C B
Hey friends,
I simply wanted to send out a huge thanks to the Hart family for yet another incredible and challenging gravel course today in clockwise loop around Indian Heaven Wilderness. The Hart family staged a feed stop at the midway point in the ride after the initial 4000+ ft of vertical straight outta the gate! As always, Candida and the kids outdid themselves with homemade cookies, granola bars, garden fresh veggies and even sandwiches. It was truly appreciated to round the corner at the top of the climb and see the family just waiting there ready to support all the riders! Brian Sr. was on the route with his motorbike to access old abandoned decommissioned gravel roads and ensure we were all safe and having fun. I have to hand it to these folks, as they really seem to understand that putting on cycling events still can be all about the pure joys of riding and exploring our area.
Brian Jr. and Susannah were the route scouts for weeks pre-riding the course and planning the route. Even hitting snow just a couple of weeks ago, but not giving up. And today, it all paid off! The Wapiti Wonderland route is an instant classic gravel ride. It's a long-ish amount of climbing from the start, topping out at the feed station at about 4500 ft elevation, then winding and descending and buzzing around the Indian Heaven Winderness like a blood-thirsty mosquito! There's little stoppage time on this route in the Summer months due to the angry mosquitoes (the official mascot of the ride). But I fully imagine that this route will be most enjoyable in the early Autumn with a chill in the air and a layer of dew to cool the rotors after the screaming 30-40 mph gravel descents. There's such a great mix of road conditions from large gravel to sharp unforgiving volcanic rock and some soft pumice-like roads that aren't suitable for most vehicles so we didn't encounter any cars on those stretches.
All in all, it was an awesome day and I'll be back! Brian, Susannah and the Hart family support crew deserve our thanks next time ya see them, for mapping out an exciting fast-paced gravel route. And best of all, it was free.
Thank you,
Chris Brannen
Ride. Love. Repeat.
> On May 30, 2017, at 10:08 AM, Brian Hart Jr via OBRA wrote:
>
> If you're looking for a gravel adventure this summer, check out my ride up by Indian Heaven, the Wapiti Wonderland. 60/70 mi route options and 5500/7000+ feet of climbing. Gravel/Pavement. (July 9th, 9:00 am. Panther Creek campground. Stabler, Wa. You can find the routes here: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/20198586
>
> https://ridewithgps.com/users/661585/routes
>
> Check out my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1875690009311742/?acontext=%7B%22ref%22%3A%223%22%2C%22ref_newsfeed_story_type%22%3A%22regular%22%2C%22feed_story_type%22%3A%22117%22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22null%22%7D
>
>
> -Brian (360)-609-3648
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