Just signed up yesterday. Who's with me?

I haven't signed up yet, but will soon. I'm also working on getting a few other people to ride along, too.

The idea I'm floating is to catch the earlier ferry and attempt to get ahead of some of the less stable riders...

I'm wavering - there are too many "less stable" riders out there.
Last year, I showed up early for the 1st boat but due to the crowd, I got stuck waiting for the 2nd boat. Didn't really enjoy freezing my tail off standing and waiting. I'll see how the weather goes - may register day of.

I didn't think you could register until the 4th?

I'm in. I'm trying to get my girlfriend to do the ride, too.

I've heard as long as you have one person in the group to pack doughnuts into a seatbag, you're golden.

Enjoy, Hilly riders! I always thought this one sounded like fun.

I'm in.

I'm debating whether to drive down there or ride to the start. I want to do the ride on my singlespeed, and I think tacking on an extra 20-ish miles for the there & back might kill me. Can I hitch a ride with you?

Klondike and team Gyromix are in!

Ya sure, ya betcha!

I'm in. The last two years it hasn't been too Chilly, and was a great ride.

I think I am going to save my legs for the Frostbite TT on the next day....Still on the fence though, as the Frostbite is only like 9 miles.

Frostbite is Saturday, CH is Sunday.

Still don't think I'll do it.

Plenty of time to rest and recover in between CH and Frostbite. And if you plan on doing any stage races like Walla Walla or Enumclaw, it will get you ready for back to back races.

I would do Frostbite but unfortunately I have something planned. I'll be doing Icebreaker the next weekend followed by Mason Lake.

The first several times I did this I felt the need (for some reason) to be on the 1st or 2nd boat. This year I'm thinking about going a couple of hours later, just to skip the crowds, take advantage of the warmer temperatures.

I tried that last year but it backfired. The weather was warm and clear, so lots of day-of registrations created a >2 ferry long line. If the forecast is really nice, get there early.

This ride sounds like fun...i'll be there!

I've done it twice before and it's a hoot. Yeah, it's crowded and there's a bunch of wobbly people on their first day out for the year, and lots of slow descending because people are afraid to go over 20mph, and dodgy climbing because there's people who just stop in the middle of the road to get off and walk...
But it's a fundraiser ride, not a timetrial. Go out, have fun, drink some hot cider and eat some chili.

I'll be on my fixed too because my geared bike is far from here at the moment.

i should do it with mine, it'd be entertaining for everyone else to watch at least

maybe, I have no car and live in spokane

Silly question/concern: I've heard you can't wear cleats on the ferry, is this true? If so, what do you do?

There's a bunch of fixed gear riders who do it. I'll be on my singlespeed.

Cleat covers
Take off yer shoes
Use SPDs and they don't care
Clips, straps and street shoes
Flat pedals and boots

Take your pick, really.

Thanks for the reply, I guess I'll look into cleat covers, as I just listed my SPD pedals on ebay, have no clips/straps and don't care to go shoeless on the ferry, especially in the winter.