This is a description of my Cascade 1200K ride in June 2006. Some photos I took during the ride appear here
Cast of Characters:
Tennessee Randonneurs:
Jeff Bauer
Bill Glass
Alan Gosart
Jeff Sammons
Michelle Dulieu (Rochester, New York)
Ed & Mary (mixed tandem couple)
Sue & Peg (tube sock ladies)
Prologue
Last year I missed riding the Cascade 1200K because I wanted to complete the Gold Rush Randonne. This year four of us from Tennessee trained together to ride the Cascade 1200K in Washington State.
Just days before the ride we receive news that the roads connecting Randle to Carson are closed because the snow hasn't been removed. I start packing more cold weather gear in anticipation of cool evenings. We won't get to see St. Helens on this trip, but the amazing thing is that SIR quickly re-routes the course in short order -- an amazing logistical feat.
After we arrive and assemble our bikes I discover that my rear brake has been damaged in transit. We travel to three different bike shops, finally obtaining a cheap $20 brake and then locate a mechanic willing to install it on his lunch hour. After a quick bike inspection we have dinner and get to bed.
Monroe - mile 0
6/24 06:00
The morning is slightly chilly. I've worn my white long sleeve jersey for sun protection, but it's also comfortable in the cool morning hours. For once I manage to start my ride at a conservative pace. I ride with Will Roberts for a while, reminiscing about the Rocky Mountain 1200K a couple years ago. He's still riding a single-speed, but I'm no longer doing these distances on my fixed-gear. We ride together through the morning mist.
Cumberland - mile 52
6/24 09:16
A relatively quick stop. Water but no food, unless you count gumdrops. Gumdrops? I was hoping to eat something more substantial this early in the ride. Alan experiences some clicking noises on his bike. It's warming up and anyone who was wearing a vest or arm warmers has already removed them. We can see Mt. Ranier up ahead in the distance.
Kapowsin (secret control) - mile 83
6/24 11:15
Jennifer Wise and Pierce Grafan are waiting at the secret control. Perhaps a secret control is mandatory for a 1200K ride, as this one doesn't otherwise appear to serve any useful purpose. Just as we descend from the control, I recall the Pierce is a bike mechanic and could have diagnosed Alan's problem. Too late. We pass a rider with a flat.
Eatonville - mile 94
6/24 12:05
Ten miles out of the secret control we stop at the Plaza Market in Eatonville. I regret not stopping a mile earlier at the Truly Scrumptious Bakery. We take a long 40 minute break to eat and replenish, then head out toward Randle. Somewhere along the route our road is closed due to a festival. We simply ride slowly around the pedestrians and the market booths. I'd like to stop for a snow cone, but we keep pedalling. As we come to the next street we encounter a parade -- some skateboarders are led by a fire engine. Rather than wait for the parade to end, we simply become part of the parade, waving to people as we pass through.
Randle - mile 140
6/24 16:07
Before we get to the next control, we stop in Morton and take pictures of a passenger-carrying steam locomotive. It's very hot by the time we arrive in Randle. The market is crowded and the cold drinks aren't cold. We've been warned to stock up on water before we leave, as we'll have a long climb up White Pass with no services. Despite leaving Randle with two (2) 30oz water bottles and a 50oz Camelbak, I run out of water before reaching the summit. I think almost everyone misjudged how much water we'd require.
White Pass - mile 176
6/24 17:47
About 24 miles outside of Randle the 13 mile climb begins in earnest. Jeff, Bill, Alan and I are more or less together, though we climb at different rates. We occasionally stop for the scenic views to take pictures -- also an excuse to take a breather during this long ascent. The grade isn't too steep, but it's relentless. A support vehicle pulls up and asks if I'm okay. Stupidly, I reply affirmative when I could have taken the opportunity to refill my water.
As we're climbing up White Pass we encounter brief thermoclines -- areas where a breeze passes through the upper snow and cold water to provide a short respite from the heat. As we ascend, the air starts to cool due to the change in altitude.
