Big Rides are back!

After a hiatus, the American Lung Association Big Rides are back! Stay tuned for details about the new Big Ride Washington 2010. 1,300 miles in three weeks to raise money for the American Lung Association.

Way to go, Asher!

Contributors to my American Lung Association rides and Big Riders who followed Asher McGirt's progress will be interested to know that today is the two-year anniversary of Asher's lung transplant. His mother reports, "He is doing beautifully, except that he's a teenager now and sleeps until noon." Way to go, Asher!

Bike Tour of Colorado 2009

Someone told me that Bike Tour of Colorado is one of the ten best multiday rides in the country. It may also be one of the ten toughest!

BTC 2009 covered 400+ miles in six riding days with over 50,000 feet of climbing. Not surprisingly, the ride attracted a lot of hardcore cyclists, many of whom rode in long pacelines and were up and over the mountains and back in camp in time for lunch on days that would have taken me 8 to 12 hours to complete. After the first day of riding, I knew that I was out of my league.

Every day on BTC included 20 to 40 mile stretches of climbing averaging 3% to 5% grades (as high as 8%), usually with one major downhill stretch at the end. Downhill grades ranged from 6% to 10%. These are not rolling hills like on the Pacific Coast ride, but rather long climbs to the summit with a long steep descent down the other side. The last day was the longest but otherwise pretty typical: 107 miles total, climbing 4000+ feet over Independence Pass at 12,095 feet. 45 miles of climbing with a 60 mile descent at the end.

I do not know how many people dropped out in the first few days, but I know of several who had ridden Ride the Rockies and BTC many times before and decided not to complete this tour because it was too hard. On the first day, over a hundred riders waited hours to sag to the top of McClure Pass. Some cycled down the other side under their own power. Others sagged all the way to camp. A lot of riders had personal sag wagons to pick them up when they were too tired or hot or queasy from the altitude to go on.

I do not know how many injuries there were on the tour. There were lots of rumors, of course. I did meet a man who went down on gravel on day four, fractured a metacarpal, and rode the remaining days up to each summit with his hand in a cast. He had to sag downhill to camp every day because the descents were too dangerous with one hand. That’s what I mean by hardcore!

I realized after the first day that if I wanted this ride to be fun, I would have to give up my long-standing goal of riding EFI (Every Fantastic Inch). By the end of day two – after many powwows – Brian, Paula and I decided to get my car from Glenwood Springs and keep it with us as a personal sag wagon. From then on, we took turns riding and sagging each other and had a terrific time. We all got to ride several incredible, challenging rides, stayed safe, and had a blast!

The scenery was spectacular every day. The highlight for me was the Colorado National Monument. Take a look at the Bike Tour of Colorado slide show on the right for more photos.

The nitty gritty details

There were 1700 registered riders! This made for long waits for meals, showers, and sometimes even for porta-potties. Even so, I felt that the ride was very well organized.

We could shower in shower trucks or school showers. After the first day, I used the school showers. Steamy, but no waiting in long lines in the blazing sun.

Porta-potties were clean and usually close by, although one evening they were so wobbly that I was hesitant to use them. In a wind and rain storm at the summit of Cottonwood Pass, one went flying across the parking lot! I never did find out whether anyone was in it at the time.

We camped at a school every night, where there were four levels of accommodations:

You could camp outside in your own tent in designated areas. This is what my friends Brian and Carol did.

You could pay extra to camp inside the schools with your own sleeping bag. These campers were often lined up side by side in the gyms or hallways. One gym had 300 campers in it! No thanks!

You could pay extra to camp outside in tents provided by Shuttleguy. I was glad that Paula I had decided to share an 8x10 Shuttleguy tent. Our tents were set up when we arrived at camp, and we did not have to take them down the next morning.

Some folks paid to stay in nearby hotels. Their gear was dropped off each day and shuttles were provided to get them back and forth.

Breakfast and dinner were served in the school cafeterias. The meals were adequate, but nothing special. After the second day of waiting 45 minutes in line for breakfast, I stopped going to breakfast and tried, with varied success, to nourish myself with Power Bars and rest-stop fare until dinner.

