27 July 2017

RAMROD (Ride Around Mount Rainier One Day) on a tandem

Nice! It took a few years but I finally got to check the "ride RAMROD on a tandem" box. Thanks to Jeff Reed for his persistence in making this happen, for being an A #1 stoker and to the Redmond Cycling Club for consistently organizing the premier ride in the Pacific Northwest. I have done this ride scores of times and always want to come back.

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I always seem to connect with old friends at this ride. This year I got to ride with John Ospina. Back in the day, we used to ride and race together and it's been ages since we have seen each other much less ridden together. He's still as fit as ever and because of his presence prevented me from playing the old guy card. Thanks for still being older than me John. :)

Long ago I always tried to finish this ride as fast as possible. Boring! These days the only goal is to have a good time and take lots of pictures. I suppose "good" is relative and if I'm fit "good" equates to a relatively fast pace but that's just natural, right? As it turned out I have been cycling more than usual lately due to an injury that prevented me from running early in the year and we had an incredibly compatible (and fun!) group so we scooted right along. And I gotta say, going fast is NOT boring, but I am over the desire to keep posting a PR here. Way over.

A first for me was never not being on the front. That's just what happens when you are the only tandem in the group, everyone else is drafting. It was okay, it gave me the opportunity to look around more as I was not concentrating on holding a wheel.

Although there have been one or two wet years, I always associate RAMROD with heat, Lots and lots of heat. I recall one year where lots of people didn't even start because the forecast was for 100 degrees and the mere thought of climbing Cayuse Pass in those conditions broke their will. I did develop some pretty big salt stains on my kit that year.

This year it was unexpectedly cool! I was standing at the start in my short sleeved jersey with no arm warmers or vest shivering and watching the mist collect on car windshields wondering if I had made a big mistake... In the end Mother Nature bailed us out. Lucky!

We rolled out and right away the roads were wet. Not rooster tail wet but what do I know, I was in the front. :) We quickly ramped the speed up to 25 ish mph and pretty much kept it there. I am always surprised (although I shouldn't be anymore) how well a tandem rolls and climbs with two experienced people on board. I tried to find a pace that I could maintain and Jeff took pictures.

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Seriously though, if not for Jeff 90% of these pictures would not exist. Thank you Jeff!

For the first 30 (40?) miles my hands suffered a little. They have pretty poor circulation these days and although my core was fine, my fine motor dexterity was shit. I was very careful not to drop my bottle each time I took a drink. Then we entered the park. And the clouds parted. And the sun came out. Yeeeessss.

Climbing toward Paradise the rest of our group scampered up the road but that was okay. Jeff and I settled into our respective zone 3 efforts (170 bpm for him, 140 bpm for me - vive la difference) and we could still chat and take pictures.

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Turns out my hot weather jersey is so thin my camera can film right through the material. Who knew?

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The ride really starts here. It's all about the climbs and descents(!) after all. We regrouped after the first climb and continued to enjoy spectacular views.

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I LOVE THIS RIDE. Mountains, scenery, epic climbs, and descents, fantastic food, what's not to like? And boy does the tandem like to descend. Contrary to popular belief, these roads are not super steep and on a single most people struggle to achieve 40 mph going down. We had no trouble coasting at 42-45. And the bike feels so planted! Cornering was a dream. Near the bottom are four 20 mph corners and we easily took them at 40. Never. Touched. The. Brakes.

At the bottom we topped off our bottles and headed up to Cayuse Pass. Once again the singles in our group rode ahead but it turns out we were only cresting the summits about five minutes behind. Not too shabby. And just when I was feeling pretty macho, Thomas Sumter (on his pimped out Ritte bike) and his friend passed us. Oh well, no shame in that.

ASIDE - speaking of pimped, I saw a lot of deep carbon wheels today. I guess folks didn't want to bring the proverbial knife to a gun fight on this ride. I guess I don't blame them, at least half of going fast is feeling fast.

After more climbing and more descending, you finally leave the park.

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Did I mention this ride has great food? It sure does. At the Box Canyon aid station they always have chocolate croissants! I approve. Usually twice. And the last aid station, dubbed the "deli stop" is over the top. It's like walking into a Subway where volunteers make you a sandwich to order. with your choice of two breads, three meats, two cheeses, mustard, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles! The veggies are kept on ice for crying out loud. Don't forget the potato chips, cookies, fruit and freezing cold cans of Coke. OMG. I have been known to approve of all this twice as well but I managed to control myself and just have one sandwich. Awesome.

