Brevets - Event View

---

Whether your cycling goals for this season include a full brevet series, Paris–Brest–Paris, or just a few long rides, this ride has something for everyone.

Route Description

RUSA Route #114 "Tahuya Hills 600K (altered for Skate Creek Road closure)"

This year’s Spring 600K is a revision of the classic Tahuya Hills route, providing a great approximation of the kind of repeating climbs found on the PBP.

Day 1 is 378K and climbs about 2757 meter (~9045 feet). Unfortunately, our old favorite Skate Creek Road was closed until relatively late in the season due to snow. We'll be riding a revised route that bypasses Skate Creek Road and makes up the distance by visiting Pe Ell and Raymond before heading to the overnight in Elma. This relatively easy first day should increase your chances of making good time to the overnight control and getting a decent amount of sleep. You'll need it for day 2 and our other old favorites Seabeck Holly Road and Anderson Hill Road.

Narayans's Pre–Ride Notes

The ride starts at the Starbucks, which is open early, well stocked and has a restroom. (code 12345). Please come early for the safety check, which is required for successful brevet validation. A vest/sash, 2 reflective bands, front and rear lights are REQUIRED – even if you are planning to ride entirely in the daylight.

With an on–time departure, our merry band first had to navigate the Holgate train tracks, some of them with a 1 inch lip. Go slow over these tracks and also watch for trains. It is possible that you may have a train blocking the tracks, so please make quick progress through here. Next up is the Holgate climb, with its awkward transition from road to sidewalk. The easiest and most reliable way is to get on the sidewalk on the left side of the road and then make the right turn across the crosswalk, watching for traffic from the left.

The Holgate climb is very steep but mercifully short, and so narrow that you cannot pass anybody with ease. So, please be patient through here. Please do not ride on the road to avoid the sidewalk. Relief comes when you make a sharp left turn on the trail. Watch for moss and the bollard guarding the trail. After this, follow signs to Mountains to Sound Greenway. There is some construction near 23rd street, but the path forward is well marked: after a left turn go through metal fences to cross 23rd and back onto the trail. The trail was completely empty at that time of day, but the rains made it slick, and we took it easy.

After the tunnel, do not cross the I90 bridge. Exit the trail and make the very tricky left turn onto Irving, with its steep grade. If you arrive with too little momentum or not the right gear, you will face a wall. A very unpleasant wall. Gear down before. This climb is also very short. The descent down to the water could also be slick, so exercise caution here. Lake Washington Boulevard is always lovely, and once you get onto Rainier the route through to Renton passes soon enough. The shoulder is filled with litter, debris and the occassional crack running along the direction of travel.

After all this urban riding, relief is nearby. The Cedar River Trail offers a gentle escape from traffic, but watch for the gravel right turn, which can be tricky on narrow tyres. Also easy to miss is the exit off the trail to Witte Road. The pre–riders encountered a closed road which you shall not, but you will have a mostly pleasant ride bypassing Enumclaw. The Foothills Trail offers a wonderful diversion and is one of the most pleasant parts of the ride on day 1. Exit off the trail at 197th (easy to miss) and make your way to Electron and Kapowsin, where the pre–riders stopped to take off and then immediately put on rain gear and refuel. I hope you have better weather than us. The shoulder on the climb to Eatonville is (mostly) in good shape and you will find the Plaza Market a very good and affordable place to refuel. But only cash, debit or cheque. [Here in 'Murica we spell it "check" – Keith]

The climbing doesn't let up as you navigate your way to La Grande and then onto Elbe. The shoulder is sparse but traffic light, but please watch for impatient cars that pass you on blind corners. Elbe has some train tracks that require careful navigating as they are at an angle that forces you to ride into traffic to avoid wiping out. The right turn onto Highway 7 is a gentle climb and you should be blessed with great views. We had none! :O. Watch for cracks in the pavement just before Morton. The route out of Morton is new – to at least one of the preriders – and is a pleasanter alternative to returning the way you came.

Highway 508 hits you first and then we get Centralia – Alpha Road as a bonus. The good news is you exit the road fairly quickly on Middle Fork Road, and the bad news is that there are no easy routes to be had, so this is hilly as well, but it's not as nasty as heading all the way to Centralia. Napavine is great to get services (near I5, and again at the top of the hill). Haywire Road and Pleasant Valley are particularly enjoyable, but you eventually get to Highway 6, which is a bit of a drag, but you get to Pe Ell, which is a great spot to prepare for the night, refuel and recharge.

We begin another gentle climb to the summit and then a very long descent – mostly ;) – down to Raymond. Our fantasy goal was to make the Summit before dark and we barely managed it, but it was truly dark for us in Raymond. There is precious little from here to the overnight stop, so please plan accordingly.

We refueled and made our way over the hills to Montesano, which was shut up tight. The pre–riders had to shop at the Chevron in Elma, but you will have top notch support at the overnight hotel, where an army of volunteers will serve you food and refreshments. Eat well, and rest well, because you are going to need it. I recommend leaving with at least 30 minutes in the bank.

Day 2 begins with an easy to miss turn onto Cloquallum, and familiar SIR roads to Skykomish. There isn't much in the way of services, and it's a great warmup. The road then gets even easier to Belfair, along 104. We make a nice turn to go past the QFC, where you can refuel should the need arise. The shoulder on Clifton Road (Highway 300) is actually cleaner, but it's very narrow and traffic with boats and local construction equipment are known to drive fast, but it's only that way for about 5 miles. It quietens down after that.