I catch up with Michelle just before the summit. She has also run out of water and was sorely tempted to drink from the mountain runoff, but fortunately a SAG vehicle intervened. Apparently some riders were asking for water from the tourists at the scenic lookouts.
At the control summit we have food and drinks waiting. I eat a turkey sandwich as Jeff, Alan, and Bill arrive. I'm being bitten by mosquitoes, however, and soon head down the pass before everyone else is ready to depart.
Prior to this climb we'd all misjudged how easy the ride had been going. At the top of White Pass some riders were obviously irritable -- a bad omen of things yet to come.
Cowiche - mile 220 (Overnight)
6/24 23:03
I pedal at an easy pace towards Cowiche, our first overnight control. The terrain is mostly downhill, with a few minor climbs. It gets dark before I've completed the descent as I've stopped to put on night gear and take a few photos, including a particularly nice one of a sunset over the mountain lake.
The last miles are pleasant, with the exception of one steep grind before Cowiche. Just as I turn into the overnight control, I hear Bill, Alan, and Jeff behind me with Michelle in tow. They joke about my "soft pedalling" over the past 44 miles.
The overnight control is the St. Peter's Youth Center. We have bunk beds, hot showers and a hot meal. Great accommodations, especially considering that SIR had to improvise at this location. We decide to attempt a 5:00 am departure.
Ellensburg - mile 269
6/25 09:43
A quick breakfast and we're on the road before 6:00. Accounting for showers and meals, we probably got 3 hours of actual sleep. Once we get started, our legs warm up. Then there's an interesting phenomenon. As we're riding along an irrigation ditch the water appears to be running uphill. Of course it's a trick of visual perception -- we're actually riding uphill about 11 mph.
By 7:00 am, the day is already warm. We've been warned to expect temps in the upper 90's. As the sun rises, it's obvious that the terrain has changed dramatically since we've crossed White Pass. Gone are the trees and green hills. Ahead lies the dusty desert and sagebrush.
After 20 miles we turn onto Canyon Road. This section is an out-and-back spur that follows the Yakima River into Ellensburg. We're still riding early enough in the morning that we get some shade riding up and down through the canyon. Bill mentions that the popping noise is the road tar boiling up to the surface. At one point I'm riding beside Michelle and we hear -- then see -- rocks rolling down into our path. A short sprint, then I turn around and snap a quick photo. In the photo you can see the dust kicked up from the rolling rocks.
The last 3 miles into the Flying J control are flat. We motor along at 20 mph. At the control we stock up on food/water and head back toward Canyon Road. On the return leg it's much hotter and our progress is slower. Traffic has picked up. Jeff and I ride together and plan to regroup with everyone in Selah, about 29 miles down the road.
Selah - mile 299
6/25 12:10
The temps are in the mid 90's by the time we reach at the Selah control. Jeff and I arrive first, followed by Michelle, then Bill and Alan. Bill wants to stop at McDonald's. Jeff, Michelle, and I decide to keep riding to the next control at Sunnyside, about 45 miles down the road.
Sunnyside - mile 345
6/25 15:58
After negotiating through busy traffic, we reach a bike trail. We get some small bits of shade and even see some riders off-bike, taking advantage of the shade in the midday heat.
We basically ride conservatively through the afternoon and try to keep ourselves hydrated. After 3+ hours of grinding through the heat, we finally reach the market in Sunnyside.
Rattlesnake (water) - mile 363
6/25 18:40
The cue sheet mentions NO SERVICES for the next 43 miles. Fortunately two angels appear at the Rattlesnake Hills in the form of Sue & Peg. Susan France is a former RAAM racer and the current Oregon RBA. She has brought out tube socks and filled them with ice. Wrapped around our necks, the tube socks provide instant relief from the heat. As the ice melts, the water spreads over our jerseys and rapidly evaporates in the dry heat. From this point on, Sue and Peg would be referred to as the "tube sock ladies".
