Eatonville, approx. mile 33—open 6:00 – 10 am
Mini scones and mini muffins
Coffee (the regular brewed stuff)
Water
Port-O-Johns
For purchase: the small stuff you might have forgotten, such as tubes, water bottles, gloves, sunglasses, etc.

Wildwood, approx. mile 58—open 7:30 – 11 am
Bagels with cream cheese, peanut butter, and/or jam
RR cookies—choco chip/oatmeal with nuts and craisin/oatmeal no nuts
Crackers—Cheez It and Wheat Thin
Fruit: bananas, grapes, nectarines, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew
Gatorade lemon/lime (NOTE: Gatorade will be made half-strength at all food stops; there will be powder available if you want to spike yours but you may need to ask)
Water
Port-O-Johns

Inspiration Point, approx. mile 75—open 9 am – 2 pm
Water
Port-O-Johns

Upper Box Canyon, approx. mile 88—open 9:30 am – 3 pm
Steamed potatoes with salt bar
Chocolate croissants
Bagels with spreads
RR cookies
Fruit
Gatorade lemon/lime and water
Port-O-Johns

Deer Creek, approx. mile 104—open 10:30 am– 5 pm
Water
Port-O-Johns

Cayuse Pass, approx. mile 110—open 11 am – 6 pm
Water
Port-O-Johns
Note: there are NO other services at Cayuse—keep rolling downhill to the Deli.

Deli, approx. mile 118—open 11 am – 7 pm
Made-to-order sandwiches
RR cookies
Fruit
Soft drinks, Gatorade lemon/lime, and water
Port-O-Johns

Finish Line—open from when the first rider finishes until 8 pm
Ice cream truck (included in your event fee)
Soft drinks
Chips
Showers—bring your own towel

On Sunday, July 25 from Noon to 4pm we are holding a RAMROD Packet Pickup and BBQ at Sammamish Valley Cycle. This will be an opportunity for RAMROD participants to pick up their packet and t-shirt, and meet some of the RAMROD staff. RAMROD jerseys will also be available for pickup if ordered before June 1. The Director will be present to give an update on the course and to present a check to the Washington National Park Fund for all of the donations collected this year. We will also have a fundraising BBQ as we continue to raise money for Mt. Rainier National Park, so bring your family or riding buddy and come hungry.

This will also be your last opportunity to buy a ticket for the RAMROD Breakfast (Thursday morning of event). Tickets will be available online until Friday, July 23. If you are a participant or a spectator watching the send-off, this will be the easiest way to get in a yummy meal to start your day. Don’t miss out.

We also have one last RAMROD ticket to auction off. This year we will hold a live auction at the BBQ for this last RAMROD entry, bidding will begin at 2pm.

A couple final notes:

• Be sure to bring your picture ID as it will be required for packet, t-shirt, and jersey
• You cannot pick up packets or jerseys for someone else
• You cannot give your bib number to someone else; if you cannot ride, please contact the Registrar
• If you cannot make this event, your packet and jersey will be available for pickup at the Start/Finish Line in Enumclaw on Wednesday evening/Thursday morning
• This will be a fun event and a chance to meet other riders and event staff - hope to see you there and thank you for your continued support!

Event Details:

When: Sunday, July 25, 2010; Noon to 4pm

Where: Sammamish Valley Cycle, 8451 164th Ave NE, Redmond, WA  98052   425-881-8442

Getting to SVC:

Redmond P&R
8178 161st Ave NE
161st Ave NE & NE 83rd St

Prospective riders who are currently wait-listed for a RAMROD registration are eligible to bid in this auction. If a wait-listed rider wins the auction, they will naturally lose their position on the list but without penalty. This is also the only opportunity to transfer a ticket to someone else. Use it for a birthday, anniversary, or just a “Thank you” gift.

RCC is the only legitimate seller of RAMROD tickets.  Any RAMROD tickets offered by other sellers are not authentic tickets and will not be honored at the time of the event.

Clicking on the link at the bottom will take you to the eBay auction. Good luck and thank you for your support!

Shane Balkovetz
President
Redmond Cycling Club

RCC eBay Auction for RAMROD Tickets

We have received reports that some riders are violating this rule and some have even sold their ride tickets at a profit. We warn you that any private transfer is not authorized and may result in sanctions.

YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO SHOW IDENTIFICATION in order to get your rider packet. For those picking up packets in advance of the ride, YOU MAY BE REQUIRED TO SHOW IDENTIFICATION AGAIN AT THE START LINE.

IF you buy your ticket from someone else, you will not get into the ride. Your ticket will be worthless, and you may find yourself permanently banned from all future RAMROD events.
If you got in and find you can’t ride, please give the next person on the waiting list a chance to ride.  Return your ticket, get a refund and know you did the right thing.

We have been approved to return to the traditional course, which includes access to Paradise and Stevens Canyon as well as Cayuse Pass.    The Park continues to exclude riders from the Paradise parking lot area. We will be turning onto Stevens Canyon Road at Inspiration Point. This is the same course we followed in 2008.

The bike band is a reflective lime green band that can be looped around the rear seat stays. The band is simple and is printed with the word “RAMROD” in highly visible black.

Many years ago RAMROD organizers bought the bike band to comply with a National Park safety rule. The rule required all riders to wear something highly reflective.

Since then the RAMROD bike band has become a symbol of accomplishment. Those of us who have successfully completed RAMROD are proud to bear the RAMROD symbol on our bikes.

This year the RAMROD bike band is coming back. We have just placed an order for a new stock of bike bands and they will be available in time for RAMROD 2010. Every rider will get one in their rider packet.

The registration process changed in 2009. Prior to that, registrants paid the full registration fee and waited to see if they were selected in the lottery. If they were not selected, they could request an immediate refund or be put on the wait list and get a refund if they were not selected or later chose not to ride. Now, everyone pays a non-refundable registration fee of $5 for singles or $10 for tandems and pays the balance only when they are selected to ride–either through the lottery or from the wait list.

The question that seems to come up most often is “What is my chance of being selected?”. The last couple of years, total registrants has been around 1,300 which meant that statistically, your chances werea little better than 50% even considering that about 100 spots go to the previous year’s volunteers. I participated in the lottery only once, in 2005, and was selected. A friend of mine has ridden twice and both times got in from the wait list. Last year, six friends of mine rode. Three were selected in the initial lottery and three got in from the wait list (one got in in mid-June).

The second most frequent question is why some people seem to get selected more than once while others have entered for years without getting in. I can only tell you it is the luck of the draw. The lottery is conducted by a computer at active.com and uses only the current year’s lottery entrants. There is no record in their system of previous year’s entrants. If you want to guarantee yourself a spot in RAMROD, work as a volunteer and earn a lottery bypass for the next year.

Once the lottery has been completed on April 2nd, all registrants will be notified of their selection status. If you are not selected, you will be able to visit the active.com site to see your position on the wait list. If you are willing to train as though you will be selected, your odds of getting in from the wait list are fairly good. In 2007, most got in, 2008 nearly half did and in 2009, of the nearly 1,600 entrants over 1,200 received an invitation to complete their registration. Many, however, were given the opportunity at the very last minute.

One of the most important things I can tell people is to be sure they use an email address that will receive lottery results information. In 2009, every gmail, msn, hotmail, yahoo and boeing address apparently filtered out our initial emails. Whether they did not like the word RAMROD, did not like embedded links, or did not like messages going to several accounts simultaneously I could not tell you. I only know that I heard from hundreds of people who did not receive the initial message with their lottery status. No messages bounced back and we had no way of knowing who did not receive them until we began getting emails from people questioning why they had not heard anything.

The lottery opens just after midnight on March 1st. Good luck and keep the rubber side down.

Please be aware that we do not do last minute bib transfers. For safety reasons we must have reliable and complete rider lists by a week before the event. This means we close down registration for transfers by approximately July 15. If you are not already admitted to the ride, do not go to the start line hoping for a last minute transfer. There will be none available.

For more information about the swap, click here.

What a day, Thrill Seekers! About three dozen riders queued up on the Fauntleroy Ferry Dock on Saturday to ride to Seabeck and points beyond. We had Rabbits, Laughers, and COGsters. The latter from that shadowy COGS organization, led by our own Agent Louise. After I scheduled this ride, the folks in the white coats decided to try yet another antihypertensive on me. I’m happy to say that that one seems to work, in conjunction with the other two. It also leaves me prey to attacks by neighborhood kids on their tricycles, so I was thinking best let Agent Louise lead this one and hang on as long as I could, then turn back or throw myself into the ditch.