It was very hot during the day and quite chilly most nights. It rained a couple of nights and the afternoon of our day off in Crested Butte. Not a problem on our day off! But on day six, just as I started climbing the 6% grade, 14-mile unpaved road that would take me to the summit of Cottonwood Pass, it started to drizzle. The higher I climbed the heavier the rain (and eventually sleet) came down until I was drenched through and through and getting cold. Brian was a mile or so ahead of me when Paula finally scooped us up and drove us the last two miles or so to the summit. When we got there, they were loading bikes into U haul trucks to get people off the foggy, windy summit. (Pictures are in the slide show on the right. For some reason I am not able to imbed any more pictures in the text.)

All in all, it was a great tour with spectacular scenery! When the going got rough, being with dear friends from previous rides made all the difference. And, as usual, I learned something new about myself: When it comes to cycling, I’m diehard, but I'm not hardcore.

Flying Wheels

On Saturday I rode my first century of the season and my last training ride before I leave for Bike Tour of Colorado on Tuesday. So now I know I can still do 100 miles with hills (3,840 cumulative feet of elevation gain). That's starting at sea level, or course.

Next week I'll find out if I can do it starting at 6000 feet!

Looking for a mountain to climb...

Today was the long awaited, Cycle-U Hill Climbing Boot Camp Graduation Ride. Off we drove to the meeting place at Denny Creek Road about fifty miles from Seattle -- sun shining, convertible top down. The other seven riders were there waiting when Coach Craig and I arrived. An auspicious start to a beautiful day in the Pacific Northwest!

The plan was to climb five miles to the summit at Snoquamie, glide back down and repeat. Why? To test my climbing skills after Hill Climbing Boot Camp and to get ready for Bike Tour of Colorado in June. Also, I had not done this climb since Day 1 of the Big Ride Across America in 2004, so I was curious to see how it would feel to do it five years later, and without the adrenalin rush.

We started up, and the rest of our group was quickly out of sight as I pedaled along at my usual warming up pace. I noticed a few patches of packed snow as I climbed, but didn't think too much about it until I hit a place in the road with so much snow that I had to get off the bike to cross it. A few minutes later I spotted the rest of my group coming toward me carrying their bikes across the snowy, muddy road. The road ahead was closed.

Not to worry, said our leader. We'll ride Tinkham Road instead. Or maybe not. Restricted area! No trespassing!

So we drove back toward Seattle and rode up Cougar Mountain -- a tough climb and a new ride for me. In the end, it was a great ride and a great day, but who would have thought it would be that hard to find a mountain to climb. Or that I would want to!

Tour de Blast revisited

It's about time to start posting to this blog again. I'll bring readers up to date soon. In the meantime, here's a link to a neat video of last year's Mt. St. Helens Tour de Blast and a nice piece about a father/daughter team that I met on the way down. This will be the first year since 2006 that I haven't ridden this challenging ride. Instead I'll be riding the mountains of Colorado. More about this later.

Final fundraising figures

Thanks to very generous contributions from Deya Nolan, Judy Maleng, and the Northwest Translators and Interpreters Society (NOTIS) received while I was pedaling up all those mountains, my fundraising for American Lung Association Big Ride Alaska reached $5913.48 making me the top fundraiser for this ride! Thanks once again to everyone who contributed over the last year. 

As a group, Big Ride Alaska raised a total of just over $40,500 for the good work of the American Lung Association!

I am back in Seattle now and will post a summary of my ride as soon as I have a chance. In the meantime, take a look at the Big Ride Alaska slide show on the right. You might also want to see fellow rider Brian Jacobson's blog for more pictures and details about our adventure. 

Day 10 -- Tiekel River to Valdez

61 miles
Thompson Pass (2678 ft)

Headwinds climbing to the pass and pedaling through Keystone Canyon
didn't even matter because the scenery was so extraordinary. It was a
tough ride for some of us but worth it.

Day 9 -- Tolsana to Tiekel River

77 miles
Climbed 2023 ft
Descended 2866 ft

Keeping the next few postings short because of low battery. Watch for
new photos over the next few days.

Tail winds for first 20, headwinds for last 20.

Spectacular scenery the whole way.

Day 8 -- Matanuska to Tolsona

63 miles
4 hours 49 minutes
Avg 12.7
Ascent: 2441
Descent: 3246

None of the above matters at all because everything came together
today to make it one of my best rides ever! The weather was cool and
sunny. There were bathrooms available when we needed them. We rode by
lakes, miles of tundra and more glaciers. I stopped to watch an eagle
being harrassed by a smaller bird.
And we had TAILWIND the whole day! After the first hour I got a surge
of energy that lasted for the rest of the ride, and I arrived in camp
with energy to spare. Everyone felt it was a one of those spectacular
days of riding that we will remember for a long time.

