Authors: David Garate and Leon Matz
The day started off like a normal Western Washington-Summer day:
mid-60's, no clouds, and the pulse of adrenaline in the ears. OK, so no
adrenaline yet but I was anxious to get started! I met Rod at his house
about 4:15am, we loaded up and were on our way. We had no issues on the drive
to Skykomish which was approximately 2 hours away. Cast of riders: Mike
H, Leon M, John W, Jeff G, Rod H and myself (anonymous), got there just before
6:30am. As we suited up (which doesn't take much when you arrive in
cycling gear already), we talked, and then we were off. We took it easy
for a while so our legs could warm up and Mike, Leon and I chatted for a while.
We got to the first climb and it started to warm up...or maybe it was
just the blood pumping. As the climb kept going the group started to thin
a bit and I thought maybe the guys were pacing themselves. John, Leon and
Mike stayed together as Jeff, Rod and I picked up the pace a little (this is
when Mike went back to Skykomish for the van) but after hanging around as long
as I could stand I was off like a shot......off the back that is. Yes,
Jeff and Rod are strong climbers- even though Jeff doesn't like to climb he is
naturally good at it being a CAT 1 racer. We made it to the top and had
some food and a little chat. Rod being Rod, he stopped his Garmin to
cease the time so as not to get cheated by Strava...and yes, he also forgot to
start it again. Somewhere down the road he remembered but it wasn't too
far because we were all still together on the descent. Somewhere near the
middle of that long descent Rod lost a water-bottle which wasted some of his
"precious time". As we regrouped, Mike passed in the van and a
couple miles down the road had stopped for us to rehydrate and eat. This
was a good vantage point and picture opportunity.
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| Rod, Jeff, Leon, John, and David |
Down to Leavenworth we headed another 20 miles or so. A pace-line
formed in which pulls ranged from 2min to 10min which were no big deal- we were
all ready for whatever came next. I really kind of told myself I would be
riding in the "Sag Wagon" sometime in the day but that never happened
as you will see. The pace into Leavenworth was high- 20-25 for long
stretches. As we came into Leavenworth the group relaxed and we looked
for the McDonald's where we had decided beforehand to meet. This was harder
than we thought as in Leavenworth, all the signs look similar! As we got close,
I had the bright idea to take a rear-facing picture of Jeff and Rod.
Immediately after the picture, Leon slowed (after giving hand-signals) and I
grabbed my rear brakes as my left hand was full with my phone. I slid sideways
on the back of Leon's wheel without causing a full wreck and pulled into the
parking lot. Close call though I bald-spotted my Armadillo tire (which I didn't
find out for 26 miles). We fueled up at McDonald's, stripped off some layers,
and even found out John hadn't been able to clip in to his pedals for a while
and had been having issues. He then switched with Mike and drove the van
over to the Das Rad Haus, which is a bike shop in downtown Leavenworth, to find
out about adjusting his pedals.
Leon, Rod, Jeff, Mike, and I headed for Blewitt Pass which was
about an 18 mile climb to the summit. As we headed out to the climb we
kept the pace high 20-22 on a 1-3% grade. As the grade kicked up some, that is
where Jeff and Rod pulled away. Leon, Mike and I hung together and each
took our turns on the front. The only thing I can say about being on the front
on a climb is that you aren't really doing much for a pull but I think it's
more motivational than anything. On the way up the heat started to rise
and really helped my legs loosen up, I don't know about Mike and Leon, but I
felt pretty good! Leon and I heard Mike give us a sailors send off and he
dropped back to keep his own pace. As we neared the top of the climb,
Jeff had dropped back from Rod and become overheated (from wearing all black, I
think). Jeff took a rest in the shade but eventually did make it to the
summit.The temperature was now in the 90's and we were all sweating
profusely. Leon picked up speed but I didn't feel like attacking so
I kept my own pace so Leon took off. Leon was first to the top with Rod, David,
Mike and then Jeff following. As we all regrouped at the top, Rod had
noticed the bald section on my head..er..uh tire so Leon graciously let me
*borrow* one. As soon as the tire was back on we headed down. The cast
for this section was scarce: Leon, Rod and myself. A good descent is what
we needed after a long climb up Blewitt but the descent was kind of tough
because of some pretty good headwind. Then as we all know about Leon's
record-breaking "flat-fest", he did it again. Another quick
change and we continued down the mountain with some good pulls by all as we
re-entered Leavenworth since the heat was nearing it's peak.
Back in Leavenworth, the temperature was at it's highest (Rod's
Garmin read 116°), so we took one of our longer breaks. After bathroom,
food, and water re-fills, we were set. Jeff started back up Stevens as
soon as the sag-wagon got to town. As we re-grouped and got everyone
together to leave John (with now new pedals and shoes), Leon, Rod and I were
set to go. Leon and John had rolled out a minute before Rod and I but I
figured we could catch them on our way through town. Of course Rod's tire
decided it couldn't handle the heat and gave up it's air so after Rod put a
tube in, we were on our way. As we got out of Leavenworth a few miles, I
saw Leon going the wrong way. I guess he flatted again and forgot his pump at
the scene of the flat. So, we were all back together for our ride back to
Skykomish, kind of... I'm not sure of the exact circumstances but John
and Leon were not around when Rod got another flat and he decided he was
"done". Rod had mentioned he wasn't sweating anymore and I
agreed he should give up and ride in the sag wagon back to our starting point.
After I left Rod and continued on, I guess Mike had showed up about 30
seconds later. I ended up finding John and Leon somewhere and we rode back
towards the Stevens climb and eventually the summit. After a few stops at
the sag wagon because my feet were on fire and I was going through lots of
water, the temperature started to become more on the normal side. The closer we
got to the summit, the more thoughts went through my head about giving up and
jumping into a cold river...every mile closer to the end I seemed to be fading
more and more. Leon and John were nowhere in sight about 4-5 miles from the
top. The temptation to climb off the bike and go skinny dipping in the
Wenatchee river tempted us all. So as not to make this story longer,
I finally made it to the summit with everyone on the side of the road cheering me
on and I sprinted for the line! Now at the top, I figured I would make the
descent and be done with it. The guys took off and got a good head start
on me, and I caught them on the way down and led the pack back into Skykomish
with a couple of good pulls by John and Leon. As we came into Skykomish
the pace quickly slowed and we all knew we were finished. Finally, back
at the car I broke out the Elk Head beer I brought and Jeff, John, Rod and I
had a small cup of it for the perfect recovery drink.
Overall the ride was good as long as you look back on it and think
the suffering was well worth the glory of the finish. The only huge
factor I could say that had a big effect on all was the heat...it was HOT!
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