RAMROD 2012

After my 5 page report on Death ride, I’m working on doing a brief report on RAMROD.

In summary, Great route, Great Scenery, Great Volunteers and Awesome payment!

Started at about 5:40 am.  Saw my friends Jon and Cathy in the parking lot.  The first 50 miles of RAMROD are pretty flat and fast.   The biggest deal this year was the fog, it was pretty thick and the condensation was dripping off my helmet.   There were a number of pace lines that I passed or who passed me.  At one point about 20 miles in I looked back and saw a full on Peloton coming, I felt like the lead out group on the tour about to be chewed up.  They caught me and slowly passed, I ended up in the middle of about 50-60 people, huge double wide pace group that still felt pretty comfortable as there was so little traffic on the road that the whole lane was available.   I rode back there for a while until the gal next to me needed to “rest” and wanted to go faster.  We were about 12 miles out so I told her to let me out, grab my wheel and hang on.  That was fun!  Lead a breakaway of about 10 people went into TT mode, never saw the pack again. 

First rest stop at mile 33 I saw my friend Cathy briefly and was able to buy a pair of gloves.   Cathy got going a bit before me so I didn’t get a chance to ride with her.   Got going again and had a quick trip to the 2^nd rest stop at mile 54ish.  Meet up with Cathy and we rode together well into Mt Rainer National park.  It was really nice to ride with her.  We passed a few people and I would call out on your left, then Cathy would say hi to them and mysteriously each person would say seemingly melt and say hi back sounding really friendly.  I felt like I had a good will ambassador following me around.   Somewhere on the first climb Cathy dropped off sticking to her climbing pace as I rode off up the hill.  The first climb is not too bad, lots of curves and straight sections past waterfalls and open vistas of the park.   I needed to find a place to rest and found a trail head with a restroom and stopped in there for a bit.  I was thinking that there needed to be a water stop soon.  Of course about another ½ mile down the road there was one and it was also the top of the first climb.

From there it was downhill through a nice section of the park, before starting up the second and smallest climb.   More great scenery and smooth roads ahead!.  Just as the climb was starting it passed through a control section where people recorder your number.  Not sure why they do this.   A guy at the control said we were at the top and I thought he was joking, but turns out we were.  Following that was a great descent interrupted by a few sections of gravel.  The gravel slowed you down some but it wasn’t an issue. 

That took us down past a ranger station and I thought we were exiting the park.  Most of the day I really didn’t know where I was relative to the cue sheet, as I didn’t have an odometer.   We made a left turn and a veteran rider said we were starting the big climb and there were steep sections ahead for the next 7 miles or so.   Heading north on WA 123 we did climb quite a bit but the grade was pretty easy.  I stopped along the way to stretch my hamstrings / back.   Stopping to stretch for a few minutes took care of my back issues and kept me ridding well compared to death ride.  Really I would say I had no back issues.   After a while a guy on a Lightspeed passed me and pointed out where we were going.  I was heads down riding and didn’t notice off in the distance you could see the road winding upward.  The climb looked really nice and my spirits picked up, I stayed with the lightspeed guy for a while.   After a bit another water stop appeared and he people there said it was 2 miles to a tunnel and then 2 more to the top.  This was uplifting and the last 4 miles of the climb went by quickly.  At the top another rest stop from here to lunch was 9 mile descent on beautiful pavement with shallow curves.  I zipped down and had a ton of fun.  Had a quick hand prepared deli sandwich for lunch then off again for the final 40 some miles back.  The final 40 miles trend downhill and were good road.  I meet up with a guy on a Cervelo TT bike and we traded pulls,  average speed was near my maximum all out speed and we zipped along.  About 8 miles out I ran out of “Gu” inspired energy and had no more to eat so I slowed down and coasted in with a few other guys chatting as we went.    At the finish line a guy announces your name over a loud speaker.  Some friends and family awaiting the arrivals of their loved ones clapped for riders as they came in.  Jon was alongside the road waiting for Cathy and cheered me on.   What a great day.

DDR 400km May 26, 2012

Desert (Windy) River Randonneurs 400km May 26, 2012

This is the same ride / route that the DRR held did last, it is a nice route basically an out and back with a variation in the middle.   The ride starts in Richland Washington, heads west to Prosser then on to Toppenish before turning north to Yakima.  From there the route meanders through the Yakima River valley climbing 3-4 hills before reaching the turnaround in Ellensburg.

The ride started at 6am I was up at about 4:30 and headed to the starting point about 6 miles from my hotel via the excellent bike paths that run along the rivers and connect the Tri-Cities.  The day was clear and cold and I was happy to have put on a t-shirt under my Jersey.

Having ridden this same route last year I was well prepared for wind and rain in addition I studied the route and mapped it out several times so I wouldn’t get lost.  An inevitable part of randonneuring is making a wrong turn at some point during the ride which I always do.   This one came early as I missed the turn outside of Benton city and continued on for another ¾ mile or so before figuring out I was off course.

