2012 CHELAN CENTURY CHALLENGE PHOTOS

All week, the Chelan forecast called for 70-percent chance of rain as well as thunderstorms, but luckily they held off. (Or actually, got it out of its system the night before.) The closest we got during this 107-mile, 8,600-foot climb- and pedalfest were the dark clouds seen in the above photo during Loop 1. (That's the lovely Manson orchard-vineyard-canyon loop.) Things got downright sunny later in the day as seen in some of the below phots.

Following the Titanium Cowboys back into Chelan along the stunning lake of the same name.

The Ivan Morse Road climb that snuck its way in between the Boyd Road and Upper Joe Creek climbs. Somehow a bunch of us--I mean, A BUNCH--ended up climbing this minor(ish) hillock though it wasn't on the course.

The Titanium Cowboys (Mike McQuaide, John Clark, Scott Young) after the 5-mile, 2,200-foot pointy-stick-in-the-eye called McNeil Canyon. Which comes at mile 58. This is the fourth time I've climbed it and I still can't get over how relentlessly tough it is. I love it.

Johnny Boy Clark on one of Loop 1's many fun descents.

Cary Westerbeck, a real nice guy, whom I chatted with during the Manson Loop. He told me he recently bought my book, "75 Classic Rides: Washington," which I thought rocked groovily! (I met and/or remet a lot of folks yesterday but given my hypoxic state for much of the day, I retained few to no names. Cary contacted me, reminding me of his name.)

Miss Lake Chelan and her two runner-ups. Lovely gals, all.

Johnny Boy getting extreme at the skatepark.

Our cozy lodgings at the Riverwalk Inn.

John and Seattle's Mark Clausen, with whom I rode part of last August's Shasta Summit Century, at the last aid station, about mile 90. By then, it was sunny and close to hot.

One of the many bounteous aid stations staffed by super friendly and supportive volunteers.

Titanium Cancellara using one of Chelan's unique pedestrian traffic-stopping flags whilst he crosses the street.

Some fast dude on one Loop 1's descents.

Ti Cowboys at the start. This is my second year doing the Chelan Century Challenge and I'd have to say it's without a doubt my favorite ride in the state. The terrain and scenery are incredible and the road surfaces are for the most part excellent. Traffic, especially during Loop 1, and most of Loop 2 for that matter, is pretty minimal really.

The community really supports it too. Lester Cooper and the Chelan Rotary do an excellent job. Thanks, folks, for putting on this ride!

STEHEKIN BOAT TRIP

Last week during my Chelan-Wenatchee trip, I took the Lady of the Lake (or Lady Express, I'm not sure which) to Stehekin, the tiny 80-some resident community that's the very definition of off-the-beaten path. It's located 50-plus miles up the incredibly beautiful Lake Chelan gorge by the headwaters of said lake. (Interestingly, Stehekin is less than 15 air miles from Washington Pass and much closer to Winthrop than it is to Chelan.)

The mountain views are tops--reminds me of the Inside Passage minus the orcas and humpback whales.

The boat trip was 2-1/2 hours each way, with an hour layover in Stehekin. During the summer (or maybe even right now since it's after May 1; see info here), there's a slower boat that takes four hours each way with a 90-minute layover.

One of the countless waterfalls streaking down the mountainside.

Cool reflection.

Very Alaska-y, as I said.

We saw a bear! Hold on, I'll zoom in ...

... OK, it's blurry, but it's still a bear.

Mountains near the Port of Holden Village, a religious retreat.

A bustling hub of activity at the Stehekin dock.

Some of the rolling hills that make for great riding above Manson, as seen from the boat. The prominent bump there in the center is where Echo Valley ski area and the Echo Ridge trails are. I was able to ride my 'cross bike to just below the summit of that hill, elevation: about 4,000 feet.

