Ride Around Puget Sound, day 2

We planned to start pedaling 30 minutes later today, since our route was nearly 15 miles shorter.  We had a good breakfast at our hotel.  The proprietors knew our plans and went out of their way to make sure we had adequate nutrition.  We in turn prodded Julie to eat more than she normally would before a ride.

The guys in the group talked a bit as we pedaled out.  We thought a slower pace today might be in the best interest of the group as a whole.  We also planned to stop often for food hoping it would help.

In short order we were on the "show 'em your breakfast hill" named so by some who find this hill all they want and then some on the official RAPSody as they hit this hill very shortly after eating breakfast.  Today we all made it up easily........ albeit slowly.

In addition to hills and heat today, we had another issue to contend with.

Nothing like some fresh chipseal to brighten one's day. :-(

 A few of us took on the duty of monitoring the nutritional needs as well as hydration of our weaker riders.  We hoped to keep about 200 calories/hour going into Julie.  We were pretty successful in that endeavor.  Not knowing what works for her, we guessed, and came up with either chocolate milk or an ice cream sandwich at convenience stores about every 75 minutes.  It seemed to work. 

We were riding near Hwy 101, appearing every bit a freeway in this area.  We took the old road that ran parallel where possible. I rode sweep most of the time.  Only Julie and I had the course (on Garmin's)  Mike was very familiar with past RAPSody routes and was leading most of the time. He did miss one turn, where he turned right onto Hwy 101, rather than cross and stay on the old road.  The others followed.  I took our intended route and was treated to a really nice section to pedal.

 I caught back up to the rest in a few miles, just in time to go back onto the old road.

One of the popular stops on the official RAPSody is the Blue Heron Bakery located on the edge of Mud Bay. I've never stopped because the lines of cyclists were so long.  Today, it was just our group and another half dozen cyclists. It was okay, but they did have artesian water free for the taking.

Before long we were on the last few miles into Olympia, our most southern part of our route.  It is notable because it is mostly on trails.

We arrived in Olympia.

There was a hemp fest celebration going on.  Maybe even more gregarious than expected since recreational marijuana is legal in Washington State now.  We walked our bikes along one section of the event, just to see what it was all about.

About this time my usb charged camera decided to show me again why I really liked my old AA battery digital camera.  From here on, I only got a photo after sufficient "rest time" on the battery.  There was a full array of  marijuana paraphernalia, all right out there on tables.  It was an interesting stop for this Oregonian.

We pedaled back out of Olympia, now heading north.

Our slower pace and nutritional monitoring had paid off.  Julie was all smiles. She commented that it surprised her that she felt great.  Just before the site of the Yelm foodstop on the real RAPSody, we fell behind on our chocolate milk/ice cream regimen, as we were on trails for much of it, and hadn't passed any stores on the sections of road we were on.  We were beginning to look for another wine sign by the time we got to the little store there.  Kay had mentioned several miles back that she too was in need of something to eat.  We spent of bit of time here feeding and resting.

From Yelm we had about 28 miles left to ride. We pushed on. One of the highlights that we routed to was the picturesque town of Steilacoom, the oldest incorporated town in Washington State. 

There is quite a climb out of this town, and only Arsen and I were initially up to the challenge.  We rode up a small hill then descended to the town, while the other three weighed alternatives. We had missed the hourly feeding because we had not passed any opportunities.  We were hoping that it was close enough to make it, but Julie had lost her mojo again.

Arsen and I rolled all the way down to the ferry. My camera had completely died by this time so I pressed the phone into service as a camera.

As we began pedaling back up the hill, the other three came riding along. They had decided to make the trip after all.

We pedaled as a group again and continued north.  We could see the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, where we had begun our trip yesterday morning, but the cell phone camera's zoom leaves a lot to be desired.

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge in the distance

  A group photo was taken here (I'll see if I can snag it and add it here) but Julie was in no mood for photos.  The rest of us put on our smiles though!

We rode above the Chambers Bay Golf Club.  Golfers are impressed.  We cyclists are more impressed with the very steep trail that leads back up the hill from here.

 Arsen and I were the only ones in our group to pedal up.  The others walked, but either way works.

We were 2  miles from the end, we were anxious to wrap this ride up. It was an exercise in patience to be riding so slowly, but we wanted to support our struggling riders.  With 1.5 miles left to go, and a quite a bit of whining going on, I left the sweep position and led out.  I rode about 15 mph and just kept moving.  I'd check my mirror to be sure they were following.  It worked.  

In a few minutes we were all back at our vehicles, and scoping out food options.  It was just what we needed.

Despite some challenges for some, it was a good ride. Hopefully all will think it was fun, even if only type 2 fun.

 ..........road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total

Today..........83...............0..............0...............0............83 Jan............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ...........701.............0..............0...............0............701
April..........749.................0..............0...............0..........749
May...........613.................0..............0...............0...........613
June............309...............0..............0...............0...........309
July...............615...............0..............0...............0............615  Total..........4183...............0..............0...............0..........4183