Ramrod?

[ttaylor508]

Well, survived my first ramrod. Only one minor issue, a crash on some nasty rr tracks outside of pack wood. They are angled on the road so you have to swing out towards traffic in order to hit them at the right angle and unfortunately I had quite a few people around me and went in at a bad angle. I knew I was going down before I hit. Messed up my right side and somehow tore a huge chunk off my left thumb (note to self...make sure you have plenty of fresh band aids in bag...seasons old bandaids don't stick to blood, sweat and sunscreen very well). Luckily bike and helmet were okay so I could keep going. Rest of the ride was great. The roads warnings were well warranted. The volunteers did the best they could marking the worst, but there was just too many. Probably the worst road I have ever ridden. Cayuse pass was gorgeous. Although the best views of mt rainier are on descent so I missed them. They had an official photographer on the descent but they missed me That was the only photo I really wanted.) Deli stop was awesome! EFI was mean and cruel after 125 miles....sadistic even! Volunteer at the turnaround point said the steepest grade was actually 18% not the advertised 12%. But at least I got my pin and special m&m's although i lost the pin at the finish...oh well. I wasn't crazy about all the crappy chip seal the last part of the ride and had a really scary lumber truck that rode the fog line. But as soon as we turned off the highway the route was fun.

168 miles...10,000 feet of climbing and some beautiful scenery and wonderful volunteers!

Khg- how was it from the volunteer angle?

Lauraelmore-how did your dh do?

[lauraelmore1033]

I was just thinking about you and wondering how you did. Brian rolled in about 5:30ish and I was really happy to see him. He was not too committed to doing the EFI out and back from the get go and that non commitment was sealed when he saw the hoards of riders in front of and around him passing the turnoff. He was also of the opinion that it seemed kind of sadistic! Congratulations TTaylor! you are officially an Aaaaanimal in my book! (although you already were, as a 1 day STP finisher...) I don't know how you do it!

[ttaylor508]

I contacted the Ramrod registrar about getting a replacement pin and he said he opted out of the EFI challenge too. Had it not been 125 miles in on a already hill intensive ride, I think i might have enjoyed it. The road was in good condition with almost no traffic.

We rolled in right around 5:30ish too. What jersey was your dh wearing. The three of us had team Manny Georgetown brewing jerseys on.

[khg]

Volunteering was pretty neat. I was doing one tiny, relatively insignificant thing out of the gazillion that need to be done (direct people into a parking lot, or away from it when full) and even for that task there were abundant people. I really got a sense that a lot of work goes into paying attention to all the details that need to be taken care of, then putting about twice as many volunteers than the bare minimum on any given task. It seems like a small army gets deployed to make RAMROD happen! Having enjoyed great events that were made possible because people volunteered, it was nice to pay some of that back--and I really am astounded at the volunteer effort that goes into RAMROD.

Also, I got to enjoy Mt Rainier slowly appearing like a ghost, then coloring with the light of the sunrise that was happening a time zone away, then the rest of the sky starting to lighten, and finally a beautiful sunrise. Being *not* a morning person, I would never get up early enough on my own to see that, and it was pretty incredible!

Pro tip--if you want to park in one of the close parking lots to the start line, you'll want to get there by 4 or 4:30...

[lauraelmore1033]

He wore a Purdue University jersey. Middle aged guy with kind of long grey hair.

[ttaylor508]

"Pro tip--if you want to park in one of the close parking lots to the start line, you'll want to get there by 4 or 4:30..."

We got prime parking as we left house (north of Seattle) at 2:30am (ugh). Got to start line just before 4am...saw a guy sleeping in back of his truck (no canopy), that's roughing it!

[AppleTree]

ttaylor, that sounds like a brutal crash, how lucky you weren't seriously hurt, or your bike damaged so that you couldn't continue. Railroad tracks scare the dickens out of me, and I usually walk or scoot over them if they look even a little bit dodgy. Be sure to pick up a new "ouch pouch" at Bike Expo next year.

All of you who finished this ride are rock stars, along with those who volunteered. I'm in awe!