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The amount that you enjoy the last 40 miles of RAMROD can vary hugely on so many things. Did you leave something in the tank? Do you have a group to ride with that will help you deal with the inevitable headwind? Today our fate had been cast. We rolled out and got down to business. And in spite of the wind that was sometimes fairly strong, the slope was usually sufficient to let us ride at 25+ mph all the way back to Mud Mountain. Whew. I didn't cramp or blow up or bonk. As we turned left onto Mud Mountain everyone came up and sincerely thanked us for pulling, that was very nice.

At the finish there were just two things left to do.

Take a group photo.

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Eat ice cream.

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Okay, three things, I also took a shower. I have said it before and I'll say it again, kudos to event organizers for staging the finish at a facility where you can clean up, be it an elementary school gym or a shower truck or a river, the ability to get out of your nasty clothes and clean yourself up is huge.

In retrospect this year had perhaps the best conditions ever for climbing Cayuse Pass. It was relatively cool, there was a tailwind; it was rather enjoyable. Type 1.5 fun perhaps? And our group was fantastic! We were very compatible, everyone had the same agenda (enjoying the ride!) and we were never more than perhaps five minutes apart. Thanks to everyone and again especially to Jeff for keeping the faith that we would both get into this ride the same year and then for providing the horsepower during our ride.

Here are all my pictures and videos.

Nutrition (before)
  • Water
Nutrition (during)
Nutrition (after)
  • Oreo ice cream bar
  • Potato chips, 2 12 oz cans of V8 juice, grapes
Gear

22 July 2017

Bigfoot 100 km (where Martin wins his first ultra)

First of all - wow, what a course. And in the current trend of ultra running, it seems that 110 km is the new 100 km.

This was my first time running the Destination Trail Bigfoot 100 km and it was also my first ever overall victory in an ultra. Boom! Oh what a feeling.

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The course had been altered this year because of road closures and instead of a point-to-point run (which is fantastic), it was a big loop (also fantastic). Based on runner feedback, this year's course was preferred. Hey, I loved it. Not only is all your crap at the start/finish but you don't need to wake up at the crack and get bused to the start. But the new course did add six miles to the distance so instead of running 62 miles we were now running 68 miles. And the cutoff time was the same as for many 100-mile races! #nervous

Mount St Helens is awesome. First of all, it's a freaking volcano that (relatively) recently blew up! And we were going to run around it! I have mountain biked on lots of these trails and so many sections were vaguely familiar. That was somewhat comforting. The surface is also pretty darn rugged and I expected (correctly) that there would be some issues running through all that lava and pumice.

I arrived at the Marble Mountain Sno Park Friday. The required runner meeting was Friday plus the start was too early for me to drive down Saturday morning. It was very warm out and luckily there were no bugs so I was able to chill and just relax. I listened to some podcasts, took a few pictures and drank water. People were camping in all sorts of ways. There were a few tents on the ground like what I was doing but there was also a very cool collection of camping rigs and vehicles. There was an assortment of mini trailers that folded out every which way, Sprinter vans, a tiny Mitsubishi camper van, some huge motor homes and this crows nest perch thingy.

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The promoter personalized the numbers, that was a nice touch.

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Eventually it was time for lights out and I slept pretty well.

Saturday morning I woke up as late as possible. Which was not that late as some people had set their alarms for VERY EARLY so they could eat and stress about the race more. After resisting hearing people fire up stoves and generally clank about I finally had to get up because of my hydration strategy the night before.

Looking at the results from the previous two years, the wining times were just over 14 hours. For my age group with similar Ultra Signup rankings they were about 19 hours. I figured the extra six miles was worth a solid hour so I hesitantly told my family I was hoping to finish in about 18... It was a total crap shoot, I was just pulling numbers out of my ass.

All my gear was nicely arranged from the night before so all I had to do was put everything on, go through my warm-up routine and head to the start about 15 minutes before it was time to run. It was a beautiful morning.

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I was psyched but I'd be lying if I said I was not a little nervous.

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Luckily Bigfoot was there to reassure me.

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And then we were off.

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"Take it easy" was the protocol for the start. For several reasons.

