2010 Ride 542 - Mt. Baker Hillclimb

For the past three years I've headed over to Bellingham to do the Mt. Baker Hillclimb, also called Ride 542 because the route is up state highway 542 from Glacier to Artist's Point at the road's end.  Each year the weather has been more spectacular than the one before.  Given that the ride takes place in September and its on the western side of Mt. Baker, each year I wonder when the other shoe will drop and the weather will be miserable.  This was that year.

My sister and I left the hotel in Bellingham in a steady rain and temps in the low 50s.  As we drove east on 542 towards Glacier, more and more cars with bikes joined the stream of traffic, but the weather did not improve.  It was truly a gloomy, depressing atmosphere to be tackling such a challenging ride in.  For my sister, it would be her first time doing the ride.  I was sorry that these were the conditions for her debut.  We arrived in Glacier and picked up our registration packets and materials, put some spare clothes in the gear shuttle to the top, and got ourselves ready for a soggy, cold day on the bike.  My sister was doing the summit ride which is one of the earliest waves, starting a full two hours before my start in the competitive wave, the last start of the day.

As I hung around the start area, it began to become clear that this day was not going to be as originally planned.  I began to hear snippets of conversations indicating that the course was being shortened and that the start waves were being changed.  Eventually, an official announcement of sorts was made.   Some of the starts waves were being delayed and combined.  Also, due to zero visibility at Artist's Point, the upper three miles of the course were being chopped and we would finish at the employee lodge at the Mt. Baker ski area.  This was somewhat disappointing news, but given the conditions and the expected temperatures at the top, I was pretty sure I'd get over it.

The summit ride, with my sister in it, rolled out under somewhat moderating conditions.  At least the rain had eased.  By the time my start had come around, however, the rain had returned in its previous steady, depressing state.  I "warmed up" a bit and rolled to the start.  The competitive start usually has a couple hundred riders in it with a variety of pack riding experience levels.  Given the gloomy weather, I didn't really feel like mixing it up in the pack and thus lined up near the back of the group.  As you would expect, I was gapped very early on in the ride, after only a couple miles, and spent the rest of the ride in groups no larger than three or four riders.  This was just fine with me, as it was safer and more comfortable than being in the spray and close quarters of a larger group.  It did greatly reduce my pace however.  The first 14 or so miles of the ride are kind of a rolling stairstep climb, before starting the final 10 miles (7 this year due to the shortened course) which is all uphill.  I was about 5 minutes off my usual pace reaching the base of the final climb without the benefit of a large pack to ride in.

As we climbed, the rain continued but at least the effort kept me comfortably warm.  As we neared the final few miles, I really began to feel enthused for the first time during the ride and began to lift my pace and pick off several riders.  The rain also eased and the sky even began to brighten.  By the last mile or so below the ski area, I was wondering why we were finishing there, as conditions really didn't seem that bad.  Entering into the ski area and arriving at the finish at the lodge though, my opinion changed.  Although the rain had eased, there was a strong cold wind blowing that made things quite unpleasant.  I found my spare clothes, put them on in the lodge, grabbed a little food, and headed cautiously back down towards Glacier.

With the wet weather, I had very little braking power and had to be quite cautious with my speed.  Also, even with the extra clothes, the cold and wind was quite penetrating and soon I was shivering, at times fairly violently.  All in all, the descent off the final climb was not pleasant and at times a little scary.  I was relieved to be back down on the rolling section of road back to Glacier.  Typically, the little climbs on this stretch back to the start are very annoying and uncomfortable with the fatigue of climb in my legs.  On this day however, each one was welcomed as it provided an opportunity to generate some heat in my body and keep the cold at bay.

A couple miles before Glacier, I caught up with my sister who had started her descent a little while before me.  We chatted about the ride and the conditions and rolled into Glacier together, Ride 542 in the books for another year.