Amy et Ami: Food, Friends, Fun, and Biking Too!

This weekend was the SIR Fleche.

Fleche: A 24 hour team bike ride of at least 360K (223 miles) with no stops of more than 2 hours and where at least 25 K is ridden in the last 2 hours. It is held annually on or about Easter weekend.

That sounds interesting. I think I'd like to do that.

A few months ago Ward Beebe, Vincent Muoneke, and I were on a bike ride and Ward mentioned he'd like to do the Fleche this year. Vincent, who never passes up the chance to ride, jumped at the opening ..."Let's do it!" I chimed in ..."Count me in!" On a ferry ride to or from another Permanent, Mark Thomas mentions he's interested in doing the Fleche ...now we are at four riders ... and Mark says he knows a fifth ... and soon Amy Pieper is on the team.
Now where to go? We know we're going to end up at the Red Lion in Olympia, but where to start and go through? How far to go ... 360K is the minimum, we could go further. No, we'll go the minimum. Even if you ride further, you only get "credit" for going 360K. Still, 360K is a long ways to go. Ward wants to have dinner on the coast, I want to ride through the Capital Forest along D-line, site of last spring's 300K Brevet, and then Vincent has offered his cabin near Shelton as a stop. We soon have a start time and route mapped out and, after some tweaking to pass Ralph & Carol's review - we're set.

Or so I thought. Part of the route ... from around Elma to near Montesano went along the south bank of the Chehalis river. On the way to the Oregon 300K brevet last week (an awesome ride!), I decided to drive a section of the ride, as I hadn't ridden it before and one of the map sites showed it not going through. Darn good thing I checked. After three or four miles of gravel, the road heads away from the river and is closed off by a gate. At least we discovered it before the ride, not on the ride. Some more adjusting and we really do have a final ride.

No we don't says Mark. We use a short section of US-101 twice in the same direction. This is a "no-no" according to Mark. Mark finds a bike path that we can take through Cosmopolis instead, so now we are really, really set - promise! Here's the route:

Apparently we also need a team name. I polled the team for suggestions, then we voted. I'm not saying how anyone voted ... it was a secret ballot ... but it was unanimous for "Amy et Amis" ... okay, one vote was thrown out (Amy's) for hanging chad. Amy claims the vote was corrupt since no one admitted voting.

Our start was 3:00 PM on Friday from the Tumwater Chevron on Trosper Rd. This is about 4 miles from the finish, so we parked at the end and rode our bikes to the start ... a few bonus miles. Here Vincent, Mark, and Amy are getting ready. Ward was stuck in traffic and made it to the Chevron at about 3:15.

Here Mark, Ward, and Amy head up Bordeaux Road on our way into Capital Forest. Despite a bit of rain in the morning, the day was turning out pretty nice.

The toughest climb of the ride was up D-Line Road in the Capital Forest. Not a killer by any means, but noticeable. It starts around 250 feet and goes to about 825 feet with grades of up to 14%. Here Ward, Amy, Mark, and Vincent pose for a picture and catch their breath. It was nice to get the tough part out of the way early. Now for the downhill!

The downhill stretch is beautiful and goes for miles. They go by quickly.








Soon we are on US-12 on our way to Elma, then we endure a bunch of chip seal on the Monte-Elma Road. At mile 44 we are ready for a break and pull into the Montesano grocery store. Not a planned stop, but we're doing fine time-wise ... only a few minutes behind the rough timeline I had laid out. We're soon on our way again and make it through Cosmopolis. It is about to get dark, so we rig for night riding and then head for Westport.

Dinner time. The Half Moon Bay Cafe in Westport was our dinner stop. A far cry from normal rando meals at mini marts and other convenience type stores. No microwaved burritos here. Linen napkins and candles on the tables. Would they let us in? Not a problem. A real menu and good food! We have a great dinner ... lots of good food. I have prawn fettuccine and a bowl of chowder. Yum! Vincent asks our waitress, Lolly, to take our picture. So here we have Vincent, Ward, Mark, Lolly (back row), Geoff, and Amy.

The night is forecast to get cold ... mid 30's, so we put on more clothes and bundle up before we head out. As we get on our bikes and start out, Lolly runs out ... someone (Vincent) had left their brevet card inside. Oops! Thanks Lolly. It had been a great stop. We arrived a bit before I expected, but then we took longer ... about an hour and a half.

Fortunately the route out of Westport is flat (think pancake), so we start out very slow as we work on digesting dinner. Eventually we get back to a reasonable pace, but are able to enjoy a quiet ride (aside from the roar of the ocean) under the stars. Hardly any traffic ... it was great. Six or seven miles from Raymond we rode into pea soup ... it was foggy! Apparently we were still visible to the few cars on the road, as a policeman stopped by while we were stopped on the side of the road to tell us to be sure to not ride in the middle of the road as even though we could be seen, there wasn't much advance warning because of the fog.

We rolled into Raymond Chevron at about 1:30 AM ... still pretty much on our timeline. Since we were still pretty full ... well, at least not famished yet, we kept it a short stop. A bit of caffeine, signatures on the cards, and we hit the road.