  • I had signed up for this race specifically to get qualifying points for UTMB. Sure it's incredibly scenic but if not for the points I would not be here. I got my first qualifying points at the Eiger Ultra Trail 101k, my second points at the Pine to Palm 100 mile, and have been working through injury after injury since then so missed many other opportunities. This was pretty much my last chance so I didn't want to risk going too hard too early and having something dumb happen. All your points have to come from just three races.
  • I wanted to do well, I at least wanted to win my age group. I don't usually go into races with the specific goal of winning but looking at the list of registered entrants I thought I had a shot. And as I have (painfully) learned, you can't bank time in a trail ultra, you need something in the tank to close.
After a couple of miles I looked up and I was in a group of roughly 10 runners. I also looked behind me and there was nobody there! Oh no... what was I doing in the top 10? This was unfamiliar territory, was I running too fast? I double and triple checked my perceived effort and each time the answer was that my pace was fine. Try to relax Martin.

About six miles in you hit the first lava field.

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I love stuff like this! I'm fairly comfortable on technical terrain and it's just a blast. jumping around on rocks (or logs) makes me feel like a kid. I was going a bit faster than two guys I was with at the time so moved up a couple of spots here. By now three people had edged ahead and were out of sight.

It's not all ash and rock up here, it can get very green too.

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I was following these two guys when we suddenly lost the trail. They milled around where they were and I headed back to the last spot where we were on the trail and tried again. I found it right away. The trail went up across a side hill and they had strayed down the mountain so now I was ahead of these guys too. That's the first time I encountered the race photographer who (of course) had posed Mt Adams in the background. Nice.

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And then we got into the type of terrain that I had expected.

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All day long my shoes were filling up with dust and sand. The silt is so fine that you would need waterproof shoes to keep it out. I was not wearing waterproof shoes and changed my socks two times during this run. I am SO thankful I thought ahead and put one pair in my pack and another in my drop bag at mile 29.5. Even so, my feet had tiny abrasions on the TOPS just from all the grit in my socks when I finished.

All day long we did this kind of thing. You would run along and come across a creek that had eroded a channel in the pumice. Because the pumice is so fine, big creeks had eroded some very deep channels! Suddenly you are going down a steep incline, figuring out how to best cross the creek, and then running or climbing up the other side. Repeat countless times.

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And there were so many other cool features! Like running along this ridge line.

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Or down these "ladders".

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And through some deep silt.

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Okay, that was not so cool, my shoes filled up stat. And I am getting ahead of myself.

At the first aid station (Oasis Aid at mile 14.4) I pull in and am casually told I am the second runner they have seen. What...?!

I said, "You're joking, right?" but no, they were serious. This did not computer as I was certain there were at least three runners up the trail.

ASIDE - it appears that two of the three leaders either took the old route through this section (which would have bypassed this aid station) or the aid station was not yet staffed when 1st and 2nd place came through. I never found out for sure which it was. Bummer for them either way as the aid stations were few and far between in this race. Did I mention there is very little shade on this run and it was a hot day? :(

One of my goals for today was efficiency. I'd rather eat while walking than spend minutes at an aid station. So I filled my bottles, took an extra drink, crammed some food in my mouth and grabbed some more in my hands and got the heck out of Dodge. Turns out the big pocket on the side of my shorts is big enough to hold an entire banana. I comfortably ran with it in my pocket for perhaps one mile before I ate it. Nice.

From this point on, except for at aid stations, I was running alone. If you don't count passing other runners. This was a new experience for me as I am never at the pointy end of the race like this.

The next aid (South Coldwater Lake Aid) was at mile 29.5. On the way there I passed the two runners that had been in 1st and 2nd place and who had missed the first aid. As I ran by one of them asked if I had seen the first aid station, I said yes and he just shook his head. One of them was already walking the flats.

It was at the aid station that I had my only fall. I was cruising in and stubbed my toe on the transition from gravel to paved parking lot and did a somersault right into the table with all the coolers and food. Luckily I just lightly skinned one knee and one hand. And I didn't cramp or anything. Here I again filled my bottles, changed my socks and took off with my hands full of food.

The way to the next aid (Johnston Ridge Aid at mile 37.5) was a big climb. About half way up I caught the runner in front of me and passed him. The race was not even half over and I was potentially in the freaking lead! Take it easy Martin... Honestly though, I didn't trust the report I got at the first aid that said I was in 2nd place since I never saw or passed the other two guys and still figured there were another couple of runners out there somewhere. But that myth was quickly dispelled when I arrived.

"Dude, you're in the lead!"

Again, what...?! By now I had to accept that I was indeed leading this race. For realz.

