Skagit Spring Classic

May 12th is the Skagit Spring Classic bike ride.  This will be the 5th time I have ridden this ride.  There are multiple distances, but I have mostly done the metric century (62 miles), and the century ride once.  This year I am again doing the metric century.  It is listed as a “challenging” ride.  It has about 2,400 feet of elevation gain, and it includes Chuckanut Drive – a somewhat famous hill for athletes near Bellingham, WA with a gorgeous view of the Puget Sound. 

This has always been one of my favorite rides.  The scenery offers many great views, and the course is challenging – but there are many rides in the area that are more difficult.  Part of the challenge is that it is the first major ride in the season (not counting Chilly Hilly). 

For me personally, this ride is also special because it was my first organized ride.  I thought I was going to ride the 40 miler, but my friend Mitch was training me for my first two day STP, and he decided we were doing the 62 miles.  Now, I had been riding my bike outside – but it was always on the Burke-Gilman trail – which is a nice FLAT path that covers about 50 miles.  I had never ridden more than 30 miles in a shot, and I had never gone up a hill before.  Big mistake…

I think I ended up walking my bike up about 3 hills that day.  I was so tired by the end of it that I limped to the end of the race at a stellar 8 mile an hour pace – on a flat road.  But two weeks later I was feeling stronger and riding faster than I ever had before.  I ended up completing a two day STP that year (back to back centuries).  I have been hooked on cycling ever since.

This year will be unique.  It’s less than two weeks to go, and I have been outside on a bike exactly. . . Once.  I rode Chilly Hilly at the end of February.  Other than that, I have 500 miles through exercise bikes and spin classes.  Somehow I don’t think this is going to be a personal record for me this year – although I do think I can finish at more than 8 miles an hour