Canada Day is almost here and some of us had mentioned that we would do Hurricane Ridge. Who's up for a hill climb now that Windsor Park is cancelled?. I drove up a few weeks ago and it's not steep, just long (ish).
Early Coho 6:10 and back on the 5:15?

I'm pretty sure Katie and I are doing it. I think we should do it on the tandem, Katie disagrees.

And since everybody loves graphs:


You can see that most of the climb is less than 8%, with only a couple spikes above 10%. It's long, but it's not that hard.

It's going to be a lot of fun, so you should come no matter what you think of hills. It's not a race and we'll wait at the top.

It's a pretty cool ride. I did it on Canada day a few years back and it took about 2.5 hours to get up and 45 minutes to get down. It'll take longer if you're riding a unicycle or a tandem. Glad to see Windsor Park is canceled so Pete is left without a weasley excuse to get out of it.... Be sure to bring something warmish to put on at the top as it's cool and there's still a lot of snow up there. Plus since this is the U S A you'll need a passport

AARGHHHH!

This is a great day of cycling and there is almost always a good group heading over. Remember to have or get your passport or Enhanced DL in advance for the border guards. If you are planning to do this ride for the first time, bring a rear flasher, as there are two tunnels to pass through on the way up. I know the word 'epic' is destined for the forbidden words list of 2009 but this ride definitely qualifies. The 6:10 am ferry is the one to aim for. I hope to be there July 1st. See http://cohoferry.com/main/ for details.
R

If we are indeed talking about going on the Wednesday July 1 (as opposed to the week end), I am in! Let's talk Friday!

Count me in too, guys! Have done the Ridge 3 or 4 times. For the downhill, for sure. But mostly for French Toast at the Haven Cafe - best I've ever had! But I guess liver and onions would taste good after an hour and a half of climbing..
'Case you didn't catch it one topic down, the gear is here!

I think I am in for Canada Day as well - I am chanting in my head as prep for the climb "I am a Whippet, I am a Whippet"

I should be off the bike for a solid two weeks at that point - so I should be really well rested!

See you Canada Day - I will be the guy sobbing quietly in the Coho lineup in the morning.

Michael

Hmm. I sense "Whip it, whip it good" will actually describe the day better.

Was hoping to ask about this at Tuesday ride but won't be able to make it..
Does anyone know how what time we have to be at the Coho?

see you there.

For those who didn't get a big enough helping of "pain pie" on the weekend, this info is for you!! The Coho leaves at 6:10 am. I called today and they recommended getting there 30-45 min prior, to get tickets and go through customs. The fare is $18.75 one way (with bikes). The return ferries are at 12:45 (for those who can't do the "extra loop") 5:15pm, and 9:30 pm for those really hurting. There is also a $5 park entrance fee. See you all there!

Well, that was fun. In a painful sort of way.

Bouquets to all who rode, for the company, and especially Chris M who towed me almost all the way to the top, where he dropped me like the 10 pounds off his new bike.

Brickbats to whoever sold that absurdly light bike to Chris M and has unleashed a monster. Rumour has it he had to fill his pockets with rocks to get back down the mountain.

Roland we need the graphs and times! Nice to see you blow by.

On a more serious note for others considering it; it's a different kind of climbing than anything we do. Very steady, sub or at threshold, kinda teasing you to go too hard and blow yourself up (see 500 m to go above) but rewarding patience amnd efficiency.

On gears, for me 39 x 23 was too big for the first quarter, but ok after that. 39 x 25 would have been better.

Agree with Lister--what a great day, and the extended version to Sequim was also fun in an obscure sort of way. After a beer/burger in Port Angeles, the head back tongue out power snooze virus hit a couple of us on the way back across the straight. Pictures pending.

It took me 1:55 ferry to top. 47 minutes from the ferry to where we paid. And then another 68 minutes to the top. I didn't take part in the "race", they were taking forever to get going, so I left a few minutes behind the Tripleshot group with Dave Shishkoff. When Max Plaxton passed me, I jumped on his wheel for about 15 seconds, I quickly realized that was a terrible idea and dropped off.

I was pretty happy with my time, over 15 minutes faster than when I did it two years ago.

Elevation & Grade: (Ignore the big spike) Average 5%


Heart rate: I didn't put on the monitor until the first stop


Speed: I kept it fairly constant, averaged 16.8 km/h


My battery died so I don't have data for the 80 km loop that followed. Some wise guy decided to finish up the ride with a 50+ km/h sprint along the highway. Today, my legs are done, but I have a mountain bike race tonight.

wow I had a dig down Cook St. yesterday. The elevation change was maybe even as much as -5m. And you guys are impressed with what YOU did??? Wow!