Cascade 1200

My most recent bike tour was the Cascade 1200 held June 28th through July 1st. My trip report reads pretty much like the one that I wrote for the ride in 2006...just as hot and just as difficult but the organizers changed the route somewhat and although the previous ride up the Yakima River valley was great, the ride up the route to Chinook Pass was great in that it went up hill gradually from Natches to the turnaround control so that the return trip was all down hill. Also, the use of the Natches High School as the first overnight saved the long gratuitous climb up to the top of the ridge. I'll be editing this as I figure out how to do a cut and paste. Anyway, the SIR is a GREAT club and they put on a showpiece 1200K. Thanks everyone from Mark, to Mark, to Don, to Mark to Bill, to ... .

While the conditions were quite warm for the ride, by Wednesday, it became overcast and temperatures returned to normal for Seattle and upon my return to the airport Wednesday evening to pick up my bike boxes at the airport hotel and pack for my return trip home thunderstorms returned and on Thursday it was in the 60's and raining. After recovering over the long holiday weekend I returned to my fixie and my daily 52 mile commute into work. I felt great on Monday, was a little tired on Tuesday and by Wednesday my legs were so beat that I was sitting heavy on the saddle and found that I was experiencing some discomfort, so on Thursday and Friday I "cheated" and rode the folding fixie (a Montague Bi-Fold converted to 700c with a 42-45 X 17-21 "geezer gearing" - more on this later) the 9 miles to the local train station where I fold the bike, get on the train for an hour commute and get off and unfold the fixie to ride the remaing 6 miles into work. After 2 days of this rest my knees and legs feel great again - I think I'll go for a ride over the weekend. There is a 600K that starts at 10:00PM on Friday but I think I'll pass. I need to get some things done on my RV (Randonnerding Vehicle) to prepare for my next 1200K in a couple of weeks - more on this later.)