Views from Whidbey Island: Olympic Mts from Robinson Beach

The Olympic Mountains from Robinson Beach. 

This one of my favorite scenic vantage points on South Whidbey. The Olympic Mountains with the first dusting of snow on them is a beautiful site from Robinson's beach. Frank Robinson donated this beach for the enjoyment of the residents and visitors of Whidbey Island. 

Frank's Biography  can be found here: Frank Robinson Wikipedia

I found and article about the beach here: Robinson Beach  Whidbey Life Magazine.

Another article about the beach can be found here: A Beach to Myself  Whidbey and Camano Islands


This is an excellent place to park your car and begin your ride from here.

South Whidbey Climbs: Up and Down Bob Galbreath Hill

Bob Galbreath Road goes from state route 525 in Clinton to the Wilkinson Road which goes into Langley. "The back way to Langley". As you come up the hill from the ferry it is on the right just before for the Chevron station and Dairy Queen. If you chose this route into Langley be prepared for a changing hill climb. The videos will show you the steepness and length of the climb both ways, into Langley and into Clinton.

No more gout please.

I'm just off the rollers. I'm happy with today's workout. My right knee, where the gout attacked me, is coming along nicely. I've been trying to incorporate some stretching during the day as well as before and after the workout. I hoping this will not only improve my performance, stretching will deter gout by releasing the lactate acid from my muscles. I read a very scientific article, a lot of it over my head, about gout. The way I understood it, the body prioritizes the synthesis of substances such as lactate acid and uric acid. The body will synthesize lactate acid first and when there is an abundance of lactate acid it will put the synthesis of uric acid on the back burner. I hoping by eliminating lactate acid it will keep the synthesis of uric acid normal. I missed a lot of good riding weather the later part of September and the first part of October due to gout. I'm hoping not to let this happen again.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gout

I'm still here.

Hi riders of Whidbey. I'm still here. I haven't been doing much riding lately. I had a bout with gout and it put me out. I'm feeling better now and have been working out on the rollers the last couple of weeks. I figure my outdoor season of 2017 is all but over. Looking for to working out indoors.

Smoke Week

This week the air was filled with the smoke of over a million acres of Canadian forest, burning out of control. Although the air was filled with lung charing, eye burning smoke I still managed to put in nearly 100 miles.

Here are the rides:


>

Three Bikes on Top

I'm so excited and happy about my bike rack.

Freeland Rides

Four exceptional rides this week. All of them included Freeland and all of them scenic.

I have always enjoyed riding Smuggler's Cove Road. Honey Moon Bay Road is very challenging. I proclaim that the Resort Road Climb is the toughest climb on the south end and maybe the whole island.



The two parks are the Freeland Park at the end of Holmes Harbor and the Double Bluff Park at the end of Double Buff Road.



The run into Freeland on East Harbor Road is one of my favorite stretches of road.

Hazards: Bob Galbreath Road

I want to point out road hazards on Whidbey Island. This hazard is located at the intersection of Bob Galbreath and Zimmerman Road. It is a very rough patch of tarmac. Its bone jarring for both motorist and cyclist alike. 

It is in the low section between two hills and can be approached form either side with speed. Use caution when negotiating this section of Bob Galbreath Road. 

This patch of irregular road way has existed for quite awhile. I'm not sure why y the Island County Road Department has not smoothed it out. It must not be a priority to have safe road ways.

Road Worthy

The 2017 Outdoor season did not start off so well. I was sick for three weeks in March and the weather this spring has made getting out on the bike difficult. I'm not a fan of riding in the rain. Finally, mid May I'm starting to feel road worthy. I can train on my rollers all winter long and start the outdoor season in good shape and not be road worthy. You can't simulate all the components that make up road riding on your indoor trainer. For example, the jarring, bumping and bouncing the road surface dishes out. We have some rough roads on Whidbey. The wind is another element to contend with when out on the road. I'd rather climb than fight the wind. A hill climb will end, the wind will blow your whole ride.
More importantly you have to deal with traffic. It can get pretty stressful when your on a steep narrow hill climb and an impatient motorist wants to get around you. It takes me several rides before my mind and body are tuned for road riding. Now after a dozen or so rides I'm "Road Worthy"

Winter Rides: West Beach

A few weeks ago I was admiring how beautiful the day was, cold but beautiful. I was thinking of where I would ride my bike on such a nice winter day.

I suggest riding in the Ebby's Prairie area. Its wide open with spectacular views of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains on one side

 and Mt. Baker and the Cascade Mountains on the other.

 There is plenty of sunshine and the roads dry out fast. The only draw back is the wind. It can blow pretty hard and not just in the winter, but all year along.


This is along the beach near the ferry.

This is one of my favorite Strava segments in the area.

Sure there is some hill climbing, thats what we love about riding on Whidbey right?

Indoor Season Update

What a winter we are having? Very cold and lots of snow in the mountains, and some snow here on Whidbey. There have been some beautiful days none the less. Cold but beautiful. I hope folks who don't mind riding in the cold went for a ride, cause it don't get much prettier.

 I still riding indoors on the rollers. I'm doing quite well at the moment. I've gone full circle however. When I started working out indoors back in November I was excited to get back on the rollers. I look forward it. It was a bit of a relief not to have to deal with the traffic and road hazards. That ambiance  lasted until the holidays. During the holidays things get stressful with all the extra activities. It was hard to stay focus. At that time I made seven or eight play lists and rolled listening to music. That worked nicely. If I wasn't excited to ride I was at least excited to listen to music. That lasted about a month. I got to where I couldn't stand listening to the same music over and over again. Something in my head kicked in and now, coming full circle, I'm back to being excited about working out on the rollers once more. I no longer need music to distract me. I'm into it. Concentrating on what I'm trying to accomplish with these indoor work outs. With and luck this new found motivation will last to day light saving time, the start of my outdoor season.

I don't have any photos for this post so here is some art work by a local artist in a local restaurant, Village Pizzeria in Langley.

Statistics 2016

Happy New Year!

Here is last year's numbers:

	245:02:08	2252.2	138732
Rides	132:42:08		99
Rollers	112:20:00		122
Totals	245:02:08		221
Days Off			145
<  or = to 20 miles	32
>  20 to 25 miles	34
> 25 to 30 miles	25
> 30 miles	8
	99

Two hundred forty five hours on the bike. One hundred twenty two sessions on the rollers totaling one hundred twelve hours of sweaty in door training.  Ninety nine rides on the road totaling 2252.2 miles in one hundred thirty two hours. A third of the rides where between 20 to 25 miles. Eight rides of 30 or more miles. I climbed 138,732 feet. I climbed Swede Hill 53 times, Brooke's Hill 13 times and Campbell Road 7 times.

I'm very satisfied with my bike riding performance in 2016. I was able to do a lot of riding without jeopardizing or conflicting with work or family time. I consider 2016 a successful year on the bike. 

I thank my wife Jodi for her indulgence and support of my sport/hobby.

I'm excited about 2017. I'm looking forward to and wishing everyone a safe and productive year on the bicycle.