Rebecca's 'Turning Forty' Triathlon: Biking on Lopez Island

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Biking on Lopez Island

Today we took the ferry to Lopez Island around noon and biked to Kincaid's first grade teacher's cabin about 5 miles from the ferry landing. She invited us to visit before our ride, and we are so glad to have made it. We sat out on the porch while she served us lunch and we chatted about the kids and summer plans. It was really nice to have that time to get to know her more intimately and without kids needing her attention.

After lunch we headed out on a 20 mile loop from her place. My legs are tired from all the hilly biking we've been doing here, but the slow five mile run I did yesterday helped to stretch out some of my sore muscles (and I am still addicted to mineral salt baths...I take one or two a day when I work out this hard and I am convinced it helps me recover more quickly). Today's ride took us through more farm land, up into some forested hills, and along the waterside for a portion of the ride. These islands are fabulous for biking, and Lopez is by far the most serene of the islands thus far...very little traffic and new paved roads made this ride very enjoyable. We ended back at Annette's place, and hitched a ride back to the ferry, saving the rest of our energy for the Orcas climb back to our cottage.

We are falling in love with these islands all over again. We've been up here together a couple of times, and both of us dream of having a place up here some time. The combination of the open water, the opportunity for sailing, the peaceful lifestyle, the extra days of sunshine, the great biking and hiking, and the quiet evenings make it a dreamy place to get away.

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WHAT YOU WILL FIND ON THIS BLOG

This is a diary (complete with photos) of my experience training with Team in Training for the Pacific Grove Triathlon on Sept. 12, 2009. I am participating to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and to get my ass in shape! There is nothing that says turning forty shouldn't herald the best damn decade of your life.

I hope you will visit often. If you do, you might just catch a glimpse of my team running with pringles between our fingers, or on the pool deck doing plank in our speedos!

Although this triathlon is a personal fitness journey, it is more importantly an opportunity to give back to the community by raising money for an incredible organization, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). LLS is helping children, families, and individuals fight the battle against blood cancer; all of us at one time or another have known someone who has struggled against Leukemia, Lymphoma, or Myeloma. In my life, its been my grandmother Virginia, a little boy who goes to school with my kids, Zachary, a grandson of a co-worker, Ethan, a sister of a dear friend, Cindy, and the brother-in-law of a colleague, Tom. Now it is also our team's honored teammate, Dean who is in remission, but is struggling to surmount the side effects of his treatment. You can help out too. Please donate to my fundraising campaign by following this link: http://pages.teamintraining.org/or/pactri09/rramsay . All the money goes directly to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and then to children, adults and families who need all the support we can give them.

I am participating in memory of my grandmother, Virgina Wrigley, who died of Leukemia.

Tri.ath.lon

A triathlon is a multi-sport endurance event consisting of swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall course completion time, including timed "transitions" between the individual swim, bike, and run components.The demanding nature of the sport focuses primarily on persistent and often periodized training in each of the three disciplines, as well as combination workouts and general strength conditioning to ensure the highest levels of endurance, strength, and power possible come race day. Proficiency in swimming, cycling, and running alone is often not sufficient for success in triathlon.....truth be told, what is really needed is an almost unnatural capacity for denial and an unruly belief that anything is possible...(a good masseuse, buckets of himalayan bath salts, and an iron stomach capable of tolerating extremely high doses of Ibuprofen are the other critical prerequisites).