The Longest Climb (so far)

Today we rode 96 miles and Dan averaged 12.7 mph, Zack did much better than this today. Started riding at 7:30am and the last rider (Dan) arrived at the church at 7pm, due to minor bike repairs. I don' know exactly how many feet we climbed but I do know that we road to the top of Rainy Pass, elevation 4855 feet above sea level Five miles later we reached the summit of Washington Pass, elevation 5,477 feet above sea level. The climb to Rainy Pass was not real steep most of the time, but

it was 31 miles long!

After Washington Pass we enjoyed a 7 mile downhill! Zack hit 50 mph in that stretch.

Dan Johnson, thank you for urging us to look for a triple chainring for Zack's bike. That decision made a big difference for him today. Rode very well and finished strong.

The team is getting more and more comfortable with each other and gelling as we ride. Very cool to see.

I (Dan) met George on the climb to Washington Pass today. He was pulling a small trailer and taking his time getting to the top. He had ridden coast to coast 3 times on 3 different routes! I figure if he can do it 3 times, I can do it once.

I enjoyed about 10 miles of alone time on the climb to Rainy Pass today. The stunning beauty of the Cascade Mountains made it easy to be drawn into worship...and I was.

We will try to get some photos from mountains on the posting tomorrow.

Goodnight.