2013 Ride Planning

2013 Cycling Ride Planning - a draft look at what just might happen next year

Cycling offers so many really fun rides to do.....but they are often only fun if you are physically and emotionally ready for them!  Great rides often involve epic challenges and climbs and, to do those well, they require foresight and planning.   Accordingly, I have been contemplating the 2013 year and have had to make several hard decisions already.  First, the Northern California leg of the Pacific Coast Route (Crescent City, CA to San Francisco) just won't fit this year with my bride's schedule (she is the SAG after all!) and other high priority riding commitments - so that moves to 2014.  Also it is too quick to set up a good Jasper, Alberta to Waterton, BC tour ride and so that is contemplated as a 2014 ride although my bride and I plan to scout it this 2013 summer.   Since our son is planning on a one day STP (Seattle to Portland) this summer, I will incorporate that ride into my planning as well for the first time since 2007!  And although we were able to do Mt St Helens in October of 2012, it is an even more fabulous ride in late June or early July when the snow melts and the spring flowers are in bloom (at elevation).   And, we did not get to ride up to Paradise and really sample Mt Rainier in 2012 - an oversight not to be missed in 2013.   So I have drafted out a general cycling plan by month (more details to come as the calendar moves forward) to get the lay of the land relative to cycling opportunities and commitments.   Here is what the 2013 schedule wants to look like in late November 2012 (this assumes I continue the indoor training at Cycle U through the middle of March):






Acronyms:
RATROD - Ride Around Tatoosh Range in One Day - a Packwood-Skate Creek Rd- Ashford-Paradise-Grove of the Patriarchs-Packwood loop with an optional run up to Cayuse Pass.
BOMROD - Best of Mt Rainier in One Day - several routes which include Sunrise, Paradise access from the East, and Chinook Pass.
WACANID* - this would be the 2012 route for the WACANID from which I had to cancel - would be a fun 5-6 ride with some folks done as a self-supported hotel-to-hotel ride around the Selkirk Loop in Idaho, Washington, and Canada.
STP - Seattle-to-Portland ride (STP) - this would be a planned one day ride for the double century (200 miles)

The "Hill Climbing" notation is a series of rides planned for the East Side (from Seattle) from mid January through late March with a progression of rides with increasing elevation and distance - the intent is to run multiple paced groups on the same route (which will vary from week to week) to provide a winter preparation training avenue.  Distances will likely be from 30 miles to 50 miles and elevation gains from 2500 to 4500 feet or so.


The "Getting Ready" rides (January through March) are a concept to provide a pre-season riding opportunity for adults who ride at lower paces but who want to be able to enter the riding season (April) and do the Cascade Training Series (CTS) for the STP or do Daily Rides with more confidence in their capabilities.  The broad concept would be start with short (15 mile?) flat rides and grow progressively in difficulty and/or pace to 25-30 mile rides with some hills. 


To this, we will need to factor in the 2013 Master Gardener commitments, the Yellowstone Gang Fly Fishing Travels (circa Sep 24 - Oct 5 or so), a vacation jaunt with my bride to Alberta, my bride's travel to the home country, and things that just come up in life!  But in any event, the 2013 cycling calendar looks to be filling up quickly!!  Woo Hoo!! Let the fun begin!