I don’t even know where to start with this one. There are just so many memories. So much happened along the way of this incredible ride.
Chris and I decided it would be wise to drive separately to the start for chance of getting seriously split up along the 375 miles of this course. You never know how strong you are going to feel in a day or two, so we thought it best to just ride our own rides. Matt opted to ride out to the start, so I was on my own for the morning wake up call. I try not to drink too much (if any) coffee so caffeine will have a stronger affect on me when I really need it at night. I loaded my gear and double checked my list. I couldn’t afford to mess up by not bringing my shoes or helmet.
I made it to Issaquah with plenty of time to get my bike off the car and ready for the 5am start. I had taken a sleeping aid the night before so I actually got almost a full nights sleep. It made all the difference at that point.
The clouds looked ominous from the start, and they proved to be a worthy adversary. The rain came down steady from the start to almost Leavenworth (117 miles into the ride!). The Cascade mountain range thankfully cut them off so we had sun for the rest of the trip. Unfortunately, most of my good gear was soaking wet for a good portion of the rest of the day.
I lost Matt and Chris from the start of the ride and had a hard time telling if they were ahead of or behind me. It is impossible to judge where everyone is on these events. Unfortuntely, I wasn’t able to ride with either of them for the remainder of the 600k.
The ride up Steven’s Pass seemed smoother than the last time I took it. I think there were a variety of factors to this. It seems like going west to east is a little more straight forward with the grade. There weren’t any rolling portions messing up my rhythm. Second, last time we were over it, there was 2 mountain passes before it. Steven’s tops out at 4,056 feet, so there was plenty of snow to keep me chilly on the way down.
I was extremely happy to hit Leavenworth since the sun was out. Chocolate donuts are an excellent source of empty calories for the rando on the go. I didn’t spend to long in town because I wanted to get a jump on the second (and final) mountain pass of the day.
It was wonderful to have some warmth, but the side effect of it seemed to be wind. The remainder of the day ranged from breezy to knock you off the road gusty.
I spent my time noodling up Blewitt Pass (4100 ft.) where Erik Anderson and Thai Nguyen caught up to me. They were both on single speeds and very strong riders. They made for some nice company along the way. We traded pulls on the decent because the headwinds were so strong all the way down.
At some point, Bob Lagasca grabbed on with us through a steep ascent on the way to Ellensburg (175 mile mark). The winds were whipping us around so hard that I almost took a spill. Once we crested the hill though, there was a long and slow descent into town with a tailwind. I found some energy and started to crank along. It seemed like I was flying with no effort. It felt great and was truly the first effortless section of the ride for me.
I considered eating the pasta that Jane and made for me in Ellensburg. I knew there was a planned food control “shortly after” Selah. I figured I could pull the 30 miles without too much trouble and then I could eat some real food. Up to this point, I was living off of gels and liquid nutrition. A couple of hours didn’t seem like a huge deal at the time.
I was out ahead of the group I was with over Blewitt and riding alone. The road turned in to Yakima Valley Canyon. It was astoundingly beautiful. Sage and desert covered the mountains on each side of a gently rolling river. The road rolled along the side with little traffic. Oddly, winds were still a factor and seemed to give me both head and tail winds depending on the direction the valley was headed at the time. My legs were starting to wear out and my speed was noticeably dropping. I kept looking back expecting Thai, Erik and Bob to catch up to me. I rode the entire 30 mile stretch by myself. It was peaceful.
The road came in to the town of Selah. I was down to about half of my water supplies and had plenty of gels left, so I decided to push through to the food control. Bob caught up to me in town and gave me some motivation to pick up my pace a bit. Honestly, he could have dropped me a number of times, but he was nice enough to pace himself for me so we each had some company.
I kept expecting to see the SIR boards with blinking lights around each corner and kept being disappointed. The wind was starting to get really strong and I was running low on water.
We turned on to US-12 and suffered the most painful headwinds of the day. Bob was ahead of me, but I couldn’t even keep on his wheel to benefit from it. My body was aching and I was really regretting not stopping to eat my pasta. US-12 was a nightmare to ride on anyways. There were four lanes, high traffic going 50-60mph, and an extremely narrow shoulder with a rumble strip taking up most of the space. We had a tough time keeping a straight line anyways with the winds, so it made for an unnerving ride.
US-12 turned on to… US-12 (clever?) and the food control saved my will to ride. Bob and I sat down for hot chicken noodle soup, a soda (my first of the day!), and sandwiches. It was a real ride saver at that point. Mark Thomas brought us jackets to fend off the cold winds. I got almost a little too comfortable. We only had 25 miles left to the overnight stop. Mark later saved my ass by driving my brevet card that I had left at the stop to me. Thank you SO much for that. I would have lost it if I rolled in to the overnight without it.