The road from Raymond to Aberdeen may have been the toughest part of the ride. Hilly, foggy, and sleepy. It's hard to ride fast up the hills ... so we didn't. It's hard to ride fast down the hills when it is dark and foggy ... so we didn't. But we did make it to the Aberdeen Dennys a bit before 4:00 AM. It wasn't quite up to the standard that dinner set, but it was a pretty good breakfast. Then there was a little time to rest the eyes before we hit the road around 5:00 AM.

From there we headed to Montesano and then back on the Monte-Elma Road and that wonderful chip seal. A quick pit stop at the Brady Store and then we turned north to Matlock. Even though it was now daylight, it was the coldest part of the ride, as the fog was back. We warmed up at the Matlock store.

On our way from Matlock towards Shelton we ran into the Painted Fleche team ... stopped and compared notes. I went to take a picture and ended up with a bit of video ...



Then a great rest stop at Vincent's cabin on Lake Limerick. Vincent had all sorts of stuff to munch on and drink ... and we took the opportunity to rest for an hour. Shortly after 11:00 AM it was back to the bikes.





We didn't have far to go, maybe seven miles, to our next control ... the Shelton Denny's. It was a bust. We weren't really hungry and each ordered a little something, but didn't really like it or finish it. I had nachos, Vincent had apple pie a la mode, and Mark had a horrible concotion ... something like hush puppies ... pancake batter balls deep fried and then rolled in cinnamon sugar, with syrup, and wrapped in bacon. Never again!

Six miles to the twenty-two hour control. We make it there shortly before 1:00 PM. Ralph and Carol are there with goodies in their van (not that we needed anything to eat!). They signed our cards, took pictures, and then sent us off at 1:00 PM for the last 15 miles.





At 2:25 we pulled into the Red Lion. We made it! We had our cards signed, then had a drink in the bar. It was good to sit ... on something other than a bike seat. Vincent invited the Charly Miller Fleche team over to the cabin for a BBQ, so we headed back to the cabin to get ready. I had a new appreciation for rumble strips as I drove back ... it was only about a 25 minute drive, but after the first stretch I had a hard time staying awake and kept veering into the strips. When we got to the cabin, I showered and went to sleep for half an hour or so. I woke up as folks arrived. It was a grand time ... good food and lots of rando stories.

In the morning it was time for the banquet ... each team tells about their ride. Ralph and Carol had posted maps of each team's rides (there were ten teams) with details about each one. Ours was the shortest ride - there were several that were close - the longest was 507 K. Wow!

Fleche: A good time!

Honest, the crow took my card !

Having pre-ridden the Populaire a couple of weeks ago ... in fairly nice weather if I recall correctly (at least relatively), I helped out at the Populaire today. I also got in a bit of entertainment as I watched some of the riders slog their way up 90th in the snow ...


Go Andy go!

Are we having fun yet?

Oh My God ... there's more?

"You'd better not take that picture !"

Kole and Ryan get their cards signed by Robin at Lincoln Park.

Vincent pulls into Lincoln Park.

Peter and Wayne at Lincoln Park.

A few minutes earlier it was hailing ... now a bit of sun as several riders pull into the Seward Park control.

More riders at Seward Park ... wait, what does RUSA say about drafting baby carriages?

The wildlife at Seward Park was very interested in the goodies we had at the control. Besidea a host of squirrels, this crow reached into Chris Heg's bag and ran off with a plastic bag that had the route sheet and, yes, his Brevet Card. We chased him down and, after posing for the picture, the crow dropped the bag and Chris was able to finish the ride with his card!

Now That's Stupid !

Nine of us rode the 10th Annual Chili Feed 200K yesterday. It was cold and wet as we started. Not snowing where we were at the start, but it was where we were headed - at Greenwater along 410 on the way up to Mt.Rainier. The forecast was for improving conditions right? Wrong.

Within the first mile we passed a group of walkers in the rain ... they had no hats on, no umbrellas ... and they called us stupid as we rode by ! Well, we might be planning on riding our bikes all day in the cold and rain, but at least we dressed for it! Well, some of us did. Not naming names here though. I did notice that Bob Brudvic and Mark Thomas were dressed much more warmly today as they helped out on the Populaire.

"This is the stupidest thing I've done in a long time." "How stupid is this?" and statements to that effect were heard at the Black Diamond Bakery as the cold and wet riders slowly brought feeling back to their extremities.

A muffin or turnover, a jolt of caffeine, a bit of warmth and we're almost as good as new. Since we started a quart low, we didn't know any better and were soon back on the road. It actually stopped raining for a bit and what's that? A spot of dry pavement! If you're going to have a flat on a cold & rainy day, wait for the dry stretch. So that's what I did. First flat in a long time, so can't complain at all. Since my regular Rando bike is still in the shop, I was riding a bike with narrower tires ... higher pressure tires (100 psi)... vs the wide ones on the Green Hornet (75 psi). But my pump is a mountain bike pump not designed for that. Stupid! I get it to about 70 psi and am struggling to get more in. Fortunately Bob comes to my rescue with some CO2. I'm back in business and we hit the road again ... and make the turn on 410 up to Greenwater.

