Organizer: Paul Whitney - post questions to this blog
Ride Date: Saturday April 24, 2010.
Start time: 6:00am, Registration - 5:30-5:55am. Sunrise/set 5:55/7:55
Start/End Location: 112 Windwood Ln, Richland, WA. Thanks to Nat Beagley for providing the start/finish location.
Finish by: 9:00am April 25
Registration: Pre-register here.
Entry fee: $20 (+ $5 for non-RUSA members). Checks should be payable to "Oregon Randonneurs", also, Oregon Randonneurs membership is required for this event. You can download a membership form and bring it with you.
Medals: Available directly from the RUSA online store.
Route Sheet: Draft is here.
Notes from the pre-ride are here: http://drrando.blogspot.com/2010/04/400km-pre-ride-notes.html
The control locations are available here.
Some night riding is almost inevitable for 400k's in the continental US. Accordingly, be sure and have:
- A front and read light attached to the bike
- A reflective vest/sash
- Reflective ankle bands
The route extends the 200km route and continues exploring desert rivers. We take the same route out from Richland to Toppenish. From Toppenish, the route parallels the main highway on Track road, sidestepping back onto the main road before Track Rd veers right. There's a gradual climb on the south side of Yakima to Wiley City. Note: the Wiley Market has no restrooms - but, there are options before in Union Gap and after in Yakima and Selah. After Wiley City - the ride cuts across to Summitt Road, and over to the bike path system to cross to Selah. From Selah the ride goes through the Yakima River Valley up to Ellensburg - the control and turn-around point in Ellensburg is the Safeway. Then it's back through the canyon, into Selah, the bike-path, and controls on Nob Hill Blvd. From there we circumnavigate Moxee, and head down to Zillah - to take advantage of the services along the Interstate. We head through Zillah to the Yakima Valley Hwy - which changes names while passing through Sunnyside (more services), Grandview (more services), but essentially is a direct route to the Prosser control (more services). From Prosser, we essentially backtrack to Richland - w/ a good intermediate stop, if needed, in Benton City (you can't miss it:).
The longest stretches w/o easy access to services are through the Canyon between Selah and Ellensburg - this amounts ~50km.
Ride Finish: The finish will is staffed. Same great location as the ride start.
Most of the route segments are available on 'Bike Route Toaster', in order:
Richland to Prosser: http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=121177
Prosser to Toppenish: http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=113269
Toppenish to Wiley City: http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=115590
Wiley City to EBurg: http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=117165 - note that this link puts one on the main road, as opposed to the bike path (see the route sheet).
EBurg to Yakima: http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=117167
There's a bike path to be used from Selah to Yakima - instructions on the route sheet.
Yakima to Zillah: http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=117170
Zillah to Prosser: http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=117171
Prosser to Richland: http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=115613
The route starts in Richland and heads West along the Yakima river valley. Here is a view of the 'out' to Ellensburg portion of the ride:
View Larger Map
And here is a view of the 'back' part of the ride:
View Larger Map
Paul
ReplyDeleteGreat 400k ride this weekend. I love that Yakima Canyon. Well-organized and I appreciated Cathy's coming to the controles too. Above and beyond!
I drove home Sunday afternoon, and we weren't the only ones loving the canyon. There were hundreds of folks including kids on training wheels and recumbents and sleek aerodynamic fully carbon-faired bikes. Closed to cars mainly it was an organized celebration of bikes and the canyon. They just had a little better weather than us.
Thanks so much for all the work!