1,000K Portland to Glacier Pre-ride - No Shoulder to Lean On

An unsupported 1,000 K ride. What an awesome experience. A beautiful ride. Fantastic riding partners! Mark Thomas, Vincent Muoneke, and I pre-rode the Portland to Glacier 1,000K this past weekend. It was great.

The idea of an unsupported 1,000K on unfamiliar roads was intimidating. Yet it is the essence of Randonneuring - according to RUSA ..."Randonneuring is long-distance unsupported endurance cycling." While I love the great support we get at many of the NW Brevets, going back to basics sounded like a great challenge. And it was!

Mechanically we were fortunate ... nothing major along the way. I had a stubborn double flat just outside Stevenson on the morning of the first day ... and we had only gone a few hundred feet leaving the hotel when Mark had a minor issue, so I was a bit concerned with the pattern we were setting. But it turned out fine.

The first day started out a bit drizzly and cool, but soon cleared up and turned warm (80+). There is one stretch where we ride on I-84 ... and due to construction there is one portion that has no shoulder ... we had to ride in the travel lane. That was most unpleasant, but did increase our pace! The other stressful portion that morning was crossing the Bridge of the Gods ... a wet metal grate surface. We almost walked across, but once we had started it was too unsettling to stop.

After a nice breakfast in Lyle (albeit a bit slow ... ), a tail wind kicked in and we more than made up the time we lost due to my flats. We saw a couple of fully loaded bikers headed west ... they were definitely not enjoying the wind the way we were. We caught up with a couple from California on a tandem ... not quite sure how that happened since they were going 30+ much of the time we were with them ... and had a nice stop at Roosevelt. We stocked up on water before we left ... not many sources of that (or anything else) along the route.

At Plymouth, several hours later, we found water (& ice) at the RV park just after turning off SR-14 at the base of the day's one climb. While the climb wasn't particularly difficult, it was lengthy ... but made for a great descent down the other side into Kennewick. Dinner at Subway and stocking up on water again, as no services until the stop for the night in Connell ... 45 miles or so.

The last part of the day was slow ... a gradual climb, a bit of a head wind at times, and we were tired by now. At about mile 212, Mark sinks in to a freshly graded dirt/gravel shoulder ... same shade of dust as the road ... and grinds to a halt. I follow behind, turn a bit to avoid him, and keel over as I can't unclip fast enough. The only damage was to the nerves of the lady driving past us ... she pulls over to make sure we are okay. We are, so everyone continues on. At Connell there are no open restaurants when we arrive ... I finish off the rest of my Subway sandwich and Mark/Vincent polish off some Cups of Soup.

Breakfast was a Ensure, a Lunchable, a V-8, and a Mountain Dew. Not quite a hearty breakfast, but it was okay. Mark and Vincent didn't have much as their stomachs were unsettled, but by the time we got to Washtucna they were ready to eat. There wasn't much to choose from at the little store/cafe, but Mark was able to get his coffee ... that was a big plus.

At Lacrosse folks lined the street to see us go by ... well, that is what it felt like. We were there shortly before a parade was going to go down the main street. We waved. I love this part of the state. From here to the Idaho border is the Paluose. The rolling hills are gorgeous ... especially when they are green and we are going between them, not up them. There was a wonderful valley we rode through shortly before Colfax, where we had lunch at Arbys. We agreed that the roast beef sandwiches were great, but that the curly fries were not.

Tekoe was having a Classic Car show, so we walked our bikes through main street. The street was covered with broken eggs ... residue from the egg toss they had had a little while earlier.

A few miles outside town, right before US-95 in Idaho, was the steepest climb of the day ... fortunately not all that long, with the steep portion probably less than a mile. Maybe half way up we were attacked by three dogs. Being last in line I was closest to them and as they approached I was concerned ... it was a steep grade and I was not getting anywhere fast. I was NOT going to be able to outrun them. My next option, getting in front of Mark so they'd go for him instead didn't seem likely either, as he had a good lead on me (Vincent was practically out of sight). My concern soon dissipated, as the ferocious mutts were tiny little things. While they ran circles around me, they'd jump up and only get a few inches off the ground. It was soon all I could do to stay upright, as I was laughing so hard. I tried to sic them on Mark, but to no avail.

