Camping isn't like it used to be

I can't remember when (if ever) Laurie & I did a camping trip with just us. We tried out our new "condo" tent with our queen-sized air mattress. We didn't have enough air in the mattress the first night - it brought back (bad) memories of water beds - when one of us rolled towards the middle, the other rolled there too! We also learned you must have some insulation either under or on top of the air mattress; the air inside gets cold! On night two, we got the air pressure right and had a blanket under the sheet - perfect! For the first time in our camping experience, we stayed in bed until about 9 the next morning. It occurred to us the reason we have always been up at the crack of dawn is because the ground was so darn hard! Laying there on a comfy mattress with real pillows under our heads & a down comforter on top of us - as a camper, I should be embarrassed at such luxury - sorry, it felt too good to be embarrassed.

On day two, I did a 62-mile bike ride, riding from Ohanapecosh Campground to Packwood (11 miles), then from Packwood to Cayuse Pass (24 miles - 3 hours!), then down to the Crystal Mtn Ski Area road (8 miles), then 6 miles up to the ski area, then back to Cayuse Pass. It was good practice for RAMROD. It was also probably the reason I slept so well on night two.

On day three (Friday), we drove to the west side of Rainier Natl Park. After waiting in a line of cars about 2 miles long to get in, we drove up to Paradise, where the parking lot was full. We really didn't want to hike around with a thousand or so people, so we drove back down the road to the trailhead for Comet Falls. We hiked up - and up - and up the trail - beautiful flowers along the way (avalanche lilies in photo to the right).

When we finally reached the falls, we needed to cool off a little - Laurie/Gran decided to soak her head in the COLD mountain water! The falls were beautiful - well worth the hike. We will do it again some day.

And, of course, the reason for visiting Rainier National Park - the Mountain!

The Ann Ride

On Saturday, I participated in the Ann Weatherill Cycling Classic, riding 100 miles around Walla Walla & Milton-Freewater. It was a great ride with great weather - a little windy but cool. The ride took us through old towns like Umapine, Calhounville, and Tum-a-Lum, through vineyards in the countryside, and up Mill Creek Road into the piney woods. It started & finished at the L'Ecole No. 41 Winery. Walla Walla's Merchants Deli & Bakery provided a lunch buffet at the end, with the winery providing, what else, wine. I stuck with the hard stuff - A&W root beer!

Ann was a Walla Walla resident who was

killed in 2004 while riding her bike. This

event raises funds for bicycling safety programs put on by the Wheatland Wheelers and to put up Share the Road signs to remind drivers to watch out for cyclists. It was as much fun as being on a bike for 100 miles can be! Gonna do this one again next year!

39 days until RAMROD!

I'm In!

...trouble - I'm off the wait list & now registered for RAMROD 2009. However, good news! I bought a used bike this past week - a 30-speed with more granny gears to help me get up the hills.

52 days until RAMROD!

Still Another RAMROD Update!

The 3rd (since 4/30) update to the wait list this morning put me at #7. There can no longer be any doubt about getting a slot for the ride. Have to really get serious with training. I biked 60+ miles this morning - biked to Oregon & back! Four of us biked to Umatilla, then UP the Plymouth Highway. Did I say UP? It didn't seem like we went DOWN to Oregon, but we must have. It seemed like we climbed & climbed & climbed coming back to Kennewick. Nice morning for a ride, though.

Another RAMROD Update!

As of 5/12/09, #57 on the wait list!

RAMROD Update!

After the April 30th registration deadline, I moved up from #201 to #82 on the wait list!

STP & RAMROD in July!

I keep coming up with different ways to hurt myself in my birthday month. Last year it was climbing Mt. Rainier. This year it will be bicycling - first, Seattle to Portland (STP) in one day (200 miles) on July 11th, then Ride Around Mt. Rainier in One Day (RAMROD) on July 30th (154 miles). Between the two of them, it's the Tour de Washington!

Not me in the photo - just an example

Actually, RAMROD isn't a sure thing. Only 800 riders are allowed and I didn't get picked in the RAMROD lottery. However, I'm #201 on the wait list. Those who won the initial lottery have to register by April 30th; if they don't, they give their slot to someone on the wait list. In addition, if someone decides to cancel later, they can give up their position - and only to someone on the wait list. Last year, over 250 on the wait list were offered a chance to ride RAMROD. It means I have to prepare for it because I might not get invited until July. This is one of those good news - bad news things where the news is the same.

