I partnered up with a new Randonneur, Pete Peterson, who offered to join RUSA so he could ride with me. (Rules are, anyone on a RUSA ride must be a member - insurance rules, apparently). Pete has lots of miles under him, and was riding his newly built old-frame LeMond on its inaugural ride. And this was Pete's first Rando ride, so lots of firsts today.
We were doing Perm 757; Redmond-Issaquah-UVillage. I've been on this route, and written about it before. Start at Peet's in Redmond, down the east side of Lake Sammamish to McDonalds, back the way you came, on to the Sammamish River Trail (SRT) which becomes the Burke Gilman Trail (BGT) and ride to University Village - then turn around and ride back the way you came to Redmond. 100k (or a bit over, actually -- 65 miles).
We left Peets at 6:15 sharp, our control start time, and headed south in total darkness. We each had decent lights. There was little traffic. Pete is faster than me, by 10-15% easily, but I had plenty of glycogen in my legs to burn after not riding all week, and was able to keep up with him at 18 MPH as we zipped down the dark road.
McDonalds, our first control, was just 40 minutes away, and we stopped for Apple Juice - one of the cheapest things on the menu, and at 70 calories, a bit of a boost and some fluid.
It's starting to become daylight now. Back on the bikes, head north, and now with a little tailwind, 20 MPH is possible We are flying! At Marymoor park, we slide over to the SRT and continue our ride north.
2nd control 18 miles later is the ARCO in Woodinville, just north of Wilmot Gateway park. We each get a V-8, chat, use the "facilities" and back on the trail again. I'm starting to have some trouble keeping up, but managing, for the most part. Fortunately there are NO hills on this part of the route.
3rd control would be the U-village QFC but Pete says he knows a good coffee shop, so we stop there. Zoka Coffee. I'm all caffeined up after my double shot mocha at Peets, so I have a hot chocolate and pumpkin bread. Pete gets the Zoka bar which is made, apparently of 50% sugar, 20% chocolate and 30% flour. Yowzers, it is sweet!
Outside Zoka is some public art. I don't know the significance of the animals - I thought perhaps they were the Chinese Zodiac animals, but they're not. No rat, snake or rooster did I see. You take a look (click to enlarge):
Now all the glycogen is gone, and I'm running on just what I can make as far as energy. Pete's going strong, still leading out at 15-16 mph and I'm doing what I can to hang on. I keep dropping back and catching up. I'm not discouraged - just not that fast, right? It was good to have someone to chase.
We swing past Wilmot Gateway again in Woodinville, for a bathroom break and a couple of Tums to ward off the cramps that are threatening, and then it's just 9.6 miles to the finish. Headwind on the SRT heading south, so we're a little slower - 14.5 - 15.5 mph but holding steady. I latch onto Pete's wheel and just keep pushing.
Wind up at Peet's at 11:42, 5:27 after we left. The line of people is practically out the door, so we head over to Teriyaki to get something to take home for lunch, and the final control receipt.
Yesterday, it had rained off and on all day, but we only had one brief, half-hearted shower in Issaquah. The rain held off, and even the wind wasn't all that strong. I was happy that I could hang with the fast group, at least for a couple of hours, and now I have my P-4 ride. (4 consecutive months with a 100k ride). It was encouraging to me to find out after last week that I haven't lost all ability to move a bike faster than 11 MPH. The extra 15 degrees in temps helped a ton.
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