Counter Cog: The Chilly Hilly Rides Again (and the weather was . . . perfect)

The weather was best yet of the last 3 or 4 years for the Chilly Hilly. I was, as usual, a bit nervous. But, the calmness of the folks at the packet pick up/registration point helped me to relax a bit. My wife, Lisa, was still recovering from her sciatica at the hotel and basically bumming about not being able to ride the Hilly. So, I was completely solo. I didn't run into anyone at the start that I knew so went off alone, on my own. I figured I'd blow away any past averages but I don't think I did by much if at all. I'll have to research that.

I wore my spring gear and it was a tad chilly to start with so I was already looking forward to a couple of hills to warm me up. As some of you already know, that didn't take long. I ended up bumping into Bruce S. at the halfway point with his son-in-law Tim. Once I downed some fuel, I was off again and the weather began to shine. All systems were go, go, go. It was still a tad chilly so I sought another climb soon and wasn't disappointed. Here's time lapse movie by Garrett Wesley Gibbons: http://vimeo.com/groups/8432/videos/9816679

I didn't actually have breakfast but fueled up on bananas and energy bars and didn't bonk at the end. Lisa was waiting at the finish and we whisked away at from the finish line with our schwag and headed to a quick lunch at Tap Rock in Poulsbo. I wanted to get back in time for my indoor soccer game at 3pm and we barely made it in time.

I play goalie and wasn't quite in the game mode during the first half (which ended 1-6). The second half our gold team did their best and finally broke the Elliot code by scoring 6 goals to tie the game. We only allowed 1 goal in the second half. The last goal came from a last second penalty when Josh was hip checked into the drinking fountains. With no time left, Dean scored on the penalty kick.

Activity

Route:	--	Elev. Avg:	105 ft
Location:	Bainbridge Island, WA,	Elev. Gain:	-118 ft
Date:	02/28/10	Up/Downhill:	[+3152/-3270]
Time:	10:41 AM	Difficulty:	4.2 / 5.0

Weather:	Mostly Cloudy
	50 F temp; 78% humidity
	50 F heat index; winds SSE 5 mph