A few K later, you will arrive at Summertide where more volunteers will be able to help you. This location includes bathrooms, and is the bookmark for 110K of hills, hills and more hills. Eat and drink well here, and carry some food with you because there's nothing until Seabeck. You have almost 500K in your legs and the course saves its best (?) for last. At this point, it's about making forward progress and keeping a good mental attitude, because complaining isn't going to get you up County Line hill or to the finish.

As always take great care on the switchback descents on Dewatto Road, where the decreasing radius curves really surprise you, and there's a nice patch of gravel right on the line that you would take. It says 20mph, but that's not doable on a bike. Please be careful here. If you over cook it, there's no place to go but into traffic at great speed, or into a guardrail with a 30–foot drop on the other side. Did I say take care? Please do.

We eventually find our way to Seabeck Holly Road, which is best described in one word: humbling. We zigged and zagged our way to the top, and it has many many false summits until a glorious descent to Seabeck. Please refuel here as there's nothing until the turn onto Highway 3. Right out of Seabeck is a couple more nasty rollers with no shoulder and high traffic. Care must also be exercised on Anderson Hill Road, which if you haven't ridden it before is just a treat. One prerider got off and walked and still set a personal record for the first ascent. There is no shame in walking here, as traffic flies by fast, and there's no place to go if you have a moment where you stall. The three descents however are glorious. The turn onto Olympic View Dr is the most awaited turn in all of the ride.

The shoulder on Highway 3 is full of gravel, glass, litter and debris, and features rumble strips for good measure. Get through it as fast as you can and keep an eye on traffic when the shoulders get too thin. There's places to refuel here, and it's not too much to the finish.

But, there's the small matter of Port Gamble Road. We have found a wonderful way to keep all three of the monsters on this road (the one past Gunderson is a special treat), but traffic is polite and low in volume. After one last tester on Suquamish Way, you turn onto 305 where you first go across the fantastically scenic Agate Pass Bridge, but with no shoulder, which is the equivalent of giving you a pint of ice cream but no spoon. You are not going to enjoy the experience for very long. Keep an eye out for loose nails in the shoulder of 305. A few rollers and a possible tailwind later, you will find yourself at the finish, where food, refreshments and PBP qualification await.

We hope you have a wonderful and safe ride! Be there!

Start

The ride starts at our traditional Tahuya Hills 600K start location in SoDo:

Starbucks
1962 1st Ave S
Seattle, WA 98134

Please plan to arrive at the start by 05:15AM. There will be mandatory bike/safety inspection. All riders are required to have a helmet, reflective vest or sash, reflective ankle bands, front light, and rear light. NO HELMET, LIGHTS OR REFLECTIVE GEAR = NO RIDE, NO EXCEPTIONS. This are RUSA rules and they are nonnegotiable.

Parking

Parking near the start is problematic. Street parking in that area is super sketchy. If possible, ride to the start or arrange to have someone drop you off.

There is a guarded 24–hour parking garage at 1508 7th Ave (next to Cheesecake Factory at Pike & 7th Ave). The entrance is on 7th Ave. It's not cheap, but it seems reasonably secure.

Overnight Control

Riders must make their own overnight accommodations. StayBeyond Inn & Suites is the ride's official overnight control:

StayBeyond Inn & Suites
800 E Main St
Elma, WA 98541

There will be drop bag service to the overnight control in Elma. Please keep bags small as a courtesy to the volunteers (leave your lucky rocks at home). If you choose to overnight elsewhere you will be responsible for lugging your drop bag from the overnight control to/from your hotel of choice. If you are planning to ride–through (not sleep at the overnight hotel) then you might get to the finish before your bags. We will try to get thru–rider drop bags to the finish as early as possible, but super fast riders will still get to the finish first. Either wait for us to get there with the bags (hopefully by 8:00am) or we can make other arrangements to reunite you with your bag.

Finish

The official finish hotel is the Quality Inn & Suites Bainbridge Island. If you think you'll want a room after the ride, please make your own reservations.

Quality Inn & Suites Bainbridge Island
920 Hildebrand Ln NE
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110

There are several other hotels in the immediate vicinity.

Ferries

The last ferry departs Bainbridge Island at 01:25AM. See the WSDOT Ferry Schedule page for more details.

Complete Route and Cuesheet

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42827869 [FINAL]

Individual Day Routes and Cuesheets (may be more compatible for some devices and software)

Day 1: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42827960 [FINAL]
Day 2: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/42827985 [FINAL]

Note: Printed cuesheets will not be available at the start. You may choose to print your own. To print the cuesheet from one of the above route pages, click the More button, then select Print Cuesheet.

General Rules

• All riders are required to have read and signed a waiver (part of the online event registration) before beginning the ride.
• All riders must comply with local traffic laws as well as RUSA's Rules for Riders.
• All riders must have front and rear lights, a reflective vest or sash, and reflective ankle bands. See RUSA Article 10 for details. Be prepared to show these to the ride organizer at the start. Lights should be on during any low-light conditions (rain, fog, night, tunnels, etc).
• All riders who cannot finish a ride (DNF) must contact the organizer ASAP using the phone number on the brevet control card.
• All riders must turn in their signed brevet control card at the ride finish.
• All riders must check-in with the organizer or a volunteer at the start, the finish, at any overnight controls.