Dwaine's Picture Post for Rainiering on Rainier

Climbing Cayuse from the North during Ramrod is a memorable experience. Most of the Cyclopaths have this section of pavement burnt into their long term memory. But climbing it before eight a.m. on an August morning made the climb seem almost foreign. The temperature was cool. Our legs did not yet ache. The shadows stretched out long before us as the sun rose over the horizon. Cayuse really did show us a friendly face on this first leg of our trip.

In another attempt at cleverness, the author intended to memorialize each ascent with a photo showing the numerical order of the climb. As we reached the top of Cayuse the group sans photographer showed the camera a single digit indicating that Cayuse, the first of many, had been summited. The original intent was a photo at the top of each climb or pass. Not till later did we realize that the counting, not the climbing, would provide the bigger challenge.

Sunrise is always a treat. We saw more traffic than usual but this climb was as beautiful as ever. The sign welcoming us to the Sunrise visitor's center (elevation 6400 feet) was a great prop for our second summit photo. We just needed to be careful not to step in the mud.

This was Adam's first bicycle trip up and down the road to Sunrise. After we completed the descent and returned to the flatter part of the road we had a great talk about the steep and bendy parts of the descent. Les and I talked about memorizing the various twists and turns. Everyone agreed the descent is pretty darn fun whether it was a riders first or twenty-first time down.

The short trip from the top of Cayuse to the top of Chinook is probably the author's favorite bit or pavement. The roadway and rock walls have an old-timey feel to them.  The cars are generally moving pretty slow. There is a decent shoulder. The views are stunning. And the wooden footbridge over the road at the summit reminds riders of a mountain top finish in a grand tour. It made sense for another group photo showing our numerical progress but there was some disagreement. Apparently Les and Mike have a long running fued over which climbs count as passes and which climbs don't. Adam and I learned pretty quickly not to bring up the subject.

Right after photo number four was taken the author felt a change in shoe fit. Apparently as I remounted a screw let go on my right shoe and the tensioning buckle, still attached to the plastic strap, became free to move about on each pedal stroke. To my luck and amazement the buckle tensioner mechanism held the screw captive. At our next stop I over tensioned the remaining straps, removed the buckle and screw, deposited them in my pocket, and made a mental note to make a repair when we returned to the cars. I hoped this easily fixed buckle detachment filled our quota of mechanical issues for the day.

At some point we talked about how often and how long to stop for rest. The group did not always agree. Until we reached the two thirds point of our day. Adam took in the beauty of Reflection Lake. Les took some photos. The author laid flat and nearly napped on the warm rock wall. Mike had a mini picnic. He was wise enough to bring something more than just energy bars. We were a little envious as he enjoyed his peanut butter and honey sandwich.

Les smiles as he shows us proof that we reached our 'Rainiering' goal of 14,410 feet. Well, if we were content with the 1956 U.S. Geological Survey height. We weren't. The rest of the group was aiming for the new official GPS derived height of 14,411 feet.

The Cyclopaths 2016 'Rainiering' ride climbing came to an end at the top of backbone ridge. This worked out well as it was an easy descent back to the cars and a pretty good place for a celebratory photograph. A stick was jammed against a steel bicycle to become a tripod and we smiled as the camera's self timer did it's thing. It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. This photo is worth over 14k feet.

Dwaine's Picture Post for Haller Pass Recon

This mission of this ride was to make sure that the Haller Pass route was still suitable for Cyclopath endorsement. During this scouting ride navigation played a role in our ride. Although we never met the technical definition of lost, we did have some directional confusion. The good news is that our senses of direction seemed to know when another stop to study the map was called for.

We took a short detour off our planned route to explore a narrow road that followed the top of a ridge. (Author note: I need to thank Mike for humoring me on this detour. The road was steep and challenging and not appropriate for a group ride. But I was curious to get a first person view of where it went.) As the climbing slackened a bit we came around a corner and were greeted by a puppy! And a few people camping. And then by this spectacular view. These folks might have chosen the most scenic campsite I have ever seen. We took a few photos but, as friendly as he was, the puppy would not join Mike for a photo in front of the mountain.

No caption needed.

Haller pass photo. Well, almost. Haller pass was once open enough for a decent view of the mountain. But trees now obscure the view for the most part. So we followed a narrow road out to a natural viewpoint. We visited with a few locals, turned down there generous offer of beer, and figured out how to use my Cannondale as a tripod for this photo.