CHELAN-WENATCHEE CYCLING

Just got back from six days of riding on the dry side of the state. Specifically, the Chelan-Wenatchee swath. All I've got to say is that there's a mind-boggling amount of riding to be done over there--mega-climbs such as Badger Mountain and McNeil Canyon (not to mention, the Orondo grade, which I didn't get to), terrific mountain biking (I 'cross rode on Sage Hills and Echo Ridge) and even cool mellow tooling-around type riding (Wenatchee's paved Apple Capital Loop Trail is quite nice). Here're some pics: 

Here's politician Jay Inslee and I at the top of Badger Mountain, above Wenatchee. (This is day 5; I'm jumping around a bit.) Badger is a true beast (2,400 feet in 7 miles) with a final mile that's so steep it makes you want to chuck your bike in the Columbia River. After making it to the top, I was just about to head down when Inslee showed up. He introduced himself as "Washington's next governor". Seemed like a nice enough guy.

On day 2, I revisted the beast they call McNeil Canyon (2,200 feet in 5 miles), star of the Chelan Century Challenge at the end of June. Like Badger, the pavement is way smooth with a wide shoulder and, whenever I've ridden it, traffic has been just about non-existent. Quite nice.   

Day 6 I took the 'cross bike and rode about 10 miles up to the Echo Ridge trail system above Manson. There, I rode for another 2 hours or so, climbing dirt roads and mellow trails up to about 3,800 feet, from which the views were just out-of-this-worldville! Highly, highly recommended.  

Through the spokes from Echo Ridge--views of Lake Chelan, the Columbia River, Enchantment Peaks (and countless others) and way, way into Eastern WA.

Day 4, I did one of my most varied rides ever. Weather was iffy so whilst waiting for the Sage Hills trails to dry out I rode the 'cross bike on the Apple Loop Trail, then headed up a little on Badger Mtn. (that was my intention anyway, I ended up riding 6 of its 7 miles before some windy rain blew in and chased me down the hill) and finished off with about 90 minutes up and down the Sage Hill singletrack. It's quite nice on a CX bike.  

Day 3, I didn't ride but took the Lady of the Lake ferry to Stehekin. Absolutely incredible! Reminded me of the ferry ride up the Inside Passage. 

Day 2, just over the top of McNeil Canyon where all of Eastern Washington is lain out before you and you swear you can see the curvature of the earth. Mucho windy up there too. 

Purty sunflowers up in Sage Hills. 

Me with some Westerny dude at Echo Ridge Ski Area.

Jay Inslee and his buddy making the final turn just below the Badger Mountain summit. That's Wenatchee on the Columbia River, as well as Sage Hills and the Central Cascades beyond.

Day 1, I rode the Tarmac up and down some of the hills above Manson on many of the same roads as the first loop of the Chelan Century Challenge.

Me at the top of Badger.

CHELAN CENTURY CHALLENGE 2012

B'ham and most of Western Washington are stuck in a hellatious period of snow and ice and frigid temps and so of course I'm looking ahead to next summer already. And just a couple days after the soltice I know how I'll be welcoming in the summer: by schlepping the Tarmac Pro up the 8,600-plus feet of climbing that is the Chelan Century Challenge. One of my favorite rides ever! I just signed up for the 2012 event a couple days ago. Looks likely to be a Titanium Cowboy team assault too so I'm very much looking forward to it!

Click here for my report on last year's amazing ride.

LAZY DOG DAYS OF AUGUST

Been mostly taking it easy since the Shasta ride. Took me almost a week before I felt sorta human again and was able to get in a three-hour mountain bike ride on Galby with the Titanium Cowboys. Always a good time. Then it was off for a few days holiday with the family, sans bike. First to Chelan for the glistening waters of that amazing lake, the ultra-fun waterslide park and skatepark (see above), which the boy Baker carved up but good on his scooter.

Then down to Bend, Ore., which we’d never been to before. A very cool high desert town with lots of sun, lots of heat and lots to do. Funny story about Bend--five minutes after checking into our hotel, I note a Nissan Pathfinder parked outside the lobby with "Official Vehicle" painted on the side. I look inside and who's behind the wheel but Chris Horner!

I tap on the window and with a big as-if-he-knows-me grin, he rolls it down, thrusts out his hand and gives me a big "How's it going, man?" He was super affable, said he's recovered from his crash, concussion and subsequent blood clot suffered in the Tour de France and feeling great. No more racing this year though. He was genuinely nice to my son too, who was with me. A truly satisfying brush with greatness. 

