FLYING WHEELS SUMMER CENTURY 2012 COMPLETE!

First Century of the Season: We Did It! 



Mike, Patrick and AJ at the first rest stop.  Still feeling the love.

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor hail nor snow will stop us ...

Yeah, right. 

Actually, it had just rained earlier in the morning, it was cool, the storm clouds hovered overhead and the roads were wet when we first started.  Honestly, I figured that if it started to rain, we'd head to the closest watering hole and talk about the previous years' rides, and how wonderful the weather was. And call a taxi.  Why be miserable on my birthday?

Luckily, it didn't rain and we had a GREAT time on the road last Saturday, with what seemed like 3,000+ of our closest riding buddies.  The ride was adventurous, the scenery was fantastic, the rest stops were well supported, and our hats off to Cascade Bicycle Club for another successful event.  You know how to run a good ride!

Was it easy?  Ummm, no.

As in previous years, we were slammed by the three major hills ... but since we had 'street cred' from our earlier experiences, we knew what to expect, took everything at our own pace, and shuffled through it.  It was the first Century Ride of the year for most of us, and this ride was a refreshing slap in the face, to remind us how out of shape we were (and how long the off-season is in the northwest!  Well, at least for some of us...).

Here is a selection of photos from our ride - enjoy!

AJ and Patrick at the start - whooping it up for Patrick's birthday (thank you, Mr. Announcer).

Mike (our day's photographer - thanks Mike) rolling ahead of Patrick.

And to mix it up, Patrick rolling ahead of Mike.

All smiles on the ride!

  

Beautiful rural scenery...



Rolling in with the gang that we pacelined with the last few miles ...



Finish Line (and chocolate milk!)

We shared some good memories on the ride - including the breathless ascents, beautiful scenery, rolling topography, sharing bananas and rice krispy treats at rest stops ... and last but not least being part of a 'freight train' paceline with 5 other riders that catapulted us the last 8 miles at around 23-28 miles per hour to the finish!  Wow.

We also were able to talk to a few people about our group and why we were riding for LIVESTRONG, which was rewarding in itself.  We also told them about our Seattle Century ride on July 28th, and how they could join our group (see previous posts, including discount code!) - who knows, we may just have a few more recruits!

As always, we're out to have fun during a ride (training, social or organized), or during an event that serves LIVESTRONG and the local cancer community.  We welcome you to join us - please reach out and be part of our gang!

(... and if you're lucky enough, maybe we'll ride on your birthday, too!)

LIVESTRONG -

Patrick
Team Captain, Ride for LIVESTRONG Seattle
Senior LIVESTRONG Leader

JUST TWO DAYS UNTIL OUR FIRST 2012 CENTURY RIDE!

The Flying Wheels Summer Century Ride is upon us!  Aaack!

Well, in just two short days - Saturday, June 9, 2012 - our small band of grassroots LIVESTRONG riders will be out to participate in our first century ride of the year.

Are we prepared?

Uh, no.

But, despite the forecast cold and rainy weather, we WILL get out there and ride in honor/memory of the 28 million people currently affected by cancer worldwide.  We WILL wear our LIVESTRONG cycling kits proudly, to raise awareness of this organization and the noble work that it pursues, fighting to improve the lives of people affected by cancer.

We'll also be wet and cold.

But that's temporary!  Hopefully we'll warm up during the ride (and afterwards in the car with the heat turned up to 11) - and be able to celebrate our accomplishments on the road.  It may take a while to feel our fingers and toes again, but the experience will make us stronger ...! (That's what I was told as a kid, anyway).

Hope to see you out there at the event! If you cannot make it, how about supporting us with a donation to one of our LIVESTRONG team members here - it's tax deductible, and will warm our hearts (and we'll need that, too!)

And did I mention that it will also be my birthday?  Yes, I like to celebrate in style.  Good times.  Good friends.  Great organization to support. (You can support my 'LIVESTRONG birthday fundraising' efforts here, too!)

LIVESTRONG,

Patrick
Team Captain, Ride for LIVESTRONG Seattle
Senior LIVESTRONG Leader