Once we reached US-95 it was mostly downhill to Plummer, the start of the Couer D'Alene bike trail. We ate at the grocery on the left, which had a deli section with some decent choices ... and stocked up on water again.


The trail was wonderful ... several miles of gradual downhill, then flat for miles and miles along the lake and a river valley. Once again we made up time. Eventually it joins up with I-90 and runs through a few small towns that may have had something open, but we smelled the barn and were focused on getting done with the day, so didn't stop. We reached Wallace, our overnight, about 10:30 and stopped at a gas station at the edge of town, scrounging some "food" ... I think I had orange juice, chips, and a lunchable.

Our mistake was not getting something for the morning, as there was nothing in town available when we left at 5:00 AM. So it was an Ensure and a few chips for breakfast. Two mountain passes between us and real food. I have another Ensure after the first pass. We are famished when we finally get to Thompson Falls ... and have a great breakfast at Minnie's Montana Cafe.

The next 75 miles or so (on 200 and 28) are not especially pleasant riding. While the scenery is wonderful, the riding is a bit unnerving at times. There is generally no shoulder. On 200, when there is a shoulder they have put a wide rumble strip in the middle of the shoulder! There is barely enough room to ride on the remaining portion of the shoulder ... and not enough room if there is any debris there. The drivers often do not slow down to pass, but simply (fortunately) move over a bit into the oncoming lane ... with no regard for any oncoming traffic. There were a few times where oncoming traffic was forced partly off the road! You definitely do NOT want to ride this portion at night.

We aimed to stop at Lone Pine Store for dinner & water (50 miles from breakfast), but it was "temporarily closed" when we got there ... and it was going to be another 40 miles before our next chance. bummer! We finally made it to Flathead Lake after a long false flat at the end of 28 ... maybe 600 feet of a gradual climb over 8-10 miles. Disheartening as you think you should be making more progress than you are. Probably partly the lack of food.

Flathead Lake is a mixed blessing. While there is now a nice shoulder, there is nothing flat about the riding ...lots of ups and downs. We finally make it to Lakeside shortly after 9:00 PM and are wiped. Dairy Queen revitalizes us though. We agree we are going to be going slowly from here ... only about 30 miles to go!

About 30 minutes from the end it starts raining hard ... and continues the rest of the way and through till morning. Not a problem though ... we are going to make it, so the rain actually feels good (well, sort of). It was a bit cool .. and actually snowed on the nearby peaks.

We made it!

The next morning we gingerly rode our bikes to the bike store ... they will ship them home. Then off to breakfast at the Buffalo Cafe (highly recommended), then coffee & a snack, then lunch, to the bookstore, and back to coffee & another snack. Food was high on our list! We had chosen to fly home, so it was soon time to head for the airport and the end of our adventure. Time to start planning our next one!

SIR 600K Preride - Or how I never met a Contol I didn't like

Time management is usually an important element in managing one's ride. Not so on this ride. A relatively flat ride ... especially the first day (6,200 feet of climbing over 255 miles) allows one the opportunity to put a lot of time in the bank ... or not, if they choose to spend the time along the way. On this weekend's pre-ride, we were not miserly with our time. In a spree that would do my wife proud, we spent our time like Congress doles out stimulus money ...

My first clue that we would not be setting any personal bests for the course was when we made an unscheduled stop for coffee in Port Orchard. It wasn't just that we were stopping, but that the barista (and I use the term loosely) wrote down each order on a post-it note. Now that was actually a good thing, as when Mark went back up to her several minutes later, after everyone else had received their order and it was apparent that no more Americanos were forthcoming, there was actually some documentation that something was missing.

One of the other hallmarks of the ride was that the original course and the route we took did not always coincide. That is one of the aspects of a pre-ride that I like. If it isn't working, we work out a better plan. My Garmin doesn't like it and gets confused ... beeping madly that I am off-course when in fact I am on course and it is simply living in the past. As some 10,000 runners and their people are descending on parts of Tacoma next weekend - and planning on running where we were going to be biking - a change was in order ...hopefully avoiding the worst of the chaos. Get back to me on that.

Where we didn't alter our route ... but will for the real deal ... was in Gorst where SR-16 merges with SR-3. Crossing three lanes of 60 mph freeway was more excitement than we needed. More than one pair of shorts likely needed to be changed after that experience.

