Tour de Cure
7 Hills of Kirkland
Flying Wheels
Chelan Century
Apple Century
Group Health Inland Empire Century

Try a route from an organized ride
I think most people know how to search for rides in your area with the usual suspects; Bikely.com, MapMyRide.com, Garmin.com. But those routes have the disadvantage that you have no idea who wrote them and they could send you to places no one should ever have to go on a bike (gravel streets, dead ends, busy highways with no shoulder). Organized events on the other hand have to spend a lot of time to make sure that their routes are fairly safe, and where they are on the sketchier side they usually let you know.

There are so many rides in the Seattle area in the summer time that it is hard to keep track of them all. Below I’ve listed just a few. Another great thing about organized events is that they usually make maps for the participants (the Cascade Bicycle Club does a particularly spectacular job of this). And typically these maps make it online, in easy to read map/cue sheet combos that you can print and take with you. Even if you can’t find previous years’ cue sheets or maps, there are usually instructions on the event websites themselves. Although these might not be in the perfect format to take with you on your bike, you can modify them with a little research. If other options don’t yield results try looking for routes that previous years’ participants have created on Bikely or Mapmyride. If you like a route you might even try the organized ride.*

The below rides range in difficulty and length, but most hover between 25 and 100 miles. With multiday and endurance rides use your imagination. Just because the course goes from Seattle to Spokane in one day (S2S) or all the way to San Diego (Fuller Center) over a month doesn’t mean you have to.

7 Hills of Kirkland
Ride4US
Seattle Century
RAPSody Ride
The Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure

Redmond Cycling Club Events
Tour des Engineers
RAMROD
S2S

Cascade Bicycle Club Events
Chilly Hilly
Flying Wheels
High Pass Challenge
Kitsap Color Classic
STP (Seattle to Portland)
RSVP (Ride Seattle to Vancouver and Party)
RAW (Ride Around Washington)

Also check out the very comprehensive “Cue Sheet/Maps Library” from the Seattle Bicycle Club

A note of caution about following cue sheets and maps: many times routes change from year to year, and sometimes this is because of major construction or other issues that make previous roads impassable. During the event the courses are also always well marked, so even poor instructions in the route guide can be easily understood by the riders on event day. Just make sure to avoid potential problems by checking with Google, Bing, or another online source.

Increase your range by using public transit
Instead of driving to the start of your ride (which means that you’re fairly limited to ending where you started) put your bike on a bus, train, or ferry and ride home (or to your car), thus lengthening the possible circumference of your route area. This makes long point to point rides feasible and increases the variety of routes that are possible. To find information on public transportation around Seattle you can refer to:

Sound Transit
King County Metro Transit
Community Transit
Washington State Ferries
Amtrak

You can also find Park & Ride lots and other information here:
King County Metro Park ‘n’ Ride

Join a group ride
This is the most obvious of these suggestions, but I include it because I find that many people still do not feel comfortable looking for group rides. It is true that there are some very fast cyclists out there, on both racing teams and recreational rides from bike shops. It is also true on the other hand that there are many more moderately paced riders looking to exercise with friends and have a good time. You can usually tell what kind of ride you are joining by looking at the organizers website or calling.

If titled “Rocket Ride” and you aren’t the racing type, you might want to look elsewhere. In general most groups are very welcoming, and if you try out a ride and find the pace either to fast or too slow try a different one next week. At a minimum you probably met some new people and found some new places to cycle that you may not have tried before.

*Disclaimer – BikePT is not affiliated with any organizations mentioned herein and takes no responsibility or credit for any of the messages, stated goals, or opinions expressed by said organizations.

May 14-18th of 2012 is the official bike to work week, with May 18th being the official bike to work day. The League of American Bicyclists has a great resource for more information available here.

The greater Seattle area has Cascade Bicycle Club to thank for our observance of National Bike Month. They host a Bike to Work Month Challenge, a kick off Breakfast/fundraiser and a Bike to Work Day Event. Check them out for more details.

