I had never done ramrod before this year, but I have done enough hard rides with the Cyclopaths to know what to expect. I knew it would be a
difficult ride and I was planning on trying to be in the top 5 to 10 finishers.
I knew the biggest hurdle would be the climb over Cayuse. I would need to
conserve as much energy as possible up to that point and then be prepared to
suffer until the finish.
At that the start it was still dark and dawn was
approaching. I met a few other Cyclopaths at the start line. Scott W was
planning on starting at 5, as I was. I also saw John and Les, but they were
going to be starting a little later. So I started off with Scott and a few
other riders. The group got larger as we continued and we were making good time
down through South Prairie into Orting. Then along Orville road through Kapowsin
and finally into Eatonville. We were in a fairly large group by the time we
reached Meridian and I went hard up the first short climb into Eatonville and
was riding solo after that. I passed the first water stop and continued out of
Eatonville up the climb on Alder Lake Cutoff Rd. A small group of riders
caught me on the climb so I upped my pace to match them. They soon slowed and I
had dropped them and I was riding alone again. Once I reached highway 7 I
slowed my pace to allow the group behind me to catch up, so that we could get a
good pace line going. We started with about 5 guys and we were going well,
caught a few riders and soon the group was up to about 10. With the slight
incline and nice pace we dropped some of the guys and by the time we reached
the food stop we were back to 5.
I spent more time at that stop than I wanted but I was going
to try and stick with the same guys. It always makes a ride a little easier
when you are in a group. They were leaving when I saw Scott W pull in. I was
able to chat with him and he wasn't stopping long so we left the food stop
together. Once we reached the park entrance I could see the guys I had
previously been riding with in front of me. I was able to tempo back up to
them, being in a paceline even on a climb does help. By the time we passed Longmire
one of the guys upped the pace, I matched him and when he came off the front I
saw we had dropped the other three riders and he was dropping back as well. I
felt comfortable with my pace, so I just kept going. I would be pretty much be
riding solo from here to the finish. I kept the same pace up to Inspiration Point, passing a few more riders along the way, where I briefly stopped to
refill my bottles. And on I continued. The descent and spectacular views through
Stevens Canyon is my favorite part of the ride.
 |
| 2018 RAMROD David finishing 2nd overall |
After a short climb up Backbone Ridge, I descended to the Stevens
Canyon entrance and headed towards Cayuse. I was feeling good up to this point
in the ride, but I knew once I started up Cayuse it was going to hurt. I was
not disappointed. As I was climbing Cayuse I could see a blinking red light
ahead of me. Another rider. I was slowly gaining ground on him until I eventually
passed him. I was completely ignoring my HR by this point because it was higher
than I wanted and with the increasing temperatures there was nothing I could do
about that. I reached the top of Cayuse, which felt like forever, and after
topping off my water began my descent. Once I had completed the descent I started
the long grind back to Enumclaw. I had no idea how many people were in front of
me or how close anyone was behind me. With the nonstop heat blasting headwind,
I was half expecting a group to catch me. This is really the part of the ride
where having multiple riders together can make a big impact. I would've
welcomed being caught, but as it was, I had to grind the miles out, watching my
Garmin slowly tick always the tenths of miles, counting down until I would
reach the finish.
Finally, the Mud Mountain Road turnoff. My water bottles were
long empty, but I knew I would get a little break on the Mud Mountain downhill.
The road is somewhat rough, and I went down as fast as my nerves would let me.
Once at the bottom it was the home stretch and I felt a renewed strength as I
completed the ride and finally passed under the finish line. They told me I was
the second rider to come in. I rested a bit, had some liquids and an ice cream
bar. I was going to wait around to meet up with some of the other Cyclopaths
but to be honest, with the heat, I was ready to just head home.
Congratulations, David; a very impressive ride!
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