If you have ever ridden past the Union Country Store in Union without stopping, you've made a big mistake. I have made that mistake many times in the past, although the fact that it had always been closed is probably a valid mitigating factor. Since it was a long ways till our next control in Cosmopolis, it was lunchtime, and we had time to spend, we stopped.


Noel, Mark, and I rolled up a few minutes after everyone else - Noel had had a flat tire - Peter was lounging in a chair with one of his many cokes. We went inside and after a few minutes of indecision we began to narrow in on our choices. The clerk then announced that she was going to have some pre-made sandwiches ready in a few minutes. That sounded better than what we had come up with, so we custom ordered a few pre-made sandwiches. Very good. I saved part of mine for a later stop. Having not eaten enough on last week's Oregon 600 XTR, I was now working on the other extreme.
It was a relaxing stop, but at some point, we reluctantly decided to move on.






We left Union, then left the Hood Canal with a climb up towards Shelton. After 16 miles of pretty darn flat (if you don't count all the chip seal up and downs), a bit of a climb was a nice change of pace. Had I mentioned there was some climbing before the control at Waterman Point? No mountain passes or anything like that. I'm sure my Garmin was still confused from the earlier rerouting when it hit a 30 degree grade a couple of times on Orchard. But I digress.

It must be time for a stop. At Matlock we pulled in just as a few raindrops began to fall. Nothing major, but may as well go in and set a spell. Coke time for Peter. I finished off my sandwich. When we finally get back on the road and head for Brady, I come to the conclusion that it is much faster going Matlock to Brady than Brady to Matlock. A gentle downhill and perhaps a slight tailwind do make a difference. We managed to pass stores in Brady and Montesano without stopping.

At Cosmopolis Albert has a nice stop set up for us at the Chevron. He had us go into the store to sign our cards - to give them the practice. We sat for a few minutes - I ate a Lunchable, which I prefer to the greasy burritos, fried chicken, and similar choices at many of these types of mini marts. We worked out a reroute for Westport, cutting out a couple of miles that weren't needed and taking advantage of the Shell/Subway right on SR-105.

At Westport, Albert was there with his van and chairs all ready for us. Once again we ate, drank, and rested ... before we prepared for riding at night and headed out along another very flat stretch. From Brady to the overnight control ... about 200K, there is only a little over 2000 feet of climbing. It gets dark before we get to Raymond and Vincent discovers that his light isn't working - somehow it got water inside. Bummer. Fortunately we come up with a backup and he's able to continue ... after another unscheduled stop at the Raymond 24 hour Chevron. It is a blessing that there are no tables & chairs there, so we don't stay all that long. As the local high school graduated their seniors that day and the beer sales had been heavy, we were glad to get out of Dodge.

I hadn't ridden the Raymond to Centralia stretch before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I still haven't seen it, since it was pretty dark, but it was decent riding - generally good shoulders and only one big hill a bit before Pe Ell. Shortly after that it was our last control before the overnight. Albert had set up a stop in a wide spot along the road. Hot cup of noodles hit the spot. Along with some Doritos it recharged us for the last stretch of the night.

We made it to the overnight about 2:15. It would not have been hard to make it before midnight if we hadn't stopped so many times and for so long ... but then the ride isn't about getting there quickly or getting a good night's sleep.

Getting a good night's sleep was certainly not what I ended up with ... the folks in the room next door complained about us making some noise as we arrived. Yes, these were the ones with the TV going loudly all night long. Recommendation: bring ear plugs. I did get to sleep, but woke up at 4:15, then 5:30, and finally got up for good at 5:50. I did feel rested ... especially by comparison to last week's 600K with no sleep (an hour of rest). We hit the road at about 6:30.

Mark had called ahead to a local cafe ... they're open for breakfast, right? Yes, we are was the answer. It is so easy to miscommunicate. They open for breakfast at 8:00 AM. Well, McMinnimans is a few blocks away, we'll go there. A block from there ... Peter is actually on the doorstep of McMinnimans, when we pass a tavern that is open, with people standing outside. Vincent asks them about breakfast. They're serving! We go in to the back, by the pool table. As we pull some tables together, the bartender tells us they're a tavern ... and a grill, it may take a while. We were warned. Some warnings should be ignored. this one shouldn't have been.

