Chilly Hilly

Did the Chilly Hilly ride around Bainbridge Island (35 miles) with Greg, Fil, Mark (who absolutely destroys hills), and 3 other dudes thru Fil. It was a nice ride... not too chilly or hilly really. It was a great way to see the Island - beautiful scenery. The thing about the ride that really impressed me, tho, was the number of cyclists. There were 4000+and I really felt the numbers when we were on the ferry. Instead of 100 cars lined up in the stalls, you'd see 1500 bikes. And the passenger area was an ocean of spandex and dayglow. I typically feel a little self conscious when I'm walking around in my bright skin tight cycling gear, but not this day. I imagined the feeling I was experiencing was similar to a gay person's first time at a gay bar or gay pride parade. The feeling of "hey, i'm not alone... here's 4000+ weirdos who are just like me!"