2021-07-10 Mount St Helens - West Side (Tour de Blast Route)

 Author:  Mike Hassur

 It’s been a few years since we climbed the west side of Mount St. Helens to the Johnston Ridge Observatory (the Tour de Blast route), so this past Saturday’s ride was a reminder to me regarding how beautiful this route is.  It was also a reminder that you have to get up pretty darned early to drive to Toutle, get your gear ready and be heading out by 7:00 AM.

I was up at 3:45 AM, drank my chocolate milk, put on my cycling gear and was leaving home by 4:20 AM.  The plan was to meet Les Becker, Tom Broxson, Martin Katzberg and Scott Wagar at the Park-N-Ride located at the junction of highway 512 and I-5.  I arrived at about 4:40 AM to find Les already there, and Tom pulled in shortly thereafter.  Tom and I moved our gear into Les’ van, and we waited for Scott and Martin to arrive.  At 5:00 AM, I gave Scott a call.  It turned out that they were just a couple minutes away, so we agreed to meet them at Toutle High School (our starting point for the ride).  As Les pulled onto southbound I-5, Martin and Scott whizzed by us; and we were on our way.

The trip to Toutle HS was uneventful, and we arrived around 6:30 AM.  After shepherding two baby deer back to their mom (they got stuck behind a small fence at the high school that mom had jumped over), we got our gear ready and were heading out around 7:00 AM.  It was chilly (low 50’s), so I was in a quandary – do I try to stay comfortable in the early part of the ride by dressing fairly warmly, or do I forsake warmth early on knowing that it won’t be long before things warm up.  In the end, I sort of compromised and took my vest (which I needed for all of about 45 minutes).  It wasn’t long before we were stowing our warm gear in the weeds along the side of the road to be picked up on the way back.

This out-and-back ride is comprised of three major climbs:

1. The climb from Toutle to the Elk Rock Lookout (~ 3,200 feet of elevation gain)
2. The climb up to Johnston Ridge Observatory (~ 1,800 feet of elevation gain)
3. The climb back up to Elk Rock Lookout heading westerly (~ 1,200 feet of elevation gain)

There are random "ups and downs" along the way to bring the total elevation gain for the 84 mile ride to about 7,200 feet.

High and Low Points along the route...

This ride is deceptive in that most riders think that the toughest climb of the day will be the one up to Johnston Ridge Observatory.  It's a good climb, but for me the toughest climb was the very first one from Toutle to Elk Rock Lookout.  It's the longest climb, it's the most elevation gain (by quite a bit) and it left me thinking "what is the Johnston Ridge climb going to feel like if this one was this challenging".  To my surprise, the Johnston Ridge climb was significant, but it was not as fatiguing as the one to Elk Rock (it would not have been close except for the fact that we (Les, Tom and myself) were going "full gas" up to Johnston Ridge.

Martin and Mike...

The views along this route are, generally, pretty great; but the ones near Elk Rock are spectacular...

From Elk Rock, we descended about 1,200 feet to the Coldwater Lake area where we began our 1,800 foot climb to Johnston Ridge...

Normally, the climb up to Johnston Ridge is sort of challenging.  It's not that tough, BUT this time Les - who is normally a paragon of reason - took off after about 600 feet of climbing.  Before we knew it, he was 40-50 yards ahead of the rest of us.  A chase ensued; and 1,200 feet of hard climbing later, we arrived at Johnston Ridge Observatory.  I can't speak for the other guys, but I was "on the rivet" by the end of that climb!!

The signs on the way up said that the Johnston Ridge Observatory was "CLOSED".  This was a potential problem, because we were going to need some water for the ride back.  When we got there, we discovered the following:  the parking lot was pretty full, the gift shop was open (including snacks), the bathrooms were open, there were drinking fountain's including "water bottle filling" stations and THERE WAS A FOOD TRUCK.  Apparently, a visitor center being "closed" sometimes means that the displays and movies that are normally shown there are not open; but for us all of the vital services were open (and then some)...👍👍

Tom, Mike & Mount St. Helens...

Okay, 42 miles and 5,000 feet of climbing done; and 42 miles and 2,200 feet of climbing left to go - no problem (after a rest, food and water at Johnston Ridge).  

