July 30 to August 3, 2009.
Our organizer, Loretta Goetsch, was hot.
On the days to follow, our tour leaders Bonnie Scott, Robin Howe and Dan Carey, Jan Johnson, and Beverly Wagner, were hot. We were all hot, thanks to temperatures ranging up to 40 Celsius (103 Farenheit) on July 30 and falling somewhat in the days that followed. Many, many thanks to all for working up such a sweat for this ride!
Some of us discovered that a ride at 40 C. is too hot, but at 35 C. we were doing well, thanks to the cooling effect of a pedal-induced breeze on sweating spandex. We were also grateful for any headwinds. A few hills were thrown our way, but they were for the most part forgiving, with the added attraction of more evaporation on the downhill side.
Fall City, our hub east of Seattle, is on the wide and shallow Snoqualmie River and a 30 minute uphill pedal to spectacular Snoqualmie Falls. On our short first-day ride, the river was full of rubber rafts and inner tubes carrying what appeared to be most of the heat-shy local populace. They must have viewed the passing cyclists and thought: “Mad dogs and Englishmen.” Fall City was the starting point for the first few rides, with routes which included farmland, dedicated wetlands, and, oh yes, those hills. Loretta scouted well, because there were sufficient bakeries, farm restaurants, and small towns to cover the carbohydrate cravings of our group, both for 11 a.m. munchies, and lunch.
My personal favourite was the town of North Bend, located on flatland surrounded by impressive mountains, containing a large and affordable bakery next to a large bike shop. Can it get any better than that? Rural highlights included multiple eagle sightings and up close sightings of a doe and twin fawns who were, sadly, not shy of people or cars. Other deer in the neighborhood were semi-tame, and happily there was lots of bear scat but no bear confrontations. Other rural sightings included two sets of yahoos attempting to be unfriendly to cyclists. Other yahoo sightings occurred at the campground in Fall City. Rock music was involved in the wee hours.
Loretta’s organizational skills included the provision of our experienced and keen tour leaders, flexible rides that made allowances for the heat wave, and a perfect sunset at our group picnic on Lake Sammamish, near Issaquah.
Three days of rural cycling was followed by a tour of Seattle’s east side (Redmond, Bellevue, Mercer Island etc.) on the final day. At the end of the short but hilly ride, those who wished to shop were led to the Redmond branch of REI, the local outdoors store equivalent of Vancouver’s MEC. Jan and Beverley, our leaders, swore they did not receive a commission. En route, we were given a good sample of Seattle’s bike routes, which included both dedicated curb bike lanes and dedicated bike paths. Editorial comment: Far more advanced than Vancouver, partly because negotiating Seattle’s freeway system requires a maze of secondary bike routes.
There is a small but dedicated Washington State branch of our mostly-Canadian bike club, and Loretta, Robin and Dan, amongst others, are certainly active members. Seattle is a big bike town, and one Seattle club has close to 10,000 members. Q: So why choose the CCCTS? A: One Seattle club has close to 10,000 members.
James Spears