Greetings my fellow members and cyclists.
May had some great weather for riding. We started with Tour de Cure supporting Diabetes Research and Programs. Thanks to Tom Butler for organizing our Cycling over Sixty team. I was cycling over 80 and found the course quite challenging with steep grades.
On May 9, Charlene and I attended the Skagit Spring Classic at Bayview. There were about 450 riders with 100 of them signing up Saturday morning. The Skagit Spring Classic has been put on for 37 years. The club members are aging out just like our club, but they were still able to find about 30 club members and volunteers to put on this excellent ride with great routes and early dinner at Bayview Elementary School. You can also stay at Bayview State Park and follow their routes.
On Saturday May 16, 2nd Cycle put on the Destiny Dozen with excellent attendance for hill climbing and an easier route for viewing the action. In Lewis County the Historical Ride was attended by several members, but the encountered a rainy day.
On Saturday May 30, we attended the joint work party in South Prairie. Thanks again to Tom Butler for leading the short ride from Buckley to join Foothills Rails-to-Trails Coalition for a two hour clean-up. A Marathon was going on and there were lots of cyclists on the trail too. I went off to Claudia's Canyon Trail on my mountain bike to clear a few blackberry vines. I reached the big washout at 12:30 and turned back. There are two spur trails the lead to the Cascade Junction spur that went to Wilkeson, Carbonado and Fairfax. Unfortunately, Pierce County has never maintained their property and there have been several washouts between South Prairie and Wilkeson. The Rainier to Ruston Relay Race followed this route for many years with Foothills volunteers clearing the right of way until the big washouts made it almost impossible. You may still be able to follow the route in late August when the creek dries up.
Upstream in Wilkeson, Mayor Jayme Peloli is trying to save the town and our route going to Mowich Lake and the Carbon Glacier entrance to Mount Rainier. She dreamed up the GetMad gravel bike ride to Mowich Lake from Enumclaw and got Rick Duong President of Redmond Cycling Club to sponsor it since Ramrod has been canceled this year. The Mayor is also the President of the Wilkeson Historical Society and has created BaseCamp. She bought an option on property near Fairfax and has permission to use the gravel road for access to Fairfax as well as Summit Lake, Carbon River Glacier entrance and Mowich Lake. She has a van that can facilitate hiking trips to Summit Lake and Mount Rainier National Park. She can also haul you and your bike up to the high country and you can ride back. I joined BaseCamp for $100 to support her efforts. I hope some of our younger members will sign up for the GetMad ride on Thursday, July 23. It costs about $80 and is limited to 300 strong riders with low gears and 40mm tires.
I have been encouraged to see several club members doing Century rides. We used to ride 100 miles on Saturday and 50 miles on Sunday for fun and to train for Ramrod. It would be great to have a volunteer organizing such rides again. The Peninsula Metric Century Ride is coming on Sunday, June 7. I had the opportunity to mark the 51km route so I know you can do it. The 100 km route has a short detour near the Ferry landing and it may be marked as well. Thanks to Rick Dincola, Harry Simmons, David Wittenberg, Ray Finch and and others for helping.
I will be on the west coast of Ireland for a two week ride with the Iron Donkey and Bicycle Adventure Club. I hope you can attend our club meeting in June to elect new Officers and help with organizing more rides. In July, we have the Tour de Pierce on July 11 to ride some trails and wave at Harlan Muse and many others on the STP.