Yea, my report will pale in comparison ( if I ever get it written). Might have to embellish just so I won't bore anyone. Incredible, Tim! Kp
Sent from my iPhone On Jun 30, 2012, at 2:44 PM, Jon Anderson <[email protected]> wrote: > Amazing Tim...just amazing...Congratulations! > > On Jun 30, 2012 2:32 PM, "Tim & Susan" <[email protected]> wrote: > Cascades 1200K > > Day One: I stayed at the base motel in Monroe Washington Friday evening. > Breakfast at 5:00am and 80 cyclists from around the world roll out at 6:00am > for an EPIC cycling adventure. Cloudy, cool morning quickly turns into a > cold rain that last for several hours. I settle in, getting as comfortable > as I can. Pedal hard, stay warm, weather will change eventually. Nice long > climb getting into Mt. Rainier National Park keeps the engine warm. Now > exiting the park to the south we cruise beside a creek between cascading > waterfalls on both sides of the road. At times the sound of rushing water is > so loud you can’t even carry on a conversation. It’s a very mystical place. > We have lunch in Eatonville at mile 95. I’m riding a bit with Ed from > Portland, OR. We stop at Subway with several others. Ed’s one of those guys > that always carries a big smile no matter what’s going down. Finally > mid-afternoon it stops raining and we’re in Packwood, (mile 140) at the base > of White Pass. We now have a 17 mile, 2800 ft. climb. 3 hours later I reach > the summit and take some pics to prove I was there. Now it’s whee time. > This is my favorite descent on this trip. Smooth asphalt, wide shoulders and > easy turns make it fast and furious. Clear Lake control, (mile 170) our > final stop before the overnight control. I’m frigid as well as several > others. I have the shakes really bad from that cold descent. I have to hold > my hot chocolate with both hands to keep from spilling. Volunteers give us > lots of warm stuff to calm us down. I settle a bit but pedaling is the > ultimate cure. We go around the huge lake, then on to Naches. (Sleep > control, mile 208) Arriving at 11:30pm, Shower, Dinner includes hot soups, > then to sleep in the gym on mats and my air mattress that I carry in my drop > bag that I have access to each night as well as a fresh set of clothes. 3 > hours sleep the first night. > > Day Two: Up at 4:30 am. Homemade blueberry pancakes hot off the griddle. > This support crew is awesome. These pancakes are the best ever. I’m rolling > by 5:30am. We’re doing an out and back to Lodgepole campground near the top > of Chinook Pass. We cycle 45 miles up to Lodgepole into the wind. We’re > served more food and coffee from volunteers. Back down to Naches. Now we > travel east of the mountains into the high desert plains. In previous years > temps soar into the 100’s here but not today as we settle in at around 85 > degrees. It’s very pleasant after yesterday’s cold rain. Long rollers to > start and grades are shallow so some recovery riding for me. I’m 305 miles > into the ride when I have my first flat. Some glass in the rear tire. Pack > up my stuff ready to go and notice front tire flat as well. Dang it. I > remove a thorn from that tire, I think it came from that tumbleweed that > blows across the road every now and then. It’s ironic that I have two flats > from different objects at the same time. There is a lot of snowmelt > irrigation here and there are acres and acres of hops. Now I’m getting > thirsty. Wow, this is a lot of hops. I think people here must have a > drinking problem. We have lunch in Fruitvale. Afterwards we travel around > the city on greenway bike trails. We cruise back into the desert. On the > way to Mattawa we cross the Columbia River then we turn right. There is a > road here but it goes straight up to the top of a plateau. Surely this isn’t > right. I unfold the cue sheet and it reads. “Yes, up that Hill” Ouch! I’m > in my lowest gear and I have to stand to turn the pedals. Gotta be 15+ > degrees. This bites! I’m finally over the top and more of these plateaus up > ahead but none like that one. Getting dark now and I see several bicycle > lights ahead of me and several behind me. The road is straight for miles. I > finally roll into Quincy around 12:30am. (418 miles) Another hot meal and a > shower then to bed on a gym floor again. Only 2 hours sleep this morning. > > Day Three: Up at 4:00am. I chat with John Morris from Durham briefly before > he takes off. I grab a continental style breakfast this morning as the cooks > aren’t ready yet. I’m rolling by 5:00am. Today we’re cruising around > several lakes to Dry Falls. We have a headwind and it is angry, very angry. > This is madness. I have a hard time just holding on. Dry Falls is another > beautiful place but then we have to climb to the moon to get out of there. > We go east then north to Bridgeport, across the river to Brewster. We have > more spectacular river views. We’re now in Malott at the base of the > mountains. (Mile 535) Loup Loup Pass is a 17 mile climb and takes me > another 3+ hours to summit. I’m leapfrogging several riders including one > Japanese guy who keeps reminding me how many meters of climbing we have left. > We reach summit just before sunset. Now we throw on everything we have for > the cold descent. 2 deer cross my path within a mile. I’m now riding brakes > while others ride by. Sunset is a bad time for dodging deer. At bottom we > have another 25 miles to the overnight control in Mazama. I’m doing some > sprints trying to stay focused. I catch up with Matthew from southern > California on his recumbent, and he appears to be struggling a bit on the > last section. I usually don’t ride well with others being I cycle a very > inconsistent pace, but I chill a bit and make a friend. We both stop a > couple times and walk around to clear our heads. It’s a beautiful evening > and the summer Milky Way is brilliant in the night sky, glowing so brightly > you could read a book by it. It also brightens my spirits. We’re now > cruising the Lost River and it kinda sets the mood. An hour or so later we > make the control. 