Whistler and the Broken Nose

I set off to enjoy Labor Day weekend in gorgeous Whistler, British Columbia. I had a great drive up the Sea to Sky Highway, despite the major construction going on to prepare for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Every corner I turned was yet another beautiful scene. I planned on staying in a small B&B just a bit north of the main village. I went for an awesome long ride on paved and dirt trails for about 2.5 hours. I can't believe how heavenly it is there. WOW is all I can say. I went out shopping after my ride for some souvenirs and treated myself to my favorite meal, medium steak with bleu cheese topped over it with a good, healthy pint of local amber. I walked around a bit more and got to listen to a local artist in the center of the main village rock it out. I decided to head back to the B&B and I read for awhile then decided to go to sleep early so I could get up early and ride my bike forever the next day. Unfortunately, lady luck is rarely on my side and, I'm subtracting a few details, but I ended up breaking my nose and had a laceration that went down to the bone. Only a few pints of blood loss later, and I finally composed myself. Needless to say, my vacation ended more abruptly than I imagined and I drove 5 hours south across the border to get treatment. One week later, I have a re-set nose and minimal pain. Funny enough, I had a similar episode when I was about 8yrs old, where I tripped on some stairs at Niagra Falls, Ontario, and put my bottom teeth through my lip. I think Canada hates me...

Vela Bella Bicycle Tour

My friend Dana and I headed out to Leavenworth for a bicycle tour at the foothills of Stevens Pass in the Cascade Mountains. It was a beautiful to ride, except for the 108 degree heat that eventually took the best of us. We managed to complete 75 miles of cycling with grueling climbs (especially at the last 25 miles) and we enjoyed all 5 and 1/2 hours of it! Later, we headed to downtown Leavenworth for burgers, fries and a cold brew. We ended up deciding not to camp that night since it was disgustingly hot and we desired to sleep in our own beds. The night drive through the Cascades on US-2 is great, especially with the sunset and full moon! We had a great time!

BBQ on a Belltown rooftop

Headed to Kim and Vic's for a BBQ on the rooftop of their apartment. It was a gorgeous evening with a beautiful sunset, a full moon, and great company.

Also here is my new plant, Bajito Verde. Since I couldn't take Verde, my first plant from Michigan (it was so huge!) I wanted to try to keep another alive!

Cycling to the Arboretum

Nothing like biking down to the Arboretum in Seattle to see pretty flowers and soaring birds on a beautiful Wednesday morning! I had a little lunch consisting of goo, a granola bar and water for my 28 mile ride, then I was off to work. Hope everyone back in Michigan is doing well. I miss you all!!

65.3 miles + killer hills = tired Erin

Well, I completed my first metric century yesterday. It was a beautiful ride toward Snohomish, then we headed south to Duvall, west toward Redmond then back north to Kenmore. The hills on this route were okay in the beginning, then I just bonked on the last two. I need to learn to eat more on my rides. After shoveling some granola bars and drinking more water, I was able to make it up the last two hills with a little push from my friend Zach (literally, he pushed me up it 'cause my legs wouldn't do it- it was funny, yet sad). In the end, I did this wicked downhill where I finally reached over 40 mph- 41.5 mph to be exact! It was a twisty road, but wow was it fun! Sorry, no pictures from this ride. I didn't bring my camera, but take my word for it that there were some amazing sights- The Cascades, old forests, farmland, etc...

I'm planning on doing the Portland Century event (only the half century) at the end of August. It should be a good time!

52.5 miles

I am excited to say I rode 52.5 miles from my apartment to and around Lake Sammamish then back to my apartment. It was a pretty flat ride for the most part, just a few hills around the lake and one hell of a hill on Hollywood rd that was most enjoyable on the decent- I made it to 38.8 mph- Oh, was it worth the climb! I heart my bike! Summer in Washington is amazing!

Summertime and oh, the sights!

Went to Kim and Vic's for a nice BBQ on the rooftop of their apartment building in Belltown with Adele and my new friend, Jamie. It was simply marvelous! The food, the sights of the Sound and the company. The photos just don't do the sights justice... Mt. Rainer is the last photo, in all it's glory, taken from Seward Park on a Women's only ride I did to get to know people and the city.