So after an hour in Centralia, we rode on 30 minutes to the Acres of Pride Arabian Horse Farm, where we’ll bed down for the night in a RV.
We got in, and started eating! Fresh fruit followed by spaghetti and COOKIES! Yum!
A second triplog of our ride to Bainbridge / Poulsbo; see Lauren and Greg’s original here: http://pastrypowered.com/?p=27.
Data: Erik’s GPS Log. Also, here’s MotionBased’s new player link for just the Bainbridge section (apparently I got lucky and in the beta!)
As the final training ride before STP, Lauren, Greg, Paul, and I decided to do a quick ride around Bainbridge Island. In truth, and in large part due to laziness on my part, I just put forth the Chilly Hilly route of 33 miles with travel to / from the ferry from UZ and called it good.
We got off a bit late (my fault; forgot the cue sheets and had turned around to get them before Lauren called and said she has a map), and then booked it down to the ferry. We made it with seconds (literally) to spare. Chances are if we were a week later, we’d have missed the ferry as they’re planning on stopping boarding 2 minutes before posted sailing time to ensure on-time departures (boo!). The day was gorgeous though; here’s a quick picture of Mt. Baker from the ferry (yes, it’s there, I’m just not a master with the camera phone camera!)
and here’s where they keep those other ferries!
We put on some sunscreen and stretched out…
and it was off we go!
After a few miles, Lauren’s back rack came off and slammed into her tire. At this point, we thought there’d be a bike shop in Poulsbo, so we decided to head up there. We also ran into Brent from Wisconsin who had sold his business and was in the process of biking from Seattle back to Wisconsin. He tagged along with us to Poulsbo, where it turns out there wasn’t a bike shop. But there was a nice bakery — Liberty Bay Bakery & Cafe:
We headed back to Bainbridge, and Lauren then headed to town while Greg, Paul, and I did the rest of the route. We tried to meet up at the cider stop (although we were about 5 months late for cider), but Lauren got a flat so she just headed to the ferry. Greg, Paul, and I then did the southern part of the route, and about mid-way through Greg picked up some glass through his big knobby 26″ tires… d’oh! Paul, wanting to get back, took off for the ferry. Greg and I headed out without too much of a delay… and were zipping down to the ferry past the gates when we heard HOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNKKKKKKKKK! D’oh! The ferry was leaving. And suddenly, there was Paul, who had apparently missed a turn somewhere and was behind us. Oh well!
We turned around, and I picked up some Grapefruit Juice and a yummy tea biscuit at Blackbird Cafe in Bainbridge… yum yum good. We then took the 2:55 ferry and headed home. The day was still gorgeous… here’s a final pic of a sailboat we passed on the way home:
Ruben, Megan, Paul, Scott, and I did a lovely ride on a hot, sunny day today! Scott met us at Marymoor and just did the 50 mile Tour de Cure loop with us; while the rest of us trucked to Marymoor and back from UZ via the trail. We made good time — overall, averaged about 14 miles an hour moving, including the time spend on a couple of good hills.
My GPS log: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.do?episodePk.pkValue=956939
A bunch of us did a century, +/- 5 miles (I was -) this weekend. We decided to truck down to The Hill, which is the biggest hill on STP — all 300 feet of it (OK, it’s not a big hill). This is approximately 45 miles away from our starting point, University Zoka, or UZ as we call it. We did most of the initial STP route, but instead of taking the West Valley Highway, which has a fair amount of traffic, we hopped onto the Interurban Trail, which is a great trail — no roots, minimal traffic, nice and speedy. We made great time, averaging about 15 mph and making it down to this great espresso store at the corner of Milwaukee & Valley Ave. in Sumner - The Coffee Corner if I can make the picture out (stupid phone took it at itty-bitty resolution).
Sadly, right before this point, we had a flat — and no spare tube for a 650 tire! Tire repair took a bit longer than usual, but such is life. Anyway, we took off and did the hill. Triumphant, we quickly cashed it back in, zipping down to the red light at the base of the hill (d’oh!). We then trucked back up Interurban, then decided to take a bit of a detour and take the Green River Trail to the Duwamish Trail, which cuts across the east side of West Seattle. We made it to downtown Seattle, and at this point we split up — Scott and I had to book it home, while the rest of the gang decided to do a bit more of a ride to get in a full century. Anyway, I don’t feel too bad about missing it… I ended up doing 95 miles, so I’m feeling pretty reasonable about everything.
Next week: Flying Wheels!
Erik’s log: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.mb?episodePk.pkValue=900369
My final day in Cambridge, I went cycling around the city with Nick and Andrew, another researcher from MSRC. I had found what looked like a nice route at CTC Cambridge: http://www.ctc-cambridge.org.uk/Cycle-Routes.html that went around the city. So, starting from MSRC, we biked mostly due west to connect to the loop, and then took it clockwise. Turns out this wasn’t the best idea… the cue sheet wasn’t the easiest to follow, and we were going backwards — it called for counter-clockwise.