The majority of the miles after Haller Pass were descending on the more heavily traveled portion of Forest Service road 75. With the additional vehicular traffic comes the stutter bumps. We stopped a few times just to let our forearms rest. At this rest point the view isn't as awe inspiring as Mount Rainier yet the author still felt moved enough to strike this dramatic pose.

After about five hours and 35 miles we returned to Mike's van. We had a fantastic day scouting out this Haller Pass route. We also had a terrific time chatting and taking in the spectacular scenery. After riding this route I can understand why Mike has elevated it to the Cyclopath calendar.


TO SEE ALL OF THE PHOTOS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SCENIC TRIP, CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINK:  Haller Pass Cyclocross_Gravel Road Ride

How to finish Ramrod in the top ten percent -- by Dwaine

(or first in the 'fenderbike' class)

When Les, Scott, and I started the 2016 Ramrod we were not planning for record setting times. We wanted to ride together but had few other details planned for the ride. By the end of the day we had all finished in respectable time. Those finish times made me start to wonder what we did better or faster than the other 700 riders. Those ideas and observations make up the theme of this blog post.

It goes without saying that rider fitness needs to be at Cyclopath level. Neither Conner climbing prowess nor Rob locomotive power are required. But a decent base level of fitness common in the Cyclopath group is obviously a requirement for a ride of this length and intensity. All riders in the Scott-Les-Dwaine trio met this requirement.

The 'Trio' ride past the first food stop and right on out of Eatonville. We didn't see many groups for a while after this point and wisely rode at a moderate pace. This was the chattiest part of the ride.

The first third of the ride, from Enumclaw to Ashford, needs to be about moderation. We found pacelines as often as reasonable to moderate our energy usage. We ignored the fastest groups to save energy. And when no strangers were present to put their noses into the wind we simply slowed a bit to save energy.

A lot of time can be saved in the food and water stops. Even more time can be saved by not stopping. As a group we rode right on past the Eatonville stop and set our sights on the Ashford stop at about 60 miles. Before we arrived I warned the other Cyclopaths that I would be making my stops quite short. I like to fill my pockets with food and then eat while I soft pedal up the road. I probably spent just three minutes off the bike at the Ashford stop and spent considerably less at each of my remaining stops.

The moderate pace for the first sixty miles is to save energy. And that energy is properly used over the next 50 miles. A decent climbing effort is necessary to separate the finishers from the top ten percent finishers. This year the first major climb inside the park was taken at a steady and respectable pace. Respectable enough that all three Cyclopaths were questioning if this pace might be just a little too hot. Respectable enough that the pleasant chit-chat that took place over the first 60 miles all but evaporated.

Les was riding Dwaine's wheel at this part of the ride. Yet he still found out how to position Dwaine out of the photo. The silent assassin works in mysterious ways.

The Box Canyon food stop is pivotal for a top ten percent finish. Adequate calories needs to be in the rider's pockets when departing from Box Canyon to get all the way back to the start/finish line in Enumclaw. This caloric preparation will pay dividends in a paragraph or two.

Is Scott smiling? Doesn't he know climbing is supposed to be hard?

The climb up Cayuse often defines a rider's experience of Ramrod. There is no easy route. This is the part of the ride where Cyclopath level fitness is required. A ride into the top ten percent requires another decent effort against this pitch at a point when the rider is about 100 miles into his day. I wish I could tell you that I felt all kittens and sweet cream for this year's Cayuse climb. But it wasn't so. I pushed at a tough pace that I knew I could sustain for an hour. My stomach was churning. One quad wanted to cramp a mile from the top. Cuss words snuck out of my mouth. And I just kept the pedals turning.

The single biggest time savings might happen at the 'Deli Stop'. There are three scenarios.

1. Stop for food and drink - This is the slowest option and a rider hoping for a top finish probably won't consider it.
2. Don't stop for food or drink - This obviously saves a fair amount of time. But guess what? This is the part of the course where the headwind kicks up. If a rider has a bunch of friends who don't stop this plan is golden. If a rider is solo he should prepare for the headwind hurt hammer.
3. Play the group - If the rider has food from Box Canyon and water bottles full from the top of Cayuse he can play the game. Already in a group that won't stop? Great! Ride on by the Deli Stop. Otherwise, make the turn into the food stop ready to abort on the spot.