She took our orders and eventually my meal came. I ate and paid for it before the others got theirs. There was one cook, one grill, and a one order at a time process. We didn't get out of there until almost 8:15. It was an experience. Drinking beer at that time of day ... well, I guess we all make our choices. While I was waiting I went out to fuss with my bike ... and was told it was a good thing it was early in the month. Apparently that meant the welfare checks had just arrived and so it was less likely that our bikes would disappear. I stayed out and watched them the rest of the time anyway.
Noel was the last of the riders to get their meal (Alberts was last, but time was not quite as pressing for him). I'm not sure if he felt any pressure from the eight other riders who were itching to go, but he wolfed down part of his meal, packed up the rest, and we finally hit the road.

This ride doesn't have all that much climbing, but the biggest portion of the climbing is in the 100K after Centralia. It doesn't start out gently, and on a full stomach ... well, a few riders didn't loose their breakfast, but did get to enjoy parts of it a second time. I was grateful that I had been served first and had the opportunity to digest it.

While on the first day we rode pretty much together all the way, with the steeper hills we spread apart pretty quickly. I caught up with Peter, Vincent, and Charlie in Morton and we went to the Thriftway ... they had a deli and we cleaned out their lasagna. While we had had a big breakfast, that was long gone. They found some additional chairs so we could sit down while we ate ... then it was time to hit the road.

Peter, Vincent, and Peter climbed faster than I did, so they were sitting in Elbe eating fries and drinking a coke. They were going to wait and regroup with the rest of the group. I was feeling tired and wanted to get the rollers out of the way, so headed off. I kept going all the way to the next control in Enumclaw. I figured that way I could get a nicer rest.

Albert was at the stop with his van and chairs ... I was glad to see him and plopped into a chair. I was ready to rest. After some water, Doritos, and Coke, I began to get coherent again. Albert was on his laptop, fussing with the course on MS Streets & Trips ... we managed to work out a reroute for the rest of the ride ... so we didn't have to go to Black Diamond and climb out of the Green River Gorge.

We made it to the end at 6:23 PM ... 36 hours and 23 minutes. Albert was there for us at the end, as he had been all throughout the ride. He had pizza and beer for us. Thank you Albert. My Garmin had gone nuts with the last reroute and failed to properly record the ride, so I don't know how much of that was riding time ... but there was at least nine hours off the bike.

Oregon 600K XTR - An Extra Special Ride

Now that was a ride!

The Oregon XTR was everything it was promised to be and more. Stunning scenery, grueling climbs, debilitating heat, fantastic support, and great riding companions. Who could ask for anything more?

More heat would definitely not be on anyone's request list. Certainly not mine. I am not a strong rider in the heat, and my lack of experience in the heat cost me. I took too many Endurolytes in the beginning, then too few. The too many caused stomach problems, which threw off my eating, the too few caused cramping. But I get ahead of myself.

The ride started at 4:30 AM. It was pleasant ... 60 or so. No need for arm/leg warmers or a jacket. The first 23 miles were essentially flat going along the Columbia river before beginning a long, gradual climb up Scott Canyon Road from Rufus. Wheat and wind farms greet us. Snakes are testament to the need for vigilance on the road ... and off. I pass over a small snake, perhaps a rattler, as it slithers towards the side.

By the time we reached Condon at mile 74 it was hot. We had enjoyed a brief secret control with Eric Ahlvin on the way... a cold V-8 hit the spot. Condon was not a destination spot ... we stopped at a run-down gas station with a small convenience section. Broken pop machine dispensed no ice or cold water for us. We made do with the meager selection and filled up our water bottles before heading to our next control at Spray ... fifty miles away with no services in between.

The ride to Spray was a lot of up and down - sustained climbing with nice descents, ending with a pleasant ride along a river valley. We reached Spray a bit after two. Vincent had a burger ... I didn't really have anything much to eat - some potato chips. Not a smart move, but my stomach was bothering me and I didn't want to risk losing it all. While the next section of the ride was a gradual uphill from here, it went downhill rapidly for me.

