Big Ride Day 1

Photos from Day 1

I woke up about 4:00 AM, filled with nervous energy and anticipation. I didn't know what to expect as I rolled my bike down to the hotel lobby to check out. I was already not sure about the amount of gear I was taking and from checking out other cyclist's bikes, I was sure I had taken too much but it was too late to change. I looked at it as a challenge to haul all this weight over the pass. We loaded our gear on the truck for the first of many times and then rode across to Seattle Center, each person absorbed with his/her own thoughts. Again, there was an air of anticipation and excitement at breakfast, as the riders talked and fueled up for the day.

As the first riders began pulling out, I knew this was finally it. I was calm and confident, the nervousness melting away as our departure approached. Things were starting out positively with absolutely gorgeous weather and a beautiful, cool morning for our departure. I rode out with Scott and we were in one of the last groups to leave. I felt no rush to get the trip underway, wanting instead to savor these first few moments. As we wound through the streets of beautiful downtown Seattle, I felt elation mixed with anticipation about what lay ahead. Scott and I stopped to take a few pictures and record the beginning of this awesome adventure. After some fun city riding on streets and bike paths, we began to leave the city behind and entered the "suburbs" -- beautiful waterfront houses shrouded by majestic pine trees.

As we left more of the city behind, we began to climb, passing by beautiful Snoqualmie Falls, and the pleasant weather of the morning quickly turned to hot and dry as we passed through the beautiful scenery of the Northern Cascades. With fewer and fewer roads to travel on, we began making forays onto Interstate 90 to connect the stretches of mountain roads (In the West, bicycles are actually allowed on Interstates). Towards the end of an already long and hot day, we encountered a long, grueling climb on I90 up to the top of Snoqualmie Pass. Was I ever glad to see the top! We paused at the top for some refreshments provided by the ALA of Washington state. We finished off the day with a flat stretch to camp by a pretty lake that lay on the other side of the pass. Overall, the heat and 5700 feet of climbing over 80 miles made for a beautiful but challenging start to our journey! However, we had plenty of support in the form of vans roming the route and water stops so that made things a little easier.

The camp is a really interesting place. All our gear gets carried on a large tractor-trailer. Each day the first thing we have to do after we get in camp is unload our gear -- not an easy feat today after 80 grueling miles of riding! Next, the tent goes up. Tent space is basically a free-for-all but we will probably end up being packed in pretty close together in most places. Then it's time for the shower -- the best part of the day. We have portable showers that come with us in a truck for the days when we don't have access to real showers. There are also portable sinks and toilets, a portable medical center, a portable office for the staff and a portable tent for meals. OK, so it's not completely roughing it, but the riding is hard enough! Today, despite having all left at the same time, the pack was really stretched out. Some of the weaker riders were having trouble with the tough riding of this first day. I'm sure all that will change as the ride progresses. Tonight, I think I will be asleep before my head hits the pillow. I fell into an uneasy sleep about 10:00.

This page modified November 25, 2000