When we debouched from the ferry things went OK, as we climbed the tough hill up to the store. I was blown already and thought about turning back. We regrouped and I looked for Dan and Pam, who were planning on riding with me. Not to be seen. I rode back around the corner to look for them, and people took off. I raced to catch them but couldn’t; 18-20 on a flat road with a tailwind was my limit, otherwise I went anaerobic. This was not going to end well. I soloed into Port Orchard to regroup, and found myself joining up with Agent Louise and the COGS Cult. I hadn’t realized until that point that COGS was not just a cyclewear vendor, but in some ways resembled a cult. I immediately flashed back to The Temple of Doom, and the Thuggee Cult worshipping the Goddess Kali, drinking strange beverages, ritual sacrifices, matching outfits, that sort of thing. And given the way I was feeling, I got the role of the poor schmoe lowered into the flaming pit (think endless climbs maxing out the Steep-O-Meter).

We left in a mob, and soon pedaled onto a busy highway where we were hammering for all we were worth to stay alive amidst screaming cars. Crossing way too many lanes of traffic, we finally managed to exit the Highway from Hell and emerge onto pleasant country lanes. The only drawback being the pleasant country lanes went up at a steep angle. We worked our way around to the west of Bremerton, going first up, then down, then up again. Fortunately the Sprocket Queen kept her disciples well organized and we regrouped regularly. A good thing as there were only a couple of people behind me, and their biggest problem was managing their crutches.

We put all of the hill sprints behind us and turned onto Northlake road, where we started the serious climbing. This actually wasn’t so bad, and was a long steady climb to gain the plateau. That accomplished, we promptly raced back down hill heading for Seabeck. Quite a rush, and quite lovely. In good time we arrived at Barbie’s in Seabeck, where some of the overachievers were already tucking into the pie. I got myself some cherry pie and enjoyed it on the dock in warm sunshine. The pie was exceptional. While I was finishing my pie, the COGS Cult were engaged in more ritual activity, making offerings of pie to their Goddess the SprocketQueen (offering at right). Not wanting to be lowered into the fiery pit once again, I elected to saddle up and beat feet up the long climb ahead of the Cult. This worked out pretty well. Eventually Purple Peggy and some others caught up with me, but I managed to hold off most of them for a long time.

I ended up pulling a long train of riders at a pretty good clip. After a while I was thinking, “Why was the old guy taking all of the performance lowering drugs doing all the pulling here?”. So  I pulled off. Pretty soon we were howling down a steep descent, headed for Holly. As we howled, I started passing everyone, and eventually flew past PapaGoose.  I was looking ahead as the road appeared to tilt up and thinking good, that will slow me down. When I hit that part I kept on going fast- optical illusion- it was flat. Eventually the road tilted up and I noted I was going up a steep climb at 40 mph. Later I found that the guys I passed had been going 51 mph, so it was quite a descent.

We regrouped at the base of a steep climb in a lovely glade of trees. The unnamed road Agent Louise was looking for didn’t seem to exist. While we looked at maps a car drove up and a guy got out with a can of course-marking paint and painted a skull and crossbones and a left turn arrow pointing up the super steep climb. They turned out to be laying out a triathlon course and this was to be the mountain climbing section. Consultation with these folks revealed that up was the only way to go. So we shifted down and stood up. This went on for a good long time, and was exquisitely painful, especially if you were the guinea pig in medical trials of various nasty drugs. The only fellow in greater pain was Dan, who was gutting it out behind me. I had to admire his courage and perseverance. The views on the way up were exceptional of the snow capped mountains.

The climb was actually pretty short, in dog years (we were suffering like dogs), and we eventually reached the turnoff to the Bear Creek-Dewatto road. There we regrouped. The Goddess was none too sure of her route at that point, so to avoid further human sacrifices I whipped out my Topo maps and PapaGoose consulted Henry. The Goddess meanwhile consulted with a passing motorist, who didn’t know the name of the road but knew it went to Belfair, somehow. So we set off. The topo map said this led to an Alpe d’Huez style climb, and it was right. More suffering here. Eventually the pain ended and we regrouped, then set off in search of Goat Roper Road. Agent Louise  wanted to try this one because of her early days as a Goat Roper in Westchester County rodeos. We passed by where I thought it might be, and then PapaGoose noted that Henry had shown us passing the road, which turned out to be a dirt forest track. We continued on down the Elfendall Pass road in a fun descent and eventually ended up on the Belfair Hwy.