The 23 mile climb up to Keyes Creek Summit (4,369 feet) nearly did me in. The heat, the climb, the cramping, and lack of food led to major bonking ... I could go only a few miles at a time before I had to stop and recover. Finally, after laying down on the dirt and rocks on the side of the road, I forced down an Ensure. That turned the tide ... the temperature cooled down as the sun began to set, the grade lessened, and I felt better. Strong even.

My riding partner, Vincent, was a godsend. He patiently encouraged me to rest, to take my Endurolytes, and then, once I was recovering, to not overdo it. That was a challenge, as the sun was setting ... I wanted to get to the crest by sundown so we would have the twilight for the descent into Mitchell. We had been warned about deer crossing the road, so having some twilight was essential if we were going to descend with speed. We made it ... and it was gorgeous. The descent was a blast ... an effortless 30-35 mph that made one almost ... almost forget the pain of the climbing up.

David Rowe was manning the control at Mitchell ... and had food and drink that topped off my recovery. I was back. It was very pleasant sitting with my fellow randos in the park, talking of rides - past, present, and future. Ian Shopland, Rick Blacker, Erik Anderson, Mike Johnson, and Alex Kohan were among those there.

But the end was not getting any closer as we sat, so with three hours in the bank, we rigged for night riding and hit the road in what was now darkness. One more climb up to Ochoco Pass (4,731 feet), and then a long descent before we reached the overnight control at Prineville. David Rowe and Eric Ahlvin had put on wool and windbreakers for a cold descent a week earlier. That was overkill now. While I put on my sleeveless shell and a hat, I was comfortable without anything on my legs or arms. Maybe a bit cool, but that felt oh so nice after the heat of the day.

John Kramer and David Read were at the overnight control, serving up great pasta, garlic bread, beverages, and cheer. They got set us up in a room, offering a wake-up service! Wanting to take advantage of the coolness of the night, we stayed only a couple of hours - ate, showered, changed, and laid down for 45 minutes or so. No sleep, but definitely refreshed. We left at about 3:15 AM. 233 miles down, 143 miles to go!

A short overnight stop was definitely the right choice ... if anything we should have cut it shorter. Although Vincent was having stomach issues, we made good time from Prineville to Warm Springs. It being mostly downhill probably helped, but we felt good about our progress anyway.

We made it to Warm Springs while it was still cool, missed out on the ice though, but finished the long, slow climb before it turned hot. While we ate and rested at the Three Warriors Market, Peter Beeson, Bob Brudvik, Ole Mikkelsen, and Greg Courtney joined us. While we left before they did, they soon caught up and passed us. We rejoined them briefly in Maupin for drinks and ice cream at Graves Market.

It was now heating up and the last climb of the ride was ahead of us. A pleasant ride down the Deschutes River valley, with river rafters and steelhead fishermen along the way came first, then a brief (several miles) brutal climb up a baking, shadeless canyon.

No, that was not the end of the climb. Just an interlude through the Tygh valley. Still unbearably hot, so I knock on a farmhouse door to get permission to sit on the grass under a large tree. A short stop, but helpful. I would have asked for water as well, but the resident didn't seem receptive. So we stopped a few miles down the road ... no answer at the door there, but a sprinkler was going - standing in it felt great. Vincent filled up a water bottle to douse himself with later. It would soon come in handy!

A mile or so later the last climb really started - from my Garmin profile screen I could tell we had 6 or 7 miles of solid climbing ahead of us ... and Vincent's temperature gauge read 104. Besides being unbearably hot, I now had a nose bleed. I made it a couple of miles before I had to stop ... there were occasional trees off the side of the road ... with a little shade available before the sharp drop off the side. After climbing over the guardrail and checking for snakes, I sat down for a minute or two. Not a huge rest, but enough to let me catch my breath and calm down a bit. I repeated this a few times, with the distance between stops getting shorter and shorter. I could still see Vincent off in the distance ... now I couldn't handle riding as I was feeling a bit unsteady. So I decided I'd just walk the rest of the way up the hill - only two, three miles tops. It would be progress. After a mile or so, Scott Peterson drove up and stopped ... gave me a refreshing drink of ice cold water and filled up my water bottle with the cold water. That rejuvenated me enough that I was able to ride and walk the rest of the way to the top.