A few other tidbits: For a change of pace, I'm hoping to pick up my running again. I've been ultra casual about it since I broke my collarbone in spring 2010. I was so eager to get back to cycling afterward that I paid almost no attention to getting my running legs back. So now it seems newish and funnish and out of the ordinaryish. Anyway, one of my favorite places to run is Lake Padden where, just a couple weeks ago, a friend of Titanium Cancellara's spotted a cougar on the trail. And not even on one of the back trails (or horse trails), but rather right on the main 2.6-mile loop that hugs the lake. Thankfully, it slunk (izzat a word?) away fairly soon after being spotted.

And in related something-else-to-keep-in-mind news, B'ham chiropractor and stud triathlete Erik DeRoche wrote on facebook that up on Galbraith, he came across a fishing line strung across a trail and hung with hooks. That's just seriously f'ed up. 

In unrelated news, the Mount Baker Hill Climb (I'll never call it Ride 542) is still going on despite the road not opening to Artist Point this year. I understand that registration is down for the September 11 race which is a shame because this is one of Washington's true gems. You can't beat the scenery, you get the road to yourself and if you're not particularly hill-inclined (ha, a pun), this is the year to do it. That last 10.5-mile climb is 2 miles shorter in this year's version and climbs about 650 fewer feet. (2,350 feet as opposed to 3,000.)

Last two: I gots a story about some of my favorite outdoor schtuff in the latest Adventures NW, available now.

 

Lastly, early this week I turned frickin' 50!

CHELAN CENTURY CHALLENGE REPORT AND PHOTOS

That's David Longdon, who does the cool Seattle-area cycling blog for the Seattle P-I, nearing the top of McNeil Canyon, the featured spot of bother on the spectacular Chelan Century Challenge ride. He's a little less than a mile from the top, a stretch that's consistently 11-percent with a bit of 14-percent thrown in for fun. He, like many riders I saw yesterday, was rocking a SRAM Apex cassette and taking full advantage of its pie-plate sized 32-tooth gear. But of course, there's more to the Chelan Century Challenge than McNeil Canyon so enough about that for now.

The ride's slightly more than 100 miles are split up into three loops--a Manson loop on the north side of Lake Chelan, a McNeil Canyon loop that makes its way down to the Columbia River and then heads up toward the Waterville Plateau and finally, a Navarre Coulee loop which does an up-down to the Columbia, then an up-down which spits you out on the south shore of Lake Chelan about 10 miles west of town.


Longdon dancing on the pedals up McNeil Canyon.



With two epic bodies of water--Lake Chelan and the mighty-as-hell Columbia--as well as those wonderful Eastern Washington dry-side pine forests and craggy canyons, the route can't help but be incredibly scenic. Loop 1 was perhaps my favorite, yanking you up, up, and up on the north side of Lake Chelan before delivering you lakeside via a series of winding, no-traffic roads through orchards and vineyards. These were some fun descents. (I'd never been to this Manson side of the lake before and was just wowed by it; one suggestion though for the town fathers: change the town's name. And don't change it to something like 'Bundy' either.)   

After 30 miles and about 2,400 feet of ups, we headed for McNeil and loop 2, which was 40-miles long. I'd ridden most of the loop 1 on my own and figured I'd hook up with a group for the 20-mile jaunt to the base of the canyon. Sit in the back, get a free ride as it were, save my energy for the big beastie. Which pretty much didn't happen. For whatever reason, except for about 5 miles just before the McNeil climb when I hooked up with Longdon and three (or four?) members of Seattle's High Performance Cycling club, I rode the entire route by myself. Kinda surprised me. Wonder if it's because I have that disease that makes me leave as early as I can on rides like this. Most people probably prefer a later start but I want to get at it, and get 'er done, as it were. (And stop as little as possible along the way; thus my lack of photos on Loop 1 and 3.)  

Your Titanium Cowboy at mile 6 of the 7-mile McNeil Canyon climb. Photo: David Longdon.

