I woke up a little rough on Saturday morning thanks to some dogs we are taking care of. They have been little monsters. Still, I had an ample dinner Friday night and some time to eat a little breakfast and pack up my things into the car.

Chris had me coddle him by picking him up at his house (2 blocks away!). We made the drive deep in to Kent in time to get some coffee and make it to the start. There was an enormous group registering and chatting. I knew that there were almost a hundred pre-registered, so I’m guessing there was at least 25 over that, if not many more. It was really a sight to see.

The opening miles had a small climb followed by a quick decent. Somehow Matt and I found ourselves near the front with some of the much faster guys. I knew it wasn’t a pace I was going to keep all day, and Matt noted the same, but it was fun to head up the front for a while. Peter Beeson was chatting me up and looked happy to be on a wonderful ride.

We managed to hold their wheel on through Dash Point and almost back to “Enchanted” Parkway. Matt had a little issue with his seat post and I was happy enough to take the pace down a notch. I had a tough time remembering to eat and drink while holding a wheel like that. He had it fixed in no time and we caught up to Dan Boxer and some others who had just passed us.

We all held a wonderful paceline through Green Valley Road up until the monster hill up towards Black Diamond. I wasn’t really able to keep their wheel and dropped back a bit. I hobbled in to the control at the bakery a bit. I never really had the calories that I needed for the day and my head was threatening a headache on me. The solution? Two donuts, of course. Mark Thomas made a comment along the lines of “For someone who spends all his time eating, you sure look strong on your bike.” I noted that there is probably a connection.

Matt looked really tired and was just getting in as I was ready to leave. I felt bad leaving him but I wanted to really own the course this year for some reason.

I spent the next 10 to 15 miles riding alone and generally enjoying the scenery. I was holding a decent enough pace, but I was kind of surprised to not have anyone really catch up to me. I eventually caught up to a chef out of Portland who helped me take my mind off the ride for a little while. I can’t remember his name for the life of me though (help?). He had some music on him and I felt like I might be a little too chatty for him but he was a nice guy. We traded some pulls and he eventually started to drop me on the climb up Highway 410.

At first I was just a little bit back, and eventually I flatted my front tire and had to pull over. He was pretty well long gone by that point. I fixed my flat and got back on the road with only one rider passing me. I was kind of shocked to be honest.

Once back on the road, there was a steady little tailwind helping push me up the road towards the control at Greenwater (about 1700 feet elevation or so). There was some snow on the ground towards the end of the road just as David Rowe, of Ready to Ride fame, caught up and started to chat with me. He was one of the group that pulled me in to the finish on my first 600k. He is a wonderful rider and a pleasure to talk to.

I kept the control extremely short because I wanted to keep up with David. I ate a bag of Doritos while on the road. A few people noted me waving to them on the return trip down 410 with my discolored fingers in the air. Doritos are a staple on my ride diet. Mmm…

The tailwind that brought us in to Greenwater turned in to a headwind on the return. We took turns at the front and I grumbled a bit to myself at not being able to really enjoy the descent. We finally turned off on to one of my favorite roads in Washington, Mud Mountain Dam. It is a wide, well paved road with almost no traffic and a killer winding downhill portion at the end. It feels like it was built for road bicycles.

A few other riders caught up with us in Enumclaw at the last control. We chatted a bit and ramped up the pace a touch with the finish in sight. I was feeling pretty good overall. The flats I felt really strong on, but every major hill was a bit of a struggle. I lost the wheel of the group a few times but was saved by some well timed red lights. We all came in to the finish at Greg Cox’s house at an amazing 8 hours and 35 minutes. My last ride at 9:30 was already a personal best… so this was pretty damn cool.

I appreciate all of the support given on the ride, especially from Greg’s family. They open their house every year for this ride and deals with a bunch of sweaty, dirty bicyclists getting their stink all over the furniture.

See full results here.

More pictures here.

Read my report of the ride last year (which is pretty damn funny, looking back on it) here.