RED-BELL 100: The Ride

The event weekend is past and I've had a few days to recover my wits. I felt better physically than mentally on Sunday - no injuries or major sore spots (other than my sit bones) but I felt spacey and sleepy all day Sunday and Monday.

Travel Plans

For a couple of years I've wanted to try using the public commuter bus system to get from Bellingham to the Seattle area. I know from a past trip that if you start out very early in the morning you can take Whatcom Transit to Mount Vernon, catch a Skagit Transit bus to Everett, then take the Swift commuter bus in to Seattle, all with bicycle on board. But in the end I didn't want to improvise before my big ride, so I booked a one-way trip on Amtrak, then caught a Seattle Metro commuter bus across Lake Washington to Redmond. 

The outdoor velodrome at Marymoor Park

To make sure I could find the ride start at Marymoor Park on Saturday morning, I explored around the town of Redmond a bit on Friday afternoon. Thanks to Microsoft, the town has been transformed from a dull little Boeing-suburb to an upscale techie haven. Because of construction and street improvement projects, many streets were blocked off and trail access points were detoured.

. . . the only one I know of in the Northwest

I had delayed too long to book my hotel room and ended up staying five or six miles away from the ride start in Marymoor Park, at the Totem Lake Carlton Inn. It was cheap but had received some very ominous ratings online, so I was a little alarmed when I looked out the window and saw police, fire and Medic One units (two each) outside the entrance. But they went away soon, with no disturbance. My room was big, clean, quiet and comfortable - everything I needed to get a good night's rest and get out early in the morning. The decor was dated and the carpets were dirty, but that's for the best when you're bringing a bicycle along.

Next door is the Yuppie Pawn Shop, Tavern and Food Cart, and the Veloce Cafe with espresso and pasta for dinner. Before I left Seattle I had cruised the waterfront a bit and stopped at a deli to eat a huge veggie sandwich, so I bypassed both places and bought fresh fruit, sparking water and Luna bars at a nearby Trader Joe's for a light dinner in my room instead. I brought my own instant oatmeal with nuts and raisins for breakfast, plus Clif bars and Powerade for the ride.

My plans went a little awry in the morning. I was able to retrace my route back to Redmond along the Sammamish River Trail pretty easily, but all the road blocks and detours from Friday afternoon had been removed by Saturday morning and I lost the trail somewhere between downtown Redmond and Marymoor Park. I backtracked on a bike route under the Hwy. 520 interchange a few times before picking up the route again, but I rode nine miles just to get to the start area.

The Big Event

Very orderly crowd at the starting line

According to the announcer at the ride start, about five hundred riders were starting out, but the crowd didn't seem that large. Because I'm a slow, steady rider I went up to the head of the crowd to get out the gate early, knowing I'd soon fall behind. I had a panicky moment on a tight curving trail access ramp when I downshifted and my chain jammed - while I was in the middle of a group of club riders. But I managed to back-pedal then start up again until the chain caught smoothly, without taking the whole group down.

I saw some Cascade Bicycle Club jerseys, and several other club/race team jerseys - from the back, as they passed me. The first eight miles were easy, along the flat Sammamish River Trail, but then there was a monster hill-climb on Woodinville-Duvall Road. The team riders passed me easily as I chugged up a mile-and-a-half climb, and I struggled to keep them in sight, then catch up on steep down-hills. I've learned not to be embarrassed to take big breaths, and huff and puff loudly on hard climbs so I can recover faster, and I was able to manage my gears and momentum on downhills to help me up the next hill. But I was trying too hard, and regretted it farther on.

Machias rest stop, mile 28

After the hilly section we followed easier roads until we picked up Snohomish County's Centennial Rail-Trail at about mile 23, and rode five miles on to the first stop. This is where I realized that I would wear myself out before the end of the ride if I didn't take it easier and recover from the hard start. The Centennial Trail is a lovely, flat, paved trail with a down-grade as you travel north for the next twenty-five or so miles. There is a wide, grassy equestrian trail next to the paved bike and foot trail, and you can ride straight for miles listening to birds, seeing nothing but moist greenery. It actually gets a little tedious.

Dairy monument in Arlington

About three miles before the Arlington rest stop (at mile 45) it began to rain hard. We were back on city roads by then and I was skating fast on the smooth, wet pavement, but a couple of people crashed crossing wet railroad tracks - no major injuries, just muddy, gritty scrapes. I waited out most of the rain storm, snacking, stretching and chatting with other riders under a pergola in the park, leaving the park at around 11am.

After leaving Arlington and the Centennial Trail, the route followed Old Hwy. 99 parallel to I-5, which is not the loveliest scenery, but it is a pretty direct route to the lunch rest stop at the Skagit Valley Produce barn by the Hwy. 543 overpass across I-5, 64 miles along. At this point my stomach was full of a pasty glop of Clif bars and Powerade, and I really didn't feel like eating even though I knew, with forty miles to go, I'd need more fuel. Some nice wrap sandwiches were provided, but all I could manage was a big helping of Greek salad and some Talking Rain seltzer. Fortunately this seemed to lighten my stomach a bit.

Lunch break

After lunch the route moved on to roads that are familiar to me from my spring training rides - near the Skagit River, around the tulip fields, and the stretch of Avon-Allen Road I had followed the Saturday before on my way home from LaConner. Our last rest stop was at mile 84, at Allen Community Park, where we were served some refreshing watermelon. By this time I was feeling a bit hungry and knew I'd need more substantial food to make it through the Chuckanut Drive rollers, so I ate the two bananas I'd been carrying, then set off for the final, familiar 20-mile stretch.

Along the way I posted photos to Facebook at each rest stop, and the Boundary Bay finish party, which is a pretty high technological achievement for me, under the circumstances. But my cellphone photos weren't very good quality and I didn't take any others after the lunch break. So the only way to see the fabled Chuckanut Drive bay views is to go ride it yourself.

I was tempted to turn off the road and take the flatter Interurban Trail, but I'm too stubborn, even though there was no one around to see if I did. I reached the lemonade stand at the top of the last hill climb at 5:10pm. The last #27 bus to Ferndale leaves Cordata Station at 5:20pm on Saturdays, so at that point I knew I'd be riding my bike all the way home. I rolled on to Boundary Bay Brewery to enjoy a leisurely and excellent dinner of a veggie-burger, fries and lemonade.

My road-time for the 104-mile route was about 7.5 hours (not counting rest and lunch breaks); including breaks, my travel-time was 10.5 hours. Add the nine miles to get to Marymoor Park before the start, and the (slow and wobbly) ride home to Ferndale, and I rode a total of 124 miles for the day.

I celebrated my 55th birthday this June, and I'm glad I pushed myself to complete this event. But from now on I'll stick to shorter, more touristy, sight-seeing rides.