I came down the night before and was treated to the gracious hospitality of Ken Carter in Mukilteo where the ride was to begin. Kent Peterson also came to stay the night and we all got to listen to his brutal cough which was the lingering effect of a week-long cold. He wasn't feeeling particularly good, but was going to tough it out anyway. We dined on spaghetti at Kosta's and ran into Greg Cox and Bill Dussler who were also staying with friends in town. We got to bed around 9:30 p.m. after taking about fenders and food and Ken finished the map for the route.

We were up and ready by 5:00 a.m. or so and I enjoyed the left over pasta from the night before. Ken fixed us up with some liquid green tea and hot water and we were good to go. We all headed out the door by 5:30 a.m. with Kent and I tooling down the couple mile downhill to the start at the ferry terminal. I had already signed in, so I bought my ferry ticket and milled around while the whole group of 84 riders got their paperwork in order. Everyone boarded and we were off to Clinton on Whidbey Island.

A few final words from Ken and the whole group launched itself at the hill up Hwy 525 from the ferry. The fast ones bolted immediately while those of us in relaxed mode took their time. I had hooked up with my friend Cory Thompson who had asked if I would ride with him, mainly so he wouldn't overshoot his enthusiasm and burn out too early. I gladly accepted the request, having known him since he was 10 or 11 years old when we used to spend most of our time mountain biking the trails of the Capitol Forest in weather far more miserable then anything we would encounter on the road. At 25 he has become a talented bike geek and rider and was on one of his own frames he built at Bill Stevenson's shop. (Someday maybe he'll make me one!)

As I am a fairly predictable rider, my plan was to just keep a moderate pace and not worry about the time. I was enjoying the day and feeling pretty good despite my usual lack of time in the saddle (though more than last year). The ride up the island was nice and rolling and then we hit the flats of the Skagit Valley where the wind gave us a push here and then, but generally tried to side swipe us where it could. I tried to spend as much time as possible pulling so that Cory could have the most enjoyable day as he was about to ride his longest distance to date. I didn't want it to be too much of an ordeal because this is supposed to be fun!

We eventually pass Kent who is a veritable phlegm machine and I see him fad into the distance. I've never seen him so knackered but I figure he'll be fine. There's something about riding in the open air that does help, even when you're feeling less than stellar. Most of the day is spent working our way toward Bellingham and we hop onto Chuckanut Drive for a pleasant rol to Lake Samish Road. I'm wishing I had more food and Cory procures a delicious home-made peanut butter rice krispie bar with chocolate melted on top. Oh is it good! I road this portion of the route in both December and January, so I have a good idea where we are going and the navigation is easy enough. The Texaco control provides me the nurishment of a turkey hoagie and chips and I top off my bottles. We head next to Mount Vernon which requires some zig-zagging around town before heading out to Lake Cavanugh, our next destination.

The road to Lake Cavanugh is not nearly as bad as I thought and actually is in better shape than many of the roads I ride near Port Townsend, so the only real struggle is the relentless rain and decreasing temperatures. This time I only brought the basic clothing and no extras, but only at the control do I don my rain jacket. That's it but fortunately I have my balaclava and that makes the difference. For it's small size it really has become one of my favorite pieces of clothing. I wring out my gloves and eat a cup of potatoes that Ken has in the makeshift tent they built. It is a nice reprieve, but I am anxious to get moving. It's 5:00 p.m. and with night falling in the next few hours, I want to be underway soon. Cory is ready to go and we head down, passing other folks still coming up. Cory is feeling pretty good and now comes the time when rain, low visability, fatique, traffic and navigation come into play. This is where randonneuring really claims it's place.

Highway 9 is smooth and comfortable and we rapidly approach Granite Falls. Here we decide to take a longer break and I consume a big hot chocolate and a fish sandwiche and fries. Ahh. Very good. Kent is there and we eventually all pull out more or less together as Cory and I have been riding off and on with Jan Acuff and David Huelsbeck for the evening. Kent joins up and we all ride the last 40 km into Mukilteo. Some screaming downhills bring light to the fact that my brake pads are shot and Kent gives me the raz about getting new Mathausers...which I owned but hadn't put them on. He correctly states that I should not be saving them, they should be saving me....words of wisdom. (They are on now!) At one point Cory stops dead and yells out that he must eat a Snickers bar NOW. All I can think is how much I'd like to get finished, but I figure if that's what he needs right now to make it, so be it. I shiver whenever we stop in my drenched clothes, so I hope he eats fast.

Kent and I navigate the crew through the narrow rain soaked bridges and into the utterly pleasant residential streets of Mukilteo. I opted to take pulls thinking how unsportsman-like it would be to make a sick my pull, but Kent appears to have gotten stronger and so I don't feel too bad. He even motors up the last few hills ahead of us all, so he must be healing.

We pull into the Diamond Knot Brewery and Robin Pieper buys me a beer he says he owed me from the fall SIR meeting and I can't complain about service like that. It goes down quickly and though I'd love to stay and party the night away, I need to ride uphill for two more miles and get to the truck for the long drive bcak to PT. I change in Ken's apartment parking lot and enjoy the warmth of dry cloths, then attempt to make the ferry. I miss the midnight one and have to wait till the 1:00 a.m. boat. I finally make it home at 2:30 a.m. and get to sleep by 3. It was a long day, but rewarding in many ways. I am proud of Cory for going the distance and really not having much problem doing so!

305 km in 15:44 hours (overall average speed 11.8 mph/19 kph)
SIR 300k Description/Route Sheet

Lessons learned: Keeping a good strong pace consistently is better for time savings, even in less than ideal conditions. Sometimes taking the time to mentor a new rider gives additional meaning to the spirit of randonneuring. Waterproof overmitts would be helpful and so would one more layer of wool!

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