I don't have any photos of the descent from Johnston Ridge (it's difficult to take photos when you are hurtling down a mountain at 35-40 mph).  I know - I'm such a wimp...

We had one more 1,200 foot climb to go from Coldwater Lake back up to Elk Rock Lookout.  I was sort of dreading this climb, because I wasn't sure how tough it would be.  As it turned out, it wasn't bad.  The grade wasn't steep enough to be a problem, so we just sort of cruised up.  We stopped at Elk Rock Lookout to take a couple of photos...

From Elk Rock Lookout, it was pretty much downhill most of the way to Toutle (which was good as most of us were feeling fatigued).  The ride down was uneventful except for Scott Wagar's flat tire - which he seemed to fix in about 5 minutes (good job, Scott).

Tom & Les...

I had sort of forgotten what an awesome ride this is.  We had a nice sized group (5 guys is very manageable), we had great scenery and the weather was fine.

Can't wait for our next ride... 👍👍

To see the entire photo album for this ride, click on the following link: 

 07-10-2021 Mt St Helens Ride (Tour de Blast Route)

06-26-2021 Bon Jon Pedal Bender

 Author:  Dwaine Trummert

As the day of the Bon Jon Pedal Bender gravel race approached Adam and I were not concerned about the distance. Eighty miles of gravel was well within our wheelhouse. The elevation gain of 8700 feet was more than nothing but not outside our comfort zone. Our main concern was the weather.

The Pacific Northwest was forecast for record setting heat and the Bon Jon Pedal Bender was scheduled for day one of the three day scorcher. Race strategy discussions were replaced with heat mitigation discussions. We rummaged our closets for our lightest kits. We added additional bottle holders to our bikes. We lowered our finish position ambitions.

Neither of us knew what to expect from the terrain over and around Bon Jon Pass. The elevation profile showed us that the first third of the route captured two thirds of the climbing. It also showed a tough climb at mile fifty. We opted for the long route which featured outer and inner loops that took us up and over the pass twice. The twice around format also made it easy for riders to opt out of the second ascent effectively letting them ride the medium length course.

Race day arrived with a finalized forecast of 98 degrees Fahrenheit for Quilcene. I hoped the shade and elevation of the forest might temper that number. My estimation was that we would see ambient air temperature on the course of 70 to 90 degrees for all but the final few miles.

We settled on a race plan that was fairly fluid. We hoped to start in an early wave. We wanted to put in some work early to get the bulk of the climbing behind us before the sun began to work us over. We needed to remain objective about the heat's affect in real time as the day progressed. We committed to safety over race results.
 
We crossed the start line at 8 a.m. sharp in the first wave of starters. This group of ambitious racers quickly found itself climbing in earnest. Within twenty minutes Adam and I let the leaders go up the road and found a more moderate pace. This part of the day went well. The roads were friendly. The promoter described sections of the course as 'rustic pavement' and that description was spot on. The majority of the gravel portions remained smooth. The air of the forest remained amenable.

At the 45 minute mark we were caught by a group of strong and steady riders that started one or two minutes behind us. We matched their pace and let them pull us across the short flats that punctuated the longer climbing pitches.

As we climbed we remained vigilant about hydration. All three of my water bottles were filled with Tailwind Nutrition Endurance Blend. Adam carried a similar load. We targeted a minimum consumption of one bottle per hour and repeatedly reminded each other to drink on schedule. After an hour of climbing the race appeared to be going as well as could be expected. Our spirits remained upbeat.

The first climb was long but manageable. The heat had not yet hit us. Adam was riding strong. Photo by Jesse Major.

Adam was feeling well and took a turn at the front across one of these flats. Foolishly I did as well. And that short effort became my undoing.

Within ten minutes of my turn at the front I needed to let our small group slip up the road. Adam followed my instruction to 'Go' with the group. I was forced to accept that I couldn't climb as well as I had just a few weeks ago.

I was working a bit harder than Adam when I came upon the photographer. But I was still happy to be racing my bike in the woods. Photo by Jesse Major.

I soloed for the next 30 minutes. I crested the first summit at mile eighteen. The road pitched down for five miles before pitching back up. Just a mile later I reached the first aid station where I was able to connect with Adam and our small group.

