Previous Next May 24, 2009, 11:48 AM PDT
North Bend to Blewett Pass (Almost)
| From: | Cle Elum, Washington, US (Nearby rides) |
| To: | Liberty, Washington, US (Nearby rides) |
| Total distance: | 77 miles (7 laps) |
| Total time: | 5 hours 9 minutes |
| Average speed: | 14.85 mph |
| Total ascent: | 1881 ft |
| Total descent: | 307 ft |
| Calories: | 1840 [?] |
| Time | Distance (miles) | Altitude (ft) | Speed (mph) |
| 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
5 miles
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My GPS acted crazy today. This ride is from North Bend to about 4 miles before Blewett Pass. The distance is correct, but the start location is not. Total climb should be at least 4500 ft.
My plan was to ride from North Bend over Snoqualmie and Blewett Passes to Leavenworth.
The ride started out nice. As usual, the ride over the Snoqualmie Pass was noisy due to heavy holiday traffic on I-90. It became pleasant after I exited the highway at Cle Elum.
While decending from the Snoqualmie Pass, a Randoneer joined me. He was riding from Redmond to Wenatche. We chatted for a bit. We passed each other a few times, and then I fell behind him by about half a mile.
After taking a long break at a coffee shop in Cle Elum, I took off at about noon towards the Blewett Pass. I met the same Randoneer at about mile 62. We started chatting again, and he started to explain how to train for long rides.
Then in the span of a few seconds, I saw my front wheel slipping off the edge of the pavement in to rough sand. I flipped over and fell on my face. The randoneer was very kind. His first reaction was to check if I am okay, and then comforted me that I look alright except the road rash along my right arm, face, and right upper thigh. Then he checked my bike. The front tube blew up and came out of the tire. He spun the wheel and checked for any damage. After making sure that I am okay, he took off as he had a much longer day ahead.
In the mean time, one lady who stopped on the other side of the road gave me some wet wipes to clean all the sand off my arms and face. A family from a ranch near where I crashed saw this, and offered to cleanup and gave me some first aid.
The ranch owner, in the mean time, brought the bike inside the ranch. While I was pumping up a new tube, my bike pump broke. Luckily by then I pumped to about 60psi, and the tire was hard enough to ride again. But then I noticed that my front break got twisted badly , and I had to disengage it to make the wheel spin again.
Feeling alright and generally in a positive mood, I continued the ride. I started riding at 1pm towards the pass, and managed a good pace till about mile 70. Then I started to feel the pain on my right thigh. By the time I was about 4 miles from the pass with just about 500 ft of climb remaining, I felt nauseated.
That's when I decided to abort the ride. Luckily V. was driving a few hours behind me to pick me up from Leavenworth, and after waiting for about 30-40 min, she came by.
Looking back, suspending the ride was a wise choice. The descent from the pass is over 20 miles long, and with one break gone, and my right thigh hurting, such a descent would be very stressful.
My thanks to the Randoneer, the family from the ranch, and the lady who gave me the wipes. It was all very timely.
My plan was to ride from North Bend over Snoqualmie and Blewett Passes to Leavenworth.
The ride started out nice. As usual, the ride over the Snoqualmie Pass was noisy due to heavy holiday traffic on I-90. It became pleasant after I exited the highway at Cle Elum.
While decending from the Snoqualmie Pass, a Randoneer joined me. He was riding from Redmond to Wenatche. We chatted for a bit. We passed each other a few times, and then I fell behind him by about half a mile.
After taking a long break at a coffee shop in Cle Elum, I took off at about noon towards the Blewett Pass. I met the same Randoneer at about mile 62. We started chatting again, and he started to explain how to train for long rides.
Then in the span of a few seconds, I saw my front wheel slipping off the edge of the pavement in to rough sand. I flipped over and fell on my face. The randoneer was very kind. His first reaction was to check if I am okay, and then comforted me that I look alright except the road rash along my right arm, face, and right upper thigh. Then he checked my bike. The front tube blew up and came out of the tire. He spun the wheel and checked for any damage. After making sure that I am okay, he took off as he had a much longer day ahead.
In the mean time, one lady who stopped on the other side of the road gave me some wet wipes to clean all the sand off my arms and face. A family from a ranch near where I crashed saw this, and offered to cleanup and gave me some first aid.
The ranch owner, in the mean time, brought the bike inside the ranch. While I was pumping up a new tube, my bike pump broke. Luckily by then I pumped to about 60psi, and the tire was hard enough to ride again. But then I noticed that my front break got twisted badly , and I had to disengage it to make the wheel spin again.
Feeling alright and generally in a positive mood, I continued the ride. I started riding at 1pm towards the pass, and managed a good pace till about mile 70. Then I started to feel the pain on my right thigh. By the time I was about 4 miles from the pass with just about 500 ft of climb remaining, I felt nauseated.
That's when I decided to abort the ride. Luckily V. was driving a few hours behind me to pick me up from Leavenworth, and after waiting for about 30-40 min, she came by.
Looking back, suspending the ride was a wise choice. The descent from the pass is over 20 miles long, and with one break gone, and my right thigh hurting, such a descent would be very stressful.
My thanks to the Randoneer, the family from the ranch, and the lady who gave me the wipes. It was all very timely.
Subbu Allamaraju
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