Day 1

We headed down to the beach at about 6am for the Grand Depart. Well over a hundred riders were there. For the elite competitors, if they did a polar plunge in the ocean, they would get 1 hour knocked of their time- for me to do that, I’d want a one day bonus! About 10 people headed into the surf to cheers from the rest of us. Then we had a group shot, dipped our tires into the water, then headed back up to the parking lot.

We had a “neutral start” where everyone rode at a slow pace through the campground behind the race director who was holding a big smiley face XWA flag. When we got to the main road, the race was on. Jeff had an immediate issue with a pannier clip, so we sorted that out and because of our pace, quickly ended up at the back of the pack. Steady and gentle uphill for the first 20 miles or so on pavement provided some opportunities to talk to a few folks- Brian, who toured 5 days to get to the start already and is planning on continuing into Idaho at the end. Aiden from Bellingham and Sarah from Seattle also exchanged pleasantries with us.

Then we hit the gravel and started the first pass of 2500’ at about a 10% average grade. We ended up walking a bit of the climb and didn’t get to the top until about noon. It took a lot out of us and was a big wake up call to what’s coming in the next days! Then it was bombing down the other side. The next 10 miles or so was a slight uphill, so never a rest from having to pedal.

We met our first “trail angel,” Brian, whose wife is riding the XWA. Brian was training for it as well, but crashed on his bike about a month ago and is recovering. Trail angels have water, snacks, first aid- whatever they choose to offer to riders going by. It’s within the race rules to stop and enjoy. Jeff and Ingot some water and split a banana. 

After a little more climbing, we ended up on a really muddy trail- the Muller Peak hiking trail. Took us almost an hour to do 2.8 miles. There are sections like this throughout the route that the race director, Troy, put in specifically to increase the difficulty of the route.

We eventually descended to Lake Crescent and rode the rail trail path around the North of the lake, going through a couple old tunnels. Then it was more gravel and then single track trail to finish the day. We were beat, so found a small flat spot on the side of the trail and set up camp. 

About 67 miles today and over 5000’ of climbing. We are already a little behind from our plans, but will do our best each day.

Thankfully, after some showers early in the day, we had no rain.

It supposed to pour tonight, then ease up in the morning at some point. We might have to pack everything in the morning in the rain. We’ll see.