Yeah, so this is starting to become a food blog now… Sorry for the crap quality pictures. The iPhone works fine outside and chokes quite a bit indoors (without flash). Still, you get the idea.

Last Saturday I took the fixed gear out on SIR’s Winter Training Series around the Dash Point area. I wasn’t the only one dumb enough to ride it single, but I was the only one dumb enough to ride it fixed. I did better than I thought I might. Still, I had to walk a couple of times up some hills that were too steep.

I was pretty convinced that I need a much smaller gear ratio up until this last weekend. I still think I need to step it down, but I don’t think it needs to be that much. I am rather liking the ability to ride down hills without having to blow out my knees or ride my breaks all the way down. If I dropped down a couple of gear inches, I think I could get up just about anything and still be able to spin it out on the descents. At this point though, it might take too much money to fix that situation. That still isn’t growing on the trees around here.

Our friend Norman was in D.C. for the last week or so for the inauguration. We don’t tend to spend very long at a time without him, so he has been missed. There were a few positives to spring up from the absensce though, namely his mixer and Le Creuset doufeu.

I’ve been itching to cook with it myself for awhile now, but I was slacking on finding a dish that really called for it. To be honest, you can cook whatever you want in it, but it supposedly really shines at slow cooking foods (especially meats) straight off the stove top. You can place water and/or ice in the tray that is molded in to the lid. It helps the dish retain moisture and tons of flavor.

I made a “Zazzy” Jambalaya last night that was freaking fantastic. Note: the extra zazz comes from the heart.

Jane and I have been fighting some sort of throat based cold all week. It started Saturday and hasn’t really let up since. We are both feeling a touch better today, but it is still there. I lost my voice for about a day and sounded like a 13 year old when I attempted to say anything before clearing my throat. Nobody (aside from Jane) gets tongue kisses from me until I drop this nonsense. That is just the way it has to be.

As soon as Norman gets back, we are going to start “training” on some Expert level Rock Band. One of the local dive bars around here has dedicated Rock Band nights, and we plan on destroying the competition. We aren’t expert on all songs (or even most of them), but they ones we know… we can rule. The regulars at Goldie’s on Airport Way had better watch their backs.

I saw this in the bathroom at the Redwood (a bar) last night. It made me happy.

It was time for a change around these parts, so I put together a new design.

I’ve been wanting to use a little wider format for awhile now. (Warning: Nerd speak ahead) I’ve always built sites to be very accessible to the blind, disabled, and technology phobic. This usually means that you code to the lowest resolution that a user might have on their monitors. This has always been 800 x 600 in the past.

I was checking out some statistics on my general user base and noticed that less than 1% are using that resolution to visit my site. I figured it was safe enough to branch out a bit and use a little more screen real estate. If I ran a site catered to the elderly, I would consider otherwise, but I’m stuck with all of your guys and girls. Granted, the randonneuring community could be mistaken for AARP on wheels if you catch them on the right day. Still, they pretty consistently beat me up hills, so they are going to have to suffer with a new layout.

Let me know what you think.

“I just checked out our route for sat… better pack your climbing legs.” Chris noticed the same thing I did.

“Seriously. The elevation chart looks like a bear trap.”

Saturday was nothing short of epic in that “thank god it’s over” and “I can’t believe we finished” sense of the word. 6 of us headed out on a beautiful route with a less than beautiful day starting at the ferry in Seattle.

It was Jack Brace’s potential final SIR ride for awhile, and he was amongst friends so we all decided to stick together and enjoy the experience. Our original route was in question because of all of the recent flooding and road washouts, so we stuck to the safer bet of the islands and peninsulas west of Seattle.

The first half of the day was full of high spirits and quick riding. It took me a while to get into the swing of things though. There were no real controls for the first 65 miles, so we all attempted to self regulate our daily intake and keep hydrated. I don’t really believe that any of us did an amazing job at the time. I know that I needed more water and food than I personally took in. I had a wonderful little chain rub all day that I could never quite fix too.

We crossed the Hood Canal Bridge for the first time this ride about 20 miles in. It is always a deadly bridge to cover on the bike, but there aren’t any real choices if you are headed across the canal. One of our crew picked up a wire in between his tire and fender that caused everyone to panic a bit before realizing it wasn’t a big deal. None of us wanted to get caught on the bridge. Still, we had to stop, so we took some photo ops. The area around the bridge really is fantastic to look at.

About 40 miles in, we took a road out to the stunningly beautiful Fort Flagler State Park. There were bald eagles swooping over the water giving us a show as we crossed a picturesque bridge that lead to the island it was on. At the end of the road, we were forced to climb over construction barricades to reach the informational control on our sheets.

The wind was at our backs again headed towards Port Townsend. A fantastic bike trail brought us in the final 5 miles or so. It swept around the top of the peninsula and hugged the water front.

