RAPSody day 1

Today was the annual Ride Around Puget Sound in One Day ride.  Several years ago the organizers dropped the one day option because so few riders opted to work that hard. ;-)

Day one was Tacoma to Shelton.



It is a very scenic ride noted for chip sealed roads, hills, superb food stops, and excellent camaraderie.

Julie and I started off at 7:50 AM from Tacoma Community College. Most of our friends had started earlier, but we came in very late from Idaho the night before. I thought we did pretty well to get our act together enough to be on the road before 8AM.  In years past the ride started off with a ferry ride, but since the Tacoma Narrows Bridge was improved (a new bridge with bike lanes) we've been going over the bridge.  Organizers were all excited about this change, I on the other hand can ride across bridges all the time.  I looked forward to riding the ferry and seeing all the bikes lined up on the car decks.

Julie was having trouble keeping her mojo again.  Knowing that her friends were well ahead of us, and having a steady stream of cyclists passing us got her down. We did pass a few riders on some of the hills, which helped perk her up a bit.

will touch up the photo soon

The day was nearly perfect, no rain, not too hot, not too windy.  We pedaled along taking in the view.

After about 30 miles we arrived at Manchester, the first food stop.  West Sound Bicycle Club runs this one.  There are five rest stops in all, and each is managed by a different local bike club.  The event itself is a fund raiser for the Bicycle Alliance of Washington   This rest stop is noted for the many varieties of homemade cookies served up, along with the more usual fruit and rider kibble. We even got to visit with one of the cookie bakers!

Me, Julie, and Deb (L to R)

We had started early in the morning in Seattle and driven to Tacoma, then biked several hours, only to be looking across the water at Seattle again!

I was trying my best to keep Julie's head in the game, and the easiest way to do that is manage time, since I can't seem to get her to ride faster most times!  After 17 minutes we were back on the road.
Before long we passed by the semi famous camels.  I've stopped for photos of them before, but today I just did my best as we kept pedaling along. From the camel's expression, I presume he was wondering what the heck we were up to.

 We'd drop down to the water's edge, only to climb back away, then drop to the water again. The hills are never long (relatively of course) and never high, always remaining below 500 ft elevation.

In another 30 miles we arrived in Allyn, the site of today's second food stop.  Along with the normal fare, this stop serves up calazone! Our attention to time was paying off.  We caught up with some of our friends by this point.

Julie hob nobs with the Mayor of Kitsap (Leo Stone)

 Being ever mindful of time, we were back on the bikes within 15 minutes. We continued the up and down journey toward Shelton.

The route marking crew has fun with us, here is one of  the "non standard" road markings to be found at the tops of two of the more nasty climbs.

We passed by Mason Lake, with it's many nice homes along the shore.

We picked up a headwind as the day progressed and it was now noticeable. I had Julie tuck in behind me as I sat high on the bars to create the maximum slip stream for her.  We kept the pedals spinning and arrived in Shelton before 4PM, and before many of the other riders.  Julie was feeling much better now!
We set up a tent in the athletic field along with others, while some chose to "camp out" in the school gym.  We showered, then went to the dinner served at the school by local boosters.  Salmon burgers, hamburgers, corn on the cob, potato salad, green salad, all you can eat!

There was some discussion around the dinner table about the seemingly smaller than normal attendance. We all gave our ideas on why this and other rides this year have been down in numbers, but came up with no sure fire fixes.  All I can say is that I, like many others, consider this the best ride all season. The scenery, food, and close knit group make this a fun ride. 

Following dinner, some years there is music and dancing, other years a few of us take a shuttle bus into town and hit a few establishments to rub elbows with the locals, and some years we just climb over a fence into Walmart and get our own little party in a brown paper bag. ;-)    This year we were treated to some bike movie shorts.  We watched for an hour or so, then retired for the evening.

 Tomorrow will be an easier day.  About 15 miles shorter, about 2000 ft less climbing, and the likelihood of a tail wind all make for a promising day!

  ...............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle........total
Today..............94...........0................0............0.............94 Jan..................93..............0...............0.........0..............93 Feb................411..............0..............0.........0............411 March.............653.............0..............0.........0............653 April..............696..............0...............0.........0............696 May...............900...............0...............0.........0.............900
June..............484...............0..............0..........0...........484
July..............1300................0...............0..........0.............1300
 Aug................481.............0.................0..........0.............481 Total...........4774.............0...............0..........0.............4774