Not only was that climb long but it was exposed too. When I arrived at Johnston Ridge I had to down an extra bottle of water just to catch up on hydration. Man did I need that. When I had passed the leader I felt solid and he didn't look awesome so it was a bit of a shock to see him approaching as I was mixing up my bottles! It was WAY too early to start racing but I can't help feeling the competitive juices flow in situations like this. I kind of rushed myself and again and left the aid with a mouthful and handfuls of food. Let me tell you, trying to swallow a PB&J when you are dehydrated and have dry mouth is a chore! I think I was still trying one mile down the trail.

As I was running along I kept putting on the brakes. The guy I passed did not look fresh as a daisy and I was starting to feel the affects of this effort. Not only that but we still had over half way to go! Racing could wait, it was time to pay attention to myself and meter this effort properly. Run, not too hard, eat, drink.

ASIDE - this is one reason I always carry a camera during ultras now. Taking pictures forces me to slow down. The first time I took my camera along I had one of my best results and was really able to race at the finish. Coincidence? I think not.

At this point I finished the extra loop that the 100k runners did and got back on the big loop around the mountain that the 40-mile racers also ran. As I got off the neighboring hills and back on the mountain proper, the surface got sandier and dustier again. And instead of going up and down longer hills, it was back to an endless series of river canyons. One of which had walls so steep that there were fixed ropes on both sides!

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On the up side, I started catching a lot of 40-mile runners, some of which said some very complimentary things as I ran by.

Guy in American flag shorts: "Are you a 100k runner?" When I told him yes he replied, "Whew!"

Two women running together: "100k? NICE!"

Couple running together and talking to each other: "He must be a 100k runner honey, animal!"

All this time I'm cruising along thinking i'mintheleadi'mintheleadi'mintheleadtakeiteasymartinanddon'tscrewthepooch.

As I ran I tried to convince myself that I was not slowing down but in truth I was. It didn't worry me too much as my perception of 2nd place when I passed him was that he was starting to suffer as well. I finally arrived at the last aid station (Blue Lake Aid at mile 56).

And I sat down in a chair.

Oops.

After about 10 seconds I snapped out of it, "jumped" up and started to go through my routine of filling bottles and grabbing food.

I was casually munching on some watermelon when 2nd place jogs up. Oh no! I thought this guy was cooked but apparently not so much. And I still had to change my socks! I sat back down to do so and I must have been hilarious to watch. As I'm hurriedly making my gear adjustment I kept glancing over at 2nd place every five seconds watching him do the same thing. If he had left the aid before me it wold have been a bit of a moral tester. Luckily I got the job done, grabbed more melon and started walking out of there as I adjusted my vest. As I headed back up to the trail (the aid station was at the end of a 200 m out-and-back), here comes 3rd place!

All I could think was, this is not going to be comfortable.

I turned right onto the trail and immediately started jogging. No more walking Martin, just find your gear and try to push all the way to the finish. To my credit I DID find my gear and I did speed up. I guess taking it easy during the last section was paying off. Except for one brief moment about two miles from the finish, I was able to run all the flats, all the gradual climbs and roll the descents at a pretty good clip. It was hard but it was also empowering in a way. A draining way. :)

I kept looking at my watch and for a brief amount of time I entertained the fantasy of finishing without my headlamp. Ha!

As I crossed one of the last streams/gullys I was exiting and caught a trekking pole in between two rock. It spun me around and my butt slammed into the pole. C r a c k...! Damn, I broke my pole. At least I was close to the finish because these things were a life saver today, LIFE SAVER I tell you. Since one pole is not my style I just stowed both of them and carried on.

Shortly after that as I hit the lava rock field I "ran" into the race photographer again.

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Normally I love this terrain! But I was getting pretty bushed and as I tried to hop through the rocks I could tell my legs were not as steady as the last time I was here so I slowed down just a bit. Falling on these jagged rocks would ruin your whole day.

The last six(?) miles of this race are a descent. But the first couple of miles are steep and the surface is really, really lumpy. I almost ran past a trail marker because my eyes were glued to the ground. Luckily I only had to backtrack about 50' and I found the correct path.

As the surface improved I tried to speed up but my feet were toast. All that sand and dust had been wearing them down and I had a sore spot under the ball of my left foot that was quite tender. At the last aid I had looked and it appeared to be a cut. It was really slowing me down.

As I ran to the finish I kept listening for anyone behind me. My mood would alternate between, "I'm f'ing winning this!" and, "No one better pass me because I'm not sure I can accelerate!" I even had to walk a few seconds perhaps two miles from the finish. I guess I metered this effort pretty good because I was empty.

