Team Bear

Many of us received our jerseys in the last couple days, for those who haven’t let me say they are fabulous. Kudos to Evan for the design work and connection with Voler.

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Now, this site is not known for it’s product reviews but today we will look at an essential cycling item: the inner tube.

What to like: holds air.

What not to like: not necessarily always good at the pro listed above.

Comments: I don’t like flat tires. If we stopped selling booze in glass bottles I think 1/2 of my flats could be avoided.

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Summer arrived in Seattle over the weekend and I took the opportunity to hit the Burke Gilman Trail. It seemed like a good idea to get one good hill in so I headed up Juanita drive before turning around. The numbers weren’t bad either: 39.6 miles averaging 17mph but only 1,663 feet elevation gain.

I’ve got more work to do before I’ll be ready for 100 miles but this is a good start

View Track 10 in a larger map

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I got out last week for a duce on the Magnolia bike loop, nice ride for 15 miles with a little over 1000 feet of climbing. I’m leaning to love the hills even though my bike is somewhat heavy (apparently roadies consider 20lbs heavy). I’m also trying to always ride with 2 full water bottles to add some extra work to my rides. I’ve considered filling one with concrete but I might try to drink it by accident.

View Morning Ride. in a larger map

I haven’t quite kept up with Kevin’s bike-every-day goal but I did at least play softball and do weight training on the days I didn’t ride.

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So we are going to have jerseys this year! Check out the awesome design work by Team Bear’s very own Evan Moss. Please let me know if you are interested in acquiring your own Team Bear Racing Club Jersey. We already were, but now are even more so the best looking group riding in the 2010 Seattle LiveSTRONG Challenge!

For those not on Team Bear but who would like a jersey we would love to have one made for you! Please e-mail me or post a comment here, I will get in touch with you with more details.

Very much looking forward to seeing everyone in June! And certainly looking forward to sporting our good looks all together!

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I rode the Chilly Hilly solo last Sunday. It was far from chilly with a high someplace in the mid 50’s and the sun shining down on the island. It all added up to a record crowd – I heard something over 6,000 people. Seeing the Bainbridge Island ferry full of bikes rather than cars was a sight to behold:

Once the ride started it was hard to work through all the riders to a place where I could set my own pace. I trust this was exacerbated by having to make a pit stop right off the ferry. Once there was enough of an opening I was able to settle in and only get stuck when we had to crunch into smaller packs for hills, intersections or car encounters. I had my video camera mounted on the handlebar drop so I’ll cut together some footage from the ride later this week. In the mean time here are the stats as recorded by my computer:

• Distance: 33.5 miles
• Average Speed: 15.8 mph
• Top Speed: 45.7 mph
• Average Cadence: 87 rpm

Not a bad way to kick off the season. I’ll definitely be back next year if nothing else for the chili feed at the finish.

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The family made a trip over to Bainbridge Island for Valentines day and we took a detour to check out some of the the Chilly Hilly route. I think the featured climb would be this one:
From the looks of the route profile it’s 8.5% for about a mile. Not too bad and it’s straight as can be all the way up so no surprises. I don’t think too many of the climbs are that tough since they are short but in aggregate they add up to a lot of ups and downs.

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Pete and I decided it was about time I got out on a bike ride! Just over a week now and I had only ridden around town and back from my property last night. So we hit the road for a quick hour tour of Sawmill Creek Road to Thimbleberry Lake and Heart Lake trail. Up and over to Heart Lake and just beyond to the creek then turned around for the ride back to the house. It was just under an hour of saddle time and a great start to stretching the legs after not being on a bike for at least two weeks, maybe more!
I had the helmet cam on for the trail portion of the ride and have a short clip here (soon) for a little sightseeing for those not along with us. Absolutely beautiful day as you can see!
Until next time, enjoy! Kevin

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Big day today! I registered for the Chilly Hilly, became a Cascade Bicycle Club member and… drumroll… rode my bike to work! I know what you are thinking: “don’t you always ride to work?” Now I normally make an effort to commute by bike, however I am furnished with parking downtown by my employer which is very tempting on chilly mornings. Over the last week I succumbed to the siren song and drove to work for one half-baked reason or another.

The highlight of the day for me is the short-term goal of the Chilly Hilly. While not actually very long at 33 miles it is quite hilly out on the island. For reference the 2600 (and change) feet of climbing is the same as the 2009 70 mile LIVESTRONG Challenge course! Commuting is a good start but I’m going to have to start taking the detour over Queen Anne hill to be ready.

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I got out for ride with Marty last Sunday. We spun for something between 20 and 30 miles. I normally like to have detailed ride statistics and maps but I didn’t feel like bringing my phone to map the ride and somehow I reset my computer before recording the ugly truth. I’m not sure if you remember last Sunday so let me refresh your memory:

That about sums it up.

I would love to tell you we put the hammer down and mashed out 30 miles in an hour and a half but it was cold. And wet. It took a while but may have been a good preview for the Chilly Hilly. I’m planning to sign up as soon as it’s open to non Cascade club members on Feb 1.

Which only leaves one remaining question. Why am I not a Cascade member?

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