pavedwave longboarding

pavedwave · Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 1115 Location: seattle wa usa

Well, I've kicked the idea of this one around for quite a while. Checked out the map, read up on the cascade RSVP threads, then decided just a few days ago to do it. 5 days away now...

http://cascade.org/EandR/rsvp/pdf/RSVP_routemap_2008.pdf

The 1st hurdle was getting tickets, since they sold out the 2nd week of 2008. Quick visit to the Cascade forum, sent out five emails, grabbed the first -- done.

The 2nd hurdle was lodging. The RSVP is a little more less of a hand-hold than STP, you need to secure motels in both Bellingham and BC. I tried for hours with Bellingham motels to find a single room that was going for the gouging price of almost $200 that night. Apparently they jack up the rates just for this weekend, and it's legal! I also looked into campgrounds, which looked really bleak right from the start. So my last approach was to private message the one man who I knew might hold the keys-- birdman from the Fish. And the magic continued... Thank you dude!! I figured if I could get a place in Bellingham, BC would be a cake walk and I was right -- lucky enough to score a $35/room night at a hostel somewhat near the Finish party. So hopefully I'll have good tales to tell about that later.

The 3rd hurdle (which should actually have been the first hurdle, but I was pretty confident about this) was to get permission from cascade.org to longboard this all-bike event. Since I had waited this late to get signed up, I wanted to see if it was even feasible, and once things started falling into place quickly, I shot off the note to the organizers with a little "resume" to get their blessing. Got it!

Actually I should clarify, their blessing is worded as: "We don't have any restrictions against riding a longboard" so I know my place here. That's a pretty key point on these rides. It communicates the subtle message that you don't carve into the path of a bike, or it's game over. And if you're going to eat #### at any time, try your best to only take yourself out. I've seen pileups of bikes on the STP, usually at railroad crossings, but I think the tolerance for that kind of stupidity is much lower on this ride.

The 4th hurdle will be the hills of the RSVP!

This ride is 183 miles in two days, 103 miles the first, 80 the second, as the website states.

There are several significant differences from the STP:

This ride is reportedly far more scenic, and a lot less crowded than the STP. There's something around 1,500 bikers, instead of 9,500.

There's more of a festive and relaxed atmosphere. I'm counting on that -- in fact, I'm hoping there are some bikers who are SO relaxed that they'll go 10 mph and stop for 1 hour restaurant breaks. One thing that really kept us on the right track of the STP was the fact you really didn't need to consult the map, ever, because the sheer number of bikers served as your directional beacon. On the RSVP I'm definitely going to study the roads more, keep an eye out for the road markings, and have the map close at hand during the trip -- I'm going into this somewhat convinced that I'll be in the "straggler" category, if not dead last!

This is also a far more hilly ride. Meaning UPhill. Not nearly the flat smooth "coaster" ride of the STP. I've been looking into some blogs for as much detail on this as possible -- and come to realize that even among the bikers, there are those who call certain hill climbs easy, where others will regard the same hills as a huge personal challenge. So I'm going to assume it's tough, and get mentally prepared for the aerobics to come.

Here are some GPS profiles from Jim Carson's RSVP blog, from his 2003 ride, which rained buckets:

Day 1 - Seattle to Bellingham

Day 2 - Bellingham to Canadian Border

Day 3 - Border to BC

pavedwave · Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 1115 Location: seattle wa usa

Ride stats:
Friday 8/15
Left Seattle 6 a.m.
Arrived Bellingham 6:45 p.m.
103 miles
Total time 12:45

Saturday 8/16
Left Bellingham 6 a.m.
Arrived Vanc BC 4:45
1 hour waiting for ferry, 2 hours rest total
80 miles
Total time 10:45

183 miles total
6,200 foot vertical

Skateboarding the Seattle to Vancouver BC bike ride was all about committing, then just doing it. There's no magic of getting over the peaks and across the rough, fresh chipsealed roads, other than tenaciousness, and more fitness required than on a more flat trip like the STP. The camaraderie and support from roughly 1,300 bikers played a huge part in getting over the hills in 95-degree temps.

Both these days were the hottest, in fact record breaking, of the entire Northwest summer, and the overall vertical climb was estimated at 6,200 feet. The toughest part of the entire ride was mid-day Friday, climbing over the highest peak, on a 10-mile stretch of chipseal, with the sun baking us. I stopped to the side frequently and continued to push the entire hill, as I'd committed to pushing rather than hiking any of the hills.