Having run this section at the start helped. I recognized a pile of gravel about .25 miles from the finish and it really lifted my spirits. And then there was the arch. I was done!

I crossed the line, put my hands on my knees to steady myself and someone hung a finisher's medal around my neck. Then they noticed my number and the volunteer exclaimed, "Oh wow, you're a 100k runner, you need a different medal. Hey, you're the first one, congratulations!"

Vest on ground.
Butt in chair.
Deep breaths.
One last selfie.

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I hobbled over to the car and gave myself a very deliberate and slow sponge bath. Good thing it was dark out because I was just standing naked in the parking lot.

With a mostly clean body and clean clothes I hobbled back to the start/finish to cheer on some finishers. After a bit I tried to eat but it wasn't happening. Not only was my stomach still on the edge from the effort, my throat was also torched from breathing hard and sucking in so much dust all day, it hurt to swallow.

I figured it would be mere minutes before 2nd and perhaps 3rd place crossed the line but I guess they finally slowed down and I really did speed up because I turned a five-minute lead into a 50-minute lead in just 13 miles. I'm actually glad I didn't know this, I was proud of myself for not losing focus during that last stretch. And kudos to the guy who was in 2nd for staying in 2nd.

Finally I hobbled back to my tent and got horizontal. All night long I would hear cow bells and people erupting into applause as runner after runner arrived at the finish. It was a nice sound. And it didn't prevent me from sleeping.

In the morning I slowly ate a breakfast burrito (my throat was still quite sore) and then went to collect my award and unfortunately demonstrated how new I was to winning. As Candice Burt handed me my award she said, "We should get a shot of you on the podium!". Crap. I had not taken any clothing from my sponsors with me as the awards ceremony was not scheduled until 1:00 PM and I unfortunately could not wait that long. Sorry guys, my feet were too sore to make another trip to the car. #rookiemistake

Redux
  • Lava and pumice is tough on shoes! The ones I wore were practically brand new at the start, now they looked like someone had run them through a rock polisher for 15 hours.
  • Lava and pumice is tough on feet! Turns out what I thought was a cut was a blister, and I had about three small abrasions on the top of each foot from all the grit.
  • The elation of success (not just of winning, but of a well-managed effort) quickly overshadows the pain of the effort.
  • Some 100k courses really do take as long as some 100-mile courses. At 7:00 AM the next morning people were still crossing the line. To the same amount of applause! To everyone that hung out to cheer these runners on AND to these runners - you are awesome!
  • I can't say enough about this course. It's hard but so beautiful. I saw Mt Adams, Mt Hood, Mt Rainier and of course Mt St Helens all in one day. Plus the terrain is epic and the blast zone still looks like a blast zone.
  • Glacial melt water tastes delicious. I drank from streams four times and rinsed my hands/face/head numerous other times.
  • Running alone gives you a LOT OF TIME TO THINK ABOUT ALL KINDS OF THINGS. That can be good or bad depending on where your head is at.
  • Ice cream is great for a sore throat.
Here are all my pictures and videos.

Results
Nutrition (before)
  • Water
Nutrition (during)
Nutrition (after)
  • Large bottle with 3 scoops Recoverite
  • Half a hamburger
  • 1 beer
  • Water
Gear

15 July 2017

Seattle to Portland

In a way, I feel like I've come full circle. :)

Long ago, before I ever started racing bicycles, some friends and I rode the Cascade Bicycle Club Seattle to Portland bike ride. For many recreational riders in the Pacific Northwest, this is the pinnacle, the ultimate challenge to train for, and at the time I fell squarely into that category. This year I fractured my Fibula in February and since my leg was able to tolerate riding earlier than running, I ramped up my miles as much as I could. One thing led to another and suddenly I did a century, then another and suddenly I'm signed up for STP and RAMROD.

This year I rode with good friends John Phillips and Frank Colich, both HUGE engines and perfect companions as they are steady, safe and over 6' so a pleasure to draft.

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We had a perfect day! At the start it was in the upper 50s and it never got hotter than 80. Plus, we had tailwinds for most of the last 50 miles. I'll take it.

I have not raced bicycles in four years. Since I quit I've slowly been selling my "race" bikes (TT bike, track bike, road race bike, cyclocross bike, etc.) and replacing them with "fun" bikes. Currently, my only geared road bike is this Niner RLT 9. So that's what I have been riding all year. And it's what I rode on during this STP.

