Training Day 1

So I have started planning the Iceland portion of my trip. I am really excited about it. However, it does look like I will be doing about 50 miles a day the first couple of days. So I will need to get in shape for it.

Today was my first real training day. I didn't end up putting the panniers on, and putting weight in them. I did get a very good ride in today. I also got out to explore bike trails that I haven't been on before. It actually makes me feel a bit lame for never getting out and doing this before. So here is the summary of the ride.

The ride: Issaquah, Preston, Snoqualmie, Fall City, Preston, Issaquah.
Distance: 37 miles
Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Description: I started at Lake Sammamish state park and took the bike lanes over to the East Lake Sammamish trail. This is an old railroad grade, and has a crushed rock surface. I went South for about half a mile and met up with the Issaquah-Preston trail. This trail starts as a paved surface from Front street along I-90 to the Highlands exit. After that it is another 2 miles of railroad grade. The trail then continues along High Point way, which has no shoulder almost no shoulder in the first half mile. Fortuneatly for me it doesn't seem to see too much traffic. Then I picked up the paved bike path (on the North side of the street) right outside of Preston. That leads right into the Preston-Snoqualmie trail. I flew down the mile or two of paved bike path. I then crossed the Preston-Fall City road to a path separated from the street by jersey barriers. Then up a hell of set of gravel switchbacks. I got up the first two turns okay, but then almost fell off and down into some blackberries. So I decided to walk the rest. At the top I was again riding on pavement. It was pretty flat and I assumed this was an old railroad grade. I made it to the end, which suprisingly is not Snoqualmie. The trail just ends in a set of chain link gates. There is a sort of view of the falls, but it was fairly well obscured by trees. I rode back the way I came and onto the Whitaker trail. This looked like a fun bit of single track, and is supposed to lead into the city of Snoqualmie. I only rode down it a mile or so to satisfy that it did go somewhere. I rode back to the Preston-Fall City road, and down into Fall City. I stopped there for a milkshake and to stretch. The milkshake was excellent, and it fit nicely in my areo bars. From there it was back. The slog up the Preston-Fall City road. Then back up the Preston-Snoqualmie trail, and along High Point way. My legs were getting pretty tired at this point. Once I was back on the gravel part of the Issaquah-Preston trail, it was all down hill. I just zipped along.

I did learn one lesson from this, I need to bring my camera next time. Descriptions are great, but a couple of pictures would really spice up the post. Plus I need to start adding weight, so a couple extra ounces of camera won't hurt a bit.

-Dravis