Gran Fondo Leavenworth, WA

[mfarnham]

I found this on a list of the "toughest Gravel Grinders in the west".

http://rideviciouscycle.com/events/gran ... avenworth/

May 22. It's 140km with 73km on gravel. 2900m of climbing. Looks pretty cool.

We seem to be short of gravel grinders on the island, so I was thinking it might be worth making the trek. It would take around 5 hours from Port Angeles to get to Leavenworth, or about 4 hours from Tsawwassen (plus border crossing time).

Registration opens Feb 1. Interested folks might need to act quickly, as it apparently sells out quickly. Anyone interested?

Martin

[BPhelps]

Hi Martin,

What would your trip plan look like?

I suspect you'd have come back on the Monday?

Looks wonderfully painful!

Blair

[mfarnham]

Hi Blair,

I haven't thought about it too much. It would be cutting it close to make it back Sunday. I haven't looked at finishing times to get a sense of how long the race takes. Averaging 20km/h (all that climbing and dirt!) with a quick departure at the end--you could probably just make the last ferry. If we went over Saturday, we could check out Leavenworth (supposed to be a cute town) Saturday evening, ride Sunday, and then head back. I'd stay in a motel if I went on my own. If others wanted to camp, I'd be up for that too.

Let me know if you're interested. I think if at least one other person was going, that would probably get me to sign up.

Martin

[BPhelps]

I forgot that the Monday is a holiday, so I am less inclined to rush back on the Sunday night, if I convince myself to do it.

Having looked at the times, it appears the average is around the 7:30-8:00 hour mark, which would mean finishing around 4pm.

There are a few youtube clips of the ride, and it looks pretty epic. Last year it appears that it got to about 35 degrees C, which would make it all the more memorable.

[BPhelps]

Did you register?

I just signed up. Was the last spot?!

What have I done?!

[mfarnham]

Uh oh!

I just signed up for the waitlist. Presumably I'm near first on the waitlist and stand a reasonable chance of getting in. I suppose it could be worth dropping them an email saying, "Hey, two of us were trying to sign up together, but by doing it in sequence one of us got in and one got waitlisted. Can you bump the cap up by one?" The worst they can do is say no.

Looks like we're (probably?) going to Leavenworth!

Martin

[mfarnham]

Problem solved. I'm in. Should be fun!

Martin