Adam and I are no strangers to fast aid station stops. A Payday candy bar was stashed in my pocket as I filled my two empty bottles. The group was not yet ready to go. The door to the portable bathroom was open. I took a preemptive visit only to find there was no need. This was a stark contrast from from my normal cycling urination schedule. A mental note was made that a bottle an hour might not be adequate as the day progressed.

One more mile of climbing laid ahead and I worked hard to stay with Adam. We crested Jon Bon Pass together. The road was twisty, potholed, and our group strung out a bit. At mile twenty seven the course turned off the more traveled gravel road and onto a narrow two track trail. The grade was slightly down, the trees crowded the trail providing shade, and the twists kept it interesting.

The two track trail was an excellent opportunity for me to make good on the time I lost on the climb. The trail weaved through the trees and I thoroughly enjoyed sweeping side to side as the trail wound its way around rocks, trees, and occasional puddles.

When the route re-emerged onto a more traveled road I expected Adam to catch me right away. As I kept an eye behind I found myself near a Silverdale Autoworks rider. We descended together and had time to chat a bit when we reached the flatter and paved Palo Alto road. This rider had ridden many of these roads as had his teammates. Shortly there after we caught one of his many teammates and a strong rider joined from behind to make a group of four. The riders from Silverdale Autoworks demonstrated their familiarity with the road and we took the descending portions at pace.

Mile 44 brought the second of four aid stations and the return to more rolling terrain. It also provided the thirty seconds necessary for Adam to bring us back together. We filled our bottles, I grabbed a bag of salty potato chips, and we remounted. With us was Andrew.

Adam and Andrew had joined forces before the aid station. Andrew was at least as strong as us and we welcomed his help on the flats.

The three of us pedaled towards our impending doom. I devoured my Ruffles brand chips. I was craving the salt. Adam was amused as they tickled my throat and I coughed half of them back up.

Adam and I shared with Andrew our final climb strategy. We had full bottles and were sipping constantly. We would climb at sustainable effort levels. We then took thirty seconds to remove and stow jerseys for maximum cooling. At mile fifty we reached Lord's Lake and the right hand turn towards Bon Jon Pass.

The turn at Lord's Lake onto Little Quilcene Road also marked a crossroads in course layout. Medium course riders skipped Little Quilcene Road and started their final five miles of pavement to the finish. Long course riders turned right to start the thirty mile inner loop.

As the three of us lamented the twenty foot chain link fence that separated us from the blue and inviting waters of the Lord's Lake reservoir the climbing began. Just five and one half miles separated us from the top of Bon Jon Pass. Unfortunately that distance also included the additional barrier of  2000 feet of climbing.

Soon enough each of us was fighting our thermal limit. There was no chatting. The dust from descending short course riders stuck to my perspiration covered skin. The road offered too little shade.

After just a mile Adam hailed me that he needed to slow. I stopped and we discussed his condition. He was being cautious and wanted me to go ahead at my own pace. We both knew cooling salvation could be found by reversing course and descending towards Lords Lake.

I dropped my pace a bit even as I climbed away from Adam. Andrew and I yoyoed back and forth as we climbed towards the aid station. I frequently dismounted and walked never letting myself come to a complete stand still. Andrew attacked the climb differently. He pedaled from shade to shade stopping at some for a moment of rest.

During one of my walks I told Andrew not to wait. I told Andrew I was a mess and not likely to go any faster. I told him, however, I would not give up. I did not give up. But I wanted to.

The aid station at mile 54 brought a momentary distraction from the heat. I wasted no time. I filled all three bottles, chose another salty snack, and told Andrew I would soft pedal up the road. Andrew was in no hurry and instructed me not to wait. One final look down the road did not reveal Adam.

Later I learned of Adam's experience climbing to the third aid station. The heat was having a profound affect. My earlier estimation of 70 to 90 degree ambient air was way off. Adam's Garmin saw 100 degrees F. He stopped to rest and cool. He considered turning around. Eventually he soldiered his way up to the aid station but chose to go no further. With four fifths of the climb behind him he made the safe call. He turned and descended.