Mattawa - mile 393
6/25 21:32
Our next goal is to arrive in Mattawa before dark. Michelle is having difficulty keeping our pace, so Jeff and I slow down a bit. After another 32 miles of riding in the heat, we stop briefly at the Vernita Rest Area where we encounter other riders recovering from the heat.
A mile later we start climbing a section labeled "Yes, up THAT Hill" on the cue sheet. I drop my tube sock, but can't be bothered to retrieve it. As I push up toward the final section, I'm humming Wagner's "Also Spracht Zarathustra" (a.k.a. 2001: Space Odyssey Theme). In response, I hear someone playing a clarinet. A transcendent moment -- listening to notes being played on a clarinet in the middle of the desert as the sun sets. It's Michael, one of the SIR support guys waiting for us at the top of the climb.
Jeff, Michelle, and I regroup and head onward towards Mattawa riding alongside huge tracts of barley. Half the barley produced in the U.S. comes from this area. On this point Jeff is reminded that we could sure use a cold beer.
We're joined by Bill and Alan shortly after we arrive in Mattawa. The five of us head out together towards Quincy. Once the sun has gone down, the riding becomes easier. We later hear that the temperatures rose over 100F today.
Quincy - mile 433
6/26 02:00
Shortly after we leave Mattawa, we encounter a long climb. Michelle is having problems keeping up, so Jeff and I stay with her as Bill and Alan proceed at their own pace. Not long after we cross I-90, we see an ambulance up in the distance. With fear bordering on dread, we approach the carnage. Is it a cyclist? Yes. Is it Bill or Alan? Thank God, no. But it is one of our riders, a victim of a hit-and-run. The rider -- someone I don't recognize -- is being loaded on the gurney as we ride past. The next day we learn that the vehicle and driver have been identified. The rider is the hospital with a broken femur.
The Quincy control is a High School. Ed and Mary show up shortly after our arrival. We eat, take showers, and sleep on wrestling mats for about an hour or so. Michelle decides to get some extra sleep. Our pace isn't matching hers so she'll find someone else to ride with later this morning.
Today will be another hot ride through the desert, so we head out by 6:00 am. As we're leaving I hear the fire alarm -- accidentally tripped by someone exiting the wrong door. Well, now everyone's awake.
We've been told it will be our easiest day of riding, but I later learn this is a piece of deliberate(?) misinformation to cheer us up.
Farmer - mile 481
6/26 11:41
After a couple hours, I'm starting to feel the effects of the heat -- dehydration and nausea. I'm able to keep up with everyone, though somewhat slower on the hills.
There's a cave to our right. Are the flying creatures birds or bats? Bill and I discuss that whatever is out there are: 1) active in the daylight; 2) have nests; and 3) aren't flying in bat-flight patterns. Hence they must be birds, correct? Of course we later learn that they are indeed bats.
No services for miles and miles. Some nasty cattle guards that are hungry to dine on our wheels. We encounter Manfred Kuchenmuller who's down with a broken chain and no chain tool. Bill removes a link and gets Manfred back on the road in 10 minutes.
The Farmer control looks like a cantina from "Once Upon A Time in the West". I can almost hear the score from Ennio Morricone in the background. No electricity or running water. A couple of outhouses around back. The volunteers are enthusiastic, however, and we stock up on food and water. We're reluctant leave so soon as it's the only shaded area for the next 26 miles. We've last heard that about 18 riders have dropped out, mostly due to heat-related conditions.
As we depart Farmer, we have a series of rollers, then a gradual climb up McNeil Canyon Road. The 5 mile descent is advertised as fast and dangerous. None of us enjoy the downhill -- it's too steep and we're riding our brakes the whole way down, including Bill. I catch up with him then make a quick detour toward a food packing plant in search of ice. No luck.
At the bottom of the hill we arrive at Beebe Park around 2:30 pm. It has running water, shade, and restrooms. We make a decision to wait out the worst of the afternoon heat and head out around 5pm -- maybe even catch a brief siesta.
