“Where you guys headed?”

I think, “Are you serious?” We have a rack full of bikes and we are all in tights and caps with short brims. We are obviously going to set some wildfires and tag on some buildings.

That was the start of my first speeding ticket ever. 75 in a 60. In California, 75 barely gets you on to the freeway. Up this way, I am a speed demon.

Yesterday’s SIR training ride was incredible (and epic and beautiful and any other big ride labels you want to slap on to it). We rode about 85 miles from Conway to Bellingham and back in a giant loop of the northern position of Washington. It started with a series of steady climbs to get out of the valley we started in. We went through a series of farm lands and small towns, riding by Big Lake and Clear Lake. The weather was supposed to be overcast with a slim chance of rain, but we ended up with the most beautiful sunny day possible.

The most incredible part of the ride though, was the loop up around Bellingham. It stared with a lot of climbing, but it brought us up to amazing views of the Puget Sound. All of the islands were visible, including Orcas. It swept back down to sea level and we kept a nice and steady pace.

We fought some head and cross winds through the flat farm country, but were lucky enough to catch up to a group of 10-15 for the last 15 miles. It was amazing timing because my legs were on their last…. leg. They were kind enough to block the wind for the remainder of the ride.

Once back in Conway, we bought ice cream and teriyaki at the Texaco(?!). That store had a little bit of everything. Peter McKay joked with us, “Do you guys just do these rides for the food.”

Of course we do Peter.