Hills Out Of Auburn: Crystal Mountain (Vigorous)

Let's meet at the Auburn Fred Meyer northwest parking lot. Be there, ready to go at 7:30 am. Be there early if you need to buy snacks and hydration, or use the restroom. We will start with a required safety briefing, and roll out when that's done.  All riders must attend the safety briefing to participate.

HOOA! Are you ready for RSVP? Ride with us on our biggest HOOA ride and see. 124 miles with 6500 ft of climbing at a vigorous pace (18-20mph)! We start with the Lakeland hills climb to Lake Tapps. Then we "sort of" level out and ride flat-ish roads through Bonney Lake, Buckley and Enumclaw. Our next substantial effort is the Mud Mountain Dam climb, followed by a steady 2% slog through Greenwater and finally the quad burner, Crystal Moutain Blvd, a 1650 ft climb over 6 miles. We'll break at the ski resort for lunch, then make our 58-mile descent back to Auburn. 

Even though we are a vigorous group, we will climb and descend hills at our own pace, which is 90% of this ride. Therefore, please have the route downloaded to your device, or ride with a buddy who does. We will regroup at our scheduled stops for the approximated time listed below. If you do not make the regroup, be prepared to navigate on your own at your desired pace with your devise and/or your buddy. 

Please note: cell reception is spotty at best on HWY 410. There will be service at Safeway, Wapiti, and Crystal, but probably not in-between. 

The stops are

Allan Yorke Park: restroom (mile 12) 10 min

Enumclaw Safeway: drinks, snacks, restroom (mile 24) 15 min

Mud Mountain Dam: restroom (mile 30) 10 min

Wapiti Outdoors: coffee. ice-cream, restrooms (mile 45) 15 min

Crystal Mountain Resort: Lunch break, restrooms (mile 66) 30 min

Wapiti Outdoors: coffee, ice-cream, restrooms (mile 87) 15 min

Enumclaw Safeway: drinks, snacks, restroom (mile 106) 15 min

We'll also limit our speed on any multi-use paths to the legal maximum (usually 15 MPH, occasionally 10 MPH).

Bring a spare tube and tools to fix a flat, just in case. Other things to bring: phone; ID; cash and/or credit card; ORCA card; water and a small snack. Please have full fenders if the roads are wet, or you may be asked to ride at the rear of the group.

Note: No weather cancelation.  If there are unforeseen hazardous riding conditions or other unexpected events, the Ride Leader will adjust the ride and all registered riders will be sent a notification email. If the ride is cancelled at least two hours before the start, Ride Leader(s) will not be at the start location. Please check before leaving for the ride.

We hope you can join us!