Dear Solstice Riders

[Tyler Gillies]

You should be waking up right about now. Any stories for those of us who
couldn't make it this year? Any ice? Any fun?

- Tyler Gillies

[Joe and Anne]

Well, I'll speak for myself.

I need to finish the paperwork, but I had a blast.

It was the most benign weather in our four runs of the event. I really liked the route Geoff came up with. Very little traffic, and I liked the trails. I think the bail out options are nice to have if the weather goes downhill.

Much thanks to Geoff, Lynne, Steve, Ralph, Albert and David for helping out.

Oh and also thanks to Eric and Bill for web and paperwork help.

Ragsdale says we collectively made a nice contribution to his RAAM, so thanks for that too.

We had at least one first 200k finisher and a nice celebrity appearance from Asta and Susan who made the trip from Portland.

Thanks for playing.

Joe

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[Ray Whitlock]

I'll second Joe and say it was a great route and the weather was pretty tame, all things considered. Given the  snow and rain from Renton to Maple Valley and then all the way back to Redmond though, I definitely saw a few people opt for the bailout. Especially the guy with no fenders!

The coffee and cookies at Maple Valley were a much-needed break - thanks Lynne and Geoff!

Other than that, the only non-story I can tell is about all the bunnies between Bothell and Redmond than Vinnie and I were praying weren't going to try to play chicken between our wheels!

It was a fun night. Thanks everyone!

[Hugh Kimball]

Yes,  Thanks to all for the support. I especially was thankful for Steve at the UW control. I was thinking of stopping at the QFC U-Village for coffee. But there he was. Audunn just had coffee and within half an hour needed a sugar boost. So we stopped for that but kept rolling together. It was pay back time as I had gotten wet before reaching the Remond Shell station and not putting on my rain coat. We had stopped to put on my rain coat half an hour after leaving the Shell station. I ate a PB&J sandwich and  slowly got back into it. Everybody has there low point. Getting through those is part of the challenge.  -Hugh

---

From: Ray Whitlock <rwhi...@gmail.com>
To: thepla...@comcast.net
Cc: "ty...@gilliesfamily.org" <ty...@gilliesfamily.org>; seattle randonneurs <seattl...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, December 22, 2012 4:06 PM
Subject: Re: [SIR] Dear Solstice Riders

[Annie Bilotta]

For my first Solstice Ride and first ride all through the night it wasn't too bad.  To Steve, Bill, Susan and Asta thanks for the company out there.  And words of advice and encouragement.  Thanks to Lynn and Geoff and Steve Fry for being out there in the middle of the night with hot drinks and cookies.  It sure is nice to see a friendly face when you're tired and cold.  I'm especially thankful to Mother Nature for keeping the weather tame!

Annie Bilotta

[Steven DeGroot]

Thanks so much to all who helped put on this ride. I think the control volunteers Geoff and company, and Steve worked harder than us riders. I don't know how you arranged it but the bunnies were an original touch as well. Another great memory in the bank!

Thank you,
Steven DeGroot

On Dec 22, 2012, at 2:23 PM, "Tyler Gillies" <ty...@gilliesfamily.org> wrote:

[Susan Otcenas]

What a wonderful event!!

So many people to say thank you to:

To Joe and his intrepid route developers and pre-riders: Thanks for
coming up with a route that was lower traffic and utilized so many
beautiful trails. Will need to return in the daylight one of these days
to see just where we were...

To Annie, Steve D, Bill & Asta. Our little group of 5 rode together
companionably for much of the way. I especially enjoyed watching
Steve's snowman flicker happily through the night.

To Annie, who circled back around at mile 101 when she realized Asta & I
had disappeared. Knowing that we were unfamiliar with the trail
systems, she hung around while we fixed my flat tire, then provided
masterful navigation through trail systems all the way to the finish so
that we didn't have to stress about finding our way "home" on them in
the dark.

To Lyn & Geoff for appearing out of nowhere in the cold cold rain, with
smiles, hot chocolate and homemade cookies! WOW! It was really coming
down at that point, and we sure were grateful for the warm drinks and
hospitality.

To the other Steve :) for hanging out all night at the entrance to the
Burke Gilman Trail with yet more hot cocoa. We came upon him just after
we'd stood around the the cold & dark for 20 minutes fixing my flat, so
the opportunity to have access to more warm drinks was once again SO
appreciated.

To Albert for patiently waiting around at the Peet's Coffee until we
finished.

To Kristie, for graciously opening up her home to Asta & I so that we
could have a shower and catch a few hours sleep before driving back to
Portland.

And as always, thanks to Asta for being such an awesome riding buddy.
:-)

Hope I'm not forgetting anyone...

I've had the pleasure of doing several SIR rides over the past couple of
years, and I'm always so impressed by how welcoming SIR riders are. You
make visitors toyour area feel very welcome. I love the spirit of
comraderie you all display, and feel very lucky to live close enough to
be able to come join you all from time to time.

Happy holidays to you all. I look forward to riding with you again in
2013!

Susan




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Susan Otcenas
Team Estrogen, Inc.
www.TeamEstrogen.com
877-310-4592
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Follow our TE fan page on Facebook!
Look for "teamestrogen.com"
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[Chris Ragsdale]

Thanks Joe and the team who helped put this thing on.  It was a great night on the bike like always. I appreciate the extra thought put into the last minute route changes in order to keep us all as safe as possible. 

The group I was with had a fun night regardless of a few hiccups.  We got off to a late start and then missed a  turn early which kept us in the mix and catching riders for the early part of the night.  Running into the Geoff and Lynn on the trail was a pleasant surprise (thanks for the cookies).  Quickly after that in the worst of the weather Mick had  pedal issue causing us to stop a few times and then ultimately Mick and Bob had to head back to the comfort of home. I didn't feel to bad for them.

So then it was up to Redmond for a turn around where the weather also happened to turn around for us.  From there on the evening got far more pleasant.  May valley brought another Mechanical when Jason C. who was with us had a crank arm failure sending him back. After that is was just Sol, Travis and myself left to chase down Todd, Ed and another guy they had previously been riding with.  With only a few miles to go on the BG we finally tracked them down. 

thanks to Albert for come out so Late or Early? which ever it was for him.

And thanks to everyone who helped by pitching into the envelope for RAAM.  I really appreciate all the support and certainly could not do this thing alone.

Hope you had a great Holiday!

Chris Ragsdale

---

From: Tyler Gillies <ty...@gilliesfamily.org>
To: seattle randonneurs <seattl...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, December 22, 2012 2:23 PM

Subject: [SIR] Dear Solstice Riders

You should be waking up right about now.  Any stories for those of us who
couldn't make it this year? Any ice? Any fun?

- Tyler Gillies 

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