We have seen the wildlife, and it is us

Diane (CA), Carol, and Eric

Matanuska Glacier

Day 7 -- Palmer to Matanuska

The best day yet!

55 miles (not counting 5 hair-raising miles on a flatbed with Carol,
Tom, Bell, Eric and three of our bikes)
Approx 6 hours on the bike
Climbed approx 4000 feet (much of it 7-12% grade for extended climbs
with narrow shoulders and traffic)
Descended approx 2000 feet

Spectacular views all day of mountains, rivers, and the massive
Matanuska Glacier. I'm planning to take an early morning walk and will
post a photo of our view from the campsite.

Day 6 -- Talkeetna to Palmer

Getting used to headwinds:

82.74 miles
Average: 11.1
Max: 27.9
Time: 7 hrs 28 minutes
Ascent: 1758 ft
Descent: 2184

Rode alone most of the day and enjoyed it. Felt strong in spite of
headwinds. Much of ride was on bike paths running along side major
highway with lots of Friday traffic. Overcast with occasional glimpses
of spectacular mountains. Quite cool. Staying in funky hotel in
Palmer. No readily available computer and too tired to upload photos
anyway.

Thanks very much to Sandra and Bob Thomsen and Maria Paget for your
donations to the American Lung Association.

Tom from Ohio, Ivan from Alaska, Katie from Michigan, Cheryl from PA

Day 5 -- Denali State Park to Talkeetna

63 miles
No stats today as there was no opportunity to charge the bike computer

Great ride. More tomorrow when iPhone is recharged.

Carol & Courtney making the best of campsite on day 4

Day 4 -- there goes Brian

More about day four...

This was a tough ride, again because of very strong headwinds for the
first 60 miles. This made it cooler than some of us expected too.
Scenery was great -- green forests, mountains ribboned with mist,
rivers, lakes, and gorges. (I'll add pictures to slideshow soon.)

Pulling into the camp, we were greeted by swarms of mosquitos. We did
our best to fight them off and most of us retreated to our
mosquitoless tents after dinner -- well fed, tired and dirty (no
showers at this site).

Day 4 -- Denali National Park to Denali State Park

Another day on the bike:
91.2 miles (60 miles of headwinds again & no drafting this time)
Time: 8 hrs 23 minutes
Average: 10.9 mph
Max: 30.2
Ascent: 2841
Descent: 4194

Sent from my iPhone.

Bell from Vermont

Big Rider John

Sandy & Rick from Ohio

Why Day 2 sucked (or perhaps a better word is "blew")

A small sampling of what Mother Nature threw at us on Day 2.

Erin from Vermont

Eric from WA & Liz from Vermont

Day 3 -- Rest day in Denali

We awoke to pouring rain at 3 AM which stopped a few hours later. Amazingly, my tent stayed dry.

After our full day of headwind yesterday, many of us are taking "rest day" literally today, hanging out at a cafe town after a short hike into town. Others are white-water rafting or touring Denali on buses.

Thanks to former Big Riders for your comments. Brian says to tell you, "Having a wonderful time. Wish you were here." And some other choice words which I won't put in print.
And thanks too for comments from friends of fellow riders. I'm passing them on. I'll try to post a picture of everyone on the ride at some point.

See more pictures at Big Ride Alaska Slide Show on the right (click on photo for details and larger view). All of the best scenery yesterday was on descents where I couldn't stop to photograph, but I'm sure this is just the beginning. I'll add to the slide show when we have computer access again and will continue posting random pictures from my iPhone as long as we have cell service.

Day 2 -- Nenana to Denali National Park

Just the facts:
68.5 miles
6 hrs 39 min in the saddle
Average speed: 10.3 (drafting off of Brian the whole way!)
Max speed 28.3
Climbed only 1900 feet
Descended 1241 feet
Strong headwinds for 60 miles made it a very hard day, but everyone
made it!

Details to follow. Rest day and computer access tomorrow, so I'll post
pictures from camera.

Sent from my iPhone.

Big Riders Alice From NJ & Carol from Vermont -- ready to ride