Teresa Nelson: Chilly Hilly

Seattle had two sunny days Friday and Saturday and we were planning our first, YES, first outdoor ride of the 2009 year at an event called the Chilly Hilly (over 3,000 participants) on Sunday. The name says it all! Chilly- they serve Chili at miles 23 and the finish and Hilly it is 33 miles with a lot of climbing. This event is fun because it is the first ride of the year for many...unless you are "a hard core cyclist" and well, I have yet to fit that stereotype. This event is also a challenge because it brings out EVERY kind of cyclist (cyclist in jeans, shorts, tandems, mountain bikes, squeaky brakes, etc.) . You ride the ferry boat from Seattle to Bainbridge Island and it is a MASS of people. Three to four ferry loads full of cyclists.

Original plan was to do the 33 loop twice, a solid 66 miles. Until 4am when we awoke to the sounds of HEAVY rain drops outside, it does rain alot, but rarely are we woken up by the sound of rain pounding the cement. Initial response...NO riding, then after waking up we decided we could do one loop, no matter what!. Here is the before shot:

(Mark and I, hair straight, clean, and smiles)

Mid-ride...

(Still bundled, straight hair now curly, and half smiles!)

Post ride:

(Dirty and WET and smirks on the face)

Layers of dirt covered us, but it was well worth the ride. I got to bring the new road bike out and had a great time. The hills were exactly what I needed. Next weekend.....we will be outside again!!!

Other Chilly Hilly highlights:

Mark's cousins did the event and it was their longest ride ever! They drank water the whole way (I had over 400 calories!) and Eric (far right) had his pedal crank fall off around mile 25 so he somehow found the screw on the ground and put it back on, while continuing to stop every 5-10 minutes to tighten it! Imagine pedaling and all of a sudden just having a crank attached to your cleat!Way to get it done!