May 19, 2013

  • Haul Ash

    Redhook Brewery hosted the Haul Ash bicycle ride commemorating the eruption of Mount St Helens. I cleaned up the tandem, put on new handlebar tape and brake hoods. Do you know how hard it is to replace twenty year old brake hoods? I do.

    Dad and Veronica setting off from Jane's house.

    The ride started at the brewery in Woodenville on Saturday morning. Gracious Jane picked up our ride packets earlier in the week so we did not need to get their early and stand in line. Jane's house is only four miles from the ride start so Veronica and I parked the car at her house and made the short ride. This would put our ride mileage at about 44 total.
     

    The ride start included several hundred riders and some unusual vehicles.

    The unique feature of this ride is the use of off-road trails. The Sammamish River Trail crosses the driveway at the brewery. As we head West, the trail connects with the Burke-Gilman so you are never on the city roads until the turn around point. In Freemont, and staff member stood alongside the trail and directed participants North on about two blocks of city streets to LTD Bar and Grill in Fremont. Those streets were very low traffic, I think I saw two cars total.

    This is the half way mark (20 miles) where we turned around for the return. Behind us is all the valet parking for the ride.

    Our return trip was much quicker. I passed on a beer at the bar. Veronica was restricted from entering and I did not want to fight the crowd. Veronica and I hit 35 mph on the short ride from Jane's house to the ride start and she hoped we would top that on our return.

    Typical Trail Section

    I mentioned all the trail riding to give you a feel for the terrain. The sudden slowdowns really took a toll on me when we crossed surface streets. With short sight lines any speed over 18 proved hazardous. We survived with only about five near misses and witnessed only one major crash. No serious injuries, just some road rash and his bike was OK.

    The highlight for me was the last four miles. I had one woman drafting off the tandem. Others tried but soon fell back. Veronica and I held a very steady speed and with the light pedestrian traffic we could make wide passes. I was careful to signal all hazards to my wheel sucker. After the ride I felt I did a great job navigating the trail. I smiled when the woman that followed us thanked us for the pull and complimented our riding etiquette.
      

    3 hour 4 minute ride.                                   Top Speed 34.5 mph                                   45.64 miles

    The ride distance includes the short ride from Cousin Jane's to the start where we hit our max speed.