300 km
Pre Ride Report and rider notes:
The pre-ride was held on Saturday, 29 August 2006.
Pre riders: Dan Turner, Dave Reed, Vick Ringvist and Steve Hameister.
We rolled out just after 6:00 AM with and overcast sky with temperatures in the upper 50's. On Northshore drive, we found some freshly ground pavement, not too bad but riders should be careful. After turning left, we climbed the Yew street hill. Grades are as steep as 9 percent, but the climb isn't too long. After a nice decent to Samish Way, there's another little climb on Samish then a descent down to Lake Samish. The veer left onto East Lake Samish can sneak up on you... so be ready. Now we're on some roads familiar to many SIR folks from E. Lake Samish, Nulle Road, Lake Samish Road, Colony, Ershig and Bow Hill. The store at Edison Station doesn't open till 9:00 A.M., so we'll be manning the control until the store opens.
We enjoyed a nice tail wind and beautiful views on the run along Chuckanut Drive. At Fairhaven in South Bellingham, SIR riders will be mingling with the RSVP crowd as they leave the Fairhaven area. At East Holly, our ride turns West and down along the water front, leaving the RSVP folks. We rode tailwinds on Hannegan Rd. heading North up to Everson and the second control. An easy climb up South Pass road and a few short rollers on Silver Lake Rd up to the third control at Silver Lake Park. There are a couple of dogs on Silver Lake road that may make you sprint for points. They did seem to respond to "NO!" or "GO HOME!" From the park we drop down to Maple Falls and begin a very easy gradual climb up to Glacier.
The town of Glacier is the Midpoint of the ride. To this point, the climbing has been a modest has been a modest 4390 feet. Glacier is an open control. There are restrooms at the trail head parking lot South of Graham's market. Milano's serves great Italian food. We return to Silver Lake Park for the next control. At Kendell Road we turn right and have some nice smooth pavement for a quick descent down to Sumas. No control at Sumas, but if it's a hot day, you may want to fill up your water bottles there. Next, we head slightly south of town to stay off the main, busy part of HWY 9. We head west on Clearbrook Rd and then back north to Halverstick Road. We turn west on Halverstick and basically head west along the border. Here you'll see border surveillance cameras, border patrol agents and maybe some minutemen. Sorry, you'll be riding on chip seal, while across the ditch in Canada, you long for the nice smooth pavement. Do not cross the ditch. We will not bail you out for border violations. On the second stretch of Boundary Ave, there is about a mile of nasty fresh chip seal, be careful!
A straight shot west on H street takes you all the way into Blaine. There are some long rollers here. If the weather is clear, you'll have the dropping sun in your face. You'll be happy you filled your water bottles in Sumas. Go all the way West to the T and turn right on Peace Portal Dr. to the Chevron station for the next Control. Turning South at Blaine, we had a small head wind down through Birch Bay. We cleared through the Control at Birch Bay State Park at a little before 7:30. The park closes at dusk, bikes can still get through, but after the park closes, we'll put the control at the park entrance. The last 20+ miles are mostly on smooth pavement with good shoulders. Fast riders will likely finish in daylight and I expect we'll see some blistering times, mid speed riders will likely have 1-2 hours of riding in the twilight and dark. True randonneurs can expect even more night riding.
There will be secret controls to ensure route integrity. Everyone agreed that this is a great 300 km course.
Pre-ride finish time: 15 hours 40 Minutes.
Total elevation gain: 6640 ft (Polar 720)