Yesterdays Adventure was RAMROD - Ride Around Mount Rainier in One Day. The ride is put on by Redmond Cycling Club of which I am a member. It starts and finishes in Enumclaw Washington. Many riders who participate in this ride are racer types and treat it like it is a stage of the Tour de France. They fly though the course so quickly I wonder how much of the incredible scenery they are able to take in while sucking up packets of gu. From Enumclaw you head to Eatonville, on to Elbe where you find a very cute town with a train ride you can do on another trip, between Elbe and Ashford a sculptur Dan Klennert lives with giant T-Rex made out of car parts in his front yard. Also many chain saw carved bears are in the woods in that area. Ashford is the home of one of my favorite inns - Alexanders Country Inn. Alexander's has a trout pond and for dinner fresh caught trout and some of the finest blackberry cobler is on the menu. Also Ashford is home to many of the places that you would stay if you were planning to climb Mt. Rainier including Whitakers Bunkhouse. Just past Ashford you enter the park. Longmire in the Park is home of the Longmire National Park Inn which also looks like a cool place to stay. The climb to Paradise is amazing (actually I like climbing it better from the other direction). The National Park Inn at Paradise is closed for renovation right now so the ride didn't go there this year. A descent down to Box Canyon brought us to the famed Chocolate Croissants then a climb up Back Bone Ridge. Cahuyse Pass Sucks not much to say about that the climb comes during the heat of the day and the pass never seems to end - luckily after descending the club hosts a sandwich & Soda stop to fuel you up to fight the headwinds. I spotted my friend Denise on the Climb up Cahuyse and we met up with her husband Steve and finished the ride together with big Steve pulling us through the headwinds.
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