Just completed RAMROD on thursday with my fixed gear bike. While it isn't easy it sure as a great experience. RAMROD is a 154 loop around Mt Rainier in Washington State.
A friend and I at 5:15 start in Enumclaw. He rode SS and I rode fixed
The morning fog stayed with us for a few hours and we kept our jackets on until we reached the Park Entrance. Jon was geared lower than I was and we parted ways at this point. I met up with another friend as we passed thru the Park Entrance
The sunlight filtering thru the Grandfather trees inside the park. As the climb started to stiffen my friend fell back and I was on my own.
I passed a large group of riders from a Cycling Club all dressed in team kits. One of them came up to me and opened with "so, tell me about your bike..."
This curious rider was great company and it make the 15 mile climb pass by quickly. She took this picture of me
The first big climb was over at the Inspiration Point Rest Stop.
I left my new friend Debra at the rest stop and enjoyed a flat section of road to Reflection Lakes
The road descends steeply through Stevens Canyon. The road is rough and I feathered my brakes to keep my speed down to a comfortable level. My arms really took a beating doing this.
The climb up Cayuse Pass is rightly regarded as the hardest section of the route. This hill is a constant 6-8% grade for something like 12 miles. I got a kick out of hearing people mutter "Oh my God!" when I passed them on this stretch. Even the faster 'racer boys' who passed me were praising the effort I was doing. Pretty cool to hear that kinda stuff for 53 year old man like myself.
The last 35 miles back to Enumclaw were into a headwind. I was too slow with my gearing to jump into any of the pace lines that formed so I was on my own making it to a 3:40 finish in Enumclaw
I finished up ahead of everyone I knew who was riding and I waited for them all. Jon finished tired and happy.
It took about 3 hrs for everyone I knew to finish then it was off to a local restaurant for Pizza and Beer. It was one fine day