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The bike solicited numerous comments during the ride, here are a couple.

Guy on a carbon everything bike riding with his similarly equipped friends, "Nice bike! Although I wouldn't want to ride it for 200 miles..."

Guy on a similar randonneuring bike, "Nice setup!"

The extra weight is noticeable when I go uphill but I gotta say, this bike is a dream! And with some Extralight Compas Bon Jon Pass Compas tires, the ride can be described in one word: deluxe.

Our goal was just to complete the ride at a "moderate" pace so we would finish in 12 hours or less which would let us could catch the evening Amtrak passenger train back to Seattle. We were going to stop at every aid station but not dawdle. Mission accomplished. Of course "moderate" is 100% subjective. This fact was hammered home just seven miles from the start as Frank ramped up the pace to 27+ mph heading south on Lake WA Blvd. I began to get concerned...

Our group was quick. As such we attracted other strong riders. This was usually okay unless that rider was inexperienced. Several times one of us would pull off of the front and the next guy would promptly drill it and jack up the pace very suddenly. One repeat offender was this guy in a "Speedy Bike Club" jersey that finally needed a gentle talking to.

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After that we all got along.

I carried much of my nutrition and it worked really, really well. But this sustained effort at this pace was a bit beyond my current level of cycling fitness and in the last 50 miles I started to fade. Then, with perhaps 30 miles to go, another super strong rider that we had collected punched it on an incline and I was off the back. Ouch.

Thank goodness my friends are awesome and John dropped back to collect me and pulled me back after the summit. With perhaps 20 miles to go this happened again and this time it was Frank that brought me back to the group. Phew, I was just barely hanging on.

Going up the last climb to St. John's Bridge I felt like I was moving at about 5 mph. I suspect this is only a small exaggeration. From there to the finish is all urban riding with lots of traffic lights so it was no problem keeping up.

Here I am at the last aid station trying to get up the motivation to get back on my bike.

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The finish line festival was incredible!

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First of all, shower trucks! Can I just say I have no idea how some people hang out in their gnarly chamois for HOURS AND HOURS after a ride? Two words: Petri dish. #amiright

Here is a very refreshed Martin.

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After getting cleaned up we headed into the Fremont Brewing beer garden. And then we got some food. We had our priorities straight. Plus, you can't bring beer to the food but you could bring food to the beer, just sayin'. Our event number included a meal ticket good for one entree from any of the attending food trucks. Oh yeah. Long story short, we ended up with some extra drink tickets AND meal tickets. In short order, I was moving very slowly.

Finally we hopped on the commuter train which took us to the train station.

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I love leaving the "driving" to someone else. Be it handing the keys to a friend or taking public transportation, not having to deal with traffic is a freaking dream. And the seats on the train were very comfy since I had upgraded to Business Class. I listened to podcasts, zoned out, snacked, and continued to relax all the way back to Seattle.

Where Shelley, who had just finished working an evening shift, picked me up from the station! Do I have it easy or what. That's obviously rhetorical.

This ride was great! Having such ideal conditions sure didn't help. At the start AND finish, I ran into David Douglas who has done more for cycling in the Pacific Northwest than most. I saw a few friends along the way including lifelong cycling advocate Ed Ewing and witnessed the usual variety of cycling rigs and cycling attire that one tends to witness when a group this large assembles for a ride. Yes, we saw the recumbents and the hybrid bikes with platform pedals but I'm sure we were spared some of the choicest views as the two-day riders started after us. Here is one of my favorites.

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This look is straight up vintage ENA Couriers from back when all they did was deliver by bicycle and were the only bicycle messengers to use road bikes. Note the cutoff jeans shorts over the cycling bib shorts (a staple!) and note that the bibs are not even over his shoulders to maximize the airflow under his 100% cotton Planet Rock tank top. And of course he's got his phone in one back pocket and his wallet in the other. For 200 miles! Also, Sidi Dominator shoes (there are no others) and cantilever brakes on an old cyclocross frame. Did I mention crochet cycling gloves? It was like finding a time capsule.

Thanks SO much to John and Frank for getting me there, I had a blast.

Here are all my pictures and videos.

Nutrition (before)
  • Nothing. Are you kidding me? We were rolling at 4:45 AM and I had to ride to the ride. Plus, eating while riding is one of my favorite things.
Nutrition (during)
Nutrition (after)
  • Large bottle with 3 scoops of Recoverite
  • 3 beers
  • 1.5 burritos
  • Nuts
  • Plain water
Gear


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