Cassandra: I had a major achievement on Saturday with regards to biking ... I finally broke 50 miles! The next-longest ride I had done was the tulip field ride with mom the previous weekend at almost 36 miles, so this was a bit of a jump for me. Luckily, everything came together to make it a great ride.

I set the alarm for 7:30 am Saturday morning and was out of the house by 8:05 am, having quickly dressed, filled my water bottles, put together snacks, and hurriedly eaten a muffin for breakfast. It was a beautiful morning. The sky was blue, the sun was beginning to shine, and it wasn't too windy. Since it was early I decided to bomb down 23rd, which is a more direct way to the Burke-Gilman but is also a lot busier than the side-road route I usually take. I stayed with the main route until I came to the UW stadium, where I got on the Burke.

There weren't a lot of people out, mainly just joggers and a few other bikers, so it was quick going on the trail. I was riding at a pace of around 16 mph when I noticed another cyclist was drafting behind me. I know it is biker etiquette to just go up behind someone else's bike and draft off them, but to me it feels slightly awkward. It feels, really, like walking up behind a random person on a dance floor and dancing on them without permission. Part of me wanted to say, 'Hey you, this is my personal bubble!' But I was, at the same time, kind of flattered that someone would want to draft off me. That meant I had a pretty decent pace. The cyclist stayed on me, like white on rice, for about 15 minutes before finally turning around.

At this pace, and in the sun, I quickly became too hot, having dressed in a ton of layers. I had thought it would be colder than it was and had put on a jersey, a long-sleeve cotton shirt, a long-sleeve Smartwool shirt, and my riding jacket. It was so warm that I took off both of my long-sleeve shirts and tucked them into my pack. After that, I didn't stop until I had ridden the Burke-Gilman to the end, jumped on the Sammamish River Trail, and ridden to Marymoor Park. Yep, I didn't take a real break until I was half-way through my ride at just over 25 miles.

I really enjoyed most of the first half of my ride. The sun made everything beautiful, including the lake views from the Burke-Gilman and the fields that flanked the curvy Sammamish River Trail. I got into a zone and just kept pedaling, usually around 15 to 16 miles per hour. On the river trail I had to slow down some because the trail curved this way and that. There was never very much visibility, which made me nervous. I didn't want to collide with a baby stroller or a jogger. It was difficult trying to remain alert on the trail; I found my eyes wandering to the scenery. There were little inlets near the intersection of the Burke-Gilman and the river trail, filled with small boats and the occasional fisherman. But the inlets soon gave way to sprawling fields. At times it felt like I was in the middle of nowhere, although I was passing through Kirkland and Redmond.

I gave myself a 'hurrah' when I passed Redhook Brewery. Mom and I did the ropes course there for her birthday and had made a mental note to come back to ride the trail we saw along the river. I finally made it!

At about mile 20, things started to become painful for me. I was having a pretty severe cramp in my right gluteus minimus muscle, which made it difficult to sit on the bike seat, let alone pedal. But I kept pushing on, even though I was slightly miserable and desperately needed a good stretch.

At mile 30, after having gotten to my turnaround point and started back on the river trail towards home, I finally stopped for a break. I found a picnic bench in the sun and stretched out my muscles, drank some water, and ate some much-needed snacks. After resting for about 20 minutes, though, it was time to get back on the trail.

The way home went pretty quickly. I had to stop once more to stretch and put my cell phone back together. It had fallen out of the pouch I put it in and busted on the ground. Luckily, besides a few nick marks, it was no worse for the wear when I put it back together.

After that brief stop, I only had 8 more miles to home. I ended up taking off my riding jacket when I got even warmer, riding for the first time in just my jersey. Even though I had to huff and puff up the hills near my house, I was feeling good. I rolled onto my street with a big smile on my face, proud at having ridden 50.5 miles!

Ride summary:
Miles: 50.5
Average speed: 14.2 mph
Total riding time: 3 hours 32 minutes
Total time with stops: 4 hours

Note: This week I also rode the trainer, both for an hour on Wednesday night and an hour on Thursday morning.