Author: Mike Hassur
Editorial Comment:
One quick note about RAMROD’s Stevens Canyon descent (and
many of the others that we do), IT IS DANGEROUS. As most of you know, a man was killed there
in this year’s RAMROD. All of us do
descents like this so often that I think we tend to forget that the very things
that make them stimulating (high speeds, a rough road surface, gratings in the
road, a cliff at the side of the road with no railings, a dark tunnel in which
it is difficult to see if there is a rock in your path, etc.) also increase our
risk level. For me, nothing could
diminish the joy and excitement that we share for cycling more profoundly than
one of us being seriously injured in a crash during one of our rides
together. I’m not saying that we won’t
take some risks, I just want to make sure that we don’t take them lightly (i.e.
have fun letting the testosterone flow, but don’t let it do your thinking for
you).
Short version of the 2012
RAMROD narrative:
It went great. The
weather was cooperative (and not overly hot), Mike and Les broke the 9 hour
barrier for total riding time (including stops) for the first time, and Mark
Delrosario completed his first RAMROD (way to go, Mark).
Long version of the 2012 RAMROD
narrative:
Les and I had talked quite a bit about our strategy for
trying to break nine hours (total time including stops) in this year’s
RAMROD. What we finally decided was not
to burn ourselves out riding with the >25 mph crowd in the first 30-40 miles
and to spend minimal time at the rest stops (i.e. pee if you have to, quick
refill of water bottles, and “adios” to the rest stop).
We met at the starting line at ~ 5:15 AM (it was easy to
spot Les with his Cyclopath jersey on.
Mark showed up shortly thereafter, and we were off by 5:25 AM. It wasn’t fully light when we left (rear
lights flashing), and it wasn’t too cold (middle 50’s) so we didn’t need arm
warmers, leg warmers, or an under-layer.
We were cruising along (~20 mph) just past Buckley when
this woman passed us. She was going
23-24 mpg, so we hooked in behind her.
She had no interest in sharing the work, so we just followed her. She took us through South Prairie, past
Orting, and part way to Lake Kapowsin before we hooked up with a larger
group. We made it to Lake Kapowsin at a
brisk (but not killer) pace without using much energy at all. From Lake Kapowsin to Eatonville, we were a
part of a larger group. Our pace was
around 23 mph which was relatively easy in a group. As we approached Lake Ohop, the pace picked
up, and it was during this stretch that we lost contact with Mark.
Les and I didn’t bother to stop at the food stop in
Eatonville. Our plan was to make it to
the food stop just after Ashford (at 60 miles) where we would make our first
brief stop. Along the way, we met Chris
Allen, who is a friend of Tom Peterson’s.
Chris had spotted our Cyclopath jerseys and introduced himself. We rode with Chris for a while, but his pace
was a little too brisk for us. We rolled
into the food stop just behind Chris, lost track of him, and didn’t see him
again until the finish.
After the food stop, it was on to the Nisqually Entrance
of Mt Rainier National Park. Once again,
we were fortunate to find ourselves in a group of guys that was going at a pace
with which we were comfortable. We
breezed through the park entrance and started the gradual climb toward Longmire
(where the real climbing begins). Les
and I lost most of our partners as soon as we started climbing, but there was
one fellow (who had been with a group of fast guys) who was going about the
same speed as us. I can’t remember his
name; but he was 53 years old, and we ended up seeing him for a good portion of
the remainder of the ride.
The steeper climb from Longmire to the Paradise cutoff
(to Reflection Lake) was uneventful. It
was interesting that Les was not feeling very strong as we began the climb; but
the further we went, the stronger he seemed to get. By the top, he seemed to be the stronger of
the two of us.
As we passed Reflection Lake, I remember thinking how
much better I felt than the previous year when we had burned so much precious
energy by riding too fast in the first 60 miles of the event. We zoomed down the Steven’s Canyon descent on
the east side of the mountain: feeling
great, speeding over the gratings in the road and through the tunnels, peering
over the edge of the cliff at the side of the road at the beautiful valley
below, and – in general – enjoying a fast descent to the food zone just before
Box Canyon.
After a fairly quick stop at the food station (not as
quick as it should have been because of cookies and chocolate filled
somethings(?)), we were off to the Backbone Ridge Climb. We followed a tri-athlete (aero bars) at a
fast clip all the way to the climb, where he promptly dropped us. We summited Backbone Ridge fairly quickly and
found ourselves descending toward the eastern park entrance/exit. This descent was interesting because there
were sections of the road that were gravel (they were under repair). We noticed that these sections were very short
(maybe 20 yards long) and did not have a lot of loose gravel on them; so, while
many of the riders slowed down a lot for these sections, we didn’t. We would slow down a little, pick a safe path
through what gravel was there, and zip through the repair area. By the time we reached the Ranger Station at
the bottom of the descent, we had caught the tri-athlete who’d dropped us so
convincingly on the Backbone Ridge climb.
We rode with him and five or six other strong riders to the base of the
Cayuse Pass climb.
Les and I felt relatively good going up Cayuse. The tri-athlete dropped us almost
immediately, and we dropped everyone else in our group. For most of the way up, it was just Les and me. We caught and passed a few riders on the
climb, but there just didn’t seem to be that many people on Cayuse.
At the top of Cayuse, we refilled water bottles
(important for me as I was beginning to cramp a bit) and headed down the other
side. In order to save time, we did not
stop at the “RAMROD Deli” at the Crystal Mountain turnoff. Instead, we zoomed by the “Deli” and
immediately slowed down. There are
almost always faster riders who have stopped at the “Deli” who are leaving
about the time we pass. Our strategy was
to slow down, not waste energy and link up with them as they caught up to
us. There is almost always a headwind in
this last 40 miles of RAMROD, and it is much more efficient (and fast) to be in
a group. Sure enough, after a few miles two
guys came cruising along at a nice pace.
We hooked up with them, and everyone was happy (except that I was
starting to have some really bad cramping in my legs). The cramping was bad enough that I was not
sure if I could keep pedaling a couple of times. Fortunately, the cramps were only bad if I
really had to apply power, and I was able to keep a pretty smooth pace most of
the time without too much trouble.
Just outside of Greenwater, our group encountered a solitary
rider heading the other direction. It
was Leon! He had to work that day and
could not do RAMROD. As soon as he
finished work in Orting, he hopped on his bike and headed up to find us with
the idea of helping us finish those last 25-30 miles. In the end, Leon was a “God send”. As we neared the Mud Mountain Dam turnoff,
the other two guys from our group deserted us (one of them had to pee). Leon, who had already been working like a
madman, took over and pulled us up to a group of riders near Mud Mountain
Dam. We rode with them almost all the
way to the finish line with Leon leading us out over the last few blocks to get
us to the finish absolutely as quickly as possible.
In the end, Leon’s efforts (and ours) bore fruit. We managed to finish in less than nine hours
(around 8:55.40) in total time (including stops) which was a first for both Les
and myself. We were very pleased. Mark Delrosario followed us in completing his
first RAMROD. Way to go, Mark. That was a real accomplishment!