Agent Louise went to the front on these rollers and pulled her disciples into Belfair in good order. We stopped at the supermarket and loaded up on food and drink. While we were doing so, who should appear but David the Deranged, momentarily off the back of the Rabbits. I knew I would get to point and snicker at an exhausted Rabbit! The plan called for us to exit Belfair on Rt 3 and climb up the hill. That was quite a climb, and Dan and I were at the back suffering. The traffic was something to see. We found Lake Flora road and continued to climb, near the top we spied Agent Louise waiting for us; no doubt another ritual was on offer. Once we got this climbing nonsense out of the way we were in the rollers on familiar terrain, and after a while I went to the front to air it out. This was great fun and soon enough we were descending into Port Orchard. I piddled through town, waiting for Dan to catch up, and then let some of the Young Disciples go ahead and pull on the shore road. We had the wind in our faces so I just sat on.

About five miles out from Southworth my back tire started to go soft, so I queried PPG and Steve as to whether my tire looked flat. After discussing it, and checking from various angles, they concluded that yes, I had a flat tire. I looked around for a convenient place to stop and picked a nice apple orchard. We pulled in while the Young Disciples continued on. When we pulled in we were greeted by a deep barking, warning us to leave. PPG and I started on the tire, Steve practiced yoga napping, Elizabeth started stretching, and Agent Louise dealt with the ravening guard dog. The RGD turned out to be a big yellow lab who came out to run us off but brought his ball as well in case we wanted to play. Agent Louise, having found yet another Disciple, played fetch with the ball and the RGD. This was such a great spot we were all loathe to leave. Especially as the extra mileage had added ten miles to our trip.

Eventually we hit the road and I went to the front. The performance lowering medications by now had just about worn off, and I felt pretty peppy, so I went out pretty hard. Kent and Steve joined me and we spent the last five miles giving Louise a  hard time. I should note that, unlike her GOGS Disciples, we waited for her. The Flock are nothing if not gentlemen. We coasted into the ferry dock to learn that the ferry had left moments before, and the next one was due in an hour and a half. PPG, Steve, Dan, Louise, and I pedaled back up the hill to the store and went shopping. We were later joined by Emily. While we were sucking down various recovery foods and drinks, Agent Louise, whose body is a temple, rolled out packages of beef jerky, oreo cookies, and similar junk food. We were appalled. Where were the bean sprouts, the tofu, the edamame? A temple alright- the Temple of Doom!

A few minutes later who should appear but Dan and Pam, last seen on the ferry. They appeared suspiciously fresh. We questioned them closely, certain that they had spent the day lounging on the beach. The found the same missing roads that we did, and had pie at Barbies, so they indeed did the deed. Apparently Dan had flatted on the ferry, and they followed the route, mostly, about 30 minutes behind us. After a shopping trip in the store, they reappeared. Pam was clutching a cold bottle of beer. She had all of our attention, and not because she was a cute blonde. We were entranced by the cold bottle of good beer. There was an immediate stampede into the store to buy Black Butte Porter at $1.79 a bottle. There was no opener but PPG said that many parts on bicycles could open beer bottles, which he proceeded to do on his SPD pedals. I followed suit. Emily, new to the sport, needed further instruction. This, this was heaven. Best part of the day.

Eventually the ferry appeared, we got on, we lounged about on the trip home, and we slogged up the hill to our cars. Our totals were 94 miles, 5300′ of climbing, a very nice piece of pie, spectacular views, lovely roads, and lots of very tired legs. Kudos to Agent Louise for a fine job of getting us around the course. And to top it all, we didn’t have to drink strange beverages, endure the Black Sleep, or chant Kali Ma. A Perfect Ride™.

On Sunday I led a mixed group of about a dozen on a much needed recovery ride. Next week, we’ll meet in Monroe and do Steve’s Index Loop. More on that later.

Yours in fatigue,