Brian's Cycling & Running Adventures + more

This weekend I will be doing my 7th Seattle To Portland (STP) ride. Like last year, I will doing the ride in two days with my uncle. I don't know if we'll do as well or a lot worse than we did last year as both of us have not ridden that much this year but having ridden last year we both know what we're in for.

Before I moved to Washington state in May 1999, I never ever thought I would live somewhere other than in Louisiana. After moving to Washington state, I never ever thought I would live anywhere else in the Pacific Northwest - but one thing you learn in life is "never say never". With that said, I am going to be moving to Portland, Oregon and life as I know it will change and there will be lots of "new stuff" to experience and learn and deal with.

On Sunday, June 29th, my parents and I participated in the 2008 LIVESTRONG Challenge in Portland, OR (starting and ending at NIKE World Headquarters in Beaverton, OR). For the 4th year in a row I rode the 40 mile route. Unlike in 2007 when it rained really hard the entire day, this year's ride took part in total sun and was quite warm (causing a very light sunburn possibly). Like the last three years, the food stops for the ride were great and signage for the route was well marked. I got back to NIKE with maybe 15 minutes before Lance Armstrong crossed the finish line.

 

Statistics:

 

Garmin Edge 205:
D: 38.77 mi
T: 2:26:57
Avg Spd: 15.8 mph
Max Spd: 28.1 mph
Calories: 1997
Total Ascent: 1340 ft
Total Descent: 1341 ft

 

Cateye Astrale:
D: 40.30 mi
T: 2:29:46
A: 16.1 mph
M: 29.1 mph

 

Polar S725 HRM:
Avg HR: 151 bpm
Max HR: 178 bpm
Energy: 1387 kcal
Time: 2:56:01

 

This weekend I'll be in the Portland, OR area for the 2008 LIVESTRONG Challenge starting and ending at the NIKE World Headquarters in Beaverton, OR. For the 4th year in a row I will be doing the 40 mile route. This route should be the same as the route last year.

Bike to Work Day 2008 is finally here and the weather today is nice and warm and there's no excuse not to be on a bike. This is good as it's been a while since I've ridden a bike outdoors and more or less already decided to throw in the towel on racing (anyone want to buy a Fuji Aloha TT bike that needs to be put back together or a Fuji Track Pro bike?). Sooner or later I'll be on a bike again but likely will go into the 2008 LIVESTRONG Challenge Portland and STP 2008 events with not that many miles in my legs. I should be ok being that I have done cycling in Washington state since 2000 but the more miles in the legs the easier the rides are.

 

On to today's ride...

 

I got up at 5:20am in order to get an early start and get to the REI Bike To Work Day stop on the Sammamish River Trail not too long after their "opening" time of 6am. I'm not sure what the reason was but I ended up leaving home with everything BUT my messenger bag - so when I realized this (about halfway down Totem Lake Blvd) I turned around and went home to get it. This didn't set me back too much but did add some more miles onto my ride. Since the turn off NE 124th St onto the Sammamish River Trail was blocked for workers, I turned on Willows Rd and went down to the next light before heading for the trail. Once at the trail, other riders indicated that the REI stop was back north on the trail towards NE 124th St (by the soccer fields and the concession stand). The REI stop had all the "regular" goodies as well as the 2008 Bike To Work Day t-shirt for sale. After picking up the stuff I wanted (t-shirt and free water bottle and snacks) I headed south again to Redmond and onto the Microsoft Xbox campus. This afternoon I'll see how the bike traffic is in "rush hour" traffic most likely.

 

Stats from my Cateye Astrale:

Distance: 10.70 miles

Time: 0:43:42 (43 minutes, 42 seconds)

Avg Speed: 14.7 mph

Max Speed: 31.8 mph

 

While people have mixed opinions about former pro cyclist Lance Armstrong, Lance has proven himself as a great person that cares about people suffering from cancer and goes out of his way at times to make those people know that he knows what they are going through. Here is an example of Lance doing just that: http://www.fatcyclist.com/2008/05/05/thanks-lance/. While I don't personally know Elden, the "Fat Cyclist", I do read his blog from time to time and enjoyed his posts to the Cycling distribution list at Microsoft.

 

It's actions like that that make me look up to Lance and do what I can to support the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF). This June I will be participating in the LIVESTRONG Challenge Portland and I'm trying to raise money for the LAF. If you are interested in donating, please go to this site: http://portland08.livestrong.org/bduhon.

 

Thanks for reading and LIVESTRONG!!!

Wow! I just noticed it's been 20 days since my last blog entry and it's been longer than that since I actually posted anything of much "substance". Things have been mainly "more of the same" - playing "Rainbow Six Vegas" on Xbox 360 / Xbox Live (I've almost reached the rank of "Elite" so I can move on to "Rainbow Six Vegas 2"), chatting with friends on IM, working on a website for a friend, and spending time in Portland.

 

This past weekend in Portland I ended up at the Hillary Clinton rally and, after standing around for hours, got to listen to former President Bill Clinton speak while on the campaign trail for his wife.

 

Here are some music videos that I tracked down on YouTube based on songs I've either listened to in the past or may have listened to recently while driving.