We wanted an ice cream cone too...

Waterfront Glory

Ride Report Sunday 4/25/10
Riders: Khamthong Phengphachanh, Marvin Earl Gray, Maria Gray, Daniel Gray, Julie Gray, Marta Bakke
Route: Grays house up Chief Sealth trail down to Jackson to waterfront, Alki and back.
Distance: 33 miles
Time: 3:45
Average Pace: 11.5 mph
Wonderful Sunday afternoon cruise...rested by the statue of Liberty on Alki and had a good paceline on the way back when we were smart enough to get back on the street and off the path w the peds.

Friday 4/23/10 Ran 2 miles @ Seward 4:05, 3:48, 3:47, 3:37 = 15:17

Thursday 4/22/10 Rode bike 1 mile to return to my brother

Tuesday 4/20/10 Rode bike 15 miles from Hotel to Point Loma Nazarene College...wonderful campus on the Pacific Coast, students surfing on campus! 1:45 minutes.

Monday 4/19/10 Swam for 30 minutes in Hotel Pool. Rode 3 miles from hotel to hotel. Ran 2 miles on Treadmill.

Ride report: Saturday 4/17/10
Riders: Julie Gray, Marvin Earl Gray, Marc Gray
Distance: 24 miles
Time: 5 hours w lots of stops
Route: Downtown San Diego south then onto Silver Strand Spit to Coronado and back downtown on Ferry then to hotel.

Great street tour of San Diego with a stop at a wildlife reserve, beach and tourist area for ice cream, and a ferry ride. Thanks Marc for the tour. Sore butt on rental bike!

Ride report: Saturday 4/17/10
Riders: Maria, Daniel Gray
Distance: 34 miles
Route: South end of lake and back up to I-90 bridge and back

Kids go solo and enjoyed it!

Of Snakes and Rabbits

Ride Report 4/13/10
Riders: Paul Olver, Julie Gray, Khamthong Phengphachanh, Rachel Gray, Daniel Gray
Ride Time: 2 hours
Distance: 25 miles
Route: Rainier to Interurban out and back

We stopped a few times in the first few miles to retrieve a driver's license, take a phone call, adjust a seat, and regroup, but after that, we had a good pace of around 15 mph and cruised interurban and Rainier Ave. Rachel survived her first ride on the tandem with Dad, although space was a bit tighter than with Melody as stoker. Survival was key as they narrowly avoided a bike bunny head-on collision while on the interurban. A casualty included a snake that did not survive an earlier bike snake collision and was strung across the path. It is worth pointing out that there was some honking from the back of the paceline which helped those pulling stay encouraged. Big ups to Pastor Paul who made it through a fairly intense first ride of the season and took this great picture at the Renton Airport, and to Khamthong who survived 1 disintegrating tire and 1 exploding tire before we left the house.

Braking Hard

Ride report 4/10/10
Riders: Noah Bartholomew, Gretchen Korb-Nice, Marta Bakke, Rachel, Daniel, Melody, Maria, Julie, Marvin Gray, Khamthong Phengphachanh
Ride Time: 3:15
Route: S end of lake clockwise from our house
The wind was breaking hard on us as soon as we headed north on Lake WA blvd. Steady 20-30mph was what it felt like, and it was chilly! No rain tho, for which we were greatful. We regrouped a lot, and had our first loop ride and everyone did great, considering that we had to fight the wind all the way up past the Renton airport and up Rainier Ave as well. Noah beasted his first ride until he hit the brakes and skidded on a thin racing tire and wore through it and a tube near The Landing in Renton. His sister Leah bailed him out and gave him a lift.

4/11/10 Rode to church and back twice with Melody...3 miles.
4/9/10 Rode to work and back 12.5 miles

Skinny Tires Are Good, When They Have Air

Ride Report 4/6/10
Riders: Marta Bakke, Rachel Gray, Khamthong Phengphachanh, Daniel Gray, Marvin Gray, Melody Gray
Route: Grays to Cedar River Trail out and back
Distance: 22 miles
Time: 6:30-8:50
Cool cloudy evening, but a very nice ride. Rachel and Marta tried a skinny-tired road bike for the first time, and enjoyed that a lot over the wider tired mountain and hybrid bikes which left them, well, tired. Kham found that her bike cruised much better with full tires, thanks to the graciousness of the AM/PM clerk at Rainier Ave S and Airport Way. When we had only a Visa Card and no cash, he hooked us up with 4 quarters anyway to fill her tires.

Good times

White privilege and cycling by choice

Ride report: 4/3/2010
Riders: Ming Chan, Victoria Chan, Maria Gray, Daniel Gray, Marvin Gray, Khamthong Phengphachanh
Distance: 10, 15, 25, 30 miles
Route: Seward Park to I-90 to Renton
Notes: Wonderful ride in the crisp air with no rain! Ming and Victoria bravely went twice as far as last time, riding on the streets with mountain bikes. Khamthong had her 2nd ride of the season and gave all 10 speeds of her new old 10 speed a workout! Daniel, Maria, and Kham blew across I-90 and back, and Maria and I rode home with Kham to Skyway and back to our house. Good times!

I rode to work and a few appointments for 5 miles on Thursday.
I rode to work and back for 13 miles on Wednesday.

Thursday I was pulling away from the UGM Youth Reach Out Center as a few of the guys from Bumblebee Boxing (the boxing program we host)were leaving to go on a training run. "Have a good run" I encouraged. "Have a good ride," they said. "Absolutely. I haven't been in a car all week" I intoned, proud of the fact that I was cycling by choice, staying healthy, and being environmentally responsible. "I haven't been in a car my whole life," one of them responded. "I've been walking and taking the bus." Huh....now that's a thought. It has given me pause ever since to think how many of my neighbors basically never drive or use a car, but walk and take the bus wherever they go. Of course they are being healthy and environmentally responsible too, but by necessity, not by choice.