This year I 'played the group'. I had enough food. I had enough water. And there were no wheels to follow so I turned into the Deli Stop. I was prepared to abort the stop and follow any riders I saw exitting the stop. I parked my bike and saw no groups departing so I used the Sanican as quick as possible. Once back outside I saw no riders departing so I grabbed a Coke. Another rider departure check and then another food item. It didn't take long to see a group of three mounting up and I hustled over to my bike and started pedalling.

It was going to be beautiful. I had a mouthful of chips, an extra slice of bread in one pocket, and a cold Coke in another. And I was just 150 yards behind a group of riders as we re-entered Highway 410. I was proud of my mental acuity in putting this little plan into action. I got out of the saddle to close the gap and 'Bang!' The crank wouldn't turn.  WTF?  An arm warmer had fallen out of my pocket and into my cogset locking my chain in the process. I was still coasting at over 20 mph. But I couldn't pedal. The group of three was starting to shrink on the horizon. I wish I could tell you that I was a strong enough rider to stop to remove the arm warmer and then close the gap. I knew better than to even try.

I didn't know it yet but the Karma gods would soon even out this episode of bad luck.

While I waited I had no choice but fight the hammer. My neck and shoulder, already sore, started going into spasm as I tried to stay low. The headwinds were warm. By the time I drank my cold Coke it was tepid. My legs were turning the pedals but my road speed wasn't very impressive. I was crumbling.

After about ten miles a gift fell from heaven. I was caught by a man and woman who were going at what turned out to be the perfect pace. For the first five miles all I could do was hang on. But riding protected allowed me to recover a bit. These two riders rode like two synchronized swimmers. Their speeds were steady. They communicated beautifully. Rider lead changes were performed with precision. They let me ride in their shadow and also kept an eye on me. Eventually I felt recovered enough to request permission to take a pull. They agreed. I doubt my skill matched theirs but I did my best to execute a smooth and powerful pull with the emphasis on smooth.

At the finish I was finally able to chat with Dotsie and Scott. It turns out they ride Ramrod together every year, take group riding safety seriously, and don't often let strangers in. But in my case they were either impressed by the jersey, dazzled by the fenders, or just needed a break. And they approved of my group riding skills. Their praise felt good.

Author at the finish.  'Fenderbike' virtual trophy secured. (My shoulder hurt so bad I couldn't raise my arms any higher)

Being welcomed at the finish by Mark was also a treat. I heard the cowbell and was then surprised to see who was ringing it. After a short wait it was nice to welcome my fellow Cyclopaths to the finish. I was so proud of the group I treated them to ice cream.

At the end of the day I was a bit surprised at how quickly I finished. My elapsed time was about nine hours and fifteen minutes. This is my best time and I didn't feel like I was riding at ten tenths the entire day. In retrospect I may have ridden in a way that leveraged my strengths (climbing and eating while pedaling) and hid my weakness (speed on the flats). Either way the ride has made me rethink what it takes to get around the mountain.

RAMROD 2016 (Les Becker's Account)

Author:  Les Becker

The start line this year was moved to Thunder Mountain Middle School where there was no parking for the day or for overnight. So I was pleased that my niece, Jerrinne, allowed Dwaine and I to park his travel trailer (thanks Dwaine for use of your trailer) at their house which is on 6 acres located 4 flat miles from the start. We enjoyed visiting with them Wednesday evening and seeing all their goats, chickens and ducks. In the darkness of 4:00am the next morning I realized it would have been much easier and smarter to mix my Skratch hydration fluid and set the pressure in my tires the evening before. My bike headlight was helpful getting us to the start line and meet up with Scott Wager uneventfully. However, we couldn’t find Kurt and Mario and at 5:15, our agreed upon start time, it would have been easier for me to hold back a team of wild horses than to hold back Dwaine and Scott so off we went. We were feeling great, following a long line of other riders and chatting excitedly. I only vaguely remember Dwaine muttering something about the cue sheet showing a turn only one block from the start. About a mile later, small groups ahead of us began stopping and saying to their buddies things like “Hey, do you know where you are going?” Then when the group turned east, when I knew we needed to go west, I knew we were off course, but not lost, because Dwaine determined how to wind our way through some residential neighborhoods to get us back on track. A great start!

