Four springs back, in May 2018, one of my friends suggested I join him on the Ride The Hurricane bike ride. The Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center is located in the beautiful Olympic Mountains in the Northwest USA. At about a mile above the sea level, it was a 12 miles long climb at 5-8% gradient to reach the visitor center. I wasn’t sure if I could make it. Still, I decided to try and started preparing for the biking trip in May 2018.
We arrived at Port Angeles to camp out on Aug 4th night in preparation for the Aug 5th climb up the Ridge. We started the day early at 6AM with a good breakfast. Just then I realized I had forgotten to pack my helmet. Thanks to the Walmart store nearby, I got a fresh new helmet for the trip.
Our climb started at an altitude of 150 feet above sea level in the city of Port Angeles. We chose to do an extra 6 miles to reach the official start point. The first six miles was a moderate climb of about 1000 feet. This served as a great warm up exercise before we started the big climb up the ridge.
The climb up the mountain, after the first 5 miles, was steady and steep. The 5-8% gradient means there is a 1-feet to 1.5 feet climb for every 20 feet of linear distance. Or as the roofers will call it, this is a 1-in-20 to 1-in-12 rise.
There were many rest spots with refreshments along the way. Every three miles, volunteers provided water and electrolytes. At these rest stops, we also had bananas and some fruit bars. There were about 1000-2000 bikers traveling in a steady stream. Several bikers passed us, which was okay. There were some bikers riding in tandem bikes. At least a handful of bikers had young children in a trailer behind them. Unlike the highly popular Seattle to Portland ride, which had 10,000 riders, this was not a crowded bike ride.
After about 4.5 hours, we reached the visitor center. The ride was great; the views from the visitor center were even more fabulous. Despite the arduous ride, we had energy left to tour around and enjoy the sights. We had a warm lunch, thanks to the volunteers who cooked and brought some food there. We even had signs for us to take pictures with!
The ride down the hill was fast. I needed to keep constant control with the brakes and not let the vista take me into the wrong turn. It was a smooth ride. Around noon, roads were opened up for the cars to come up. Given that I was in the slow party, I saw some cars coming up. So I had to be careful to ride on my side of the road. Nonetheless the ride was smooth and enjoyable.
I had measured my ride. It shows a steady ascent up the hill. It shows that I climbed up the hill in 4.5 hours. The descent was just 48 minutes at a speed of 23 miles per hour (OR 35 km per hour)!
In looking back at this ride, I am thankful for the opportunity. It is gratifying to have completed this ride. It built confidence. I anticipate trying this ride again in the future, perhaps with additional friends and family.
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