Author Archives: Theo Roffe

It’s not too late to sign up for Brevet Week!  This year’s series offers a number of fantastic, previously-run Brevets in the Olympia area, all starting and finishing at the La Quinta in Tumwater.  The 600k and 400k follow same couse as the 1000K, with the 600k going clockwise around the Olympic Penninsula (that includes Sekiu, the Elwha River and the Dungeness).  The 400K goes to Kelso, Glenoma, and Kapowsin. The 200k and 300k primarily in Olympia and Centralia area, that are previously-run Brevets by Paul Johnson in 2011. Overnight for the 600k and 1000k is in Port Angeles  (and 2nd overnight for 1000k in Kelso) so be ready to be self-sufficient!  Hotel reservations are also on your own and there is no drop bag support.

Note: all of the brevets are self-supported. We will send you off with your control card and cue sheet, the rest is up to you!

Please register early and sign up for each individual Brevet you are interested.

Saturday May 6 600k and 1000k: http://seattlerando.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=612
Tuesday May 9 300k: http://seattlerando.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=613
Wednesday May 10 400K: http://seattlerando.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=614
Sunday May 14 200K: http://seattlerando.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=615

“On three, we’re going to stand, right foot first. One. Two. Three!” Corey and I (Theo) stood up and pedaled in synch, making short work of the hill. It was my first time as stoker (riding on the back seat) of a tandem, but my second time on the Top Rung 200K course. Most of the climbing is in the first half of the route, so don’t get discouraged if you’re going up slowly, or figuring out how to share a bike! There’s still the second half to make up time.

For the first several hours of our pre-ride, it rained heavily. We felt for our friends riding the Spring 200K brevet in the Snoqualmie Valley. They had the same rain forecast for the entire day. In Yelm, we stopped to eat… and ring out our socks. I bought a pair of dish gloves in a desperate bid for dry hands (they worked).

After our break, we resumed the rolling hills and lovely back roads past Harts Lake and Lake Lawrence. Corey captained the tandem around each turn with confidence and experience, but it’s a strange feeling to give up control and not steer the bike! As a few experienced stokers had suggested, I tried closing my eyes on the descents. But that was too much! It felt better to see the road ahead, trusting Corey’s skill, than to keep my eyes shut. And if you close your eyes, you’ll miss out on the natural beauty of this part of the ride.

We kept up a steady conversation, slowing our words only to pedal harder up the hills. The rain lightened up as we checked out the first three info controls and the sun started to come out. I hoped that the morning’s rain was enough to appease the fates and ensure good weather for brevet-day riders!

From Tenino to the course’s only timed control, in Oakville, navigation is fairly simple: Highway 12 to 183rd, back to Highway 12. It’s not my favorite set of roads in the area, but the shoulder is decent and navigation is easy. To be honest, I tuned out quite a bit of this stretch, looking down at my feet and watching the cranks turn. Corey attended to the road, and took the brunt of our headwind. I enjoyed my simple role as motor and turn signal!

The End of the Trail Shell station has plenty of snacking options, so don’t worry if you’re running low on fuel for the final 50k of the ride. Load up here and you’ll be fine. From the gas station, it’s only a short return on Highway 12 before getting onto more appealing roads: Moon, Mima Gate and Mima. Even their names are appealing! Down to the right of these winding roads, the Black River and Mima Creek overflowed their banks, swollen with heavy spring rain. The tiny trees of Weyerhaeuser’s Mima Nursery looked like a vast, green shag carpet as we rolled by. We passed by the famous Mima mounds. With the wind now mostly at our back, we sped along, making up time.

As we passed the failed logging town of Bordeaux, the sun began to descend towards Capitol State Forest in the west. Then we rode through Little Rock, where the post office and taco truck are the same size. It’s a straight shot from Little Rock to Tumwater. But the route’s zig-zags through Olympia will have you carefully watching your cue sheet all the way to the Woodland Trail. There, be sure to cross two bridges to get past I-5, but not the third bridge over Martin way. And take care when merging across Martin to the protected left turn lane. If traffic is heavy, you can skip the merge and stay right all the way to the intersection, using the crosswalks to get on Sleater Kinney Road. Shortly thereafter, Britton Parkway throws in a few more hills because you’ve got to earn those Top Rung beers at the finish!

This is a fun ride and last year’s edition saw a number of personal record finish times. If you, like many of us, have spent much of the winter off the bike, this route is a great opportunity to get riding again. It’s just hard enough to make you sore, but not so tough that you should doubt your ability to finish.

Please pre-register online. It helps the organizers a lot!

