Monday, I decided to follow Gordon’s guidelines he had carefully mapped. According to planned, it went very well. I was pleased that the scenery is AWESOME and so beautiful in addition to the route being a pleasant ride through magnificent countryside places and towns. I followed the northern route and went North, up Hwy 9 to Skagit Valley, and through concrete, then onto Hwy 20 through the Ross Lake area, and onto the top of Hwy 20’s Washington Pass. Elevation there is 5477 ft. Stunning mountain peaks and green valleys await the eyes and senses of the racers going through this leg of the race. AWESOME Views….GARANTEED!
Checkpoints on this northern route are spaced to accommodate most racers and riders from 35-60 mile increments. Some are longer, some are shorter with most being right around 53 miles. Some businesses along the way are interested in being the checkpoint sponsor and will have food and drinks available for purchase, along with parking for Crew vehicles too. I have been looking for places that can accommodate all these things. This will lend a lot of support to the race, in general. Being our first race of this kind, from our Rotary club, it is important to make it work for us, the racer, and work for all the businesses involved too. As part of our ROTARY 4 Way test…. “is it FAIR to all concerned”….I am trying hard to make it all work seamlessly. Below are some of the georgeous views from the northern race route. ENJOY!
Of course, as I write this post, you always have something happen, and you think of the sayings like “murphy- is hard at work”…. and “You can’t please ALL the people all the time”…so I’ll just have to do my best and be happy in the moment, knowing I am trying my best to make as many people happy as possible. Ok….the first 240 miles are mapped out with checkpoints, so leaving where I stopped off and next, is the Eastside of Washington, throught the central valley and Hwy 97 south and then the Southern part of the route, going over Hwy 2 towards Redmond……. and the finish line. I will do that on Thursday, June 23rd.