Grumpy's Bicycle Training Routine

No, Grumpy is not being taught how to ride a bicycle! He learned that trick in about 1935 when he still lived on a farm about 15 miles South of Dupree SD. And you never forget how to ride a bike!

No, instead, the number two son is pressing Grumpy to "get in shape" for a challenge on the abandoned Snoqualmie railroad tunnel. The tunnel is about two miles long -- and NO stopping is allowed once inside ("ghost trains" keep coming through?!). It is anticipated that as much as five miles of travel on the old abandoned rail bed will be required from the point where the bicycles are unloaded from the automobile, to the entrance to the tunnel. A possibility is to have a "picnic lunch" on the East side of the Pass once out of the tunnel. This could involve another 1 to 2 miles of trail. The total distance from the parking lot, through the tunnel and back may therefore be as much as 18 miles! All at an altitude of just under 3,000 feet above sea-level.

Because the entire trip is on an abandoned rail bed, the maximum slope is equal to or less than about 2%. But the trail is gravel, so even though the slope is slight, the effort to overcome the resistance of the bike tires running on gravel means that it will be no easy ride.

Number two son has taken Grumpy out on four "conditioning" rides so far. (I think he is "checking" me out to see if I am even a "possibility" to take part in this endeavor.) German stubbornness and treachery will try to overwhelm youth and skill to show him that I really want to go on this trip!

The first ride was from Grumpy's house to the swimming pool (to watch the older Mermaid in her swimming lessons). This was a total distance of somewhat over six miles, with the last mile or so up 300 feet to the top of the hill where Grumpy's Castle is. Grumpy "walked" his bike up the three or so different block-long stretches where the slope was greater than about 10%.

The next ride was an almost leisurely ride of 10-plus miles along the Cedar River trail. This, of course, is along the same abandoned rail bed as will be the ride through the tunnel. But this section of the trail deviates in several places from the original rail bed, going up and down substantially. These "ups and downs" are the true tests of whether these old muscles and joints can ever achieve something reminiscent of their former glory.

The third ride was from the Fort Dent parking lot down the Green River (Christensen) Trail to the warehouse area in North Kent, then across to the Interurban Trail and return to Fort Dent. The total distance was about 12 miles. Hey! Grumpy was starting to feel like maybe he will survive!!

The fourth ride was just yesterday. The rain had let up and the sky looked promising for continuing "dry". We motored out to an entrance to the Soos Creek Trail. We pedalled along this very scenic and moderately-hilly trail until it emerged from the creek valley at a point along the northeast edge of Lake Meridian. We returned on the same route we had taken going out. On the return trip, the hills seemed steeper going up than they had been going the other way when they were down. Grumpy amazed himself by pedaling all the way up each hill going and coming! (It helped that he finally "remembered" how to shift his 18-speed mountain bike all the way down to the lowest gear!) I should also mention that it started raining in earnest as we headed back down the return trail. By the time we arrived back at the car, Grumpy was soaked to the skin; fortunately, being out of shape, the calories he had to burn to just keep up a decent pace also kept him toasty warm at least until he got in the car, where the heater did the job.

This training routine has its downside: Today, after Grumpy had put in a fairly grueling day tidying up the area for the Heat Pump installation, the Grand Mother implored him to "ride your bike up to the Post Office to mail some letters!" Now, the Post Office is only a little over a mile but it is (mostly) uphill from the Castle. Grumpy's leg muscles shouted, "NO!! Not today; not right away, anyway!" Then German stubbornness kicked in and Grumpy hopped on his bike and rode uphill, upwind to the P.O., mailed the letters and rode back. And it all took less than about 10 minutes!! AND: one particularly steep section on the way to the P.O. usually required Grumpy to "walk" his bike up the half-block or so; today he was able to ride it all the way -- courtesy of that 18th bottom gear, that is!