Ashley and I decided during the week to take part in the annual Chilly Hilly bike ride around Bainbridge Island this year. Last year saw over 6000 participants take part but a forecast of the coldest, wettest conditions in many years led to a lower turnout this year (~3500). The ride lived up to it’s name with many hills, strong winds, snow and rain to make for an epic ride.
We left the house at 8:30 am to catch the 9:35 ferry to the island. We’d planned out our layering strategy to stay warm the previous night and Ashley was well protected (though our protection of her extremities needed revision as the ride progressed .. more on that later).
Everyone was up to see us off though our farewell comittee quickly retreated back into the warmth of the house as we biked off.
A strong head wind was blowing in our face as we rode the 7 miles to the ferry and Ashley’s hands got pretty cold through her gloves so I gave her my wool ones as a second layer which did the trick for her but left me with chilly fingers later in the ride once it started snowing! I ended up taking her original pair later to give my fingers a bit of protection.
Once we got to the ferry we quickly registered and lined up for the 9:35 ferry.
Once we reached Bainbridge we rode off with our 1000 riding partners and started on the loop around the island. It was great for Ashley to see various other kids her age on tandems, tag alongs and even their own bikes. We saw one triple as well set up for two kids.
The ride was great with a nice tailwind initially and we powered up the hills (past all the people walking the steeper ones). A lot of friendly people cheered Ashley on as everyone was out for a fun day out. The conditions deteriorated a bit as we got to the first official rest stop at Mile 15 or so and it started to snow.
I drew on my Randonneuring experience and moved us out of the wind and snow into a heated toilet nearby for Ashley to warm up a bit with some hot chocolate 🙂
Then it was back out into the elements and onto the hot cider stop at Mile 20. Ashley’s feet were getting cold at this stage as they got wetter so we decided at the next stop to take the handy shortcut back to the finish and cut off about 10 miles. I used a couple sandwich bags over her socks to keep the wind chill down and that helped.
We got back to the finish and rushed down to catch the ferry which was just leaving. Then it was 7 miles back to the house and a nice hot bath to remove the chill. We had a great time! A fine introduction for Ashley to riding longer group rides in tough conditions.
All told we rode 35.5 miles (Ashley longest ride to date by about 30 miles…)
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