Anyway, we managed to get through the first half of the loop without much difficulty, but then managed to get a bit lost… oops. Also, turns out that there was a problem with the camera… the shutter stuck in a halfway up position, with the D70 flashing “Err.” Gonna have to look at that when I return.
After a brief stop at lunch, we took a bit of a wrong turn and went due west vs southerly… after a bit, we arrived at a sign for the town of Babraham… yes, its real. And apparently, there’s a nearby zoo… Linton Zoo…. so, it’s Babraham Linton Zoo. Fun fun fun… 
Anyway, we turned south and then circled about, completing the loop more in a plus-shape versus a loop. But hey, we still got our 40 miles, and all is good.
40 miles, GPS log: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.mb?episodePk.pkValue=865867
A few days after a trip to Loch Ness, Nick and I teamed up with another colleague from MSRC (and as it turns out CMU) Dushyanth did a quick ride from MSRC in Cambridge up to Ely (pronounced EE-lee).
MotionBased GPS log: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.mb?episodePk.pkValue=841914 - 37.65 miles. Don’t believe the 7:30:09 time… we took quite some time at lunch (Pizza Express) and at the Ely Museum waiting for the rain to let up.
Here’s Nick and Dushyanth:
and here’s yours truly at the River Great Ouse (pronounced ows, although here it’s more like ooze), the fifth-longest river in the UK.
A few seconds later, this flotilla of swans decided to pose for a photo:
There wasn’t a whole lot between Cambridge and Ely; it’s relatively flat, and aside from a freak hail storm (d’oh!), we got to the cathedral at Ely quite handily:
We couldn’t actually go inside the cathedral, as they were filming Elizabeth: The Golden Age starring I believe Cate Blanchett. Guess this means I’ll to see the first Elizabeth movie, as I’m dying to see the interior of the cathedral! Of course, I suspect I could just look for other images out there…
Nick, a colleague from MSRC, and I decided to attempt a ride from Inverness down to Spean Bridge. As it turns out, we only made it 2/3 of the way before Nick’s chain snapped! However, we did get to have lunch at scenic Loch Ness. Anyway, on to the ride!
GPS Log via MotionBased: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.mb?episodePk.pkValue=830171
Nick and I started the day at Inverness, after a 3.5 hour train ride up. Initially we were worried that we wouldn’t be able to get the bikes on the train, as the guy at the ticket counter said the racks were all full. But there was no problem… we just arrived early, got our bikes on, and nobody came to boot ‘em off!
We took a bit of a scenic route out of Inverness, but eventually found B862, the Loch Ness Loop. We got drenched in Inverness, but then the sun came out and dried us off. It was quite scenic, although we were sure the loch was “just over there” and couldn’t wait to see it. We did however see a number of covs, who all stopped to look at us.
Trucking down a bit, we came to the town of Dores, and there it was - Loch Ness! And you can see how big it is… or rather, you can’t! It’s narrow and just goes into the distance. It’s actually about the size of Lake Washington — only about 20 or so miles long. Just with some cooler scenery and a monster.
There’s a nice stop for lunch right at the top of the loch at Dores, the Dores Inn. It has a nice outdoor patio for eating, and we decided to chance it as the sun was out. Here’s Nick and I posing at the loch:
Here’s another shot of me a little later at a scenic view… we’re a few miles down the loch, and still can’t see the end from the mist and rain… mostly rain, as we were about to find out!
The road leaves the side of Loch Ness about the town of Foyers, and sadly that was the last we saw of it. However, we did see the Falls of Foyers, which I thought were quite spectacular!
We then started to go up a fairly steep uphill section… and saw some gorgeous scenery. Something which doesn’t come out as well in the picture were the silver rocks — the sun had come out and was reflecting on several wet rocks on the other side of the glen. But it’s still a pretty picture.
For example, some more falls. I’m still trying to figure out where the water is coming from — there’s a lot of it, and there doesn’t seem to be any snowpack left on the mountain!
There’s also a scenic guide to the area we came at… this was at the 20 mile point or so.
We proceeded cash out our uphill and bombed downhill… halfway down, we found Loch Tariff, which was looking quite scenic in the sun.