Here's what their website says: RAMROD is the Pacific Northwest's premiere one-day ultra-marathon cycling event. It combines the incomparable scenery of Mount Rainier National Park with a challenging course featuring 10,000 feet of climbing over 154 miles. The course starts in Enumclaw, WA (elevation 720 feet) with a gradual downhill to its lowest elevation (300 feet) near Orting. This is followed by 40 miles of rolling hills through the towns of Eatonville, Elbe, and Ashford, with a gradual climb to the Nisqually entrance of Mount Rainier National Park. The climb stiffens at Longmire where riders begin the 12 mile ascent to Paradise (elevation 5,420 feet). A 12-mile descent through Stevens Canyon follows and then a quick 3-mile climb to Backbone Ridge. This leads to one of the most fun descents of the course: a swooping 5-mile run to the Grove of the Patriarchs and the intersection with Hwy 410. What follows is generally considered the most difficult section of the course: the 9-mile climb up Cayuse Pass (elevation 4,694) which starts at 100 miles into the ride. The rapid descent from the pass ends with about 30 miles to go. These last miles are gradually descending or rolling except for one final, fast descent down Mud Mountain Dam just 5 miles from the finish in Enumclaw. Join us for the 26th anniversary of RAMROD - it will be the best RAMROD ever.

I have to find another bike for this ride - my tri bike is great for duathlons, triathlons & time trials, but it's not geared for climbing - I need more gears! I'm looking for a used bike on eBay or Craigslist. We didn't have enough bikes already - this will make five!

Back to Lewiston!

And we're off!


Spring has arrived - and Spring brings the Tri-State Outfitters Duathlon in Lewiston, Idaho. This was my third year here - I wish I could say I'm getting better, but all I can say for sure is I'm getting older! This year's event brought the worst weather of the three years - temperature in the mid-40s and drizzling rain during most of the event. It was hard to know how to dress - staying warm on the ride meant being too hot on the 2nd run.


That's me leaving Transition 1 (T1). My first 2-mile run was actually faster this year than last - and my transition times were better. You're not allowed to mount your bike in the transition - have to run in bike shoes - not easy to do on wet pavement, or even dry pavement for that matter!

Leaving T1, we get to start by riding uphill, first to the left, then to the right! Most of the ride six miles out is uphill - and there was a little bit of headwind this day. To give you an idea of the difference - my time to the turn-around at six miles was 27:51; my time coming back was 15:36! It makes a big difference when you average about 13 mph in one direction, and 28-30 mph in the other!




Here's a couple of us (I'm the 2nd rider) on the last big downhill stretch near the end of the ride. My feet were soaked by the end - I normally don't ride in the rain so this was the first time I had ever finished a ride with wet feet!






That last downhill stretch is followed by a sharp left turn into the entrance of Hells Gate State Park where the event takes place. This section is the Neutral Zone - no passing allowed. The last piece of it is steeper, with a sharp right back to the transition area - don't want any crashes there!



Leaving T2 - I decided to keep my windbreaker & bike gloves on to save time. As I started running again, my calve muscles went into spasms; it took about 100 yards for that to stop! Keeping the windbreaker & gloves on turned out to be mistake. Before mid-run, I had removed my beanie cap & my gloves, then by the end of the run, unzipped the windbreaker - it was just too hot!




The best part of the race - the finish line! No, actually, the best part is the snacks they provide for refueling - and the awards. Every finisher gets a medal at this event, and medals for 1st/2nd/3rd in each age group. Overall, I was 71st out of 111, 49th out of 67 men, and 3rd out of 8 men in the age 55-59 group. This is my third time finishing 3rd at this event. My official time was 1:21:09.




Laurie got some pics of the local scenery. The Lewiston-Clarkston area is beautiful! Even in the rain. It rained all the way home. We stopped for lunch at Donna's Cafe in Pomeroy. If you're looking for a great club sandwich (and good fries!), stop there. Hey! I need a sponsor (or more). It's awesome to hear the lead bikers fly by with their Zipp (aero) wheels - they sound like jets going by! A wheelset only runs about $2200 - they would make a great birthday present (front - 404 clinchers, rear - 808 clinchers, in case you're interested)! Theoretically, I could ride faster with those wheels (or at least look fast & sound fast - I need to make my BODY more aero!)