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7 Hills of Kirkland
I've had a long recovery from some sort of chest cold, and yesterday I
finally felt like riding, after about a week off of the bike. My husband said he'd be willing to go around Lake Sammamish, a little bone thrown to me because that's a pretty short and doopie ride. I was looking for at least 30 miles, so I said I'd just ride by myself. And I didn't want to do anything that involved my regular commute (yawn) or going around Lake Washington (double yawn, plus you don't want to be on the Burke Gilman Trail on a holiday weekend). I finally decided I'd ride up and around Kirkland. So, after doing a couple hours of gardening and lunch, I headed out. While on the way there, I noticed a freshly painted 7 with a circle around it, and I thought, wow, they've just repainted the Dan Henrys for the 7 Hills of Kirkland ride. I bet it's coming up really soon. Then, as I was climbing up a hill, there was someone in front of me riding even slower, which is a pretty rare event. As I got closer to him, I saw that he had a ride number on his back; even closer, and I saw it said, "7 Hills of Kirkland - May 28, 2006" on it, and I thought, duh, that ride's today! I rode in to downtown Kirkland, along with some slow pokes that were still on the course. I saw a huge knot of cyclists in the downtown park, and I figured that must be the start/finish line. I skipped that congested scene, and as I had originally planned, started up the Market Street hill. There continued to be Dan Henrys even though there was no one now riding along with me, and I realized this must be the start of the ride route. What happened was that I ended up doing almost all of the Seven Hills of Kirkland, about four hours after the last riders should have left the start line, and starting it in the middle. I've never done that ride before, although it has a good reputation. If I had been on top of things, I would have skipped the gardening in the morning and done the ride right for real. I guess this way I didn't support services for the homeless (it's a charity ride for transitional housing), but then again, I didn't draw on any ride services other than the Dan Henrys which you'll see on the pavement for the rest of the year. Oh, and a sign on one shoulderless road that warned cars to look out for bikes that had not yet been taken down, that otherwise wouldn't have been out there. And it was a most enjoyable ride. I skipped out on a loop that would have included Winery and Kingsgate Hill, so it was really the 5 Hills of Kirkland for me. But I also had the ride from the house to Kirkland, and back again, so I got a couple of hills of Redmond along the way. I was surprised, considering that I've done a lot of bicycling in the area, how much of the north end of the route was unfamiliar to me. I had never been on top of Norway Hill before, and was most impressed with the scenery and the views. In the past I was a little spooked by the 7 Hills moniker, but I was surprised at really how easy all the hills were. I remember even Juanita Hill being a bit of a slog in the past; this time, while I did put it in the granny a few times, it was mostly spin spin spin to the top, not a struggle at all. I would definitely make a point of doing this ride officially next year. It's a little early in the year to do the century version of it, but I'd do the classic 7 Hills again, maybe even do the metric century version. Anyway, the ride's website is http://www.7hillskirkland.com/, which includes maps and elevation profiles, if you wanted to take a gander. Warm Regards, Claire Petersky http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/ See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky PS, one day Earthlink will fix their &%$#@ newsserver, and then I won't be using Google Groups to read/post, argh, how do other people stand it? |
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#2
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7 Hills of Kirkland
Claire wrote:
And it was a most enjoyable ride. I skipped out on a loop that would have included Winery and Kingsgate Hill, so it was really the 5 Hills of Kirkland for me. But I also had the ride from the house to Kirkland, and back again, so I got a couple of hills of Redmond along the way. I was surprised, considering that I've done a lot of bicycling in the area, how much of the north end of the route was unfamiliar to me. I had never been on top of Norway Hill before, and was most impressed with the scenery and the views. In the past I was a little spooked by the 7 Hills moniker, but I was surprised at really how easy all the hills were. I remember even Juanita Hill being a bit of a slog in the past; this time, while I did put it in the granny a few times, it was mostly spin spin spin to the top, not a struggle at all. I would definitely make a point of doing this ride officially next year. It's a little early in the year to do the century version of it, but I'd do the classic 7 Hills again, maybe even do the metric century version. Glad you're in such good condition Claire. I was at the Great Western Bicycle Rally climbing Old Creek Rd at about the same time. One hill was enough thank you (if you don't count all of the rollers to Highway 41 and the climb up Highway 41 and the 5 good rollers on the way back Highway 46). |
#3
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7 Hills of Kirkland
"Tom" wrote in message
ups.com... Claire wrote: In the past I was a little spooked by the 7 Hills moniker, but I was surprised at really how easy all the hills were. Glad you're in such good condition Claire. I was at the Great Western Bicycle Rally climbing Old Creek Rd at about the same time. One hill was enough thank you (if you don't count all of the rollers to Highway 41 and the climb up Highway 41 and the 5 good rollers on the way back Highway 46). What were the grades like? I'm not in such great condition, and I'm notoriously slow up hills. But it seems like I can get up anything, given enough time. -- Warm Regards, Claire Petersky http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/ See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky |
#4
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7 Hills of Kirkland
Claire Petersky wrote:
What were the grades like? Old Creek Road is something like 6 miles long but only about 3 miles of it is steep and that part is steep - perhaps 9 percent over the most of it with some really steep spots for short distances here and there. I stopped a couple of times to let my heart rate come down but I probably didn't have to do that. The ride was about 60 miles overall and I still felt good at the end of it though part of that was knowing that I wouldn't be riding the next day. In fact I was feeling good enough that I raced a little with a couple of younger guys who had passed me on climbs earlier. Us older guys may not be as fast when everyone is fresh but we're faster after everyone is tired. I'm not in such great condition, and I'm notoriously slow up hills. But it seems like I can get up anything, given enough time. I always say that, but really steep stuff just gets to you. I'll be doing the Sierra Century metric this next weekend and I've my questions about which bike to take since I recall the climb after Volcano as a real bugger and some 6 miles long. Think I'll take the Fuji which is my second lightest bike and has a compact crank on it along with a 13-27. Last year I had a 24-34 but that was on my 35 lb touring bike and after riding 160 miles up there the preceeding two days. |
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