Keep watching this space..

There will be more to see....

 

Am I ready ?

Evo at altitude !  Jersey zipped up for the photographers.

I've been training for the second non-annual-nor-consecutive Volcanoes trip.  More than a dozen occasionally brown clad riders will ride from Crystal mountain to Mt. Hood, then back to Randle, Washington climbing every volcano (hence the name) in between.  Five days of riding, four nights of sleep, seven hundred kilometers of distance, ten thousand meters of climbing.

The training has been of the same flavor as my France preparation.  We meet on Saturday mornings and ride up Squak, Cougar, Sake Pass, actually anything that goes up.  The training was such that the Ronde wasn't out of line.

An amazing set of circumstances has allowed me to pile on the kilometers over the last six weeks. Over the last ten days I have ridden up Hurricane Ridge, then up Mt Rainier to Sunrise and today I finished up a trip in the Methow Valley with with Hottie by doing a climb up Washington Pass.  Just like last week, I was a lot faster than I expected.

Hottie was there shooting the action (or killing time) as I made my way up the thousand meter climb.

In almost no time I was heating up and the jersey was open !

The best way to prepare to ride up big mountains is to ride up big mountains.

There wasn't a lot of traffic and the sun was out.  I'd call it perfect !

Almost there !!

I preparation for the trip I was buying something the other day. The salesperson asked what I was planning. When I explained the trip she asked, "are you ready for that?"  I smiled and replied that I was.   That was a fun thing to be able to say..

Bigfoot is real

Spotted near Winthrop, Washington

Famous Bigfoot photo

Remember, the camera doesn't lie...

Once again; I'm just sayin'...

 

Dr Seuss predicted Chris Froome will win TdF

It looks like more than a casual resemblance to me.      I'm just sayin'

Up and up in preparation for some serious up and up

Hottie and I (and a guest) made the short drive to Port Angeles where I stepped over my bike and rode uphill.  These views greeted me..

This was a view on the way up Hurricane Ridge.  

Hottie took some photos up top, but I can't get my hands on them, so you'll just have to imagine what it looked like.  If I get them, I will share them....

After returning home and checking the email traffic there was a team ride brewing for the next day up to Crystal Mountain and then up Sunrise on Mt. Rainier.  I was in !

 Lots of guys in their summer "whites."

 We are IN !!

 We are in line (along with some Old Town Bike folks in front of us)..

Tom "The Cheetah" expresses it all with a big thumbs up !  

This was at Sunrise (elevation 6,400' a.k.a. 1,940m)

Among the seven of us there was only one who brought a vest. The rest of us stuffed newspaper inside our jerseys "just like the guys in the Tour."  I can report that it worked !!

If the road went all the way to the 14,410' summit, we would have ridden there, as it was, we topped out at 6,400' where the pave' ended...

On our pending journey we will miss Marc.

Le Tour de Lopez 2013

Hottie and I do this trip every year.  It is always a great ride.

After a quick drive to Anacortes, we hop on the ferry and the trip begins !

Bikes tied in place..

Oh, and did I mention it was a perfect day ?

Oh yeah..

Hottie rolling along.  She wear arm coolers to keep the sun off her arms.

After going along the coast, we turn inland.

Awesomeness...

There is quite a bit of agriculture on the island.   Crops and cattle abound, but the smells are all good !

Lunchtime....

Back toward the ferry..

Driftwood is the media of beach sculptures.

With the 4th of July coming this week, the island shows some spirit !

Is this cool or what ?

I picked up a small daypack that folds into nothing (as seen here) while in France last year. I brought this along so when we were on the ferry I could carry gloves, food, camera, phone etc. in something other than bulging jersey pockets. When it was time to ride I carried the stuff in my jersey and it all worked out swell.

A Mountain too far

I am a big fan of The Rules. Rules #14 and particularly Rule #15 apply to the photo below:

I would be proud to wear the King of the Mountains jersey. I would never try on a pair of polka dot shorts let alone wear them in public. The helmet likewise signifies to the world a fool is underneath this lid. Socks and gloves, I will give you those, but no shorts or helmet. Oh, as far as painting your bike in KOM livery.... only if you plan on juggling and/or riding with recumbents could it be considered acceptable.