Day 90 - Pedal to the Metal

So the weekend didn't turn out the way I had planned, but plans are meant to be broken :) Our Saturday morning hike turned into a Saturday afternoon stroll around downtown Seattle. My Sunday morning swim turned into an impromptu Sunday bike ride.

It had been a while since I had been on my bike, so I decided to take advantage of beautiful weather and the lack of a gym membership (forthcoming) to test my brakes. They are squeaky, most noticeably down massive down hills from my house down to Seward Park. I drive this route every morning to Booty Camp, but on a bike it's a whole 'nother thing. (Picture below is from Seward Park looking south - can you see Mt. Rainier?)

Anyways, upon arrival at the park, I was pleasantly surprised to find I had stumbled on to Bicycle Sunday. I may have to make this my regular Sunday workout. I followed Lake Washington Blvd. up to Leschi, stopping along the way to visit the locations for the Triathlon.

The left picture is Genesee Park, the transition site for all the legs of the race. This is where I'll hop on my bike after traversing the swim, and where I'll drop the bike to head out on the last leg - the 5k run. Imagine it filled with almost 4,000 bicycles!

The left picture is taken from Stanley Sayer Memorial Park - where the swim will take place. I stopped and stared at the water for a while, while listening to kids hopping around in it complaining how damn cold it was. This will be daunting, but I'll stare it down, and then swim it down.

I continued my bike trek north, taking a breather and enjoying a glass of water with Anne and her friend Jen. After the break, I headed back south to Seward Park, then headed further south to avoid the hills I had tackled on my way there in favor of a gradual climb. I'll admit, throughout the trek, I got off my bike twice. Some of these hills were intense.

I got home beat. Dan and I ended up calculating the ride - 14 miles. 2 miles more than what I'll have to do on race day. Granted, race day will be a whole lot different, but to know I can do it, that's kinda reassuring.