Two big cycling events this Sunday kicked off the 2008 season:
Chilly Hilly
Although I’ve lived in the Northwest since 1994, Chilly Hilly has never really hit my radar. But now as a new Seattle resident, I figured I’d give it a go this year. My preconceptions about the Chilly Hilly were based on a limited set of data points:
1. “What about Chilly Hilly? Doesn’t that get competitive?” “No“
2. “Everyone should do it once.“
3. “I hear it is barely organized chaos.“
4. “You will get good fodder for your blog.“
There was no mention of the caliber of the post-ride cappuccino.
Loading the first ferry to Bainbridge.
1. Is Chilly Hilly Competitive? I don’t think so. At least not in the way that a race is competitive. Given the crowded conditions, joining a speedy paceline seemed ill-advised to me. If you want competition, enter a race. If you want a challenging ride with friends, this is a great choice.
“Ride single file.” Or not…
2. Everyone should do it once. No doubt. For avid Seattle-area cyclists, this is a perfect kick-off ride of the cycling season. Fortunately conditions were ideal with cool overcast skies and temps in the low 50’s. I definitely got lucky on my 1st attempt at this ride.
3. Barely organized chaos. Yep. On the Seattle side I lined up with the 18+mph group, but as far as I could tell, the lane assignments were irrelevant once we rolled onto the shores of Bainbridge. Crowded roads persisted through mile 15.
The smiling faces say it all: Great ride!
4. Blog fodder. Yes, well, there was blog fodder almost every pedal stroke. This time around, I’ll limit the commentary to this: It sure makes me smile to see cyclists wearing jeans, sneakers, and riding full suspension mountain bikes who absolutely smoke riders on expensive custom road bikes.
$3 Million worth of bicycles on the return trip to Seattle.
Post-ride cappuccino: The cappuccinos served up at the finish area were great!
Frostbite Time Trial
The report on this year’s edition of the Frostbite TT is generously provided by race correspondent and color commentator Martha Walsh with Team First Rate Mortgage:
The conditions at the Frostbite Time Trial in Snohomish seemed to be perfect: dry and no wind and almost sunny. But what’s good for the rider’s psyche is not necessarily good for the rider’s speed. Most riders’ times were significantly slower than they were in 2007, when conditions were wet, breezy, cold, and miserable. Today’s results haven’t yet been posted, but fastest times on the day went to Ian McKissick (BMC) and Suz Weldon (Wines of Washington). McKissick surely broke the men’s course record, but Weldon did not break the women’s.
About 200 riders showed up for the race, some racing twice in different categories. It was an out-and-back course from Rotary Park in Lowell along the River Road to the outskirts of Snohomish. Unfortunately, due to miscommunication among race volunteers, there were no course marshals at the turnaround near Snohomish and the orange cone was on the shoulder instead of in the middle of the yellow center line. Some riders rode on into Snohomish before they figured out the error of their ways; others were misled by the marshals who took up stations at a different orange cone about halfway out and turned back there. After maybe 40 riders had reached the turn, the marshals finally got there and all was well for the remaining racers.
Apart from the turnaround snafu, it was a pretty flawless race. It started on time, registration was speedy, I don’t think anybody got lost between the parking lot and the start line, and the officials and promoter were visible and responsive. .
No trip to Snohomish would be complete without a visit to the Snohomish Bakery. Pickins are a little slim by Sunday afternoon, but my chocolate croissant hit the spot.
Racing starts in earnest next weekend with two events on the calendar: Mason Lake 1 (near Belfair) on Saturday and the Icebreaker Time Trial at Flaming Geyser State Park in Black Diamond.
