McClinchey Mile Hill Climb 2023

On the evening of Saturday, May 6, I loaded up my car and headed north where I would be camping at Camano Island State Park. My friend, Donna, would be joining me later that evening. We were both going there so we would be closer to the start of the McClinchey Mile Hill Climb the following day.

I went about setting up the campsite while waiting for Donna. I had picked up a sandwich from Subway for my dinner and ate as soon as the tents were up (Donna was borrowing one from me).

After dinner, I walked around the campground to check it out since I hadn’t been there before. It was a lovely park that sat on a bluff on the Puget Sound.

The next morning we packed up our stuff and headed into Stanwood, first stopping at Starbucks for some much needed coffee. I also got an egg sandwich for breakfast but found I just couldn’t eat it. Sometime during all this, I lost Donna and didn’t see her again that day (though we did exchange text messages).

At the start, I did run into the couple who were dressed up in tutus and unicorn horns like they did for Ride For Major Taylor. I just had to get a photo with them this time!

I had ridden the 35-mile route in 2022. This year I wanted to ride the 80-mile route but when I reached the 50-mile point (which happened to cross the start point), it had started to rain and I didn’t feel up to riding in the rain two weekends in a row.

After picking up my club jersey (which couldn’t be found when I checked in earlier), I drove over to the brewery to grab my free tacos. They were good, but seemed to have tasted better last year when it was very warm and sunny.