Hey again Sue,
Yeah, I heard about RAPSody when the bike clubs started planning it last year and some folks I know via the Seattle Bicycle Club were talking about how the club would support it. It does sound like fun and I'm thinking of doing it...just have to work it into the crazy schedule somehow!
I'm with Joe re: RAMROD though - really don't have any desire to ride it; if I did, I would've done it before now. Glad to hear that you got a camelbak - you're planning to do a few rides with it beforehand, right? If the water stops are only 30 miles apart, that's a bit better than I was guessing last year. I think that they could do well to find at least 1 more spot to sit with cold water on Cayuse this year. It's in the heat of the afternoon and I found several places to pull off the road completely. One time, I was on the downhill side of the road and after my riders pulled out, I was closing up the back of my car and the next several riders asked me if I had any spare water, so I hung out there a while offering water, or refreshing spritzes with the spray bottle as folks rode by...I was glad to be able to help out.
One thing I forgot to tell you was that last year our P.T. cautioned my riders to not push it early on. She said that it'd be easy to get caught up with hammering pacelines in the cool of the morning, with all of the nervous energy, but reminded them that they should focus on easy spinning and warming up, so that they could pace themselves for the long day.
It wasn't until they were back at the finish and we were all hanging out in the parking lot, reviewing the ride and how all went, that they acknowledged that they did push it faster than they should've from the start to Eatonville. One thought that's why she started cramping, because once she rested and I used sports massage on them both, she could continue, but she realized that if they had been focused to ride their own ride, it would've been a bit easier. So, I guess it always comes back to how you plan and train and then ride your own ride, not anyone else'.
See ya on the road at some point...Mary