"Look Maw ... HANDS"

Something Old, Something New ... and Something New to Me!

Timeboxing My Recovery

"How much for the doggie in the window?"

Rishi, In Full Glory

Three highlights of the ride:

1) RAMROD organizes rider # by age. So the rider bearing the number 1 is the oldest rider (in this case, a 78yo gentleman). This creates a fun game of "what's the lowest number you can spot on the ride?" Of all the "senior riders," the one that I spent the most time interacting with was #20: Wayne. Wayne is a 70yo rider who was on his first RAMROD, a "Christmas present" given to him by his RAMROD-veteran daughter. Kudos on the bold move! Wayne had a great perspective and maintained a terrific sense of humor through all of the "trying times" on the ride. To Wayne and all the other one & two digit riders I saw today, way to lead by example!

2) This is the most turnout of our CCBC biking team for any organized event. Six of us in all. We didn't all start together, but we rode the last 36 miles as a true team. I am thankful for a team that can work out our issues on the road, making the adjustments necessary in the late hours of a ride when patience is short and legs are shredded. We had a rocky start to these final 36 miles, but in the latter half of that, Bruce yelled out "CCBC is operating as a well-oiled machine." The six of us were at various points of mental and physical exhaustion. We worked out a happy median and we finished STRONG. CCBC, thank you so much for everything you brought to today's experience … as well as all of our many shared experiences, both on and off the bike! 

3) This is the 2nd time that Alan and I have done RAMROD. The first time was in 2014, when Paradise was closed and we were forced to take an alternate route that was longer and much less scenic. This is the same year that they added the EFI ("Every Fucking Inch") extension because the detour had yielded less overall climb and RAMROD organizers wanted to make sure that they were giving riders their money's worth. Picture RAMROD newbs being told a week before the ride "oh, yeah, btw, we've added 20mi of distance to this ride … enjoy." With that being our first experience, we didn't know what we were missing in the "normal route." So it was a treat today to experience this normal route. Paradise is a beautiful climb and descent, and made the overall ride SOOO much more fulfilling than our 2014 experience. 

Two lowlights o the ride: 

1) Cayuse Pass - the first 2 climbs were both memorable and enjoyable. The 3rd climb (Cayuse Pass) downright sucked. We started that climb shortly after noon, and ended at 1:45. As opposed to our earlier climbs that were more in the shadows than the sun, this climb was 90% direct sunlight. It was steeper. And my legs were for the most part all used up. 

2) The long stretch of highway at the end of the ride - just like the STP that ends with 40ish miles along Hwy 30, RAMROD ends with 30ish miles along Hwy 410. Constant traffic and minimal shoulder make unpleasant setting. Add to that the fact that riders are cooked from the ~10K of climb before this point, it's just a very unfortunate ending to an otherwise epic route.

Discussing these highlights and lowlights with Alan on the drive home, the conclusion we reached is that he and I have made a pact that we will each stop the other from signing up for RAMROD again. RAMROD folks, thank you very much for this experience. But two times is enough for us. 

CCBC, I'll lay out a ride to the North Cascades Highway as a follow-up to this epic ride. And, longer term, we will all be together in VA & NC riding the Blue Ridge Parkway. Mark my words!


Explorer Stats: 		
Total tiles:	3663	(+36)
Max Grid:	16x16	(unchanged)
Max Cluster:	923		(+0)


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Jeff Bogdan

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"Look Maw ... HANDS"

Something Old, Something New ... and Something New to Me!

Timeboxing My Recovery

"How much for the doggie in the window?"

Rishi, In Full Glory

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