We had only spotty pacelines until turning onto Orville Rd, where as usual, riders coalesced into a long line. We agreed that the pace was a bit faster than we wanted since we were aware of the need to conserve energy. Past Kapowsin and Ohop Lakes we did roughly 23-26 mph. Per our plans, we rode past the first rest stop in Eatonville and were largely on our own until after Elbe. Then we joined a group, but this time it was too slow. Soon others joined us and we split into appropriate groups and arrived at the second rest stop just before the park entrance and did stop for BR break and food/water. Dwaine likes to grab food for his pockets and get back on the bike quickly. He said he’d soft pedal until we caught up. Shortly after, Scott & I left with food in stomachs and pockets. After awhile, I asked Scott what he thought Dwaine meant by “soft pedal.” But we did eventually catch up. In the stretch around Longmire I found myself in a spot of difficulty. This irritated me because this location had been a problem for me on other RAMRODs. I thought this section would go better for me because I felt that I hadn’t burned too much energy prior and felt good coming out of the rest stop. So I did what any reasonable rider would do. I got irrational and decided to push at any cost to stay with the group of I think 4-6 riders, and if I blow up, the heck with it! Fortunately I was able to hang on, and in fact led the group from well below the bridge over the Nisqually all the way to Inspiration Point, but not w/out a cost. Boy was I tired. Scott had chosen a more reasonable pace coming up the hill, so Dwaine and I proceeded down the long beautiful descent to the Box Canyon rest stop; with me in tow. I was surprised to see only about 10 other riders as we pulled in. By skipping the first rest stop and then doing a decent pace up Paradise, we were clearly towards the front. Again Dwaine’s stop was quick and he left. The next time I saw him was at Thunder Mountain Middle School. Just as he left, I heard “Hey, Les!” and saw Scott pulling in. He had made very good time himself.

Scott and I left soon after and rode together chatting up Backbone Ridge (one of Mike’s so-called “passes”; sorry… inside joke!). Well at least Scott was chatting; I was quite breathless to talk much. Sorry Scott, wasn’t trying to ignore you. Climbing Cayuse in 91 deg heat was particularly difficult for me this year. Or do I just forget how much I’ve suffered on previous RAMRODs? Maybe it’s always like this. Lots of existential thoughts and blurred meaning-of-life thoughts swirl through my head on that harsh segment. Again, Scott took a more reasonable pace. The hill threw some leg cramps at me just as I approached the top, just to make sure I didn’t take anything for granted… I didn’t. At RAMROD Deli I didn’t feel well but drank a Coke and ate fruit. I knew my stomach couldn’t handle a sandwich. Without going into detail, my quick trip to the BR showed that I was seriously dehydrated. As I was finishing the Coke I looked up and to my horror, I saw about 25 riders rolling out and I didn’t have time to toss my garbage and get over to join them. I just stood there looking at empty bike racks. This was not a good situation as I pondered the long slog through predictable headwinds and heat (which reached 94 deg) and not feeling well already.

So I got on and pedaled slowly, the only speed I had. In about 10 minutes Andrew, a young man who was a gift from heaven (actually from Portland) came up and passed me without a word. He had a strong, steady pace so I jumped on his wheel anticipating not being able to go that fast. I guess the Coke worked and my legs also began to work. I concentrated on drinking Gatorade continuously from there on and energy food when possible. Eventually he let me take some pulls also and I was encouraged that I once again could deliver reasonable power for 3-4 minutes at a time between his 10-12 minute pulls. This went smoothly all the way to the Mud Mountain turnoff which seemed to come surprisingly quickly. We hadn’t passed anyone and no one passed us. I thanked Andrew for pulling me in, but he was quick to acknowledge that I helped keep him going, so I was pleased to have contributed. It was fun to experience how even a two person paceline is more efficient than a lone rider.

About a half mile from the finish, on a quiet country road, there was a sudden loud clanging cowbell being rung by none other than Mark Delrosario! He shouted encouragement which made me feel quite good from there to the finish line. Thanks Mark! Total time was 9 hr and 35 min; not the fasted I’ve done, but sure felt successful. Dwaine, who had arrived 20 minutes prior, greeted me and showed me where to find the pop sickles and soon Scott arrived. So all was good, well until I grabbed my bike to ride the 4 miles back to Jerrinne’s house and found a flat rear tire. It was the happiest flat tire I’ve ever had since it would have been so much more discouraging if it had happened out on the course. We got back to Dwaine’s trailer, said good-bye to the goats, and headed home.

