The 19th Annual Courage Classic is over as we finished our ride early this afternoon. The ride is for the children. Specifically to raise money for the Mary Bridge Children Hospital: The child abuse section.
Thank you to those who contributed, I couldn’t have experienced the food, the pain, the heat, the cold, the fatigue, and the joy of helping the children without you.
SUMMARY
The ride is broken into three days and three mountain passes:
Day 1 Snoqualmie Pass
Day 2 Blewett Pass
Day 3 Stevens Pass
The total distance is 173 miles with a goal of raising $750,000 this year. There are 15 Rotary Clubs supporting the riders from Pierce County with incredible food and wonderful moral support. I typically gain weight on the ride despite the distance and climbing a total of 7,068 feet of elevation.
Day 1 (& 2)
Since I don’t ride on Sunday, my team combines two days into one. It makes for a challenging and very long day. We start our climb from North Bend and parallel I-90 for 10 easy, flat miles.
The hustle and bustle of checking in, going to the bathroom, getting our numbers on our jerseys, helmets, and bikes takes about an hour. Then someone has to run to the bathroom again. There are finger foods to munch, people to chat with and lines in which to stand.
We saw Superman and Wonder Woman in line. A bicycle built for three, but no unicycles or long boards.
Finally on the road we summit our first mountain pass. Instead of climbing along I-90 with the noise and danger of traffic, we exit at Denny Creek Road and commence our climb.
If you’ve never gone over Snoqualmie between the two freeways, it’s gorgeous. We climb most of the distance under the limbs of trees with the smell of evergreen wafting through our noses as we huff and puff up the 8% grade to the summit.
The spaghetti feast at the summit is worth the ride. Whether we are just very tired or they really can cook a mean spaghetti for 798 riders, I don’t know. It just tastes good.
It’s downhill from there until Cle Elum.
This year the weather was mild and a little on the frisky side. (Good for riding especially given my fair complexion.)
Cheri (the finest support chief on the circuit) picked us up in Cle Elum and shuttled us to the base of Blewett where we ate sumptuously. Since we were beyond the boundaries of the ride, we were on our own and I chose poorly.
I ate a Chef’s salad and paid a heavy price 20 minutes into the ascent on Blewett. I felt like someone socked me in the stomach and put 15 lbs. of lead on each leg. Tim came back to give me moral support, but the ascent was brutal.
Brad and Mark waited patiently for me to crest the beast and commence the 20+-mile descent into Leavenworth. The wind picked up something fierce and we found ourselves pedaling downhill.
We made our annual stop at the small market at the bottom, got our pictures taken, and sat in rocking chairs eating ice-cream sandwiches shootin’ the breeze.
Dinner that night was Mexican for our 5th year and for 5 years we’ve debated whether the head waitress (we think she’s the owner) is wearing the most bizarre nylons or else she had tattooed both her legs in identical fashion and with no empty skin for more tattoos.
As we discussed her tattooed legs, Tim decided to put an end to the discussion and summoned the chica to our table. She got a good laugh out of us and informed the attentive group that she has an inventory in excess of 50 such pairs of nylons and wears a different one each day.
Since we only see her once a year, we fail to pay attention to the designs. Actually, I think we’re too embarrassed to stare too long for fear she’d notice.
Day 2 – rest
The Team: Dave, Bradford, Timothy, Richard, Mark
Day 3
The ride over Stevens Pass is always a challenge. We start our ascent going on the Chumstick Hwy and climbed what seemed an eternity until we finally crested and started our descent.
The only hairpin curve is down this hill and strategically placed was a construction crew just as we built up our speed into the low 30s, only to hammer on the brakes to avoid a collision.
Our new teammate Dave (white jersey), was in good form and pulled us from Plain, the rest stop after Chumstick, all the way to the base of Stevens Pass. After a refresing root beer float or two, some energy bars and a bathroom break the long awaited climb (17 miles) commenced.
The saving grace of this year’s ride for me was the weather. Last year as we rode into Leavenwerth it was 107 degrees. This year is was around 67. A full 40 degrees cooler.
This made the climb over Stevens more tolerable. Not that climbing a 17-mile hill is tolerable.
The potato feed at Stevens Pass is always delicious and this year they had live music. The weather was chilly and we bundled up for the final 20+ miles of minimal effort.
Until next year, we did it for the kids.
