Training Rides

15, 18, 20AUG2008 Training Rides; Eatonville-Comet Falls (Mt. Rainier) 72 miles, Enumclaw-White River Ranger Station turnoff 75 miles, Puyallup to South Prairie to Bonney Lake to Orting to Home 46 milesAll of these rides were moderately hilly, and the scenery was gorgeous. I can’t believe that I have the most beautiful park in the entire world in my backyard, yet I rarely ever get up to it. I’d thought about doing the RAMROD (Ride Around Mt. Rainier in One Day), held every year, but realized that these rides should be labeled RAMRWD (Ride At Mt. Rainier With Difficulty). On Saturday the 15th, we have a heatwave, with temperatures above 90°F, something unusual for the Northwest, and creating killer heat, which left me just wasted, even though I sucked in gallons of fluid. The next Monday, I did the north side of the road around Mt. Rainier and had the opposite problem. It started to rain, soon after I took off, and rained persistently for the whole ride. I was completely covered with road muck and soaked. My fingers were frozen and took 2 hours to thaw out. I ran into hail at higher elevations. Hey, this is mid-August, three days following a crippling heatwave!  Anyway, I felt good afterward, and ready to do the Portland Century this next Sunday! On Wednesday, I took a shorter ride with a few intentional hills up to Bonney Lake and then from Orting up to Graham. This ride started out sunny, but turned into a cold rain at the end of the ride, somewhat odd for even for the Northwest. Here’s a view of Mt. Rainier from the road from the 15AUG ride.