding my fold rush. She asked me a bunch of other questions which showed her displeasure that I was riding a bike different from what I had been riding and different from the bike she is riding. So wierd!! At the rest stop following the big climb I discovered that my flag was gone. Immediately I suspected someone had taken it but as I thought about it more I realized that I could have lost it if I rode under a low hanging branch. The pole would have bent and the flag may have got caught in it. Whatever happened someone has a really nice flag. At some point riding up the St. John's hill I thought someone had yelled "Nice pole!!" but decided I had miss heard them. Turns out I heard right. It was easy riding from then on to the finish. A guy road past me yelling "You are the future - You are the future!!" 3 1/2 hours to complete 36 miles. I stopped at New Season's for lunch on the way home for a tuna sandwich and a chance to get off the trike. About 2 miles from home I got a flat. I was on the phone with Shawn at the time - pretty funny. This was my first flat to fix by myself. I was actually kind of excited about it. As the bike came to a stop I could feel and hear air coming out of the tire. I felt certain it was a piece of glass but when I took out the tube and felt around the tire I couldn't find anything. I put in a new tube knowing the cause of the flat still lurked. Sure enough, the new tube flatted 1/2 mile down the road. I found the hole in the wheel but still couldn't see anything. I started digging in the tire with a key and found the glass. It took awhile but I finally got it and made it home.

First thing Monday I order a new flag for overnight delivery. I liked the way that flag looked and really wanted it for the ride to the coast. Then I went back to the safety store for more reflective tape to add the new flag when it arrives. Next stop was to drop off my car to have a hitch installed at Rack Attack. I already purchased a rack for the trike. This way I could drive over to Mike's house Wednesday morning and ride with the others to Vernonia. From there I walked to NW and my massage appointment with Jessica. It was a really nice message. My body is doing so good and so much better than when I started body work. After that I met Gloria at Mio Sushi. It was really good to see Glo and the sushi was good too. We walked down to REI so I could pick up a couple things for my trip. She drove me back to Rack Attack to get my car. I don't think I've ever seen an Audi A4 with a hitch. The hitch looks alright. Made a couple of other stops on the way home and set out to start packing for the trip. Put the trike rack together and installed it in the new hitch. Very fancy!! Took the tail sok off and packed it up so I can put it in Edna and Dave's van so they can take it the retreat for me. I can't use the tail sok with the bags - yet. I've got some ideas how to make that work and I'll be talking to Robert and Pat of Terracycle about putting those in play. Put the fairing back on the trike which I haven't used since returning from Kentucky. I didn't get nearly as much done as I had hoped but I still have tomorrow.