Seattle International Randonneurs Spring Populaire Bike Ride


Yesterday I participated in an annual “rite of spring” bike ride. My husband invited me to be his guest writer on his blog if I would be so kind to write my impressions of the bike ride. So I did, and I hope you don’t mind going over there to his blog to see all the great photos we took and read my impression of what it was like to do that kind of ride. My husband keeps a blog where he can philosophize from time to time when the feeling captures him and also of course record impressions of his many bike rides.

I tried to paint this view of my ride. It was cold, the sky was filled with clouds, but the sun came out from time to time blinding us in the reflections from the wet pavement. The forested areas we passed looked dark as the pavement dazzled us with sunshine. This painting shows one of the big tough hills we had to climb up. I hope you enjoy the story!

this painting is 9″ x12″ and is available for sale to a good home.


6 responses to “Seattle International Randonneurs Spring Populaire Bike Ride”

  1. oooh a tandom what fun, although I think I’d just put my feet up and look at the scenery as it went past. Orange polka dot socks – I don’t see those in the painting.

    Love the painting, it looks really cold and atmospheric.

    Btw will always stop by to visit you Mimi ๐Ÿ˜€

  2. I have the best tandem stoker in the whole world. Bright, interesting, funny, cute, friendly, strong, talented and above all WILLING!!! I love it when we get to ride our bikes together, and even more so on the tandem because we can actually hear each other and be in close proximity all day without either me feeling like I’ve got to slow down or Mimi feeling like she’s got to speed up. Tandems are a fantastic “equalizer” and while maybe a bit slow on the climbs, always a real hoot on the descents and with a little bit of flat ground and no strong headwinds, everybody will fall in line behind us as we rocket down the road.

    This is a really nice “memory painting” Mimi. With the sun out and the pavement still wet, it was brighter than everything else and after all the work you did, you finally managed to capture that. It almost looks like snow, but I guess with watercolor just no way to capture the silvery glare coming off the asphalt.

    Thanks, too, for writing such a nice article. Heck, I’ve got a stoker that will do everything……all I have to do is steer, shift gears and apply brakes at the right time – well, and not let the bike fall over.

  3. Grin. I used to ride and run, biathlons. Now I just ride with the granddaughter around our local neighborhoods. Excellent write up of your ride. Love the tandem and that shot of the eagle toward the end of your photos. Magnificent!
    Your painting captures the essence of the weather for your ride and good job on an ambitious subject matter! I want to be the one that is closest to the top in this image! ๐Ÿ™‚

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