RAMROD 2016 (Kurt Maute's Account)

Author:  Kurt Maute

On the eve of RAMROD 2016, I called Les Becker to see if there was a plan for the Puyallup Cyclopaths team for the next morning.  He indicated that most of the team was planning to arrive at Thunder Mountain Middle School by 5:00 am and be off by 5:15 am.  I searched Google Maps for the location and sent it to my phone so I would have it ready the next morning.  I awoke by 4:00 am on the next day and set off by 4:30 thinking I would be able to arrive by the 5:00 am time.  Apparently Google Maps got confused (or more likely I did) and ended up asking a police officer for the final directions.  I arrived at the school entrance just after 5:00 and they told me to head to the Shriner’s  Lodge down the road for parking.  That lot was full so I ended up parking in a nearby neighborhood.  Getting off the a bad start, I put on my kit and filled my pockets and arrived back to pick my packet up at about 5:15.  Having received the package I now needed to commute back to my car to drop off parts of the packet and the complimentary RAMROD 2016 tee shirt. 

I finally departed the start line at 5:40 am and was on my way alone but feeling pretty good as I didn’t have to try to catch anyone.  The first 35 miles or so went by quickly and soon I was in Eatonville to dine on some really bad scones (one rider commented they must have been left over from last year J).  Having learned a lesson from last year, I didn’t stay too long and was soon on my way to Ashford.  Along the way I thought of the many times I have ridden parts of this ride with my fellow Cyclopaths which was comforting. I hooked up with a larger groups that accepted me which helped to pass the time reading the back of fellow cyclist jerseys to glean a bit about their experiences...  I was passed by No. 174 who told me we are similar in age and I thought, how would he know that.. but quickly recalled that your number is based on your age and I was No. 161 which makes me 59 this month.  Anyway I began to look at various riders numbers thinking I’m part of the top 20% age-wise which provided a bit of solace as most riders were younger than me so they should be passing me…

I arrived at the Ashford stop and took in fluids, fruit and an energy bar.  I hit the restroom and refilled my bottles and was off some 12 – 15 minutes later…  Once you enter the park there was a timing bar where they also check to make sure you have a visible flasher on you or your bike.  I got to thinking that I had forgotten my RFID tag which I usually attach to my helmet but in my shuffle to and from my car that morning I had forgotten to attach it so I would have to rely on my Garmin which I charged the day before so it would hopefully last the remainder of the ride (which it did).  The Ashford entrance to the park is by far my favorite with old growth forest and a gentle winding climb under shade and among slow moving cars.  Riding up Paradise seemed longer than I remember and toward the end I was starting to get the dreaded Hot Foot…  Having finally summited, I stopped to rest a bit before heading down through Steven's Canyon… one of my favorite ride sections with 35+ mph no problem and no passing cars to worry about.  I stopped briefly at the top of Backbone Ridge or whatever that summit is called to get more water and rest before descending on another of my favorites…down the ridge with newly paved road to enjoy. Heading up Cayuse Pass I had arrived at this part of the ride 1.5 hours earlier than last year which paid big dividends with more shade and lower temperatures – still hot mind you but more doable and not as much Hot Foot... 

I arrived at the Crystal Mt. stop where deli sandwiches are available and was quickly greeted by a friend from Boeing named Russell Tom who had volunteered along with his wife who prepared my meal.  It was great seeing him and meeting his lovely wife.  After I had pretty much finished, Mario greeted me and we had a chance to catch up as he was apparently just a few minutes ahead of me.  He indicated that he was riding with some very fit riders and would be headed out soon.  We said our goodbyes and, as I later departed, there was Mario and his friend that would contribute significantly to the 37 mile ride back to Enumclaw.  It was great to hook up with them and the ride when by quickly going 23 – 28 mph most of the way.  About half way thru Mario got dropped and I proceeded riding with his friend most of the way back until the final 8 miles where I too decided the pace was too much…  I finished the final 5 miles and began cramping likely from lack of fluids as I was hesitant to sip for fear of losing my ride so to speak…  I finished the ride at about 4:20 pm which worked out to total time of about 10 hours and 40 minutes (ride time was about 9:20 hours or thereabouts).  Total time was an hour and a half off of last years’ time – a pretty good effort.  As I was coordinating with the organizers to advise them I had forgotten to attach my RFID, Mario came across the line just shortly after my finish…  The ride home was rather unpleasant as traffic was at a standstill and various parts of my body began to cramp including my fingers and toes….  At home I would later take in much needed fluids (2x32 oz. Gatorade) and potassium supplements. 