I attempted to keep up with Bob once we got back on the road, but I just didn’t have it in my legs. He got the idea and went on ahead. I soft pedaled until Thai and Erik caught up to me. It took everything I had to catch their wheel, but it brought my speed up considerably. It was a long, slow climb to our stay at Silver Beach Resort.
When we got to the hotel around 1am, we were pampered again by volunteers with more soup and hot cocoa. I was feeling a whole lot better. One of the ride organizers, Jeff Tilden congratulated me on being up with the “upper crust” of riders. I guess there were 12 people ahead of us (out of 50), including 5 who pushed on through the night without stopping. I was pretty proud of that thought, especially since I’ve had such a tough series overall this year. Erik and Thai decided to get up at 4, I chose 5 since I knew Bob Brudvik was leaving around then, and I needed the extra sleep anyways. I passed out almost immediately.
I woke up in a haze as my roommate was getting ready. I put on the rest of my gear and went down to the dining area for some pancakes and sausages. Jeff and Brad Tilden did an amazing job on the support for this ride. They are amazing people.
The sun was just starting to peek over the mountains as I worked my way up White Pass (4500 ft.) around 6am. It was stunningly beautiful, if not a bit painful so early in the morning. There was almost no traffic and the Cascades were breathtaking. It took me about an hour to reach the summit and I made sure to put my gloves back on and zip up my jacket for the descent. It was freezing, but my heart was racing from the excitement of the race downhill. There was 12 miles of 4 to 7% grade down the entire mountain to the next control. I spent an hour to get 8 miles up it, and about 20 minutes to get 12 miles down it.
Paul Johnson (aka Dr. Codfish) was manning a much needed hot beverage control at the bottom before our climb up Cayuse pass (4700 ft.). There were a bunch of riders taking advantage of his truck for the warmth and a few bundled up in chairs. I overheard quite a few strong riders say that the descent off White Pass was one of the coldest they’ve ever experienced. I had full tights on in preparation and my gear served me well. I didn’t stay and chat too long with Paul because I wanted to knock out the final pass of the ride.
It was 16 miles up hill from there. The first 8 miles weren’t too bad and I was keeping a very good pace. There were short steep climbs followed by relatively flat sections. Chris, Joby and I do lots of training on this type of climbing so I felt really comfortable on it. After that, the pass turned in to a monster. The final 8 miles was a non stop 6-8% grade almost the entire way.
Bob Brudvik caught up to me 3 or 4 miles from the summit on his single speed and gave me some encouragement to pick up my pace a bit. It was nice to have someone to talk to finally so I could keep my mind off of the burning in my legs. He made the climb look easy as he was dancing around the lane, pacing himself for me.
The top of Cayuse had a monster wall of snow on each side of the road, probably about 9 or 10 feet high at points. It looked very fresh. It was like rolling through a tunnel of ice. I can’t express just how many beautiful moments there were on this ride. Bob waited at the top of the pass for his friend Peter Beeson and we parted ways. I expected him to catch up to me later, but that was the last I saw of him for the day.
I rode strong by myself in to the stop at a little town called Greenwater. A local deli made me an amazing sandwich on an “everything” bagel with cream cheese, ham and cheddar baked together. It was like heaven at the time. I said hello to Vincent Muoneke who was on his way out as I was ordering my food. We crossed paths a number of times throughout both days. He has a lot of energy and an infectious positive attitude.
I kept being disappointed by the lack of cell phone reception for over half of the ride. I really wanted to call Jane and give her some updates. It is always a great motivation to hear her voice. I wasn’t able to reach her until I made it close to Enumclaw, about 50 miles from the finish.
15 to 20 miles away from the Redmond control (365 mi. mark), a group of three caught up to me. The group included John Kramer, David Rowe, and Eric Ahlvin. They were chugging along at an awesome pace and I quickly hopped on their wheel. It is always great motivation to have people set a pace for you. We were flying along up towards Issaquah at around 18mph when Eric landed a flat. They told me to keep going so I pushed on.
When I was pushing through traffic on Front St. in Issaquah, I was standing on my pedals and I felt my Achilles tendon strain. I was struggling to keep my pace through the rollers around Lake Sammamish. I finally made it to the Redmond control after what seemed like an eternity.
John, David and Eric caught up to me as I was checking out. I knew that I had to keep on their wheel if I could manage. They were chugging along those last 10 miles at a pace that was hurting my legs really bad. I knew that if I let them go, it would take me twice as long to get to the finish. I even stood back up on my pedals a few times to chug over the rollers. It was painful, but worth it.
We rolled in to the finish at 4:45pm.
Thanks to everyone that chatted with me, blocked wind for me, and let me use them for motivation.
A huge thank you to the volunteers of the ride. They were always there right when I needed them with kind words and hot food and drink. They did an amazing job putting the ride together.
My body is sore but my heart is happy.
