Sunday, April 3, 2011

Just Say No To Long Urban Rides

When I received notice this weekend that a teammate had organized a rather urban ride for our 50 miler, my heart fell. When I received the cue sheet...

that didn't stop at one page...

...this decidedely directionally challenged girl decided to try to find another way. Fortunately Katie and Deb had the same thoughts, so we headed out to Sauvie Island for an out and back and a couple of loops. Weather was fantastic and we belted those miles out like nobodies business. 50.5 mile total and I felt like I could go on despite having had extremely sore quads on waking this morning. I was bustin' along so good that I found time to stop and smell the roses daffodils on occasion...

...to hide out and wait for Katie and then snap pictures of her as she flew by...
...visit with the locals...
...find that this guy thinks the grass IS greener tastier on the other side of the fence...
...and enjoy the lambs making their lamby sound, the cows lowing in the fields, smell fresh pipe smoke and basically have a very most fantastical and wonderful day! Hooray!

To those of you that wondered what we thought of the 127 Hours...
Jack decided it was too much gore for him (he can't play in the mud or do things like paper mache either...that's just the way my boy is) , but the girl and I were thoroughly engrossed...with the scenery, the flashbacks, the actual removal of the arm - everything. I thought it was a good movie. I wasn't going to see it because I had seen so much of the story on Dateline with the actual guy that I thought it would be boring, but it mostly wasn't. I would recommend it! And now I want to visit! So beautiful!

15 comments:

Abby @ Have Dental Floss, Will Travel said...

Ha, I did an urban (and suburban) century last fall, and the cue sheet was ridiculous. Looks like you made the right decision - and glad to hear you felt so strong!

Pahla said...

I can't even begin to imagine trying to follow that cue sheet - your route was WAY better! Love the pic of that horse.

Julie said...

What great pics!!!! I would love to ride there!

What a great run you had yesterday, good job!

I really want to see that movie. Thanks for the review.

Aimee said...

Your bike ride sounds awesome! The pics were great!

Penny said...

Great ride. It was a beautiful day here to. That picture of the flowers and the truck was beautiful. Great pics.

Rene' said...

We are laughing at the horse picture. My daughter's horse always has his mouth on the on the other side of the fence....Great ride. Love the daffodil pic, very cool.

Terri said...

There is no way I could have followed that sheet! Love your photos!

Michael said...

I would have been totally lost on that ride. Good call to venture out on your own. Sounds like you had a great ride. Love all the pics. Esp the horse. I love horses!!

Unknown said...

Uhh...when rides have written directions, there is a problem. Riding should consist of concentrating on RIDING not reading a map! That's just crazy. I'm glad you got out in the county - those are the best places to ride.

Raina said...

I would get hit by a truck. No doubt about it. And get lost too!!!

The daffodils are sure beautiful! =D
Sauvie Island is a great destination.

Kate Geisen said...

Oh, my! I think you guys made the right call! I can follow road markings, but that mess of paper is way too much.

Love your pictures!

Amanda@runninghood said...

Love these pics! I need to get my butt out the Sauvie Island one of these days and try my bike out and stop being such a bike wimp. We got so lucky with the weather!
Thanks for the nice words about my race. ;)

Big Daddy Diesel said...

Urban, as in riding in the city???? Ummm, no thank you, country roads riding is the way to go, thats how you can enjoy the ride, not having to deal with what happens on city streets

Heather said...

Looks like a great bike ride. Definitely better than the urban option. Good call.

I am still undecided on the movie.

Unknown said...

Sounds like a great ride! Looks like you made the right decision with that one. I live in a town now, and I am so happy when it comes to riding. My friends from the nearby city want to drive out here to start their rides. Way better then constant traffic lights and stop signs.