Pacific Northwest - anyone done the cannonball? (seattle to spokane)

i'm intersted to hear stories about this epic-sounding ride, the CANNONBALL (http://www.redmondcyclingclub.org/Cannonball/index.html). seattle to spokane, about 280 miles, all at once.

if anyone's done it, how did you train? how did it go? was it harder than you thought? was it easier?

i've done a one-day StP, but i'm sure that doesn't compare to 75 extra miles, not to mention the mtn pass you go over.

anyway, share your stories! (or thoughts)

Bump... never heard of this before!

i don't know if i am in that kind of shape, but did do the STP in one day with some legs left in 13 hours so would be interested in hearing of any stories regarding it!

i talked to a guy last saturday who's done both the cannonball & the S2S (http://www.redmondcyclingclub.org/S2S/index.html), which uses highway 2 to get to Spokane. (on a single-speed no less!)

it sounds like the Cannonball's route kind of sucks, since your on I-90 pretty much the whole way, and there's tons of trash/rocks on the shoulder, and rumble strips, etc..

and he said the S2S was much better (even though highway 2 over Stevens Pass doesn't have quite the shoulder that i-90 does). and since you start at 2 AM, I guess there isn't much traffic on the roads then anyway.

so i'm thinking i'll do the s2s instead of the cannonball - that is, if i can muster the guts to actually do it!

A fellow here at work, Gordon Hebron, set the Cannonball record in 1995 finishing 275 miles in 12:01. We have each gone our separate ways in the company and I haven't seen him for several years. Another fellow that I used to ride with, John Cacabelos, set the RAMROD tandem record sometime in the eary- to mid-90's. (Redmond Cycling Club doesn't keep time records of RAMROD any more.) As I recall, he had attempted Cannonball but got sick half-way through it and had to quit. He regulary rode STP in the 8- to 9-hour range.

A fellow here at work, Gordon Hebron, set the Cannonball record in 1995 finishing 275 miles in 12:01. We have each gone our separate ways in the company and I haven't seen him for several years. Another fellow that I used to ride with, John Cacabelos, set the RAMROD tandem record sometime in the eary- to mid-90's. (Redmond Cycling Club doesn't keep time records of RAMROD any more.) As I recall, he had attempted Cannonball but got sick half-way through it and had to quit. He regulary rode STP in the 8- to 9-hour range.

Does John ride a single-speed cannondale frame these days? That might've been the guy i talked to - somebody said he's fininshed 2nd (out of 8k+ riders!) on the stp!

Does John ride a single-speed cannondale frame these days? That might've been the guy i talked to - somebody said he's fininshed 2nd (out of 8k+ riders!) on the stp!

I don't know what John is riding; I haven't seen him in years. We both work at Boeing and used to be in the same organization; we went off to different groups and I haven't seen him since. As I recall, he is less than 10 years younger than me, so he would be in his late 40's by now.

I did the S2S a few years ago (maybe in 2000). I was interested in the Cannonball initially and talked with someone who had done it, but ended up going for the S2S. I did make it within the allotted time, but I think it was probably the closest I've ever come to dying of sheer exhaustion in my life. I still think about trying it again...........

I guess I found the thread I was looking for...