Old Blewett Pass Again

This ride is challenging but a beautiful climb over Blewett Pass using a very rural road, Old Blewett Highway. It is for experienced riders only. Riders should be able to maintain a pace of 14-16 mph on a flat road. All riders will climb at their own pace and we will regroup at the top. Due to the road conditions, we will try and stay relatively close together on the way down for safety.

Old Blewett runs parallel to the main highway (Route 97) but has almost no cars.  We will ride through some rural farm country with a very gentle grade (1-3%) then go up one side of the mountain pass for about 18 miles.  The grade up this side is largely between 2-6% with some steep sections 8-9% near the top.  Then we will go down the north side to the Rock House in Peshastin where we will stop for water and food before turning around and coming back.  The climb back is a little longer (19 miles.) 

Road Conditions – CAUTION:    This road is not maintained regularly.  It is easily done by bike but has many rocks and ruts.  The ride up will not be a problem, but on the ride down, you will need to be on your brakes most of the time to avoid the rocks.  This section of the ride is not where you will fly downhill. This ride is only for experienced riders.

Weather Cancellation: Showers/snow/and strong winds will cancel. This ride is not safe to do in the rain or snow. In addition to steady rain, any other hazardous conditions will cancel the ride.  I will be checking with the ranger station Saturday to get the best evaluation of conditions possible and will cancel if necessary Saturday in the late afternooon/evening, by posting in the comments section of the CBC page . 

Preparations: Every rider is expected to have tubes and tools and to be able to fix a flat and other minor mechanicals. If any rider has a mechanical issue, or a flat tire, we will not abandon them. Given the distances involved, and limited access to water, everyone should have two water bottles or a camelback. Remember this is a ride over a mountain pass, so weather can change quickly.  We will be going up to over 4,000', so make sure to bring a windbreaker (and maybe some long underwear) for the downhill sections.  Also keep in mind that cell reception is spotty at best in this area, especially on the mountain.

Directions: Take I-90 East to Exit 85 (to Routes 10 and 970.)  Turn right onto Routes 10/970 toward Liberty/Wenatchee/Ellensburg. About a half a mile down the road on the left is the Twin Pines Drive In, where we can leave our cars (they know we are coming and have said it is OK with them.)  It is a great place for an ice cream at the end of our ride. 

Bathrooms + Water Note: There are NO restrooms at the start (Twin Pines is not open), but there is a gas station about a half mile down route 10 toward Cle Elum (the opposite direction from the Twin Pines) that has port-a-potties we can use and about 12 miles into the ride we will come to a small store that has a bathroom we can use. 9:30 am is roll out time, and the drive from Seattle will take you about  1¾ to 2 hours, so be sure to leave enough time to get to the start with water and ready to go 15 minutes early so you can sign a waiver and listen to the safety and route briefing.