Monday, June 23, 2008 - Day 1

Start: University of Washington
End: Easton, Washington
Daily Miles: 95.69 - Total Miles 95.69
Time: 7 hours 1 minute (avg. 13.6 MPH)

Woke up real early this morning at about 4am. Hard to sleep thinking about the day ahead. Excitement, but apprehension. It is going to be great

.
Well, that was my thought prior to going over Snoqualmie Pass. OH MY!
We had a 23 mile ride on a flat commuter path. I think that was to fool us into thinking this was going to be easy. It worked. We had a water and snack stop at mile 23. Then the "fun" began. We had a climb that stretched 52 miles! The climb stopped at Snoqualmie Pass in the Cascade Mountains. Then we had a fairly flat 20 mile ride to Easton, Washington where our camp is located.
All in all, it was a great first day. When I was a kid and my mother told me to go play on the freeway, I bet she never imagined I would actually do it. We rode a number of miles on Interstate 90 and it was loud and busy, but we survived.
I was going to try to ride in a velodrome that was along the way, but I watched one of the riders give it a try and almost fell when the steep turn came. I didn't want to chance it, so we continued on.
The highlight of the day was the Cascade Mountains. They were so beautiful. I almost forgot that I had to ride through them. We came to a location called Snoqualmie Falls. It was a spectacular waterfall. Very cool to see. After that it was more climbing.

I am glad Day 1 is over.