Other people arrive, including Ed and Mary, who think that's a good plan. We agree to head out together. In the meantime, the tube sock ladies -- Sue and Peg -- have arrived to our cheers of relief. Someone else has brought sandwiches from Subway. I wade into the icy river up to my waist. The temperature contrast almost puts my body in shock. I pretend to sleep on top of a picnic table with a moist tube sock draped over my face. Can it get any better than this?
We leave Beebe Park at 5pm, still facing intense heat, with the tandem on point. This is the first chance during the ride I've had much of an opportunity to chat with Ed and Mary. We have a mutual acquaintance in Mary Crawley, whom I rode tandem with on the Georgia 300K and 600K brevets. About 21 miles later we stop at a market in Pateros. It's finally starting to cool down. We're riding in our first section of shade all day and the temperatures have dropped about 10 degrees.
Malott - mile 548
6/26 20:40
Another 20 miles takes us into the control at Malott, which is basically an outdoor park. I'm now starting to chill a bit and put on my vest. We exit Malott to begin our climb up Loup Loup Pass (elevation 4020).
The initial portion of the climb is steep, then eases somewhat. But the ascent is another one of those climbs that never seems to end -- 13 miles of grinding up Loup Loup Pass. I'm soon joined by Alan and we climb the last few miles together. I'm already chilly even before we reach the summit. By the time we get there, we've put on all our warm clothes -- tights, gloves, vests, jackets -- for the descent. I'm having some problems with my front brake, so I get passed by everyone on the way down. It's COLD, but we're back on the western side of the mountains -- trees and grass and milder temperatures.
We regroup at the bottom of Loup Loup. We have only 25 miles of rolling terrain to the overnight control, but Bill is in serious need of a micro-nap. He mentions that he almost fell asleep on the descent. Alan stays with Bill. I head out with the tandem, onward towards Mazama. We soon overtake groups of riders ahead. This proves problematic for Ed and Mary as they're somewhat tired and need room to maneuver their tandem -- so we back off a bit and let the singles pull ahead of us.
Mazama - mile 600 (Overnight)
6/27 03:31
Jeff has arrived just minutes before us in Mazama. I sign up for sleeping quarters and I'm surprised to be escorted by Will Roberts, the single-speed rider. He'd missed his time at the Quincy control and decided to switch from rider to support crew for the remainder of the event. We've been warned to expect as many as four to a room in Mazama, but I'm delighted to find I've got a room to myself, complete with a hot bath. I leave a 5:15 wake up call and drop into a deep, dreamless slumber.
Will wakes me promptly and I stagger over to the breakfast area. I'm not in a breakfast mood, however, and just grab a bagel and orange juice.
Ed is busy replacing the rear wheel on his tandem and I get a mechanic to check out my front brake. It turns out my front wheel is slightly out of round and will need to be rebuilt after this ride. Doug makes some minor adjustments to get me through the next 160 miles. Jeff and I depart Mazama around 6:00 am. Just before we leave, four of the Florida riders arrive at the control to the sounds of applause. They'd taken a wrong turn and gotten off course. Ouch.
Marblemount - mile 675
6/27 14:25
The next 18 miles is spent climbing up Washington Pass. At 5477 feet, it is the highest elevation we will ascend. The scenery here is the most stunning of the entire ride. Incredible rock formations and enormous cascading waterfalls. After a couple hours of climbing, Jeff and I take a quick break. We lay our backs into a snow bank to chill down, then resume climbing. About three hours after we leave Mazama, we reach the summit of Washington Pass. Once we've stopped climbing it's a bit windy and chilly.
We take photos, put on our vests, and begin our short descent to the base of Rainy Pass. Another mile of climbing brings us to its summit. Note the profile shows us mostly descending from Rainy Pass into the next control at Marblemount: http://tinyurl.com/z5ffk
I'm a bit wobbly on the descents with my suspect front wheel/brake and the severe crosswind pushes our bikes all over the road. Gorgeous scenery -- even if we're too tired to fully appreciate it. As we descend the temperatures pick up, though nowhere close to what we've experienced the past two days of desert riding. We take out our tube socks, soak them in the icy runoff, then apply them over our necks to cool down again.
