OOPS, I DID IT AGAIN: BIKE RIDE TO ARTIST POINT

Earlier this week, the road to Artist Point re-opened for the first time since 2010, and it goes without saying that I couldn't wait to get back up there. (Then why did I say it?) David Longdon and I were planning to ride up but after he cancelled, I only had about an hour to sulk before Pat Skaggs e-mailed and invited me to join he and Steve George, a sorta Bellingham legend in the multi-sport, jack-of-all-endurance-trades world. I'd never met Steve before, though had seen him a few years ago when I did the Bellingham Traverse relay race and our team members kept almost catching Steve--who was soloing the event, by the way--only to have him pull away maddeningly and repeatedly. As I found out today, he's a super nice guy. (In the above pic, that's he on the far right, Pat in the middle, me in the French champion's jersey on the left.)

These two pics are what the Artist Point parking lot looks like today.

                          

Below is what it looked like just two weeks ago when Titanium Cancellara and I rode to the top. (Here's that post.)

Looks like the D.O.T. guys got busy over the past fortnight. Here's one of them talking to Steve while taking a break from clearing the mountain of snow atop the privies. (Which aren't open yet. However, the restrooms are open at the Heather Meadows Visitor Center, a couple miles below Artist Point.)  

I'll ride this road again and again, any time of the day or night, I love it so much! (Hyperbole, I know, but my brain is still in the throes of that hypoxic Cascade Mountain high.) Always stupendous scenery, always really really challenging--especially the last couple miles when it seems the altitude starts to kick in--always my favorite road on which to spend three or four hours. Highly recommended!



BELLINGHAM TRAVERSE 2010

What a difference four months makes! Above shot was taken today after my 6-mile mountain-bike leg which followed teammate John Clark's 5.5-mile run in the Bellingham Traverse. (We were on one of the Action for Africa teams.) Below shot was taken just over four months ago shortly after Johnny Boy and I had broken our collar bones in separate incidents. (That, of course, was about six months after we had a tree fall on us when we were mountain biking but that's a whole other story.) Anyway, sure feels good to be racing together again. The Hendrix shirt, by the way, is my tribute to one of my all-time faves, who died 40 years ago today.

As for our team--which also included Pat Skaggs on road bike, Nick Carlson on trail run, and the buff and burly Rick Lingbloom on kayak (surf ski, really)--we did pretty good. We won the Masters division and finished 4th overall in just a few seconds under three hours. We were quite proud to finish 40 seconds ahead of Steve George who soloed the whole thing; in other words, it took five of us to beat him by less than a minute. (I'm quite proud to say that I did pass him on my mountain bike only to have him pass me right back and fade far into the distance ahead of me.)

The Traverse is a pretty low-key affair (not at all like the corporate machine that is Ski to Sea), and the hope seems to be that it will all just run itself. We heard many tales of runners getting lost and mountain bikers missing turns and doing only one loop when they should've done two, etc. Parts of the course were apparently sabatoged the night before. But the race doesn't start 'til 12:30 p.m. so wouldn't that give course marshalls plenty of time to ensure that things are in order? Or is that just my New Jersey-bred contrariness coming out?

(See comment below from race director Todd Elsworth; I guess it was my Jersey contrariness.)

No matter. I had fun and got to spend a great afternoon with a super group of guys. And Rick Lingbloom too.

Me, Pat, Rick (buff and burly), Nick, John.

Below photo from Jon Brunk Photo.