3 Canadians arrive shortly afterwards and we grab dinner, > showers, and this time we have rooms with beds. Yea! 2.5 hours of solid > sleep this morning. > > Day Four: Breakfast call at 3:45, I crawl over there around 4:15. I’m very > sluggish this morning as yesterday took everything I had. I’m hitting the > pain pills early today. I start rolling at 5:10am, thinking that I’m getting > an early start. There are like 20 or so bikes still at camp when I leave. > Fewer miles today but the event’s biggest climb is the first order of > business for today. It’s 18 miles up to the top of the world, Washington > Pass. A couple hours in and I’m relaxed feeling great. My pace is better > than my previous climbs. About 3 miles from the summit we ride past the snow > line. I have a flat shortly afterwards. Did I mention that it’s like 36 > degrees and raining? I’ve kept warm by climbing but I quickly get the tire > changed because the engine is cooling down. The mountain peaks come into > view every now and then so I stop to take some pics. This is a wondrous > place. I am in awe and really enjoying being here. I take a little too much > time goofing off, posing my bike against a snow bank, taking some video. All > is good. Finally I jump back on the bike and finish up the last mile to the > summit. A rider is there loading his bike into a support vehicle; his ride > is over. I pull over to take a pic of the sign. Support volunteer, I never > got his name so I’m naming him “Nick” because he reminds me of Nick Nolte. > Please forgive me if you ever read this report. Anyway, he walks up to me > and asks if I want to load up my bike. “Why would I do that?” I respond. > “Because the next control is 56 miles away in Marblemount and you’re not > going to make it before the cut-off. I am the sweeper he claims and you, > meaning me is the last man standing but it doesn’t look good. What about > those 20 bikes I left at camp? They are DNF’s going on the truck he > responds. How could this be? I am confused. On top of the world one minute > then my heart just sank below the pits of hell. > > Tim’s Big Screw-up: I did not follow up my homework for this ride. The > course was shortened from a 1240K to a 1201K. I was basing all my knowledge > from ride reports and cues from previous years. I had wondered why breakfast > was so early today but didn’t put the pieces together until it was too late. > (Almost) I calculated time and distance to the Marblemount control. I knew > some serious downhill’s coming up but also a climb up Rainy Pass, though this > was only a couple miles long. What about the last 30 miles to Marblemount I > ask? “Nick” claims rollers, and then some flatter sections. There is still > a glimmer of hope. > > Day Four Continued: Physically, I’m feeling great. I just need to put > together the ride of my life. It’s time for a little attitude. I mount the > Ridley. Going to take your picture, “Nick” asks. “No” I’m going to finish > what I started! The rain is making the descent a little hairy, plus I’m > shivering now from cold and it transfers to some serious bike wobble. Zoom > the straights, knees squeezing the top tube to kill the wobble, braking hard > before the turn, standing and pedaling through the turn to produce a little > warmth. Repeating several times. I’m out of the saddle going up Rainy Pass. > Near the top, “Nick” rides up beside me. I’ve changed my mind; I think > you’re going to make it. Down again. Support truck ahead has food. Matthew > is pulling away as I approach. My hands are frozen. I brought the wrong > gloves for this. They find me some liners that help. I get some fuel and I > am off. I’m now getting into the rollers. I’m more into calculating numbers > now than my surroundings. Giving it everything I have. Finally I catch > another rider. (Hey/bye) I ride up on the 3 Canadians. They are changing a > flat but seem to have things under control and about finished. I roll into > the little town of Newhalem just 14 miles from the control and Ed is waving > me down. You are still very short on time but this store has coffee. Do > they have gloves, I ask? My fingers are frozen. I have to use both hands to > change gears. “Grab some coffee and I’ll see what I can do”. My friend Ed > from earlier in the ride had to DNF the ride when he locked up his knee on a > freak awkward pedal stroke and now he is helping others. This is a great > sport! I grab coffee and Ed brings me his personal waterproof gloves and > saves my life. I wolf the coffee. I now have 1 hour to finish this last 14 > miles to Marblemount. Please God, no serious hills and no flats, amen! > Thank You! I get Matthew in my sights but I can’t catch him. He is killing > it as well. We slide into the control 5 minutes before closing. It takes me > a couple minutes to dismount. I am totally wasted but ecstatic. Several > others there and a couple more roll in just in time. > > Whew! That’s it! We can ride easy from here on. No hard sections and the > limits are now relaxed a bit. Just got to stay awake and focused. I might > add it’s still cold and raining but eventually stops during the next section. > I’m riding again with Matthew, and we’re joined at times by team Canada and > team Japan. Our last control is at Granite Falls. We stop at McDonalds. > 23 miles to go. This international group stays together the rest of the way > in. Lots of minor issues, from my flat, number 4, a couple guys climbing > really slow, batteries that need changing, etc. It’s a slow trek but I’m > happy! We roll in together at 10:55pm. 750 miles, around 40,000 feet of > climbing in 88 hours and 55 minutes. Then add some cold rainy weather, and > you have EPIC! That totally rocked! Post ride Beer and Pizza! We then had > a breakfast party Wednesday morning. Western Omelet, potatoes, toast and a > chocolate milkshake! Packed up my bike, washed clothes and wasted the day > away under beautiful 70 degree, clear skies. Dinner with John from Durham > then departed for home. 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