Flying Wheels: Go with the Floe

Joining a popular ride like Flying Wheels is like dropping into a river just as the winter’s ice is breaking up and flowing downstream:

Notice how the ice chunks move at different speeds and bump into one another. The ice near the banks bounces around and ricochets back toward the middle only to get bumped by chunks moving at a faster rate and flowing with the water.

At one point during Saturday’s ride on W. Snoqualmie River Rd., the group I was with was overtaken by a crowd of literally hundreds. For about 10-15 minutes it was 3-4 abreast as far as the eye could see. It was simultaneously impressive and frightening since the cyclists were not unlike the ice chunks in the video above. Some traveled in straight lines, others anxiously swerved down the road as the crowd enveloped them.

Fortunately the route goes uphill after that and the crowd dispersed by the time we hit the final approach vector.

Here is some video of the final miles along E. Samammish Parkway:

Thanks to Brian Unger for piloting the handlebar cam.

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