With the Park Service’s 100th birthday, Redmond Cycle Club (RCC) presented the 32nd edition of Ride Around Mount Rainier (RAMROD) in collaboration with Mount Rainier National Park. The ride is capped at 800 riders and entry is by volunteering the year before or lottery. I volunteered the year before. The theme was the National Park Service birthday and the jerseys were designed with this in mind. The t-shirt color was the park service green color.
It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves
Edmond Hillary
The ride was epic. Very hard at 150 miles and 10,000 elevation gain, but something of the elite caiber to be valued and cherished forever. Material things can not endure, but conquering this mountain will last a lifetime.
The hills were alive with music. I saw wildflowers close up, smelled the pine trees, and heard and felt the coolness of each water fall as I went by. I felt I was on some exotic mountain ride as I looked down on hairpin turns, and then like magic road those hairpin turns. Wait, this is an exotic mountain ride.
Preparation – RCC each year offers a well organized and thought out 15 week RAMROD Training Series (RTS) on Saturdays to prepare for the event. I did the training series on Saturdays and road MEETS on Wednesdays. I cross trained by swimming and running each week.
A few days before – To reduce the chance of a tire flat (and my paranoia), I put new tires and tubes on my bike – Specialized 700×25″ All Condition Armadillo on the rear and Specialized 700×23/25“ Roubaix Pro Endurance on front. Both have anti-puncture features. I took the bike into Girks for a safety check. Decisions and decisions. Do I carry 2 tubes? Do I carry 2 cartridges? I opted for 1 tube, 1 cartridge, and a very small if all else fails pump. It all fit in my Ortlieb micro seat bag as well as a few bandages.
The night before – I stayed at the Guest House in Enumclaw. The room was large and clean. It needed maintenance though. The hotel is next to 2 parks and a quiet downtown of restaurants and shops. In the middle of the night, I heard what sounded like a tv and could not sleep. I called the front desk. It was a car with an audio book on as loud as can be and no driver in the car. Apparently they found the owner of the car as after 15 minutes the sound stopped. We tried out several restaurants and I especially liked The Mint.
As we were driving into Enumclaw I stared at the mountain. It seemed so far away.
The day – I got up at 3:45 AM to eat my microwave pancake, banana, and jam. Stuffed my jersey with Skratch hydration packets, and my bento box with Hammer and GU gel. I used a combination of my nutrition and the course nutrition. Tom drove me to the start at 4:30 AM. I was excited to see my friends from Cascade Bicycling Club and friends from RTS. At about 5:10 AM. we took off as dawn arrived and the day went from darkness to light. As the day was going to be hot, I did not take a vest or jacket. I was ok except for one short dip in the road about mile 10 where it was foggy.
I joined and separated from various pace groups as I plugged along to Eatonville (Mile 35) and Wildwood (Mile 58.5) pedal after pedal. Next we entered the park with 60 miles of pedaling in our legs. The slower climbers and faster climbers separated. I slowly and methodically pedaled like a toad to Inspiration Point (73 Miles). I did not mind, as the scenery was breathtaking and I was in company with other kindred in good spirits. I periodically got out of the saddle to pedal standing and stretch my leg.
The bib numbers from 1 to 800 are from oldest to younger (I was #114). For fun, people who were a few numbers up or down, shouted out guessing my birthday year and month as they passed me. I was in awe when seeing a rider with a bib number below 70.
Down Box Canyon, up Backbone Ridge, and back down to Grove of the Patriarchs I went. At the bottom (Grove of the Patriarchs / Mile 96) was a rest station with ice cubes to carry for our next climb up Cayuse. Cayuse can be a hot oven with jagged rocks and little shade. By then, it was around 2:00 PM and hot. I filled my water bottles with ice, filled a light weight nylon sock with ice for around my neck, and put ice in my pocket. I stopped every 1/2 to 1 mile on the climb to pour ice water on my head. 1 bottle of sports drink and 1 bottle ice water was on my bike.
Once down off the mountain, I stopped at Crystal Mountain Ski Resort turnoff for the last food stop. I had an ice cold Coke and salty potato chips which tasted heavenly. I rarely drink Coke, but it felt more refreshing then it ever had before. No Diet Coke for me. It is sugar all the way. Next was 30+ miles slightly downhill back to Enumclaw. I was thankful the bad road about a mile down the mountain was marked with paint. The afternoon thermals produced a headwind back.
I arrived at the finish around 7:30 PM with Maggie, Amir, Siou-Wai, and Jeff at the finish before me and John and Mary on a tandem behind me. My best friend Laurie was at the finish volunteering and Tom taking pictures.
I appreciated the immense coordination and detail to safety. I had RFID tracking on me and went through 6 check points to read my RFID. Aid Cars were visibly parked on the route as well as Ham Radio command stations and Ham Radio vehicles driving the course. The park has no cell phone coverage. A mobile mechanic drove from stop to stop as we progressed on the course.
Next day – The next day we stayed at Wellsprings Inn in Ashford. I liked eating at Cooper Creek Restaurant a few miles down the road. The restaurant makes delicious blackberry milkshakes. We drove to Paradise as I commented over and over in the car – I road this, I road this.
After 11 hours in the saddle and 14 hours total with stops, not to sore for wear. The RAMROD Training Series did its job and prepared me well.
Additional Photos:
Bill Pence – Images from the 2016 RAMROD Set #1
Bill Pence – Images of riders and volunteers Set #2