# Monday, May 31, 2010
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Sunday 30 May 2010 – Mt St Helens ride
posted by: Martin Criminale
Hours Sleeping: 7
Pulse (waking):  
Pulse (rising):  
Difference:  
Weight:  
Body Fat:  
Time of Day: 12:45 PM
Distance: 5.3 miles
Time (total):  
Time (moving): 1:13
Time (stopped): 24 min
Speed (moving): 4.3 mph
Speed (overall): 3.2 mph
Power:  
Total Ascent: 1020 feet
max elevation – 3877 feet
Weather: 50, drizzle, heavy fog
Workout Type:  

Breakfast: 7:30 AM – oatmeal, 2 mini bagels w/butter and jam, water
10:30 AM – 1.5 pieces of coffee cake
Lunch: 4:00 PM – shrimp tacos, rice, beans, slaw, ice tea
Dinner:  
Workout Food: water, Promax bar

Course: Ape Canyon trail
Results:  
Comments: Okay, before you laugh too much we had good intentions! This was supposed to be a longer mountain bike ride on an epic trail with epic views, blah, blah, blah. Oh yeah,k it was going to be super convenient too as we were already down in Vancouver.

On the drive up past Cougar to Ape Canyon it started to drizzle. Then it go really foggy. By the end of the road we saw patches of snow!

I was NOT happy and got kind of whinny… To Shelley's credit she put up with it and tried to cheer me up and on so finally we parked and as the precipitation was easing decided to go for it.

Oh man, my bike handling was in the toilet and my crotch was sore from 140 miles in a wet chamois yesterday and my legs did not feel so spry… We had to get off every 100 m or so to walk over a log or root or up a steep stretch but then about one mile in the trail became a bit more rideable and I started to cheer up.

Then we hit snow. At first it was just a few patches in sheltered/shaded sections of the trail but then we had to walk a switchback in the trail that completely buried. After riding for another stretch we encountered a couple hiking down and they said that the trail totally disappeared 15 minutes up the mountain. We figured we might as well go that far and sure enough, we topped out into a clearing and the trail ended in a massive snow field.

With the fog (which I had not really noticed while in the woods) it was like a whiteout. You could not see 50' across the snow. So we had a snack and turned around.

Man, riding down was FUN. My bike handling was coming back and the trail was not nearly as technical as I thought going up. Except for the snowy switchback, a fallen tree that was blocking the trail and a couple of ultra tight corners we rode all the way back down to the car. And had a good time. :)

I guess the take-away is you can't ride in the mountains at the end of May after a late winter. WE need to come back her and get all the way up to the Plains of Abraham. I have been there on a clear day and it is such a world class view.
Equipment: Ellsworth Witness, 22/32/44, 11-34
Clothing: knee warmers, bib shorts, Craft short sleeve undershirt, Craft long sleeve undershirt, sleeveless jersey, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, Manzella gloves, cap
Technorati Tags: ,
tandem ride
Monday, May 31, 2010 5:30:00 AM (Pacific Daylight Time, UTC-07:00)  #    Disclaimer  |  Comments [0]  |  Related posts:
Saturday 31 July 2010 – Seattle Century
Sunday 18 July 2010 – Seattle to Portland
Saturday 17 July 2010 – Seattle to Portland
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Sunday 23 May 2010 – St Helens ride
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