Ride Around Clark County (5/3/14)

Because I haven't been running much, I've been trying to bicycle more. I've also looked at some summer events to fulfill my race craving.

I've ridden the Bridge Pedal about a thousand times, and I've done Sunday Parkways a bunch. But I've never done a real, group bike club event before. I decided Saturday was as good a time as any!

Crappy mountain weather cancelled Brad's North Sister climb, so he agreed to join me for the Ride Around Clark County, sponsored by the Vancouver Bicycle Club.

Bike tours are a bit different from running races. Instead of an official start time, there's a several-hour window to hit the road. We arrived about 8 a.m. at Clark College, registered, grabbed a snack and a map and headed out. 

The plan was to do the 18-mile route, but we were feeling great at the turnaround point and decided to bump up to the 34-miler. That meant some big hills, but it also meant we got to hit this amazing rest stop at Lacamas Lake:

There was SO much yummy food. My favorite? Tiny bean and cheese burritos! Now that is something you definitely don't eat while running!!!

We learned a lot about bike events and had a great time! And I'm so glad we decided to push ourselves and do the longer ride.

While the Parkways and Bridge Pedal are more about celebrating Portland's weirdness, this was more serious. No frankenbikes. No boomboxes. No dogs in trailers. I felt a little out of place with my crazy bike. In fact, when we approached stop lights, everyone turned at the sound of my spokies clicking at low speed.

BUT... every time we hit a hill, my low-geared mountain bike killed it, leaving all the road bikes in the dust! Mountain bike for the win!!

We were very impressed by the whole event! Hopefully we'll do it again next year - maybe the 66-miler next time :)