Junuary

I would never have gotten out of the car if it weren’t for our upcoming trip to French Alps (FA) and, more immediately, the need for another 2,800 feet of climbing. Given the rain I don’t think FA would have been enough by itself. The trip is still too far off to trigger a sense impending doom. I can still be lax in my training and pretend it ain’t gonna happen. But it was June 30^th, the last day of the month and the last day to reach my goal of 100,000 feet of climbing by mid-year. So I sat in the car for 20 minutes and watched the rain and watched the occasional cyclist go by, searching their faces for some sign that it really wasn’t too bad out there. I phoned Weather Central (aka Chris) to have him check the online weather radar so he could tell me which way the rain was heading and how long it might take to blow through, but our normally reliable radar was down for maintenance. On the plus side, the temperature was around 70 degrees. On the other hand, when you ride a bike in the rain you get a whole lot wetter than when you are just walking in the rain. So I was going to get really wet, but I probably wouldn’t go hypothermic. When the rain let up just enough that I felt I was going to be a real weeny if I didn’t get out of the car I put my stuff on and headed off. Such is the power of “the goal.” It makes you do things you’d never normally do. It rained steadily the first few miles and I got pretty wet. Then I turned a corner and conditions changed completely. Still overcast, but not a drop of water anywhere. Not on the road, not in the sky. This is the beauty of the West Hills. Bad weather can be very localized. Many days that look awful can be decent riding depending on where you are. Anyway, I lucked out, and was dry most of my ride. I went through another soaker about 15 miles in, but rode out of it quickly and my cycling clothes dried nicely. I got my climbing in that day, eeking past the 100,000 foot mark by a few hundred feet. Boo-yah!

 Birthday? No. Anniversary? No. 100,000 feet of climbing in 6 months.
(Notice I am still wearing a fleece coat inside the house on June 30th)

And with that, our year-to-date stats through June:

But Who's Counting, We're Just In It for the Scenery

ELLEN YEAR-TO-DATE, ENDING JUNE 2012

YEAR-TO-DATE
Distance	1,106 mi
Time	94 hours
Elev Gain	100,887 ft
Rides	44

CHRIS YEAR-TO-DATE, ENDING JUNE 2012

YEAR-TO-DATE
Distance	2,791 mi
Time	205 hours
Elev Gain	307,264 ft
Rides	88

Portland natives often refer to June as Junuary (June + January… get it?) which makes Chris and I crazy. The neighbors say it. The coworkers say it. The idiot TV anchors say it. Portlanders also like to use the phrase a lot, That’s why it’s so green here, which also sends us into a frenzy. June 2012 has officially gone into the books as the second rainiest June on record. I knew this June sucked, but wasn’t sure how much. It came in behind June 2010, the wettest June on record, which also sucked. I don’t know where June 2011 falls in the scheme of wet Junes, but that June sucked too. Three bad Junes in a row. I don’t remember Junes prior to 2010. I think the trauma of the last three Junes wiped out my memory bank. I wonder if it’s possible to get social security disability for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder caused by rain.

In June, the only clue that it's summer is that flowers are blooming.

Needless to say, my plans to ride the Tour de Blast Century on June 23 and the Mt. Adams Century on June 30th were both rained out. A ride report from someone who did venture out for the Blast ride described it this way: "Light drizzle and about 48 degrees starting conditions...The rain is starting to increase... ice pellets start mixing with the steady rain… It's a solid rain/ice mix... temp reading: 37 degrees. ....ride monitors invoke "course emergency plan", which is a weather contingency plan. Essentially, all available vehicles were sent up the course to start pulling riders off the mountain who wanted transport back to base."  Yeah. That sounds like fun.

There is one more proverb Portlanders like to spout: Summer doesn't start until after the 4th of July. And, so, right on cue, I bring you summer in the Northwest:

July 4, 2012
Mt. Saint Helens
Viewpoint on the ride to Johnston Ridge Visitor Center

  

Mt. Saint Helens

Lots of climbing behind us, lots of climbing in front of us. 

We made it. Johnston Ridge Visitor Center. Mt. Saint Helens 5 miles distant. 

Summer mob, Johnston Ridge

 
Mt. Saint Helen stats:
Ellen: 51 miles, 5,672 feet of climbing
Chris. 55 miles, 6,260 feet of climbing

Because summer's here, and that's how we roll!