Life before running

Before running, there was biking.  This started long ago when my brother inspired my husband to get rolling.  That he did and for a few years, he and his friend Dave, ruled the STP in that they were the lone Yamhill County representatives (as far as we knew) and put everyone in awe.  The STP is the annual Seattle to Portland bike ride event that most do in two days, but some, including Husband and friends, do it in one day.  200 miles.  They start before daylight and pedal like mad so as to finish before dark.  As with too many hair-brained ideas, the plan was to do it once.  That was the first of ELEVEN times.  I never rode it, but I was in many of the support vehicles over the years.  His biking group mushroomed and one year there were over 20 of our friends making that long one-day ride.

This photo was taken the year our guys were sponsored by Vitamin Water, which provided matching shirts.  The color was perfect.  You could spot them for miles.

You've got to love this photo.  Resting.  Trying to keep the lactic acid from pooling in the legs.

The group has evolved over the years, and Husband has since retired from the tough training that the STP demands, taking on a more sane leisurely approach to biking, with plans to divert his love for the sport in different direction.  Along the way, I acquired my first bike.  (Word from the wise: Save yourself some money and never buy a hybrid bike if you plan to ride with road-bikers.  You will most certainly, and sooner than you think, want to switch to a road bike.  Unless of course, you LIKE being in the rear, working your legs into jelly, trying to keep up.)  We evolved into a tandem, AKA a bicycle-built-for-two.  A tandem allows us to ride together, meaning I can always keep up with him!  Together and with Dear Friends, we have packed on a lot of miles.  We've biked in the San Juan Islands, Vancouver Island, Coeur d'Alene Idaho, the Oregon coast, and just about everywhere in Yamhill and adjoining counties.

This photo was taken atop ridiculously tall and steep Mt. Constitution (lovingly nicknamed "Constipation") on Orcas Island, WA.  Which we climbed.  On our bikes.  But oh, the view!  (When biking, I suffer from a frightening and debilitating condition called, "helmet hair", which is evident immediately upon removal of the helmet.  Therefore, it stays ON for most posed pictures.)

This was on a boat taking us from Victoria BC to the San Juans.  (See what I mean about the hair?)

Columbia Gorge

Newport Oregon.  (Little did I know then, that nearly three years later, I would run down this very road in a marathon.  THAT was totally off my radar screen!)

I love this shot.  Fellow tandem friends, Dave and Nancy.  He's pedaling hard, crouching to minimize wind resistance, and she's peeking over his head.

This is my view when on our tandem.

Here is one of the rare shots of us on the ol' tandem, disembarking from the Wheatland Ferry, just north of Salem.  (It must have been cold, judging by my multiple layers.)

Last year I splurged on my current bike and though I'll never be completely worthy of it, I still feel that same sense of awe every time I clip into its pedals.  I discovered I like it better than the back of the tandem, but at the same time, I also learned that biking had been EASIER (for me) with a stronger rider aboard.

Biking has been a great part of our lives.  Yesterday we rode in our third (and likely our last) Strawberry Century based in Lebanon Oregon.  The name must be from the season during which it always takes place.  With organized biking events, the word century means 100 miles.  (I know a guy who hadn't ridden much and didn't know this, when invited to do one.  He figured it out along the way and managed to finish the distance.  He eventually became an ironman, so don't feel too sorry for him.)  Having spent my winter/spring in marathon training and off a bike, I wasn't prepared to go the whole way, so we just did 77 miles, unlike previous years when we did it all.  We got to ride through this:

And see scenery like this:

Many of our biking friends are still hot into the STP and they train obsessively, so we can no longer keep up.  Nor do we really want to, as we cheer them on.  While riding yesterday through some of the most beautiful country that Oregon has to offer, I saw one lone woman running along the road.  My first thought was, "Fun!"  That thought never jumps into my head when I see a cyclist, so at heart, I am and hopefully always will be, a runner.

Post note:  There's a running debate (Ha!  No pun intended.) .... change that to friendly debate ... in our household.  Which is more difficult, a marathon or the STP?  What do YOU think?  (Your answer may depend on whom you like better ... him or yours truly.  Just keep in mind whose blog this is.)