My final mile of climbing hurt but seemed to go by quickly. I took in the relief when the gradient temporarily slackened. I choked on my chips again but did so without an audience. I found the top of Bon Jon Pass which marked the end of the serious climbing. The entire climb from Lord's Lake to Bon Jon Pass cost me three bottles of water and almost exactly one hour of time and provided much more misery than I had budgeted for.

The inner loop re-used a portion of the outer loop including the narrow two track. With re-found vigor I attacked this section. Instead of avoiding the puddles I found excuses to buzz them encouraging the spray from my front wheel to provide additional cooling. Near the end of this section I caught and passed a Silverdale Autoworks rider.

At mile 61 the course turned right. The remainder of the course was flat or down hill and remained on the straighter and more open roads. I hoped to find another rider to share the pacemaking. I slowed and looked over my shoulder. The Silverdale Autoworks rider filled my near field of vision and Andrew filled my far. I was caught by the Silverdale Autoworks rider. Andrew fell just short of connecting when the descending started.

The rider from Silverdale Autoworks knew this dirt road well and descended it perfectly. Only by keying off him was I able to match his pace. After five miles of gravel descending we reached a flat section. I had high praise for his descending skills and he had high praise that I kept up. He told me most people don't. I felt my chest puff just a little after his compliment.

A strong rider joined us from behind and the pace picked up. I took only a single pull over the next ten miles.

With five miles of descending left to go the road turned to pavement and I was dropped. The stronger rider powered away. The Silverdale Autoworks rider gave chase. He was as adapt descending pavement as gravel and gapped me at the first corner. I kept them in sight but lacked the strength to close the distance. The finish came none to soon and I was relieved to be off the bike.

Over the next thirty minutes my body and mind returned to normal. A water source was found to rinse away the sweat, salt, dust, and for a few minutes at least, the heat. A cold beer and lukewarm bratwurst rekindled my soul. Fresh clothes did wonders for my spirits.

On the day of the event we spoke little about our position in the race. Not until well after I finished did I learn that I scored 6th in 5h:56m:34s. I also learned I was within striking distance of both 4th and 5th positions who were just two minutes faster. The winner of my group, men's masters, finished about twenty-seven minutes faster than me.

My finish position sounded pretty good until I dug farther into the results. Only eleven of the twenty-eight riders registered in my class finished. I was unable to determine if the non finishers chose not to start or chose to ride a shorter course or abandoned all together. Either way the oppressing heat pushed down the number of long course finishers.

Adam and I reached some conclusions about our day during the drive home. Our legs did not limit our performance as much as the heat. The Quilcene area gravel roads were often lovely smooth right until they became potholed from ditch to ditch. We had no regrets about giving up a few minutes here and there to ensure we avoided heat stroke. We were relieved to be done with hottest and least enjoyable day of cycling in memory.

On the ride home I sent a simple text to my wife's inquiry about the race. She asked 'how did it go?'. My answer was crafted quickly and on the fly yet I cannot improve on the sentiment. Short and to the point I sent back 'pretty miserable'.

6-19-2021 Riding South of Olympia with Tom, Les, Dwaine & Mike (aka "Dwaine's Double Lollipop Ride")

 Author:  Mike Hassur

On Saturday, June 19th; Les B., Dwaine T., Tom P. and I (Mike H.) did a memorable ride together.  I forgot my camera, so I'm planning to supplement my descriptions of the ride with short "snippets" of video taken with my GoPro at various portions of the ride.  The genesis of this adventure was Dwaine contacting us mid-week about the possibility of going for a ride sometime on Saturday or Sunday of the following weekend.  The weather forecast looked good; and Dwaine had a route in mind that started in Olympia and used portions of the Chehalis-Western and Yelm-Tenino Trails as well as quiet country roads to take us to Skookumchuck Reservoir, Bucoda, Tono, Centralia, Tenino, McIntosh Lake and back to Olympia.  This route was approximately 80 miles in length with about 3,000' of climbing.

The four of us met at the Park-N-Ride adjacent to McDonalds at the junction of Hwy 512 and I-5.  Tom threw his gear in my van and Les and Dwaine rode together in Les' van.  We "caravanned" down to our starting point in Olympia - a big empty parking lot - and were on our bikes heading out at about 7:00 AM.  The Chehalis-Western Trail ran along the western border of this parking lot.  We made our way across the parking lot and headed south on the trail.

