Double Century and Quadruple Bypass

The last two weekends have been filled with back to back exciting long rides.  First up was the "double century" weekend.  Some of the Hagens Berman Elite Team members came up from Seattle to Bham for a mini training camp (can you blame them for wanting to ride on some nice roads?).  Saturday we hammered out 85 miles on Mosquito Lake Rd, Chuckanut, and some other classics.  Sunday was the real event, however.  110 miles of relentless tempo and attacks were enough to give us an average speed of 20.4mph.  Definitely one of the hardest road rides I've ever done.



After all the road miles, I was anxious to get out on my mountain bike.  This last Saturday, Lars Sternberg from Transition Bikes invited me to ride a so-called "quadruple bypass" route (the "triple bypass" is a notoriously challenging mtb ride in the Chuckanuts outside of Bellingham).  The plan was to ride up and over Galbraith, Lookout, Blanchard, and Chuckanut mountains consecutively...

Galbraith Summit.  Bellingham below us.

Descending Lookout.  Lake Samish and Blanchard Mtn in the distance.

Brad making a sketchy line look easy while riding a hardtail, no less.  (No way in hell was I riding this!) 

Top of Alternate Incline on Blanchard.  This trail might be my future "xc project" to ride clean. 

Looking out at Chuckanut Mtn and the San Juan Islands from Blanchard Mtn. 

 More San Juan Islands from Blanchard.  Oyster Dome is the knob in the lower left.

Galbraith (left) and Lookout (right) in the distance.  We were there hours earlier! 

 Chuckanut Mtn, our fourth and final peak, in the distance.

Fireball on Raptor Ride (Last high-point of our ride).

 We survived!  That was one unforgettable Bellingham ride.