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Last weekend as part of our Whistler Gran Fondo training we planned to ride from Enumclaw to Sunrise, “the highest point that can be reached by vehicle at Mount Rainier National Park.” Except once we got to the park gate on the road up to Sunrise we found the road in the process of getting re-sealed so we turned around and hit up Chinook Pass instead. At 91 miles and ~6000 feet of climbing it was still a leg busting ride :).

The ride starts off pretty mellow out of Enumclaw up highway 410. We had our first rest stop at Greenwater where there’s a gas station and water. Only hitch was that Donald hit a rock and things got bloody.

Unfortunately Donald had to turn around, while we continued up to Silver Springs campground (just before the Crystal Mountain road turn off) where we filled up with water again. A few miles after leaving the campground is when the pain started and continued all the way to the top. The last three miles before Chinook Pass were TOUGH. But we were all smiles at the top. Up there it was pretty chilly. Fortunately McGarty had the foresight to encourage us all to pick up maps to stuff down our jerseys to stay warm on the way down.

After the ride we raced back to Seattle because Chels and I were racing in the moonlight race on Lake Washington:

See the rest of our photos.

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As part of our Whistler Gran Fondo training this Saturday we drove two hours to Newhalem up Highway 20 to tackle Rainy Pass and Washington Pass. We road about 86 miles and supposedly almost 10,000 feet of vertical gain!? (I really want a Garmin Edge 500 to track my rides.) Overall, it was a great ride. Lots of scenery, 3-4 foot pretty clean shoulder almost the whole way, steady climbs with some downhill sections to give you relief on the way up (or discourage you…). FWIW, I thought this ride was easier than Chinook Pass and less scenic. Though Rob disagrees with both those statements.

The morning started at Rob’s with pancakes:

Though we couldn’t leave until we got Rob’s rack on my Cruiser which entailed some early morning metal sawing, “good morning neighbors”:

We started at the Newhalem campground and then headed North on Highway 20.

Note that there are no services on Highway 20 except water at Colonial Creek campground 11 miles past Newhalem so bring lots of food and water! Three of us had three water bottles (one in our jersey pockets), but Donald was wise and had just bought a seat post water bottle holder that we were all jealous of.

We had originally planned on going to Mazama and back but with our late start and pace we would have been riding back in the dark :). So after first crossing Rainy Pass at 4855 feet and then reaching Washington Pass at 5477 feet we turned back.

But not before trying to refill our water bottles at the info center at Washington Pass which oddly was closed!?

The way back down started slow:

But quickly cranked up to 40+ mph. But the “severe side winds” put a real damper on things.

Note, there are two tunnels. Both fine up hill, but on the way down the second tunnel is some freaky shit at 40 mph. While pretty short you can’t see a thing so cross your fingers there is nothing on the road!

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These are my links for August 22nd from 19:34 to 22:13:

• Factory Efficiency Comes to the Hospital – NYTimes.com –
• ESSENTIAL Square Wall Dimmer – Fabric light switch.
• Calm before the storm – The Globe and Mail –
• How to Give Great Speeches – Forbes.com –

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These are my links for August 11th through August 22nd:

• Form Plus Function – Contemporary Lighting For Your Home and Office. Modern and Contemporary Home Lighting
• 500 Internal Server Error – 500 Internal Server Error
• 500 Internal Server Error – 500 Internal Server Error

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These are my links for August 3rd from 11:30 to 11:43:

• Face It: NYC Is Not The Best Place For A Startup –
• New York will always be a tech backwater, I don’t care what Chris Dixon or Ron Conway or Paul Graham say | AdGrok –
• Customers > Employees > Society > Investors –

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These are my links for August 2nd from 09:24 to 09:26:

• Seattle Boat Share: rent, charter, and fractionally own boats –
• Immigration Is U.S. – Forbes.com –
• How Much Sleep Do We Really Need? | National Sleep Foundation – Information on Sleep Health and Safety –
• Why An MBA Could Kill Your Chance To Become A Great Tech Entrepreneur –
• The Science of Sport: Power outputs from the Tour de France –
• The Top Idea in Your Mind –

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These are my links for July 15th through July 26th:

• Designing A Facebook Fan Page: Showcases, Tutorials, Resources – Smashing Magazine –
• Connect SF 2010 Presentation Downloads | Inman News –
• Zappos.com Redesign: Happy Cog –

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These are my links for May 26th through June 7th:

• 15 Examples of Fabulous Lego Inspiration | PR Mama –
• The Future Of Netflix’s Business Laid Bare — By Netflix –
• Cottage inheritance: What could go wrong? – The Globe and Mail –

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These are my links for May 17th through May 25th:

• Chart Of The Day from Business Insider –
• The Small Print: Writing UI Instructions | UX Magazine –
• Surprise: Traditional Blogging Platforms Still Reign Supreme –

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These are my links for May 2nd through May 17th:

• The newbie’s guide to the girlfriend’s family cottage – The Globe and Mail –
• Passing along the keys to the family cottage – The Globe and Mail –
• Why Do Harvard Kids Head to Wall Street? « The Baseline Scenario –
• Dropbox Startup Lessons Learned –

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