Click on map for an enlarged view...

** Click on this link to view a 50-second video of this portion of the ride **

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We followed the Chehalis Western Trail through the southern parts of Olympia and into the countryside (chatting all the way - there was no shortage of conversation amongst this group)...

Our location shortly after leaving Olympia...

** Click on this link to view a 55-second video of this portion of the ride **

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The Chehalis Western Trail is really nice.  It is smooth, flat and the scenery varies between forested sections and areas of open fields - perfect for maintaining a comfortable pace and still visiting...

Our location as we progressed further south on the CW Trail...

** Click on this link to view a 60-second video of this portion of the ride **

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After traveling approximately 15 miles south from Olympia on the Chehalis Western Trail, we turned right (west) onto the Yelm-Tenino Trail as show on the following map and video...

Map showing our location at junction
of CW Trail & Yelm-Tenino Trail...

** Click on this link to view a 25-second video of this portion of the ride **

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We travelled west on the Yelm-Tenino Trail for just a few miles before turning left onto Johnson Creek Road which took us south toward the Skookumchuck Reservoir as shown on the map and in the photos below...

Map showing our location at the Skookumchuck Reservoir...

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After checking out the Skookumchuck Dam and Reservoir area, we headed west on Skookumchuck Road SE - eventually, arriving at the small community of Bucoda.  As we were cycling through Bucoda, we passed a baseball field which had a dugout with the name "Bucoda" on it.  A brief conversation led to us turning around to get a photo that had "Bucoda" in it (see video).

Passing through Bucoda as shown on this map...

** Click on this link to view an 80-second video of the Bucoda portion of the ride **

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After leaving Bucoda, we followed Tono Road SE.  Apparently, we passed the town of Tono; but I don't really think that any of us were aware of it.  This portion of the trip took us through rolling, forested hills with some pretty decent climbs and fast, curvy descents...

Beautiful, forested hills in this portion of the ride...

** Click on this link to view a 70-second video of this beautiful, hilly part of the ride **

** Click on this link to view a 60-second video of the final, fast, twisty descent before turning onto Hanaford Valley Rd **

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Eventually, we found ourselves on Hanaford Valley Road which gradually curved in a westerly direction and took us by the huge, coal-fired Centralia Power Station which is slowly being phased out in favor of natural gas, solar and wind energy sources.  The power station is an imposing structure with a huge pile of coal sitting next to it.

Riding on Hanaford Valley Rd passing the Centralia Power Station...

** Click on this link to view a 90-second video of this portion of the ride **

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After passing the power station, we headed southwest toward the town of Centralia.  We were just cruising along on the gentle, rolling hills of Hanaford Valley Road when Dwaine suddenly said "take a left up ahead".  We took a quick left turn and - almost immediately - found ourselves on a hill that seemed as though it would never end (at least, that was my impression).  Obviously, the hill did end - FINALLY; but OMG...

** Click on this link to view a 120-second video of this portion of the ride **

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By this point in the ride, I had no idea exactly where we were (in fact, I was pretty clueless as to our location well before this).  Pretty soon, we were rolling into the outskirts of a town that I figured might be Tenino - until I saw the sign that said "Entering Centralia".  That's when I thought to myself "I'd better not lose these guys, or I'll never make it back to the vehicles"!!

We've made it to Centralia at this point...

** Click on this link to view a 60-second video of us approaching Centralia **

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We were still riding through Centralia when we had a mishap.  Tom's rear tire blew out, and it was impressive.  If you watch the video closely, you will hear what sounded like a shotgun blast and see an accompanying cloud of (vapor??) emitted from the back tire.  This incident, also, ended our videos for the trip.  My GoPro battery died as we were fixing Tom's flat, and I was so focused on what had happened that I forgot to replace it with a fresh battery...👎👎

** Note: make sure that your sound is turned on for this video... **

** Click on this link to view a 60-second video "Tom's Blow Out" (make sure your sound is on) **

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After we got the tire fixed and headed out of Centralia, our return path took us through Tenino,  on up passed McIntosh Lake and back to Olympia via the Tenino-Yelm Trail and the Chehalis Western Trail.

Map of the final leg of our trip from Centralia back to our "Starting Point" in Olympia...

