Channeling Carlos Sastre on the Mt. Baker Hwy

As a bit of a finale to the summer cycling season, and as a way to keep the legs toned for a couple of upcoming Fall cycling projects, I convened a small group of High Performance Cycling teammates and headed up to cycle the Mt. Baker Hwy (aka Hwy 542) this week. Also joining us for the day was Bellinghamster Mike McQuaide who has written several guidebooks and is currently working on a book for the Mountaineers about the best bicycle climbs in Washington state.

I’ve done this ride a number of times, both as a difficult training ride from Bellingham complete with 13 mile long hill repeats, and in the Mt. Baker Hill Climb. This was my first time to do the ride “for fun.”

The initial plan was to do do a simple out and back from Glacier, which yields about 49 miles round trip, but after consulting with Mike we settled on a route that started in Everson (which is the finish of the road bike leg of the Ski to Sea relay), and would cover about 100 miles. As a bonus, Mike’s route took us up Reese Road–a route I’d never done before–and which Mike promised would deliver a bit of sting to the thighs early in the ride. Indeed it did.Between Everson and Kendall we experienced relatively little traffic, though at some point we realized that since it was the Thursday before a long weekend the traffic volume was probably higher than on a typical weekday. On the steepest part of Reese Road we got slowed behind some construction vehicles, but otherwise the road surface itself was buttery smooth and as things leveled out, our well-matched group rotated in a graceful paceline all the way to Glacier.

After Glacier there are several steepish bumps that are selection points in the Mt. Baker Hill Climb. About 12 miles from Artist Point the road becomes a steady 5+%, punctuated by sections of 7-8%. The hairpins on the final approach to the end of the road are probably about 10+%.

It was at this point that I began to channel Carlos Sastre (who doesn’t seem to be able to deliver the goods in this year’s Vuelta a España). Allergies? Legs tired from six days of backpacking the previous week? I don’t know. Some days you just have to concede defeat. I peeled off at the upper part of the Mt. Baker Ski Area to regain my composure with a Pepsi and to contemplate the meadow grasses while most of the rest of the group went for the summit.

The ~12.5 mile descent is one of the best in the state, with exhilarating hairpins and stunning glimpses of the peaks along the Canadian border and Mt. Shuksan. Even with temps in the low 70’s at the ski area, there was a bit of a chill in the air on the upper part of the descent. It’s always a good idea to bring full-finger gloves and a wind shell on a ride like this. We almost needed them on this late summer day.

Graham’s Market in Glacier is a well-situated refueling stop in both directions; and there is a public bathroom and a water fountain in the park behind the market. On the return trip we followed the Ski to Sea race route over South Pass Road and were surprised to experience very little wind on the final approach vector into Everson (harsh cross-winds are typical in the flatlands of north Whatcom County.)

I ended up with 94+ miles and 5,890′ of climbing, but with the final section to Artist Point it’s an even 100 miles and ~7,000′ of climbing.

Tom Meloy, who is known for his climbing fetish called it “…a masterpiece of a ride…” because of the superb route, cycling companions, and spectacular scenery–not to mention the name of the summit finish.

Details:
The drive to Everson is about 2 hours from Seattle. We parked at the local market, but parking on any side street would be safe. There are plenty of places to refuel along the way, though we didn’t find any open bathrooms at the ski area, and the soda machine only accepted $1 bills. Do pay attention to the weather since this route takes you into the alpine and the conditions can be cold or wet when things are benign at sea level.