All-in-all I great ride and another lesson to take in more fluids that last stretch…

"Rainiering" at The Climb

Author:  Mike Hassur

Thursday was supposed to be hot (~90 degrees).  I had decided to get in a long ride doing hill repeats on the last 2 kilometers of The Climb.  In the back of my mind, I thought that I might attempt to “Rainier” (i.e. climb 14, 411 feet – the height of Mt. Rainier – in one ride), but that was questionable given the high temperatures that had been forecast.  I figured that I would just get to The Climb early, start going up and down, and see what happened.  My main goal was simply to get in a long ride.  My wife, Kathy, and I were planning to go to Portland for the weekend; and this gave me the opportunity to get in some mileage before the weekend.

I parked my van at the base of The Climb’s final 2K where it would be available to me at the finish of each hill repeat. By 5:45 AM, I was on my bike and starting my ride.  Since I was riding alone, I figured that I would just ride a nice, easy pace and try to enjoy myself and my surroundings as much as possible.  I used the first couple of repeats to measure exactly how many feet I would be gaining with each ascent – 344 feet per my Garmin.  At that rate, I figured I needed to do approximately 42 hill repeats if I wanted to get in 14, 411 feet of climbing.  Soon, I had a plan.  Six repeats would give me just over 2000 feet of climbing and would take me roughly one hour and twenty minutes.  I would break my ride up into parts (each part/interval comprised of six repeats).  At the top of each climb segment, I would take a swig from my water bottle.  At the end of each interval (six repeats); I would give myself 5-10 minutes to stop at my van, refill my water bottle, and drink and eat while resting at the back of the van where I had stored all of my supplies.

I tried to simply concentrate on where I was on each set of six repeats (for example, repeat #1 of six, repeat #2 of six… until I finished repeat #6 and stopped at the van).  Also, I kept track in my head of how may intervals of six I had completed knowing that, if I could manage seven of them, I would be just over my goal of 14,411 feet.  Somewhere in the 4-5 hour range, I started to feel sleepy and sort of lethargic.  When I finished that particular interval of six repeats, I made sure to take in some Clif Shot “goo” that had caffeine in it as well as swigging quite a bit of a bottle that I had mixed up using Perpetuem powder which, again, had some caffeine in it.  That seemed to remedy my grogginess in fairly short order.

I had “mini-goals” along the way.  First, I think that the most elevation that I have ever done on The Climb in one ride is 7,000 feet; so I felt a sense of accomplishment when I met that goal sometime around hour five.  After that, I kept telling myself that any additional climbing was sort of a bonus which would add to my personal best.  As I passed through 8,000 and 9,000 feet; I was starting to think about 10,000 feet of climbing.  At the beginning of the ride, I would have been very pleased to get 10,000 feet in.    I reached (and passed) the 10,000 foot mark during my fifth interval.  By this time, I knew that I was probably going to make it to my “Rainiering” goal; because the heat didn’t seem to be bothering me the way that I thought it would and because my legs still felt good.  I think that things were going well, because I wasn’t pushing it on the climbs – just smooth and easy – and because upper 2K of The Climb has shade on one side of the road or the other throughout most of the day.

My sixth interval took me up past 12,000 feet (with about 400 feet to spare).  After that sixth interval, I was sitting at my van getting ready for the last interval.  After a short break, I mounted my bike to find my Garmin cycling computer saying “Low Battery”.  This was very disappointing!!  I knew that it would not last for the entirety of those last six repeats.  How could I verify that I had “Rainiered”?  This was a real bummer after all of this work.  Then, the solution dawned on me – when my Garmin shut down, I would simply start the Strava App on my phone and use it to record the last part of my journey.  It would mean that I would have to make two posts to Strava to verify that I had achieved my goal; but, at least, the evidence would be there.  All right!!!  Those last six repeats seemed pretty easy.  I did one extra "half-lap" up the hill at the end just to make sure that I would have enough elevation to get to 14,411 (because of the Garmin dying, I wasn't exactly sure where I was with respect to elevation gain).  The ride ended up being around 110 miles long with just under 14,600 feet of climbing - perfect!!

