..... sweet!
On Sat, Jun 30, 2012 at 8:32 PM, Bob Luppino <[email protected]>wrote: > Awesome report Tim. Your rides always seem to have a high level of > adventure. Congratulations on finishing and surviving. > > > *From:* Tim & Susan <[email protected]> > *Sent:* Saturday, June 30, 2012 2:32 PM > *To:* [email protected] > *Subject:* [COWs] Cascades 1200K Ride Report!!!! > > > *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. THE END > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "CyclistsOfWilson-COWs" group. > To post to this group, send email to > [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/cyclistsofwilson-cows?hl=en. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "CyclistsOfWilson-COWs" group. > To post to this group, send email to > [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/cyclistsofwilson-cows?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "CyclistsOfWilson-COWs" group. 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