Seven Hills of Kirkland... Another Year

So, Memorial day found me sloggin' through a persistent, cool Seattle rain... for four hours. Up down, up down, slog, slog, slog some more. I did the Seven Hills of Kirkland. The ride is a charity ride for a fundraiser for KITH, a charity which assists individuals and families on the Eastside who are caught in a homelessness crisis. A great cause. Yet, there is no charity on the 'Seven Hills'. I did the metric century (remember the 'Think Metric' campaign of the 70s?). But the horizontal is not the issue, the vertical is what sticks in your craw! A total of 4600 feet of vert riding over an offical 93 km by computer. Hmmm... seems like the 'century' mileage was miscalculated by the ride organizers.

No worries. Again, the total distance was not the issue, but the total elevation gain was... shall we say 'one tough bugger'. But, I did it. And each year (I thing this is my 4th), I get stronger. And this season, I have been training quite strong and the rewards are paying off.

And if just stewing in your own physical self doubts for four hours is not enjoyable enough, the Seven Hills ride has a bagpiper on top Winery Hill (one tough mutha of a hill) to provide piping motivation to keep going.  This is always a treat.

I am about 5 weeks out from heading out on the Grand Tour. Things are picking up... seems almost here. Just need to push through the last few weeks of training and all will be good. :)