At the summit were a bunch of gallon jugs of water ... hot water, but water nonetheless. I refilled my containers and set off. Only 28 miles to go ... almost all downhill. No services along the way ... one small town with limited services a mile or so off course, but I did not want any extra miles at this point. Having ridden up the last stretch a couple of years ago on my first 1000K ride, I knew that it was a pleasant downhill, with shady spots and a stream. I had visions of cooling off my water bottle in the stream to chill the water for a cool drink. It didn't work, but the idea pulled me towards the end.

At five minutes to five, after 36 hours and 25 minutes, I reached the end. Over 20,00 feet of climbing and 23,000 calories burned. I was wiped. I briefly recovered in John's room - a beer and a slice of pizza, washed the blood, sweat, and grime off my face, and listened to the post ride chat for a bit. Then it was off to our room for a shower and sleep. I slept for about three hours before Vincent woke me for the four hour drive back home. Vincent filled me in on the ride results - 25 of the 27 riders finished.

What a great time!

The XTR was a special ride. The icing on the cake was the little things that John had done - a cut-down cardboard route sheet, double sided, color, and with various icons - a nifty brevet card that included a google map route overview and elevation profile - a personalized biker statuette - and a ride business card, complete with elevation profile. John and team - thanks for a great ride and a great memory!

Spring 2009 400K Pre-ride Report

Nine of us headed out of Ephrata yesterday morning on the 400K pre-ride. Seven of us finished within time, one DNF, and one finished outside of the time limit. It is a great course, with some wonderful new roads. First some lessons learned and then some ride highlights.

LESSONS LEARNED:

1. Even if the forecast is for nice weather, it still gets darn cold on the first descents and then late at night. The forecast was for a high of 71 ... and it probably hit it, but I darn near froze my fingers, toes, and ears off on the descent into Moses Coulee after the climb out of Ephrata to get started. Then it cooled off rapidly after dark.

2. If you abandon the ride or are going to be way outside the control times, call Mike or Shane - phone #'s are on the route sheet. Not calling means (1) volunteers wasting time waiting for you at controls, (2) folks worrying and possibly looking for you on the course while you may be snug in a motel bed.

3. While there is plenty of climbing - slightly over 12,000 feet of climbing - there are only two nasty climbs that are likely tough for tandems (i.e. 10+% grades). At the end of the Columbia River Road into Nespelum and leaving Coulee Dam. Maybe half-way down the Loup Loup descent there is a noticeable climb. If you build up some extra speed you can make it up a bit more of the climb - certainly not all of it - but it will make it a tad easier.

4. Food choices along the route are pretty slim - aside from normal convenience store fare. There is a restaurant in Pateros at the Chevron (along with normal convenience store stuff) that we had a decent sit down breakfast at. There was a cafe (Tims) advertising breakfast served all day in Carlton (shortly before the turn up to Loop Loop). The 24 hr Conoco in Omak choices were pretty limited and unappealing to me (burritos, corn dogs, & similar greasy fare) - other than the pre-made (maybe this month sometime) sandwiches. There was a Mexican restaurant along the way before that, but other choices would be off-route (north of town a ways). After Omak your choices (outside SIR controls) will be limited unless you a fairly fast (Nespelum had a grocery store that closes at 8:00 PM) and Coulee Dam had a Safeway that closes at 10.

5. It is possible to call home from the top of Loup Loup pass and wave to them via the DOT web cam.

6. For most riders (aside from the really fast/slow), there will most likely not be anything open in Ephrata to get food after the ride, so plan ahead. Wanda's Country Kitchen is a great place for breakfast in Ephrata after the ride. They open at 6:00 AM. It is a block and a half north from the start on the main drag.

7. Read the route sheet and look at the course on the map beforehand so you have a concept of where you are going. There aren't many turns of the route, but if you miss one, it can be many miles before you hit the next town/intersection and you could end up with a lot of bonus miles. It seems obvious, but remember to look at the route sheet on the course and if you have a GPS, remember to turn it on.

8. Moses Coulee is not Moses Lake. While there are lots of stores in Moses Lake, there are none in Moses Coulee. Do not plan on getting supplies in Moses Coulee.

RIDE HIGHLIGHTS:

We started right at 5:00 AM and were joking about how hard it would be to mess up the turns on the course since there were so few (ten in that version). Of course we then promptly messed up on the first turn, turning one block too soon since the route sheet said immediately turn instead of at 2nd light. Oops.

