Crusty Cassette

The finish line is 30 feet away. Riders come up behind me. I'm watching in my mirror. "Come on," I cry. "You can do it. I'm not holding you off."

Read the Full Story

Chris, who hasn't made a club ride appearance in some time, sends this along to rub it in that I didn't ride White Bird in the rain on Saturday.

Read the Full Story

Cliff was off riding the Apple Century in Wenatchee. So of course, I called for a century for Saturday. As I wrote my invitation rain fell with a promise of continuing chance of showers and thunder showers through the weekend.

Where would I go? Winchester, Pullman, stay in the valley? I left the route undetermined in the invitation. Dave Tibbals took me up on the offer saying he'd do hills too.

I studied the forecasts and decided the Prairie held the greatest promise of getting wet. Dave, pinch-hitting for Cliff on his funny looking bike, drove down to meet me at the boat launch only to turn around and ride back home up 195 and across the Chipman Trail.

In the valley, humidity made us feel warmer than the 60 degrees the thermometer read. At the top of the grade there was more wind and less humidity. Dave stopped to apply a generous coating of sunscrean to his right pedal. That put a stop to the creaking we had been treated to all the way up.

We stopped at Sage Bakery but rode through Pullman to Quiznos in Moscow where Dave's wife met us and brought Dave a jacket. I had put on my handlebar bag and was carrying not only a rain jacket but arm and leg warmers though I hadn't worn them even at the start. "You won't need that jacket," I told Dave.

"He won't need it now that he has it," his wife explained. Insurance! A few drops of rain did fall as we started down the grade into Kendrick but not enough to require the jackets. However, Dave's brakes heated up and began complaining. I tried to get him to try the sunscreen on his brakes, but he didn't take the hint.

We had that rare day on the Palouse--essentially windless. The tail wind I had looked for on the Latah Trail just wasn't there. Turning south we had a bit of headwind but nothing serious. In the valley, our luck held. The west wind was light and mostly not noticeable on the frontage roads. I felt it coming up Flelshman Way, though. And for the first time, the sun came out. A perfect cyling day!

Mileage: 110 Take that Cliff.