Riding Around Puget Sound, Day 1

Today we rode a DIY RAPSody.  RAPSody was one of my favorite rides.  It was sponsored by 5 Washington bike clubs, and raised funds for WABIKES. I've participated in 4 of the 10 renditions of this scenic ride around Puget Sound.  This year the event did not happen due to a variety of issues revolving around coordination of volunteers and promotion.  No worries, I've never been one to wring my hands in angst because someone won't put together a ride then charge me to participate.  I put together a plan and invited others to join me.

7 of us set out to ride.  A smaller group than I expected, but enough to have fun.  

Ross forgot bike shoes, but arrived at the start line in Tacoma to express his regrets.

Leo was going to ride backward on the route from the northern end and find us.

So 5 of us started out today. 

We were in no hurry, hoping to finish the 86 mile route in 10 hours. There would be plenty of time for photo ops and food stops.

We started our ride at Fred Meyer, who graciously allowed us to park cars there without charge for  the weekend.  The traditional start location was Tacoma Community College, just across the street, but they wanted to charge us $4/hour.  As if.

We pedaled across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

Today the bridge was quite stable, as opposed to the bridge that originally stood on this location.

I stopped midspan for a photo.

Shortly after crossing the bridge we regrouped.

The route is hilly, but after climbing the hills one is rewarded with a descent, and usually a great view!

I didn't know I was going to be riding with the rich and famous.  Today we were graced with the presence of Mike Kelly, obviously the owner of a cycling clothing company that bears his name. ;-)

We continued to ride northward along the water.

As we neared Manchester, we got a call from Leo.  He was looking for us.  It was decided that we'd meet him at the Manchester Ferry.  We were close, and he was not too far away he said.

We arrived at the ferry and took an impromptu rest, filling water bottles and using the restroom while we waited.

After 25 minutes of waiting we had another phone conversation with Leo.  He assured us he was just cresting the hill before the descent to the ferry. Mike, Kay, and Julie pedaled on since they were a bit slower.  Arsen and I would wait for Leo.

After another 20 minutes of waiting we had used up our available time. We'd have to meet up with Leo some other time.  Arsen and I put our heads down and pedaled, hoping that maybe in an hour we'd be able to catch those who had the head start.

We were pedaling hard, holding 25-27 mph on the flats.

 We were across the water from Bremerton then began climbing.

 We knew that if we were going to catch our partners that we'd have to make up the time on the climbs. We continued the effort, still holding 12 mph or better on the climb.

We were amazed to come around a bend and see some of our group ahead of us.  We had caught them in 30 minutes. We were all breathing equally heavy by then!

We continued on. 

The weather was gorgeous,  It was warm by Puget Sound standards, with mid afternoon highs reaching the mid 80's.  We were obviously supporting ourselves so we stopped from time to time to grab snacks and refill water.

We continued our way along the hilly route. The hills weren't big or terribly steep, but were relentless, every descent gave a reward. 

We noted where support stops we located on the official ride, but would not be today. Luckily signs were posted advising us.

Julie has problems with taking in adequate nutrition on rides.  She didn't have much dinner the night before, only the very minimum of breakfast, and was paying the price. For her, that means she mentally checks out and loses enthusiasm for the ride.  She lets her fellow riders know her status with a constant verbal updating.  We couldn't help but notice this sign that seemed to fit the current condition.

She didn't partake of any wine, but at mile 53, while we were shopping for some easily digestible calories for her, she found the answer to her prayers.  A kind hearted local with a trailer offered to give her a ride to Shelton, our planned stop for the day. She readily accepted.

We were down to 4 riders.  We picked up the pace a little, still hoping to get into Shelton for a timely dinner.

We covered the last 30 miles in two hours. (we took an alternate RAPSody route late in our ride to avoid a busy street and picked up 7 bonus miles) We arrived to find Julie standing outside our motel, already checked in and showered. She also had replaced her frown with a smile.

The rest of us checked in, showered, and changed into street clothes. We all walked three blocks to a Mexican Food establishment for a post ride meal and celebratory cerveza.

We retired as soon as possible, tomorrow would be another day!

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

Today..........93...............0..............0...............0............93 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...............532...............0..............0...............0............532  Total..........4100...............0..............0...............0..........4100