It seemed relatively warm when we started and we certainly warmed up quickly climbing out of Ephrata. We soon split into our riding pattern - Tom Martin out front, Bob, Mark, Tom Brett, Matt D, Mike, and myself, and then Narayan and Duane riding in the back. At the end of the climb, we descended into Moses Coulee, which was much, much colder. Relying on the forecast of a nice day and the presumption that we'd be warm from the starting climb, I hadn't put on a hat nor full-fingered gloves. Big mistake. I was very uncomfortable - fingers in the armpit has limited effectiveness.

Moses Coulee was great riding, practically no cars, and had great views ... a far cry from all the greenery in Western Washington rides. We saw a Coyote ... and it raced off when it saw Bob's Red Booties.





From Moses Coulee we climbed up to Farmer, then turned north for 14 miles of gentle climbing ... and field and fields. One can see for miles and miles and it is almost all the same. Only a few cars.











We made it to the top of McNeil Pass. Now for the descent! It was a great descent ... smooth road surface, no sharp turns. It was a blast. There was a dog then came out and challenged us ... it wasn't an issue for the first ones down ... be fast or be slow! At the bottom was our first opportunity for water - Beebe St Park. From there we road along the Columbia on 97 to Pateros - a lot of traffic, but great shoulders and no meaningful climbs. At Pateros we sat down for a meal ... this was going to be one of the few opportunities and after 75 miles we were ready. Shane and Chantel, who were providing ride support, showed up while we were eating and gave us an update.

Then it was time to start up the Methow Valley. There were two groups of dark clouds where we were headed - definitely raining. Would we be riding into it? Looked that way, but we managed to ride between the showers - only got a few drops and only a short stretch of wet pavement. We made it to Carlton - shortly before the turn up to Loop Loop. The store seemed reasonably well stocked and even had a few deli sandwiches. We regrouped there. They had a few bikes hanging around ... this one had a motor assist that might come in handy going up Loup Loup (is that legal?). It took 1 hr 10 min to 1 hr 25 min to climb up Loop Loop from the turn onto 20 to the top for those in our group - Matt dropped back and started riding separately at this point... then another fun descent. We couldn't open it up as much on this descent as the McNeils Canyon descent, but it was fun just the same. When we finally made it to Okanagan, it seemed to take forever to get to the control in Omak ...and it was not a high quality stop. Covered the basics - but not much more. Dark clouds were approaching as we left ...they were headed our direction ... would we outrun them?

We had 41 miles of riding before our next turn ... not only were we riding into some blue sky, but some gorgeous scenery and wonderful roads ... very little traffic. A couple of climbs, but well worth it. Mike and Shane have found a real gem.






Bob started a stampede ... those red booties. He made up for it shortly thereafter. We made it to Nespelum a few minutes after the store closed, but he sweet talked the clerk to let us in as she unlocked the door to let out a customer. I'm sure it was the red booties that were the clincher. It was getting dark as we left the store, so we prepped for night riding ... jackets & hats on.


Before long we were in Coulee Dam ... and a particularly
nasty climb out of town past the dam. But it was well worth it. At the edge of town Shane and Chantel had set up a control that was fantastic. Sandwiches, soup, beverages, & chairs. We stayed longer than we should have, but left feeling quite refreshed. Thank you Shane & Chantel !

One more stop ... at the Dry Falls Visitor Center ... to stock up on water and take advantage of heated bathrooms (open 24 hrs). Then only 24 miles to go ... we finished at 2:34 AM.







Tom Martin finished about 5 AM ... a wrong turn (GPS turned off) and something like 50 bonus miles meant he finished after us. Matt Dalton finished about 5:15 AM. Narayan DNF'd, running out of food at the end of the Columbia River Road. Duane finished at 9:30 AM, outside the 8:00 AM limit.

We have a winner! Big Arlington Mambo

Vincent, Ward, & I rode the Big Arlington Mambo yesterday. The forecast was for showers, with rain at times, but we went for it anyway. And we lucked out. Not only weather wise, but the ride itself. We had a few light sprinkles around lunchtime ... the rain started as I loaded my bike onto the car at the end of the ride ... and then it poured ! Timed it just right.

