Raging in a Day

    So two weeks ago I had the grand idea to ride all the important trails at Raging River. In a day of course because why not, I probably had the fitness. Previous to this, my longest ride had been just barely over 5000’ but 7000’ shouldn’t be that bad. I was just adding No Service, Physical Therapy, upper ET, and lower Ferdinand the Bull. So maybe more like an extra 2.5k but why not. 

I left seattle at 07:15 and was at exit 27 by 07:45. I pulled in next to a lady I knew from outdoors for all, exchanged plans, and after some valve core troubles, was off by 08:30. I made good progress up the road feeling good. After stashing a bottle at the road turnoff by poppin’ tops, I grinded it out to the top of No Service and arrived at 10:15. I was feeling great and enthused for the long day ahead of me.

There had been recent rain so No Service was super fun. It was a little slick in spots and at one point, I crashed on my side but it was painless. From here I vowed to take it easy on the trails. It would suck if I had to bail the ride if I crashed badly on the second to last run. I started the climb up Return Policy and was still feeling awesome. After a short break in the middle, I hit the top at 11:30. 

CC downhill ran great. 2000’ of descent will always be brutal yet fun. Like No Service, it was slick but manageable, and I always got a shower when I brushed against branches. The climb up raging tiger was much longer than I remembered but I got to the road at 12:30 and took a break while replacing my water bottle with a full one. 30 minutes of steep suffering up the fire road section of RR2, I was at the top of Reverance at 13:00. 

Reverence was easier than the last time I’d rode it. By now, my legs were feeling it but I was still able to keep a reasonable speed. The flow section in the middle felt amazing and while I still made a few mistakes, I survived it unscathed. This was the climb where I finally felt it badly. I stopped 3 times on the way up to the fire-road and it was 14:45 when I made it to the top of PT. Here I took a break and saw the lady from ODFA. She was coming back from No Service and I envied how she just had to do poppin tops and she’d be back at the Car.

PT was super easy and at 15:15 I was again at the bottom. Now all I had left was ET. The techy climb up Pacific Climbing Trail was brutal with my shot legs but by 15:45, I was at the top. With legs of jello, I couldn’t pedal much on the descent, but made it down the flow section, where I traversed over to lower Ferdinand and had a great time on the easy Tech. From the bottom of Ferdinand, I climbed back out and was power-napping on the bench above poppin tops at 16:15. 

Realizing I still had to do ED.

Poppin tops is a great trail but not this time. Upper was admittedly fun but from there, I just wanted to be done. Luckily, it’s all downhill from there and after some sitting on the saddle for lower Poppin tops, I pulled into the lot at 16:30, just as the post-work riders were arriving. It was a mega-fulfilling day and a reminder that big MTB days are possible.

Over the past year I’ve become obsessed with type-2 adventures. Climbing media portrays alpine sufferfests as the cutting edge. Fourteen, sixteen, eighteen hour days have gifted me with a strong sense of accomplishment and reflection. These adventures will always have their place, to push your mind. To force your legs to take another step when they shattered beneath you two miles ago. They are the most reflective, accomplishing days you can get.

As I gave the immovable pedals another crank today, hopeless that I’d be able to pedal up and over to the car, I questioned the reward of this pointless suffering. I love biking but I don’t need to ride to failure. Whether I hit a quick lap of predator or all of raging, I come home satisfied. So will I stop pursuing type-2 fun? I don’t think so but maybe I’ll at least let myself have a chill day more often. Long days provide invaluable reflection but sometimes, all you need is a few jumps on a bike or powder slashes to make you remember what's so great about life.