We got lucky on our way up to Greenwater ... no rain and, better yet, no snow. It was cold though, but not frozen cold ... there was slush, not snow/ice on the sides of the road for the last few miles into Greenwater. We went inside and refueled.

Proving that we were not at the very end of the stupidity bell curve (just very close to it), we had just missed someone who left the store a few minutes earlier. This person was walking to Yakima over a closed mountain pass ... probably over 10 feet of snow ... in tennis shoes. Now that's stupid !

We were in the home stretch now ... a quick stop in Enumclaw and then the last twenty miles back to Greg's house. Of course it was rainy most of the way. When we arrived, Mary had a great welcome for us with hot soup and pizza. Thank you Mary!

But it's sooo cozy!

Ralph, Mark, Steve, Vincent, and I rode the Hood Canal South Permanent on Wednesday. It was coold. It was below freezing at the start. Fortunately there was little ice on the roads. Unfortunately our fingers turned to ice ... or at least that's how they felt. Well before the first control we made an unscheduled stop at Alderbrook. Hot coffee, warm bathrooms (indoor no less!), and a toasty fireplace. Heaven sent. All good things must come to an end though. (Why?) We pulled it together and headed out ... reluctantly.

The sun was out ... and so was the wind. We had a strong headwind as we headed up the canal. After we got to Brinnon (the turnaround point), we looked at the flagpole and wouldn't you know it, the wind changed ... it now was coming from the south ... would we have a headwind both ways? How does it do that? Fortunately it was just messing with our minds and shifted back.

We had a nice stop in Hoodsport at the coffee shop ... both times.

We planned to just miss the 5:30 ferry on the way back ... that way we could have Sausage & beer at Fritz's. The plan worked well ... we made it to the ferry terminal at 5:39. Catch was that the ferry was late! Oh well. Ralph took the ferry, but the rest of us went to Fritz' anyway. It was pretty good.

The bluest skies you've ever seen are in Seattle

Okay, we weren't in Seattle, but riding north of there on Permanent 357 Camano Island - Bellingham - Camano Island. It was a gorgeous day. A bit brisk ... starting out below freezing ... but a fantastic day for riding. Mark Thomas, Joe Platzner, Vincent Muoneke, and I thoroughly enjoyed a great day out on the bike in the SUN!

Wanting to ensure we didn't get too much sun, we had to periodically stop and go inside ... the bakery in Edison was a great place for a break. Lemon Bars were nummy!
And of course no ride to Bellingham would be complete without a meal at the Mambo Cafe! A special treat was that Dan Turner joined us. The Lasagna was perfect ... kept me going almost all the way back.
With views like this it was hard to keep our eyes on the road!










We ended with a stop at DQ ... there's nothing like a Cherry Blizzard to top off a perfect day.

Where's the bottom?

Mark Thomas, Ralph Nussbaum, and I rode the Redmond - Carbon River Permanent today. Partly sunny was the forecast and that's what we got ... part sun, part clouds, part rain, part hail. All in all though, I'd say the weather was pretty decent for this time of year.






The ride heads up the Carbon River at the base of Mt. Rainier. When the sun is out, you get a great view of Mt.Rainier. We used our imagination to see it, as the sun was nowhere to be seen when Mt.Rainier could have been. While looking up wasn't very productive, down was a different story. It was quite a ways down to the bottom and the Carbon River as we crossed this one lane bridge ... described as rickity by the barista in Buckley.

We saw several Elk on the way up to the Ranger Station ...here's a view of the bottom of one. Not a great shot, but they wouldn't pose for me.













It was an enjoyable ride ... except for the last twelve miles or so. My bottom bracket started disintagrating. It sounded like an ice machine crushing ice and began wobbling more than the Hubble telescope. Ralph & Mark were patient with me as I nursed it in. Conveniently the ride ended right by Sammamish Valley Cycle, so it is now being resurrected.

RUNNING ON EMPTY

There are times when everything falls into place, and times where they don't. Today's ride was one where they didn't.

Vincent & I had planned on riding the Deming-Marblemount ride, but given the amount of snow they had had on Thursday, I decided we'd be better off in something a bit further south. A couple of riders had signed up to do the Hood Canal South ride, so I thought we'd suprise them and ride with them. However, they didn't show. I had e-mails from them when I got back saying they had decided not to ride.

Having been laid off work earlier in the week, I was probably not in the best of moods and Vincent was having stomach issues.

On the way back, near Brinnon, we were forced off the road by a big RV as it slowed right next to us to turn left, swinging right as it did. This is where there is only a one foot wide shoulder. Fortunately he was going slow as were we. I thought about going after him to chew him out, but decided that would probably be counterproductive.

Given how the day went, of course we just missed the ferry back to Seattle ...

Still, it was nice to be out on the bike.