Jeff and I press on to Marblemount. We make the control with little more than an hour to spare. We wait for the final riders to show up. The first control after the overnight stop is usually the most critical. As we head out with Bill and Alan, the Florida group arrives with 7 minutes to spare.
At this point we're all pretty drowsy, but the lack of sleep is affecting Bill probably most severely. There's a nice shaded side road, almost a grotto -- about 10 miles outside of Darrington. I'm sick of eating energy bars, so I bum a 3-day old sandwich from Alan. We're soon back on the road and arrive at the market in Darrington.
I refill my water and snack on an ice cream sandwich. We have about 40 miles to reach the control in Granite Falls. The tube sock ladies, Sue & Peg, are nagging everyone to get moving so we don't miss the next control. I head out with Ed and Mary. The next section is flat to rolling and favors a tandem pace. Ed, Mary and I get a chance to catch up with how our day has progressed since we rode together last night into Mazama.
We have a bit of wind and traffic, but a nice wide shoulder most of the way into Granite Falls. Along the way we pick up Dan Wallace from Florida. He rode the challenging Georgia 400K and finished with 10 minutes to spare. Dan said the GA 400K was good preparation for the Cascade 1200K. As the temperature drops, we're all in great spirits. We're getting ready for the final leg.
Granite Falls - mile 741
6/27 21:00
We have agreed to make Granite Falls a brief stop. There is only 21 miles left in the ride, but it will soon be dark and we like to eke out the remaining hour or so of twilight.
After it gets dark I ride ahead of Dan and the tandem. We have a lot of turns (14) over this short distance and my GPS provides an audible signal even before the turn is visible. A crowd of people are cheering us as we arrive at the motel lobby. The four of us arrive at the finish at 11:57 pm, slightly an hour ahead of the closing time.
Monroe - mile 762 (Finish)
6/27 22:57
We turn in our cards, eat pizza, and await the remaining riders. Ten minutes, another cheer as more riders appear. By 11:40, Bill, Alan, Jeff, and Michelle have arrived. Soon the only remaining riders are the four from Florida. Where are they? I'm sitting with Ed and Mary waiting. My watch buzzes: 12 midnight. "That's it.", I say, "It's over for them."
Then a cheer goes up. It's the Florida riders. My watch is fast by two minutes -- control times are based on the atomic clock. The last four riders have arrived with two minutes to spare. Now that's cutting it close!
Post-Ride:
The format of this event, with each day's ride starting approximately the same time, tends to keep most of the riders close together, as evident from the finish times, mostly in the 87-90 hour range.
I think the overall abandon (DNF) rate was 30%, which sounds about right for this kind of event. Despite the challenging conditions, all the Tennessee riders completed the ride within the time limit. Special congratulations to Mary Gersema, who finished her first 1200K (and a difficult one at that) on the back of a tandem with Ed.
The good: Lantiseptic -- the miracle cream for adult incontinence and bedsores works well as a saddle balm. I also liked the floating drop bag that this ride format provided. Rather than spread out my gear among 2-4 bags at different locations, I could pack everything in a single bag and choose what to carry on any given day.
The bad: I should have brought along a larger capacity Camelbak. The 50oz bladder just doesn't hold enough fluid for these extreme temperatures. In the grand scheme of things this was a minor issue.
The ugly: Long stretches of unremitting 100F temps with no shade. Everything else held up pretty well. Sore posterior, with 3 minor saddle sores. Hands, feet, and knees okay. No finger numbness. Less sleep than I would have liked.
There is some discussion about SIR hosting this ride once every four years, similar to GRR and the Rocky Mountain 1200K, so I'm glad we took the opportunity to ride it this year. I'm sorry we missed the original route toward St. Helens, but maybe we'll get a chance in a future year.
The biggest and best kudos to the outstanding support staff who did everything in their power to keep us on the road. We literally could not have completed this ride without you guys. Thanks!
Jeff Bauer
Nashville, Tennessee
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