Tour de Pat Planned for Washington Pass

Hi Everyone – Pat’s brother-in-law Tim Nord and I are planning our Tour de Pat for 9/4. We’re going to ride from Newhalem up Highway 20 to Rainy Pass and back. It’s around 40 miles to the top of the climb, so the round trip will be just under 80. Any of you “mountain goat” types who feel spry can tack on Washington Pass as well. It’s another 5 miles and an extra 1000 feet or so of total vertical. You should have plenty of time to get there and back to Rainy Pass before the non-climber types (cough, me, cough) get to the top of the climb up Rainy.

Pat and I did this ride together several times over the years, and it’s absolutely beautiful. Be sure to bring your camera. I’m looking forward to showing Pat the pictures and letting him know that we did the ride in his honor. I think he’ll really appreciate it, and hopefully it will help him tap into some memories of all the good times that he’s had on his bike. Maybe those memories will help speed his recovery a bit.

Now the details:

Meeting Place and Time: We’ll meet at the National Park Service North Cascades Visitor Center in Newhalem, at about milepost 120. It’s just across the river from Highway 20, and we can park at the visitors center there as long as we pop in and tell them what we’re doing. The goal would be to be riding by 9:15 or 9:30 the morning of 9/4, which means leaving Seattle by around 6:30 am. If anyone wants to caravan up with me, just shoot me an email and we can coordinate that. At this point I have a full car, but at least one other car will probably be leaving from Seattle.

A couple of important logistical notes: There are NO water or food stops on this ride, so unless someone volunteers to sag for us (unlikely, but see below!), you need to carry all the water and snacks that you’re going to need. I’m planning to use a camelback.

The weather on Highway 20 can be a little tough to predict. If it looks like it’s going to be really bad, I’ll send out an email cancelling (so make sure you give me your email address if you’re interested in riding). Hopefully we’ll have a beautiful day, and it could get pretty hot (80 or 90 is not unusual), so be prepared for that. You should also bring a jacket and stuff for the possibility of cool, misty weather.

Support? If anyone has an unbelievably kind and supportive friend or significant other who is willing to drive sag support for us, please let me know. We don’t have to have support, but it would be great to have someone carrying water and gear for any mechanical problems.

If you have any questions, or if you have any friends who are interested in joining us, please let me know. michael.rodden@comcast.net

Thanks!
Mike Rodden

Whidbey riders planning a Whidbey "Tour de Pat"

Many riders are planning on wearing their "Pedal for Pat" T-Shirts and ride in support of Pat on Saturday, September 26, 2009 during the annual Tour de Whidbey event. A link to the registration site is below for anyone interested in participating!

http://www.whidbeygen.org/whidbeygeneralhospitalfoundation/tourdewhidbey

Hi Annebet, I am wondering about getting the T-Shirt design and ordering info on this blog and also up on the Caringbridge website for Pat. Also want to firm up my order with you for our shirts.

Are you off doing your Oregon Coast Tour de Pat ride this week with Karen Lennon and Julie B.? Pat's brother, Mike, and our brotherinlaw, Tim, are riding the North Cascades Hwy for a Tour de Pat over Labor Day Weekend.

Can we have a Whidbey Tour de Pat on the Tour de Whidbey in September? It would be fun to have a post-ride potluck at someone's place too. Who could organize that?

Thansk! Kris