At McNeil, we all went our separate paces and headed for the top. Mile markers have it at a 7-mile climb but it's really the last 5 miles that make one question one's sanity. Though to be honest, I love to climb so I dig this hill. There's something about finding that deliberate, methodical rhythm within me that I find ... I don't know what the word is, maybe it's what other people get from meditation or yoga or prayer or whatever, all I know is that it's a head/mind/soul (?) space that I love.

Weather-wise we were blessed--sunny, not too warm, and though sweat was dripping in my eyes while I climbed and I could feel my arms getting sunburned, because we've had such a dreary wet spring in Bellingham, it felt glorious. Aid stations and volunteers were great throughout the day too, and located in key spots--at top, bottom and middle of McNeil Canyon, for instance.  

I'd had much agita about the descent but it wasn't nearly as bad as I'd remembered it from my previous ride. Then, I was by myself, just three months after collarbone surgery and the landscape, while beautiful seemed a tad tumbleweed 'n' rattlesnake scary. Today though (yesterday), I was one of hundreds and felt more comfortable letting the Tarmac Pro hit speeds of 40-plus mph. (Saw Steve Noble heading up while I was heading down; only time I saw him all day.)

Upon returning to Chelan we embarked on Loop 3, up Highway 97 Alt., then after blazing through a tunnel, find ourselves once again beside the Columbia River. Upon which, we immediately headed back up toward (or through?) Navarre Coulee. This was a gradual hill, which sorta climbed, sorta didn't, and with sorta a headwind and sorta not, I found myself at about the 81-mile mark wondering if I was going to bonk. But eventually, after some salty potatoes, a turkey-ham wrap thang from the aid station (as well as Gatorade fortified with Enduralyes Fizz--I kinda like 'em), I made it up the last hill and after another fast descent found myself on the shores of Lake Chelan with about 10 miles left.

Chelan Century Challenge elevation profile.

Found myself aided by a generous tailwind too, which, after some quick calculations in my head, made me realize if I brought it home in strong fashion I could average 15 mph for this thang. Not that that's particularly fast but given the hills (it'd end up gaining 7,800 feet), given that I rode just about all of it by myself (and thus had no draft to benefit from), given that I'm not a time-trial guy, given that I don't have a big endurance engine like a lot of the people I ride with, given that I'm on the cusp of 50, given that I'm from N.J., given that I can't hit lefties very well, given that ... I was psyched. So I hammered, as it were, my Garmin GPS reading 22-, 24-, 21-miles per hour and I brought her home in 6:38 (ride time) for 101 miles. (15.2 mph.)   

Here's a caveat (think that's the word I want): the course calls for a ridiculously steep 1.5-mile hill that climbs 600 feet at about the 98-mile mark, but I skipped it. It just seemed dumb and too painful and unnecessary at that point. My sense is that a lot of people skipped it. (Or perhaps I'm rationalizing it to myself.)

Anyway, an amazing event. I highly recommend it. As I was riding the first loop, I was thinking that the Chelan area might just be the most beautiful place to ride in the state. And that the Chelan Century Challenge might just be my favorite organized ride. This or RAMROD. Close call.  

McNEIL CANYON 'N' EASTERN WASHINGTON

Back in B'ham after three days of ridin' slash book research including mucho hill climbing. Skykomish to Leavenworth via Stevens Pass on Wed., 40 miles near Chelan including McNeil Canyon (steepest hill I've ever climbed) on Thurs., and a fun L'worth-Plain-L'worth 40-miler this morning.

McNeil Canyon, above two pics, is psycho steep! Climbs 2,200 feet in 5 miles. My Garmin Edge was reading 15 percent and above near the top. No less an authority than Seattle's Tom Meloy, who rides 10,000 miles and climbs 500,000 feet a year, says it's harder than the Galibier, Alpe D'Huez and Co de la Madeleine, all of which he's climbed. Personally, I found the descent absolutely hair-raising and admit that I walked a bit of it. (The descent, that is, not the ascent; the broken collarbone still has me a tad sheepish on descents.)  

Above, the Columbia River. McNeil Canyon is the large mass to the left. It put the hurt on me.