Bike Rides and more

On May 18, Laurie and I did our first really long bikeride with John and Dottie Selby. We rode from Millersylvania Park just south of Olympia through wonderful farmlands in parts of Washington that I've never seen before. John and Dottie graciously explained what Dan Henrys are (road markers) and showed us how to read them. The ride was almost 40 miles and pretty gruelling at the end - especially the huge hill that just went on and on. But it was nothing that a few cold beers couldn't fix afterwards.

June 29

Brooke, Mark and I rode 28 miles in the Tour to Pierce. We're crossing the finish line here. We made pretty good time (at least I think we did!) finishing in about two and a half hours and then headed for beer and burgers. So much for the weight loss program. The temps were in the high 80s and 90s and amazingly we didn't feel the heat if we kept moving. One cool moment was just as we set off from Puyallup, we crossed a bridge and in the gulch below we saw a coyote standing watching us. Otherwise we were in good bike-riding areas, but not good wild-life watching areas.

We've been following a training program that the YMCA has put together for triathletes and while we don't go with their group, we are right on schedule with them. Each week, I'm swimming half a mile at least once a week, taking a bike ride that is usually about 15 miles, and running twice a week, usually three miles each time.

A few weeks ago, to hone our running skill, we decided to run the Sound to Narrows 5k race. Laurie and Brooke and I ran together (Jana and Jenn have decided not to continue with their training). Laurie, the speedster, took off and completed her 5k with 10 minute miles coming in fifth in her age range (the same as mine). Brooke and I crossed the finish line together running 5k (3.1 miles) in 33.15 minutes - considering I only started running about six weeks earlier, I was really pleased with that.

This week, Laurie and I ran 4.2 miles in 44 minutes, the furthest distane I've run yet. And to round out this week's activities, I rode my bike across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge yesterday (this is the bridge that collapsed in the 1940's - Galloping Gertie - and a Youtube video of the collapse - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0Fi1VcbpAI )

The bridge crosses the Puget Sound towards the south end, and there's a spectacular view of the Olympic Mountains ahead of you as you ride across and to the North and South are great views of the Sound. It took a little over an hour to do the ride from my house - I'm slowly discovering the bike-friendly roads around Tacoma. Here's a link to the bridge today:

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr16narrowsbridge/photolibrary/

So, we're doing well with bike riding and running. Our next challenge is open water swimming.