The 2017 Seattle Spring 200k is Saturday, March 18, starting at 07:00 am.

This is an early season ride starting at the Northshore Athletic Fields in Woodinville (14735 NE 145th St) and wandering around Lake Sammamish and Carnation before finishing up at the Redhook Brewery (14300 NE 145th St).

We ride south on the Sammamish river trail, down the east side of Lake Sammamish before climbing to the Issaquah Highlands. After a quick decent into the valley we go right by Sandy’s in Carnation on our way to Snohomish. From there we head north on the Centennial trail to the Bryant store, our northern most point. On the way back we go back through Snohomish before climbing Broadway on our way back to Woodinville and the finish at the Redhook Brewery.

Pre-registration and additional details on the SIR website.

Artwork by Alice Stribling, San Francisco Randonneuers www.alicestribling.com

Start the 2017 season with our 100 km Populaire Ride!

Bring your friends, wives, husbands, boyfriends, or girlfriends (or both).

Come ride with us (for free) and find out what randonneuring is about. Show up a bit early: we’ll answer your questions and give you a few pointers to help you use the route sheet, as well. The ride will start and end in Seattle. Unlike many of our routes this really is an easy route. [Editor’s note: You hear assurances like this a lot, but, in this case, it’s true.]

Date:        March 11, 2017

Location:           Woodland Park Tennis Courts Parking Lot

Green Lake Way N at N 52^nd St, Seattle WA 98103

Time:               Register, sign waiver 0815-0900

Ride Start:        0900 (really)

Ride Ends:         Zeek’s Pizza, 6000 Phinney Ave N, Seattle WA 98103

(It’s a 5 minute ride back to the park and it’s all down hill)

Register:           Online at www.seattlerandonneur.org  until March 9

                              Pre-registration helps the ride organizers plan the logistics.

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19202557 (There may be changes after the pre-ride, so check back close to the ride date for the most current route)

Questions:  Andy Speier: andy @ peakrescue.org

Membership:       Not required!

Lights:              Not required! [Editor’s note: Feel free to bring your lights. Please use in solid mode front and rear.]

Fenders:           Not required, but you’ll make more friends if you have them. [Editor’s note: Buddy flap = bonus points]

Tools:               This is an unsupported ride. You are expected to be able to be self-sufficient in the event you get a flat tire or need to  perform a routine repair on your bicycle.

The Route:         This is a new route. We are trying to encourage and recruit new members, so we tried to bypass the truly nasty hills of previous years. We have removed the longer, confusing section of the Interurban Trail.  This is a fun ride! You will need to pay attention to the cue sheet. There are great views of the sound and the Olympic Mountains. You’ll ride west to Golden Gardens, follow a bit of the Interurban Trail North, enjoy a delightful descent down Perkins Way, zip along the Burke Gilman out to the Sammamish Trail to Redmond, and then head back to Seattle with the inevitable climb back up to the top of Phinney Ridge. Finish is at Zeeks Pizza.

Food:               We will provide coffee and snacks at the start of the ride. At the halfway point Control in Redmond there is a Peet’s Coffee, a Whole Foods and several other commercial food places in the shopping center.

Starting at 8 am on Saturday, Feb. 25, this is the final and longest ride in our eight-part Winter Training Series.

The Greater Seattle Century (GSC) was the first century (101 miles) ever ridden by Ralph & Carol in the mid-1990’s.  Designed by Carol (hence Carol’s Century), the route takes you on a wide clockwise circle around Seattle with a variety of terrain with many flat stretches interrupted by a few steep hills. We start by heading north along the Burke-Gilman Trail to Bothell, then along mostly quiet backcountry roads through Woodinville, Maltby, Carnation, Fall City, Issaquah and Maple Valley. The GSC then follows the Cedar River Trail to Renton and returns to Magnuson Park via Seward Park, Lake Washington Blvd. and the Burke Gilman Trail.

There is a total of approximately 3,400 feet elevation gain from beginning to end.

Please help out the Ride Leaders by Pre-Registering at: https://www.cascade.org/node/39538

Go North young men and women!

Winter training series # 7 Starts in Conway, parking along Dike Rd.  We start at 9:00 AM. Sign up on line on the Cascade website and I will check the box for you when you arrive. Print out your own personalized cue sheet from Ride With GPS: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/17840307

Same route as before, East to Hwy 9 then North and west across to Chuckanut and south through the farming towns of Bow and Edison.

So far 20% chance of showers.

Coffee and eating in Edison or Bow and then there is the Conway Pub and Eatery for acres ride dining.

-Noel Howes