One S.O.B. of a ride

I rode the Summits of Bothell bike ride this morning, benefiting the Bothell Arts Council. Their tag line is “one S.O.B of a ride” and they do not exaggerate. You climb 8 summits in 38 miles for a total of around 3,300 feet of climbing. They advertise that there are two 14% grades, three 16% grades, and one 18% grade climb in the bunch. There were two hills in particular that made me want to lose my breakfast muffin. I am happy to say I didn’t stop on any hill or get off to walk (but I came pretty close).

There wasn’t a cue sheet, just a map, but ride was well marked with little S.O.B. symbols. I still managed to miss a turn. I didn’t get too far, but of course added a small hill to the route. It unfortunately rained for a little more than an hour, but it wasn’t all that cold. There were three water/snack stops staffed by some friendly volunteers. I am always thankful for the people who come out and support these rides. Plus there were homemade chocolate chip cookies!

There were definitely fewer riders than some of the other rides I have done (STP, RSVP). I’m guessing there were around 100 riders. The interesting thing was that the majority of the riders were around my age or older. This is a pretty demanding ride, and I kind of expected to see some young punks flying past me. I did pretty well, but I think I was passed by more people than I passed.

This was a bit of a test ride for me. I have another event in a month or so that is 114 miles with about 7500’ of climbing. The kicker is there is a time limit, so I need to keep the pace up and the pit stops short. I will need to average about 12 miles an hour with stops to make it by the cutoff. Today I averaged just over 12 with stops, so I will be cutting it close.