Livestrong Challenge
 

Who's doing the Seattle Livestrong Challenge on Sunday? I'm signed up for the full 100. Any reviews from last year? What can I expect at the rest stops?

One thing I'm not looking forward to is the mandatory 6:50 am start. That means I've got to be wheels down from my place at about 6:15. That's an early morning, and it also means for a chilly start.

Expect a great ride, really friendly folks, lots of encouragement along the way. Fairly good road closures and protection from vehicles for a good part of the day, less so along the last bit through downtown Seattle unless any big changes have been made from last year. Food quality and quantity is good, don't recall any stand out awesome food from last year, but you'll get what you need to get you through the day in the form of fairly typical large ride fare: orange slices, bagels, stinger bars, etc.

I rode it last year and I'm riding the century again this year. The support for this event is fantastic. The rest stops are more frequent than the Flying Wheels with very similar food. I do recall a Starbucks stand at at least one stop handing out drip coffee. There were also volunteers at the stops offering to hold your bike while you used the porto potties or got food. The one guy in our group got a flat, and a support car stopped within minutes and changed his tube for him. We got caught in a rare thunder shower and a support car stopped and handed us plastic ponchos. And at the top of Montreux a support car of volunteers were handing out bottled water. Top notch support. It was fun riding downtown with a police escort and no cars as well as riding the express lanes on the i-90 bridge. Some challenging hills. The course isn't quite as fluid as the Flying Wheels and is somewhat urban in that much of it is close or in Seattle.

Last year our 3 man team wore CUTTERS jersey's and we plan on doing the same with our 5 man team this year. See you there! Go Cutters!

You're right, it was a fantastic event. The support was great, and the ride through downtown and over to Mercer Island with the police escort was definitely the highlight. Now if only it wasn't pissing rain the whole ride...

Highly recommended that everyone put this on their calendar for next year!

LIVESTRONG!

It didn't rain the entire time. I was completely dry in the East Portal, under the Mercer Island Lid, and in the I-90 Bike Tunnel!! Definitely a great event though and loved all the support out there on the road!

I posted a long report on the ride and the appreciation dinner. If you're interested and have a few minutes to read a novella, here's the link:
http://mikekrasnow.wordpress.com/2010/06/21/livestrong-challenge-2010-seattle/