We’ll now stop the photo journal and dive into the bit of catastrophe. At Fort Augustus, as we were determining whether to take the A82 to Spean Bridge to ensure we made the train, Nick’s chain snapped. Bad luck… especially as he had already had a flat. Now, while Peter at Cycle Scotland had furnished us with a spare tube, we didn’t have a chain tool… d’oh! So we ended up at this Gulf petrol station to try and figure out what to do. Plan A was to take a bus, and the woman at the station was sure that the coach could store bikes in the luggage compartments under the seats. Turns out they don’t carry bikes. D’oh! Now we’re getting panicked, as it’s 6:30 and we need to get 20 miles to Spean Bridge in an hour and a half. We eventually get a hold of a cab in Fort William, about 40 minutes away. They’ll come and get us, and hopefully we can make it to the train in time. Along the way we also talked to Peter, who told us to lock the bikes up somewhere safe and make an issue of them — that was at least generous of him. So the gas station manager agreed to store the bikes in her propane storage area, which is a locked area behind the station. The cab arrived at 7:55… no way we were going to make the 8:00 train. So, we called ScotRail to find out what times other trains were leaving for Edinburgh… and since it was Sunday tomorrow, what times the Sunday trains ride.
Well, to make a long story short, we weren’t going to get in to Edinburgh before 1:30 if we took a train. And we were pretty sure our flights to Cambridge were right around there. So, we ended up taking the cab down to Edinburgh, for 200 quid with a 40 tip for the guy who was going to have to head on back on the 3 hour drive. Oof… a bit more expensive of a bike ride than we had thought!
But hey, at least we did get to see Loch Ness! And I did burn 3900 calories in doing it… so a pound gone isn’t bad, especially considering what I’d been eating and drinking during the week!
Well, after a good night’s rest, it was time to get up, load up on some fruit and whole grains, and head off again! I got off to a bit later of a start than I wanted, but as I didn’t have anywhere to be that evening aside from making one of the later trains, all was good.
Day 2, Fearnan by Aberfeldy to Pitlochry via Glen Lyon and Loch Tay, 75.80 miles.
GPS log via MotionBased:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.mb?episodePk.pkValue=805786
Day 2 began with a scenic ride through the center of Glen Lyon, up to the eastern side of Loch Lyon. I was getting worried, as I knew I was turning south at some point and the mountains to the south didn’t seem to have a natural break. They were quite spectacular, however.
Towards the end of the glen, I spotted a few local deer… they had scampered off a reasonable distance by the time I got my camera out, but proceeded to display for me so i could get a good shot in! I also saw a couple herds of yaks about, although certainly it was predominantly sheep with some cattle mixed in.
The route turns south at Loch Lyon, and while there was a traverse, it was still fairly steep — 1700 feet at the summit! Fortunately, I was already at about 900 feet, so it wasn’t that horrible, but still a healthy climb. Along the way I noticed some ruins of an old Scottish stone house… there were a number of these scattered throughout the ride. For some reason, when I saw this one I just couldn’t help but wonder who had lived there and what finally caused the last person to abandon the house. It’s a marvelous location for a house, with a great view and ample access to fields for ranching.
I then bombed down the hill to Glen Lochay, which wasn’t nearly as fun as it should have been. I was on a narrow access road, and while it was paved, there was only room for one vehicle — car or bike. And it was windy with blind turns and summits… so I couldn’t go very fast as I never knew if a car would be coming up. Used those brakes pretty well though! At the bottom, I had a great view of Glen Lochay and then up through Loch Tay — some gorgeous scenery of local farms and homes.
After an hour or so, I came to Loch Tay and rode along the southern edge… I ended up on Cycle Route 7, which is just a normal back road that is labeled on maps as good for cyclists. I actually prefer B-* routes, which are bi-directional secondary routes. On the single-lane roads, every time a car passed in either direction, I had to slow down to pass carefully. On the B roads, I could actually get some momentum and cruise between 17-20mph.
Past Loch Tay, I passed by Castle Menzies, a small Scottish castle nestled against a hill. Quite a sight, and the view on the other side was also rather impressive. It turns out that “castle” doesn’t necessarily imply huge walls and moats… but a 5-story stone mansion isn’t shabby!
The sun came out towards the end of the ride near Pitlochry. Along the way I passed by this house overlooking a field filled with sheep and pheasants. I can only imagine the view from the house on the valley, which I took from my level. But I have to say, it wouldn’t be that bad to live in this countryside with such gorgeous scenery all around. I suspect the winter months might be where you pay for it, as it was still chilly in May, but still, gorgeous scenery.
I finally arrived at Pitlochry about 7:40, about 40 minutes from the next train. I plopped down on the bench, took off my helmet and gloves, and ate my last bit of food — an orange! There weren’t great places to stop for lunch around lunch time on the route, an issue with my timing I suspect, so I ended up snarfing down string cheese and PureFit bars — 3 PureFits and 4 string cheeses per day! Was reasonable enough to get me through lunch.
Anyway, the train ride home was uneventful and quiet, and finally got back to the Balmoral around 10:30 at night. I did some quick analysis… over 10,000 calories burned over 130 miles, with some 12,000 feet of elevation gain over the hills and occasional peak. Huh… maybe RAMROD isn’t so out of reach as I thought!