This ride taught me some things and reinforced other notions:

1.       It taught me that, when my goal is to make it to the end of a grueling ride, speed is not very important – in fact, it is probably counter-productive.  The fact that I was riding by myself meant that I was never pushing to keep up with faster riders and wasting energy.  I was shocked by how good I felt for this entire ride (and the next morning), and I attribute that to staying with a comfortable pace for the entirety of the ride.  Also, I think that this was why the 90 degree heat was not more of a problem.

2.       It taught me that, when you are really regimented about eating and drinking on a long ride, it makes a big difference in how smoothly your motor continues to work deep into the ride.  I suspect that the short breaks were helpful as well.  I should know this by now, but I don’t always practice what I preach.

3.       It reminded me that The Climb is an awesome place to ride a bike:

a.       It is a beautiful 5 mile climb with very little traffic – that, alone, makes it special to me.

b.      As the trees have grown up, there is more shade for those hot days.

c.       The final 2K is the perfect place to attempt something like “Rainiering”:

                                                               i.      It is very efficient (i.e. there are not flat places where you can waste energy – you are either climbing or descending).  For example, to “Rainier” using the entire Climb; you would have to ride over 140 miles.  Using the final 2K requires about 110 miles.

                                                             ii.      The grade is mostly between 4 and 6 percent (with a couple of short pitches of 7%) which is perfect.  I was not using particularly low gearing (compact front: 50 x 34) and 11-25 rear.  Going uphill, I used the 19 and 21 cogs probably 80% of the time and the 23 cog the other 20% of the time.  I never used my 25 cog, and I never felt like I was struggling or wasting energy.

                                                            iii.      I’ve already mentioned the shade, but it is particularly pronounced on this part of The Climb and was much appreciated.

Well, there you have it.  What was meant to be a long training ride turned into one my most memorable rides. 

I'm hoping that we can post some RAMROD related thoughts soon from the guys that did it (Les, Dwaine, Mario, Kurt, and Scott).

Can’t wait for our next ride!!

Dwaine's Picture Post for Windy Ridge

Every year Mike schedules one or two official 'Cyclocross' style rides. These rides include routes with some or all dirt roads. Although not billed as a 'Cyclocross' ride this year's 'Windy Ridge' ride included some off roading. Mike did some research regarding a road washout on NF26 and we were prepared to walk  around the washout.  We were all surprised by just how far off the road we hiked to connect the paved bits. Some of us went full 'Cyclocross' including hoisting bikes onto shoulders.

The group, happy to have completed the scrambling portion of the bike ride, took a break where the road breaks out of the trees and reveals a 180 degree view.  Although Mt Saint Helens was not visible Lanny took a moment to take in the view while the author fussed with his camera.

The author was not the only photographer on duty this day. Many of us brought out our cameras at this point. Some approached the edge to capture the rolling green hills on the far side of the valley. Some took a step back to capture the foreground as well as the distant hillsides. And Les photographed a bicycle decoration built atop a NF26 highway marker.

Mike is our leader. On the seven mile climb to Windy Ridge he decided that the Cyclopaths should close the gap up to a lone rider. One by one the other Cyclopaths would not or could not match Mike's pace. By the time Mike caught the lone rider he had littered the road behind him with over worked climbers. Despite the hard climbing Mike quickly changed gears to photographer and continued documenting our ride. Thanks Mike.

The return portion of the Windy Ridge ride included 16 miles of NF99 goodness. Most of this road is twisty, often cut out of the side of the hill, and provided sweeping views to the South. But the goodness did extend to FR25. The years and weather have not been kind to the FR25 paved road surface. As we returned the twenty or so miles on this road we were confronted with mixed sun and shade on the road surface. This mix of light levels hid the many pavement irregularities. In addition to lumpy pavement at least one section of pavement wasn't pavement. In this gravel section Leon found a hidden hole with enough force to rotate his bars in the stem. The group stopped just long enough to make a quick repair and a series of poor tasting jokes.

This photo shows pavement, cycle shoes, and dirty shins. Those bits can be ignored. What cannot be ignored nor denied is an obvious trend in Cyclopath wear. No fewer than six brightly colored socks were on display for this ride. Although the author's flaming pink socks neither match the orange hue nor reflect as much glow, the movement towards 'visible' socks is clearly afoot. My daughter is immensely proud of the Cyclopath's footwise personal expression.