We made great time rolling in to the control at the half way point. It was decided early on that we would have a site down lunch, and our quick pace only encouraged that. We were wonderfully loud and obnoxious (thanks Andy) as we had amazingly delicious sandwiches (and not as delicious soup). It really was a great group of people to be riding with.

I feel like a broken record on these posts though. It usually goes a little south on the last half. Sorry… you’re just going to have to read it again. We left the cafe with full stomachs and probably cold muscles, but we got back up to pace without too much work.

What followed was a series of cryptic info controls every 5 to 10 miles. All 6 of us put our heads together to equal at least one functional, sober human being, so we were able to answer the questions asked. Jack ran a flat at the very first info control so we all danced around trying to keep warm. Either the day was getting cooler, or the elevation was slightly higher. It felt pretty chilly.

We continued to regroup throughout this section as some people would feel strong enough to take the endless ups and downs and others sat off the back trying to keep up. We all seemed to trade these roles though. Nobody was really well prepared for how the cold was going to affect how we felt at any given moment.

There was a monster hill climb (and I mean MONSTER) up towards Gibbs Lake Park at our last info control. Jack ran a second flat at the top almost right near the control question. It wasn’t just a flat though. It ended up being a pretty crazy tear in his tire sidewall from his brake rubbing. Needless to say, it was multiple problems that needed to be diagnosed at what was one of the higher elevations of the day. The trees covered whatever sun we might have had and we were rapidly chilling down.

We had some nice downhills from there, but the sun was rapidly setting and it started to rain a little more steadily than it had the rest of the day.

I got my first leg cramp on a pretty easy hill on the way out towards the Hood Canal bridge on our return. It was a sharp pain that stopped me in my tracks. I’m pretty sure I almost caused a pile up behind me. I had to get off my bike and stretch it out. Everyone was nice enough to hang back with me as I worked through it. Once I start with the cramps, it is tough for me to really get back up to speed. Strain on the muscle makes it threaten to tense back up. I have to take it slower and make sure that I’m not trying to mash up any hills. It is extra frustrating when you have people that are waiting on you to work through it. Still, we were all in this together. We weren’t going to set any records to be sure.

Highway 104 had a long and slow descent towards Hood Canal that is best described as white knuckle. Rumble strips kept us right of traffic as we tried to figure out what the hell might be ahead of us. It was dark and rainy and every drop of water on my glasses picked up light from the loads of oncoming traffic. If there was a deer in my path, I’m not sure I would have seen it.

The Hood Canal bridge is always dangerous. It was positively life threatening Saturday night. The rain was dumping down, the traffic was tight, and the cross winds hit us hard. The bridge gives you a little narrow metal plate walkway to ride on. To the left of that (aside from the cars whizzing by) is the “cheese grater” road. This time of metal grating is used on quite a few bridges in the area, and I’ve always had a fear of taking a spill on it. I’m pretty sure it would tear my face off. I leaned to the right to keep the wind from knocking me over. We were all counting our blessings a bit until the end.

We stopped at the end and celebrated being alive and noted how ridiculous and wonderful it all was. I was feeling a mix of pain and joy. It was fantastic.

Our last control was Poulsbo. I can sum that beacon of light up with one word. Donuts.

They might have been totally run of the mill, or they may have been gourmet. I’m not sure and I didn’t care. The donuts were inhaled and loved by all.

We all got a second wind on the final sprint to the finish. We missed the next ferry anyways, but it gave us a chance to get some pizza and a beer. It was a brutal and beautiful day on a bike.

A long time in the making, we finally went live on the refresh of Sammamish Valley Cycle’s website. We are still working on getting everything together for a more cohesive user experience, but we all wanted to get the new look and feel up. Everyone seemed pretty tired with the old look.
I spent a few days laying out some tutorials on how to easily update the website. With any luck, Mark and Chris can con just about anyone in to working on it.

Christmas has come and gone and I’m still no closer to finishing the painting I’ve been working on for Jane. I need to kick myself into gear on it because it has sat in an almost finished state for over a week now. I’ll get some pictures up whenever that actually happens.

I blame the cooking bug that has caught me. There are definitely worse affilitions to have of course. I’ve been scouring online resources for things that make my stomach rumble. There have been some definite winners:

• Lamb Shanks (previously posted)
• Oyster and Clam Chowder (I love soup)
• Stuffed Pork Chops with Apples and Calvados (just thinking about it gives me goosebumps)

On tonight’s menu?
Homemade pizza dough – topped with roasted vegetables.

I botched my dough making plans last night when I realized that I was out of flour (damn you powdered sugar…) after I had already started mixing the yeast. Jane brought some home, but by then it would have been finished far too late. I drank the rest of the beer that the recipe called for anyways.