The overnight in Bellingham was great! This ride plan all came together last minute and it would have been a lot more nerve-wracking without Birdman setting that part up. Ben and Brandon, thank you again for the couch crash!

The ride confirmed a couple thoughts I have on setting up for any distance trek.

First, surface is everything. The bikers all thought that the seven hills of Chuckanut Drive at the end of the first day were going to be "the Gauntlet", and wipe me out. That section was actually one of the most pleasurable of the entire trip. I would honestly rather push uphill for 10 miles on surface like Chuckanut Drive, than to free-roll down one mile of chipseal. The smooth, flat Canadian roads on the 2nd day allowed a lot more pumping and energy conservation. Overall I probably pumped 30% of the time and pushed 70%. The development of Washington's road surfaces is disconcerting - it seems that chipseal is the cheapest way to extend the life of rural roads, but considering how much roll resistance it adds even to the large wheels on a bike, I'd guess that it detracts from fuel efficiency on every single automobile that drives the many miles across it as well. If the state could ever study and quantify these effects, they might seek alternatives to this nasty surfacing job that's making a lot of once smooth roads practically unrideable for human-powered vehicles, and fuel-inefficient for the gas guzzlers. But I guess that's something to take up with the state later.

I was riding the Roe Mermaid with 76mm Pink Gumballs which made for a fairly soft yet fast ride. Next time for RSVP I might opt for 74a Avilas (softest on the market) or if going with the dropped deck like the Fathom prototype / Mark G-bomb Cambiar, possibly 85mm Vents or even 97mm Abec11's - but that's only if I give up on the topmounted strategy.

Second, a topmounted board can be efficient on uphill treks. My Roe Mermaid is 5" off the ground at the front truck. In the center of board there's flex, so when pushing, the board dips to around 4" before it springs back upward. I believe there's a lot more to varying the technique of pushing, than simply adhering to the idea that a lowered deck is always more efficient. I used a crouched stance on some of the steepest hills, like "The Wall" in Canada, keeping the knees bent and quickly sweeping across the board when changing push foot. I plan to keep training on hills and eventually compare the exertion differences between a topmount and a drop. The payoff of course is when you're finally back on flats and declines where you can pump the speed and keep both feet happily on the board.

Huge gratitude to the organizers and all the riders who chatted alongside or else provided brief encouragement along the way -- I am horrible with names, but hoping to catch up on photos soon. Thank you Mitch and Shelley, David, Janice, John, Donald, Bill, Mark, and many many others.

More to come ... nutrition, hydration, recouperation, emancipation ... but gotta get to work!

Sheldon · Joined: 26 Nov 2007 Posts: 23

Congrats on conquering yet another ride. You'll have to tell me a little more about the terrain next time we get together.

What you found about the flex of the Mermaid, is actually what Adam found about the flex on his Dervish as well. That the spring back seemed to almost help add a bit of energy into the push, and that it lowered enough that height was not an issue. I'm up to go out for some hill climbs.

I'll be in the area Saturday and Sunday, lets get out for a cruise

camel · Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 12:22 pm Post subject:

Man, great story. I wish I lived up in that area where longboarding is so popular. Down here in ATL I am a one man army trying to recruit whomever I can...

Congrats on the successful ride.

Oh, and btw, I am ready to give up that cut down Dervish if you want to trade for another deck.... Smile

Chadd

pavedwave · Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 1115 Location: seattle wa usa

I sold my highly coveted 2009 RSVP ticket this year to a very happy biker - for various reasons.

One being that my wife and daughter were going to meet me in BC this time, and spend an extra day goofing around, but stuff came up and they couldn't. That was a big incentive, and this ride requires a bit more incentive, because...

...the main reason I reconsidered is surface. The uphills were nothing, total cake, counter to my original trepidations about the ride. But RSVP puts you through a lot of miles of chipsealed hell. Not only chipseal, but gravel-covered chipseal.

I still thoroughly enjoyed the majority of the ride last year, the awesome support and reception from bikers and the organizers, and the overall adventure. However, life is full of choices + short weekends, and my pleasure principle just kicked in.

Now if Gesmer would just make some 60a Avilas...