BikePT and Corpore Sano Physical Therapy will be hosting a Bike to Work commute station along the Burke-Gilman trail, near Logboom Park in Kenmore, WA. It has become an annual event for us. Drop by and say “Hi”. We hope to have the usual treats!

Look out 1970’s! The lads from Vancouver BC’s Ryders Eyewear took the 2012 Greater Seattle Bicycle Expo by storm. Their 1970’s attire and sensibility won the judges hearts. They also sold some pretty cool eyewear to boot.

Lance Armstrong (www.LanceArmstrong.com and www.Livestrong.com) is the buzz in triathlon these days. His recent entries in Galveston (7th) and Panama (2nd) 70.3’s have caused both positive and negative press. Remember, this 40 year old is a former junior triathlon national champion. He has clear talent for triathlon when properly prepared. The buzz of Lance helped sell out Kona’s Hanu-Half Triathlon faster than ever. Congratulations to Lance and his Livestrong message. Love seeing you out there!

Chris Horner (Radioshack/Nissan – Bend, OR resident) has had an awesome Spring 2012 campaign. Chris is another 40 year old who has been climbing like a rock star in recent Spring stage races. Chris held the leaders jersey in the 2012 Tirreno-Adriatico from his climbing exploits, but lost it on the last day in a time trial. Chris finished second overall to Vincenzo Nibabli of the Liquigas/Cannondale team. He also finished 9th in Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco. He was very active on the big climbing days, climbing very well in the big stages. It will be interesting to see his role on the Radioshack/Nissan team at the 2012 Tour de France as his teammate this year is Andy Schleck. Andy has clear interest in a Tour de France championship. This will most likely be Horner’s last legitimate shot at TdF podium. Chris left last year’s TdF with a horrible concussion. Great to see Chris out there this year with such great form!

The extender base plate is reported to create 2mm additional forward positioning and 14mm additional rearward positioning than the standard base plate. The ability of the increase aft cleat placement availability eliminates the need for a bicyclist to “re-drill” their shoes in the event they need a more aft-ward placement of a cleat.

This solution works for Speedplay’s Light Action, X-series, and Zero pedals. The extender base plate is well-made, from CNC-machined aluminum.

Figure 1: Base plate and file

I have found this plate often times is a little snug or narrow and can strip or wear down the initial threads of a screw when attaching the base plate. The simple solution is to use a small, flat metal file (Figure 1) and lightly file the edges of the slot (Figure 2). Taking off no more than 1mm (suggested just a little less than 1mm/side) per side will maintain a secure and clean attachment of base plate to shoe. You are essentially cleaning up the machined edges of the screw slots.

Figure 2: Filing base plate

Removal of inappropriate amounts of material from the base plate can result in failure of the equipment. Use caution and good judgment. If you are unsure, have a qualified professional help you with this basic adjustment.

There are some simple signs to help identify a poor cleat position: consistent numbness of foot, big or small toes feeling over-pressured, always adjusting the heel or knee position to make the foot feel better in the shoe, and the shoe not feeling like the right size in spite of it feeling perfect off the bike.

Be aware that irregular saddle and handlebar positions can make a cleat position feel a little off as well.

Consult a BikePT certified professional bike fitter to assist you with your bicycle positioning.

Proper cleat positioning takes into account the primary concerns of fore/aft, medial/lateral, and rotational adjustments. Attention to these simple planes can create great fit-solutions for most people.

Effective ice massage can take 5-10 minutes, where as a traditional ice pack requires 15-20 minutes of continuous application. Ice massage is most appropriate for tissue areas that are roughly the size of your hand’s palm and smaller.

Pro-Tec Ice Up serves the bicyclist well. It is insulated, portable and easy to use. The insulated carrier allows the product to stay frozen for up to 12 hours. Ice Up is not supposed to leak, and the size easily fits in an athletic bag. This tool is great for remotely and immediately managing chronic injuries as well as addressing injuries as they happen.