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The climb starts immediately, but the first five miles are a gentle \u201cI can do this all day\u201d shaded uphill. We turned off of the Tacoma Pass route and the ascent got serious, my Garmin told me the news: 7 miles and 3300 feet of elevation. The grade never goes into single digits, but for the first mile or so the road surface was descent gravel and we each found our pace. Thankfully I had installed a 46-tooth rear cog. Dan is a superior climber, one of the best around, but he was feeling the pressure of a much smaller cog set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The road surface quickly degraded until we were riding on top of what seemed like half-buried footballs. Thank goodness for my bailout gear as spinning was the only way to keep upright. Dan really had to mash on the pedals to simply to preserve some sort of forward motion. Out of the saddle was out of the question, and my back really started to feel the pounding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Finally, after long last, my Garmin noted that I had reached the top, but I hadn\u2019t reached the top of anything, not even the false summit. And oh yes there is a false summit. Once we reached the top we were rewarded with views of Mount Rainier to the south and the Stewart Range to the North. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever seen a view that stretches from Chair Peak to the west to Little Anapurna to the East. The view almost made the climb seem worth it, almost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think going down is going to be worse that going up,\u201d I said to Erik and Dan when I finally caught up with them at the top. \u201cWe might have to walk some of that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The descent down the other side is a standard issue gravel road, albeit with a lot of washboard. Descending towards Greenwater was like going into a shooting range. No correct that, it was going into a shooting range. We passed four groups of people doing target practice, all using large caliber guns. I grew up in the Midwest and this stuff doesn\u2019t bother me, but I can see how it could be disconcerting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We hit pavement, rode up a steep mile and then descended nine miles into the small town of Greenwater. We had to ride two miles on Highway 410 amid a constant stream of cars and trucks, many of which were hauling large trailers. After a morning of quiet personal introspection (why am I doing this) the hustle and bustle of Greenwater was rather startling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Greenwater is the last town before the Southeast entrance to Mt Rainier National Park, and I\u2019m sure most of the traffic consisted of park goers. The parking lot of the Naches Tavern was filled with thirty to forty large bore motorcycles and the rumble of comings and goings was constant. Erik dipped into Wapti Outfitters for ice cream while Dan and I bought Coke, water and candy bars at the nearby convenience store. When we returned to the well-maintained grassy area in front of Wapiti Outfitters Erik exited the store carrying a pizza box. I can now say that it was those two slices of peperoni that got me back up over the pass and down to the car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The return trip up to the pass was much more difficult than anticipated. What appeared on the descent to be reasonable grades turned out to be at least 14%, and at times 18%. Once again thank goodness for that 46. We didn\u2019t get much in the way of shade on the climb and the sun, though much appreciated, was a bit hot. Thankfully, I\u2019d filled up my third water bottle in Greenwater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We had no celebration on the top as all three of us knew what lie ahead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
None of us went over the handlebars and we never had to walk, but we did have to stop several times simply to rest our hands and stretch our backs. My brakes were on 90% for the entire trip down, at no point were we coasting. I\u2019m going to have to replace those pads this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We finally made it to the bottom of the rough stuff from where we were treated to five miles of hero gravel down to the car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was one of those rides that\u2019s good to have done. We now know that the route goes through, and is ridable on a non-suspension gravel bike, but I don\u2019t plan to go back any time soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n