The McClinchy Mile

 The forecast called for 100% chance of rain today in the Arlington, WA area.  I loaded my rain bike up and made my way northward.  The McClinchy Mile ride started at Haller Middle School.   Given the forecast, there were only about half the number of riders in attendance as would normally be expected. I teamed up with 4 friends and rode off with dry roads and cloudy skies.  The McClinchy Mile has three main loops, plus a short family friendly loop. John H and I hoped to ride all three loops for the full 100 mile ride.  We chose the 48 mile loop to start off with, because we heard it was the hilliest.  We figured we'd get the more difficult stuff out of the way. 

As we got the route sheets in our hand we noted that hilly is subjective, there was less than 2000 ft elevation gain in the 48 miles.  We were a group of varying bike readiness.  Craig D was on a brand new Specialized Robaix with DI2 shifting. The other 4 started out in rain coats, but I started with just a windbreaker on.  The temperature was in the mid 50's, and I was afraid of overheating.

There were no big hills, but a lot of shorter ones.  At the top of each hill we'd regroup.  About 10 miles into the ride it started to sprinkle.  We all presumed our luck had run out.  I put my windbreaker away and put my rain coat on while we regrouped.  As it ended up, it never rained much.  Craig had not got fenders on the new bike yet, and so little rain fell that he didn't get that muddy stripe up his back.

We noted that we were doing a lot of waiting to regroup.  In two hours we had covered 17 miles. We got to Granite Falls and missed the first food stop.  The stop was poorly marked, as was the course in a few places.  None of us were hurting too bad, so we decided to ride on toward Machias, the location of the second food stop, another 15 miles down the course.

 After another few miles, and few more hills, Julie needed a food break. She didn't have a big breakfast and was getting hungry.  We stopped along the side of the road and she attacked some of the snacks she was carrying.  Having refueled we continued on. We regrouped at the right turn onto Carpenter Rd, and as we were waiting, who would ride by other than friend Geoff H!  He was on an SIR (Seattle International Randonneurs) ride. He continued straight, we turned right.

We arrived at Machias and feasted on cookies, peanut butter bagels, grapes and bananas.

At Machias the route turned onto the Centennial Trail, not to be confused with the Centennial Trail near Spokane.  There was a 15 mph speed limit on the trail, not that we were in too much danger of exceeding that today.

We pedaled along, visiting and watching the scenery go by.  After a few miles of trail, we got back on roads for the last few miles into town.  I understand that the trail is not paved all the way into Arlington, but they are currently working on completing it.

In no time we were back in Arlington.  We decided we'd better get a group photo.

John H, Scott B., Julie P, Me, Craig D

It was 2:30 PM, the course closed at 4 PM.  There was a stiff wind blowing.  My pickup was right there.  I decided to not make Julie wait as I rode.  John thought he might go for a few bonus miles, but was unsure how many he'd go for.

We walked into the school and nibbled on rider snacks.  After 30 minutes John hopped on his bike, and the rest of us got in vehicles and called it a day after just the 48 mile loop.

............road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total
Today..........48................0..............0...............0.............48 Jan.............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ...........257.............0..............0...............0............257 Total..........1545...............0..............0...............0.........1545