This is going to be one of my favorite rides. It generally follows the best part of the Three Rivers Cruise permanent ... up to Darrington and then along the North Cascades Highway towards Sedro Wooley ... with the Bellingham - La Conner stretch of several other rides ... with wonderful Sound views along Chuckanut Drive and the flat farmlands of the Skagit valley. With lunch at the Mambo Italiano Cafe in Bellingham of course. It was a gorgeoous ride ... very enjoyable.

266K - 166 milss ,,, thus the "Big" ... but only 3,400 feet of climbing. Yet there are plenty of mountains nearby along the ride. Lots of water too, with the Stillaguamish, Squak, and Skagit Rivers (the "Three Rivers"), Lake Samish, and of course Puget Sound.

We rode relatively quickly ... we hit the 200K mark at 8:40 ... and that was with an hour lunch at the Mambo. We finished just after 6 PM ... at 11:34, having started at 6:30 AM. I had planned on testing my new light set-up ... but no chance for that.

NW Crank: Spring is here!

Last week was NW Crank. Being a relative newbie rando ... this is year three of my randoing ...I had not participated in NW Crank before. But since I had the time available (i.e. unemployed) and wanting to get as much riding in as possible before I started working again (I was rehired at Bank of America effective April 28), this was my chance.

NW Crank is five days of riding in eastern Washington around Wenatchee each spring. Being in eastern Washington, the weather tends to be warmer & dryer than western Washington (aka the dark side). So the springtime riding is usually pretty nice. Granted we tend to be easy to please, but low 60's and partly sunny is a pleasant change from 40's, rain, and grey.

Rides are quite civilized ... most days starting at 9:00 AM. So on Thursday (day 1), I got up early and drove over, arriving shortly after 8:00 AM. It was snowing at Snoqualmie pass (3,100 feet). The day's rides were out towards Ephrata ... I joined the ride headed out 28 towards Quincy and then Palisades Road ... it was a very pleasant, flat ride. At about the 30 mile point Jon Muellner had set up a support stop, so we stopped and had a nice snack. From there the ride continued on dirt for several miles. As I almost lost control in some soft dirt, I decided to head back. While it made for a relatively short day, it was quite pleasant.

Friday's ride was on the Wenatchee side of the river, south on the Malaga Highway, with several climbs. Here is John Kramer on the top of the first climb, a little ways above the support stop manned by Ralph & Carol. The second climb headed up towards Mission Ridge ... but not quite. That was the third & final climb of the day. I passed on that one ... another 60 mile day was fine by me.

Saturday's riding was up towards Badger Mountain ... there were varying routes up there. The most adventuresome was up the Rock Island Grade ... 10-12 % on a dirt road. The last 2-3 miles on any of the routes was on dirt, so I decided to pass on the Rock Island Grade. I thought another 60 mile ride with mostly paved roads sounded better. Jeff Loomis, Kristi, Mitchel, and I headed upriver and took Browns Canyon Road up towards Waterville. It wasn't till we got there that we realized that it too was 10-12 % on dirt. Oops. Should have read the route sheet more closely. Oh well. It was a nice day and it was a nice climb. Once we eventually made it to the top of Badger Mountain we rested at the support stop, then had a great descent down to town ... I hit 50 mph! Almost worth a climb back up :)

Sunday's riding was up towards Chelan. As I didn't think my butt would sit for two days of 200K, I decided to take a rest day. Wow! Is that a nice change of pace. Sleep late. Watch a movie. Take an afternoon nap. Could be habit forming.

Monday Mark Thomas, Mike Norman, and I rode the Dry Falls Ramble, a 200K Permanent that goes up the Orondo Grade on US-2 to Waterville (a 2,000 foot climb at a nice 6-7 % grade), across to Dry Falls, then south to Soap Lake, Ephrata, Quincy, and back to East Wenatchee. With the headwinds going up the Columbia and then the climb up the Orondo Grade, we almost missed the first control. But not quite. We did have a great stop at the Coyote Pass Cafe. Highly recommended. We picked up the pace after that. Lots of wide open spaces to see. Very different scenery from western Washington. A nice ride to finish with.

Thanks to Michael Hale and all lthe folks who helped out!

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!