Having gotten back on track I poured on the speed, it helped that the road I was on was slightly downhill enabling me to cruise pretty fast.  I even had a chance to ride in my new aero bars which I bought to help beat the Eastern Washington wind and as an alternative place to rest my hands during these long rides.  Along the way I passed 2 other riders before reaching the control at Prosser where I met up with Ron as he was preparing to get going again.  I was quick at the control and Ron invited me to ride along with him.  Together we headed out to the next stop in Toppenish which was a blessing as it is about 30 miles of flat road and head winds to get there.    Along the way Ron and I got into a rhythm of changing off the lead every mile together we managed to keep our speed up averaging about 17 mph.   We made a quick stop in Toppenish before heading on to the next control in Wiley City.  At the Wiley market Ron made a very funny discovery.  He had texted his wife that he was riding with a guy name “steve”.   She texted back perfectly describing me.  Turns out she had been my physician at work who I went to see after doing the DRR 600km event last year.  I had remembered she told me her husband was also a randonneur but I failed to put two and two together when Ron told me where she worked.  Just goes to show you what a small world it is.

From Wiley we rode up to Yakima and then entered the Yakima River Canyon.  The canyon is probably the prettiest part of the ride but also the most difficult.  There are 3-4 hills and constant head wind.   Even with a tail wind it is a difficult road.  Ron and I pressed on through meeting a local rider along the way who joined our little pace line and took a turn pulling for us which was a welcomed break.

We arrived in Ellensburg and made the traditional stop at Safeway eating our lunch/dinner before heading out again.  On the way back through the canyon we passed the other 4 riders still heading to Ellensburg.  All seemed to be doing fine and we exchanged smiles and waves in passing.   Along the way through the valley we had to climb the hills in reverse but had some great descents of a mile or more.   Ron pointed out that everyone was a hero when there is a tailwind.  The first 5 miles or so after lunch I was feeling pretty crummy and Ron was pulling, then thankfully I started to feel better and we kept going.   Traveling with Ron helped a lot he pulled when I was feeling crummy and I pulled when he was feeling crummy.  We took a few breaks along the way to look at the river from the summits of the climbs.  I needed to dig out more “Gu” as I forgot to load my pockets at the last stop.  Ron enjoyed the breaks also and took a moment to fuel up on “Gu” as well.   Once out of the canyon the hardest part of the ride was over, only a few minor climbs remained and a lot of flat ground.   We stopped at the Nob Hill control getting some food at Mc’Ds.  I had a small chocolate shake and Ron sat down for some food.

From there we headed east, I remember last year putting on my lights at this point but this year Ron and I were well ahead of where I was last year.  The final 3 legs of the ride are 20 miles, 30 and 30 miles respectively.  The distances are nice and the road generally flat making it generally a nice ride.  Along they way we stopped at two gas stations and a Mc’Ds where I had some chicken strips and fries.  We took one last break at Benton city before taking on the final climb of the ride then racing down the road full speed back into Richland.  When we got to the last control point Ron had to call me back to slow down as I just about passed the turn in.  Ron and I finished up the ride having ridding 17hrs and 18 minutes.   Overall it was a very nice ride.  

There were 6 of us that started out the ride on May 26^th.  One of the riders that I met at the starting point was Jared Carr.  He was there with his wife Kelley who was going to meet him later in the day at one of the controls for lunch.  I remember noticing that he had his Road ID on his left shoe and that he was riding a Specialized.  I saw Jared twice again on the ride.  Once just outside of Benton City heading west.   He was moving along well and we exchanged hellos, he was smiling and seemed to be enjoying the ride.   I saw him again about 4pm he was past the half-way point in the Yakima River Canyon.  We exchanged waves and smiles, he was doing well maybe 15 minutes behind the next rider from what I could tell his spirits were up.  He was through the hardest part of the ride and I’m sure he was looking forward to the break in Ellensburg.   Jared was hit and killed by a car at about 12:30 am on May 27.  He was about 30 miles from finishing the ride. 

Cycle Oregon 2011

Wow it has been over a year now since I published a blog and a lot has transpired!

In September I participated in my 2^nd Cycle Oregon riding from Sutherland to Cottage Grove, to Reedsport, down to Bandon, then to Powers, Riddle and Back to Sutherland.   Cycle Oregon this year was different from my first time. Not quite as magical I guess as there were no new surprises in terms of what the event offers.  Same great food, beer, route support, vendors, people and of course the ride itself was wonderful.  This year I wasn’t as strong a rider as my first CO.   I was still plenty fast and rode with Ed and Mike a lot as well as meet a new friend Peter from England who also rides steel. 

                The best meal of the week was between Reedsport and Bandon where we stopped at a park overlooking the ocean and they served fish tacos that were incredible!  They were more like fish burritos and they gave me two which was 1 too many!  But they sure were good!

One of the best days on CO for 2011 was day 6 Powers to Riddle.   This was the big climbing day with 2 large climbs back to back followed by a nice downhill and a flat finish into Riddle.  For this day I traded my Volpe in for a Trek 6.9SSL from the trek demo truck.  I thoroughly enjoyed riding the Trek, one person asked if it climbed the hills on its own and to tell you the truth it seemed like it actually did.

                At CO of course I saw several really cool bikes included several Rivendells and  Co-Motions.  The bikes that really caught my eye this year were Lynskey’s, I there were only a few of them but I really liked their look and being Ti their weight!