Chilly Hilly

I've been aware of the Chilly Hilly, a 33 mile bike ride on Bainbridge Island for many years. "Chilly" (it's in February each year) and "hilly" (2,675 feet of elevation gain) didn't sound very appealing, especially when I could enjoy a balmy indoor masters swim workout on a winter Sunday morning, so I never did it before. But this year is different. I've been no stranger to riding in cold and/or wet weather this winter and my rides seem to - sometimes incidentally, often intentionally - include hills. The weather was nice and I had some friends doing it, so this seemed the year for me to ride it.

What a treat to ride rural roads, enjoy views across Puget Sound and breathe fresh air! Too often in Seattle, it's the stink of cars and the ugly, dangerous shoulders of city roads that are part of my rides. On Bainbridge Island, roads were fairly crowded with riders, but it was only a challenge on some of the steep uphills when some riders started to wobble, weave or finally walk their bikes without moving to the far right of the road.

A few of my biking friends and I await an a.m. ferry to Bainbridge. Several ferry loads take riders from Seattle throughout the morning. Around 5000 people do this ride making for some interesting knots of riders from time to time on the road.

I got some extra miles in by riding from my home plus a few out-and-backs during the ride. I'd pull ahead then re-join a friend riding a heavy tandem (with nothing but a useless bunny riding on the back and an turkey on his head - go figure). I totalled maybe 45 miles that day and felt good!

The bunny (with her lazy butt still on the tandem's back seat), the turkey on Saul's head (it didn't even flap to help out), Franklin and me.

I am probably spoiled now - future Chilly Hilly's will be compared to this bright, sunny, mild day of great riding.