A good day. Didn’t get a really early start but I was well into the climb before it started getting really toasty. Had a bunch of people interested in information on my bike and equipment I am using. I think there will be some shopping after the ride.
Two people were interested in my helmet drape from Sun Precautions they have problems with burning too.
Riding up was pretty good on the uphill side but on the downhill side I forgot to restart my cycle computer and missed about 12 miles of recording, bummer. Then after dinner we had great news New Belgium Ales, a sponsor, is giving riders free beer in the beer garden! Whoo Hoo!!! I AM SO THERE. Then they held a raffle for a cool retro cruiser single speed bike.
Here are the pictures of the day.
Here we go. Happiness is Cle Elum in my rear view mirror… Well not really but for today it is.
A little warm up climb.
Another sea of people.
Don eat your heart out buddy. Looking good gals.
This is Chris with the oldest bike on the CC
The river crossing over into Peshastin.
There is Chuck riding his new bike
What a cute puppy. And very excitable too. It also likes to lick.
View the Album below:
Here we go. Happiness is Cle Elum in my rear view mirror… Well not really but for today it is. 
Those ant like things are horses. Nice landscape. 
Nothing much to see in this direction though. 
Another over the shoulder shot. There is my helmet and my shadow. 
Shooting into the sun, couldn’t be helped. 
That is where we are going, thataway. 
Farm implements… 
Another bridge crossing. 
And this is the bridge and the other side. 
And here we go again. 
A horse and a mule or a donkey. 
The sign says ?BALLARD HILL RD? we must really be lost. A little warm up climb. 
Nice view. 
Some riders that will be passing me soon. 
More passers by. It is starting to get warm. 
The Liberty Cafe. There is also a Liberty Espresso here too. This is the kind of place that served Freedom Fries. 
We are having fun now. Still a gradual climb. 
Some more people about to pass me. 
Still climbing… 
We are entering the Wenatchee National Forest whoo hoo! 
Liberty Historic Townsite, no campfires??? Don’t they have furnaces? 
Still climbing… Gradually… 
This looked cooler when I first saw it. Oh well. 
Whoo Hoo our first stop of the day. This is the Mineral Springs Resort stop, run by the Tacoma North Rotary. Another sea of people. 
Look at all the bikes… 
More bikes and more people. 
The food. I am so there. 
Another angle on the people and the bikes. 
Hey who is the fat guy… Oh thats Biker Mikey himself. 
This guy is feeling pretty ambitious wearing the Polka Dot jersey. That is the one the best climber in The Tour de France wears. 
Ah refreshments. 
Back on the climb. 
La de dah. Climbing along. 
Yep still at it. We are REALLY having fun now. 
We are getting close to lunch, less that 1.5 miles… 1.5 longish miles. 
Yep still at it. 
Whoo hoo lunch. This is Blewett Pass Summit lunch stop. That is my ride front and off center. This stop is run by the Sumner Rotary. This is also known as the soup and sandwich stop. 
Hey I know them. Don eat your heart out buddy. Looking good gals. 
Man those Honey Buckets are looking good. Look at all those people and bikes. 
This guy has been doing this ride for quite a while too. 
Lunch ahoy. Hey look at the simians… 
Patiently waiting for me to get dome monkeying around. Yea I had to say it. 
The little dog was too cute. 
You go girl! 
Man look at that. Was it something I said? Maybe I need a stronger deoderant. 
Quite a clearing out. 
After the blazing descent. I hit 40 mph on the downhill too bad I forgot to start recording it on my cycle computer. 
The oldest bike on the Courage Classic, several years running. 
This is the Ingalls Creek stop, aka Snow Cone stop. Run by the Fife/Milton Rotary. 
There are the snow cone makings in the distance. 
The bicycle service Hummer apparently and the guys from Old Town Cyclery. 
There goes Don, I’ve known him for years even before I started riding the CC. 
Look the poor bikes are tired. Mine is still fresh and standing with the yellow jacket hangin off the back. This is Chris with the oldest bike on the CC, I think he has been riding this as long as me. Maybe longer. 
Down we go to Leavenworth. 
Through some orchards cutting over twords Peshastin. 
Winery next right… Maybe not such a good idea today. The river crossing over into Peshastin. 
The other side of the Bridge. 
And where I am heading. Gotta go… 
The Peshastin church. 
Man is it HOT out. Not as bad as most years though. 
Cool views. 
Some shade. Not much of that in the orchards. 
That is kinda cool. 
Onward and you know. 
Still in the orchards. This is a rough patch since it gets so hot and it is open. 
The finish in Leavenworth. Whoo Hoo. 
This rider on the left took a side trip through a sprinkler she found. Boy if I didn’t need sunscreen… 
Down on the school grounds are the tents for the campers. 
DINNER!!! What a crowd. 
Man what a long dinner line. This is the longest I have seen and slow too. What a cute puppy. And very excitable too. It also likes to lick. 
Awe movement in the line. Oh my what a wait. 
This is the bike they will give away in a raffle. A New Belgium Ales cruiser single speed. REALLY COOL. 
Multicare scolding some of the bad riders. 
Beer garden. Free beer for everyone from New Belgium Brewery. Whoo Hoo!!! 
Sitting around talking about bikes. Who would have guessed. The guy with the glasses is Chuck he has the same number of bikes as I do, and his wife is excited about them too WOW. The guy nearest is Chris again. 
Over in the distance are some multi thousand dollar Cannondales for test riding. They got a lot of riding too. 
The guy on the bike won this New Belgium cruiser bike in a raffle, his name is Chuck too. There is Chuck riding his new bike and the girl from Multicare documenting everything. 
Walking back to the hotel with a free beer in me. I think this was a Realator at one time.
