Old_Crow
06-29-08, 12:47 PM
X-posted from the LD forum for the local who don't read that board and might make use of the ride report.
I'm not an 'official' randonneur yet but I did this SIR permanent route yesterday. With a couple exceptions noted below, it's a great ride. Yesterday, the conditions were challenging at times with a pretty stiff headwind on the northward leg and of course the 80+ degree heat. I rode with a friend who is extremely fit (fast marathon runner) but who hasn't put in a lot of saddle time this year.
For those that don't know it, the ride starts with a ferry ride from Mukilteo to Clinton then heads up through Whidbey Island and across Deception Pass. This was my favorite section of the ride by far. Nice shoulder and gorgeous views but there was a lot of car traffic due to the sunny Saturday. Saw lots of interesting birds, vistas, etc.
The ride next heads up to Fairhaven via Chuckanut Drive. The rollers going northward on Chuckanut were a bit tedious and my ride partner started bonking pretty hard so this was our slowest section. After refueling at Fairhaven, we headed back south via Chuckanut. Much easier in this direction, especially with a tailwind, the great views made this a very enjoyable section of the ride.
Not being familiar with the area, we missed the turn off SR-11 southward and rode the wind down Chuckanut far too long, almost to I-5. This necessitated a greuling sidetrack back southeast to hit Hwy237 and added a few unwanted miles over bad roads to the route. From there the ride continues southward down the valley through lots of semi-urban sprawl, stripmalls and unfriendly drivers until you get to Everett. This section was the toughest for me, not physically, rather mentally. It was ugly & boring and it was hard to concentrate on anything other than wanting to be somewhere else.
!!!CAUTION!!! - there is a very bad railroad track crossing in this route on State Avenue. The tracks cross the road at a steep diagonal angle and have grooves sized perfectly to catch a bicycle wheel. It's also a high traffic chokepoint with no shoulder. My partner's rear wheel got hung for a second and he nearly bit the dust. It would have been a death fall for him as there was a supersized RV riding his rear wheel. He was pretty shaken up so we stopped for a second to recover our mental fortitude and continued on.
This should be more explicitly explained in the cuesheet, IMO.
From Everett to Mukilteo was a nice section, good roads, mostly with a bike lane and a beautiful sunset in the dying light. However, the steep rollers over this section were an unwanted enhancement at this point... I was still feeling quite good and started burning my remaining matches over this section instead of being a good partner and pacing, whoopsie!
My partner had a knee problem flare up on the return trip so I ended up pulling the from Fairhaven to Mukilteo so that he could put less stress on the knee. I was feeling solid and it was good training or the future. Other than a sore left wist, I felt really good after the ride. A 'recovery meal' of a big greasy bacon cheeseburger and 8 hours of sleep and I'm all good.
Grand Total - 163 miles at 16mph
This was my longest ride so far. I hadn't really ridden a bike since 2000 when I started back riding in mid-Feb. This was my 7th 100+mile ride since May so I think I'm good for the STP and I hope to do a 250 miler including a couple mountain passes at the end of the season. Next year, I'll make my debut as an official randonneur, it looks like great fun!
I'm not an 'official' randonneur yet but I did this SIR permanent route yesterday. With a couple exceptions noted below, it's a great ride. Yesterday, the conditions were challenging at times with a pretty stiff headwind on the northward leg and of course the 80+ degree heat. I rode with a friend who is extremely fit (fast marathon runner) but who hasn't put in a lot of saddle time this year.
For those that don't know it, the ride starts with a ferry ride from Mukilteo to Clinton then heads up through Whidbey Island and across Deception Pass. This was my favorite section of the ride by far. Nice shoulder and gorgeous views but there was a lot of car traffic due to the sunny Saturday. Saw lots of interesting birds, vistas, etc.
The ride next heads up to Fairhaven via Chuckanut Drive. The rollers going northward on Chuckanut were a bit tedious and my ride partner started bonking pretty hard so this was our slowest section. After refueling at Fairhaven, we headed back south via Chuckanut. Much easier in this direction, especially with a tailwind, the great views made this a very enjoyable section of the ride.
Not being familiar with the area, we missed the turn off SR-11 southward and rode the wind down Chuckanut far too long, almost to I-5. This necessitated a greuling sidetrack back southeast to hit Hwy237 and added a few unwanted miles over bad roads to the route. From there the ride continues southward down the valley through lots of semi-urban sprawl, stripmalls and unfriendly drivers until you get to Everett. This section was the toughest for me, not physically, rather mentally. It was ugly & boring and it was hard to concentrate on anything other than wanting to be somewhere else.
!!!CAUTION!!! - there is a very bad railroad track crossing in this route on State Avenue. The tracks cross the road at a steep diagonal angle and have grooves sized perfectly to catch a bicycle wheel. It's also a high traffic chokepoint with no shoulder. My partner's rear wheel got hung for a second and he nearly bit the dust. It would have been a death fall for him as there was a supersized RV riding his rear wheel. He was pretty shaken up so we stopped for a second to recover our mental fortitude and continued on.
This should be more explicitly explained in the cuesheet, IMO.
From Everett to Mukilteo was a nice section, good roads, mostly with a bike lane and a beautiful sunset in the dying light. However, the steep rollers over this section were an unwanted enhancement at this point... I was still feeling quite good and started burning my remaining matches over this section instead of being a good partner and pacing, whoopsie!
My partner had a knee problem flare up on the return trip so I ended up pulling the from Fairhaven to Mukilteo so that he could put less stress on the knee. I was feeling solid and it was good training or the future. Other than a sore left wist, I felt really good after the ride. A 'recovery meal' of a big greasy bacon cheeseburger and 8 hours of sleep and I'm all good.
Grand Total - 163 miles at 16mph
This was my longest ride so far. I hadn't really ridden a bike since 2000 when I started back riding in mid-Feb. This was my 7th 100+mile ride since May so I think I'm good for the STP and I hope to do a 250 miler including a couple mountain passes at the end of the season. Next year, I'll make my debut as an official randonneur, it looks like great fun!