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Summary:

This probably turned out to be my favorite ride of 2021 thus far.  The weather was good, the scenery was excellent (and new to me), the places along the way on this trip were surprisingly interesting to me (e.g. parts of Centralia that I'd never seen, the Centralia Power Station, BUCODA, Tono, McIntosh Lake, Skookumchuck Dam, etc.) and - finally - our group of riders was awesome (if you are looking for a good group of guys with whom to ride, make sure that Les, Dwaine and Tom are in it)… 👍👍

The snippets of video that I used in this blog post came from a 70 minute video that I made from this trip.  I can't imagine that anyone wants to watch a 70 minute cycling video (except in "spinning class"), but here's the link just in case:

2021-06-19 Dwaine's "Double-Lollipop" Ride

2021-06-26 Puyallup Cyclopath "Sunrise Visitor Center Double/Triple Ride"

 Author:  Mike Hassur

Up at 4:00 AM to feed and water the pets (Winston and two cats), take Winston out to do his "business", clean the kitty litter, take a quick shower, do my morning exercises, put on my cycling gear and load my bike in the van - all in time to meet Les B. near the Foothills Trailhead in Puyallup at around 5:10 AM.  I was there on time and so was Les, and we were off by 5:15 AM.  After a smooth/uneventful trip, we arrived at the closed gate at the bottom of the 10-mile climb to Mt. Rainier's Sunrise Visitor Center (SVC) where we started unloading our gear.

Martin and Les preparing for our first trip up the climb to the Sunrise Visitor Center (SVC)...

Rob D. surprised us when he came down after completing his first trip up to SVC while we were still getting our gear prepared.  He had come out about an hour and and twenty minutes ahead of the rest of us to get in as much climbing as he could while it was still cool (we were in the midst of a few days of some unseasonably warm weather).  By the time that our 7:00 AM start time arrived, we had six riders ready to go (Scott J., Tom B., Les B., Martin K., Rob D. and me).  Because I was concerned about being cold on our first descent down from the SVC, I chose to wear a long sleeved t-shirt under my jersey for this first trip up and down - poor decision... as I was beginning to sweat within the first mile of the climb.  In spite of my overheating issues, we were treated to some spectacular views as we got higher on the climb...

Map of our route...

Mt. Adams in the distance...

Tom and Mike heading up...

Tom and Les in the last mile or two of the climb to the SVC...

Tom and Les arriving at the SVC parking lot (which was completely empty)...

Scott, Les and Tom in the deserted SVC parking lot (oh - and Mt. Rainier...👍👍

Since the parking lot was empty, this unknown couple decided to take a quick nap...

 

We re-grouped at the top and started the descent mostly together (Scott was ahead of us, so I didn't get any photos of him).

Martin and Rob heading down (photo slightly skewed as it was taken over my shoulder)...

Martin, Rob and Mike...

No more photos on this first descent as we were going fast which is not conducive to taking lots of photos...!!

Martin re-supplying at his vehicle before our second trip up the climb...

John W. had arrived to join us by the time that we had completed our first time up and down (John had to return home for some food that he had forgotten to pack which made him a little late).

John W. in the final portion of the climb up to SVC...

After making it up to the SVC a second time, I managed to get a few more photos on our second descent...

Les heading down toward Sunrise Point Lookout (we saw quite a few cyclists
heading up during our second descent...

View from just above Sunrise Point Lookout... across the valley you can see Hwy 410 making its way up toward Cayuse Pass...

A little further down the road, I took my camera out to get some photos of Les negotiating the hairpin turn at Sunrise Point Lookout...

Mike photographing Les as we round the hairpin at Sunrise Point Lookout...

Les approaching the Sunrise Point Lookout hairpin turn...

Les entering the turn with Rob taking a photo (crouching next to the stone wall)...

Cyclopaths descending just below Sunrise Point Lookout (with numerous other cyclists heading up)...

Well, that's the end of our pictorial blog post.  I was too tired and hot on the third time up to take any photos - except for this one at the very end...

Ugh... hot and tired AND DONE...👍👍

Looking forward to our next ride on July 10th:  "West Side of Mt. St. Helens to Johnston Ridge Observatory (Tour de Blast Route)".  Can't wait!!