Cassandra: This past Saturday mom finally got to come down to Seattle and ride my main training route with me. We didn't start out under the best conditions. We had been sleep deprived the two nights preceding our ride, the first night because we were trying to share a bed because we had three people staying in my one-bedroom apartment, and the second night because we were out dancing at the Little Red Hen. Add a couple of drinks into the mix, and we were starting out Saturday in good, but not great, shape. We had originally wanted to set the alarm for 7:00 am, but after dancing we compromised on a 7:30 am wake-up instead. It took us almost an hour to eat, pack food, ready our biking gear, and pump up our tires. But we finally were on our way at 8:30 am. We pushed our bikes up Harrison, the short and yet very steep hill by my house, and then cruised down 23rd Avenue on our way to the Burke-Gilman. Because I knew the route, I rode in the lead position and cued mom on where to turn, where to slow down, etc. I developed the "chicken method" for cuing mom to clip out of her pedals. It involved unclipping both of my feet and waving them in the air like a chicken. Mom thought it was pretty funny :-)

It was nice to be able to show mom my Burke Gilman - Sammamish River Trail route. She quickly became acquainted with one of the trail's quirks, many tree roots that cause for a very bumpy ride. I have to say, it is nice to have a paved trail to ride on, but riding over tree roots can be very frustrating.

We took our first break almost 11 miles into our ride, at a bench overlooking Lake Washington. We refueled and rehydrated. I, for my part, was trying to do a lot better as far as my hydration level was concerned. We had coconut water in one of our water bottles each, to see how it worked at replacing our electrolytes and fluids. I liked it more than mom did. The coconut water tasted very sweet. Mom plans to try it again with orange juice or some other kind of juice to cover the taste of the coconut water.

We took another couple of short breaks on our way to Marymoor Park, but our longest break was at the park. We pedaled up to the Velodrome and watched a bunch of inner-city high school students learn how to pedal on the banked track. It definitely looked tricky. Mom and I talked to the coaches and found out that the group we were watching was from the Major Taylor Project, which is sponsored by the Cascade Bicycle Group and teaches local high-schoolers bike skills. They do several field trips each year, culminating in the STP. This year they expect to have 40-50 students doing the STP. What a cool organization!

As we watched the kids we ate our lunch. I had made peanut-butter agave sandwiches for us and brought raisins and nuts, and mom brought sports jelly beans and sports fruit chews. I really liked the honey flavored chews she found.

Our way back was uneventful. Mom waited a little too long to refuel and lost some steam, but the food finally kicked in a little bit after our last stop. On that stop I tried "goo," which is an energy-fuel and electrolyte-replacer that is exactly what it sounds like, goo. Or, slime. The texture was a bit weird, and I didn't feel a huge surge of energy, but I think it did help refuel me for our way back.

The ride was fun, but the recovery was up there too. Actually, the recovery may have been better than the ride :-) While mom showered, Dennis and I made coffee and pancakes with fresh bananas and pear compote. It was so yummy. I wish I could end every ride with pancakes!

Mom and I tried to look at our calendars to see when we can ride together again, but we didn't come to any big conclusions. I think we are going to have to play it by ear and make plans spontaneously. There are less than 2 months to go until the STP!

Sidenote: I should explain why no one has heard from me in a while on our blog. I had a very stressful two weeks with school and going to Las Vegas for Kelsey's birthday party, so my bicycling pretty much stopped for those two weeks. Bad, I know. But it was better than losing my mind or having a nervous breakdown :-) Sometimes life just doesn't fit into your training schedule.