RAMROD 2008 Contact Information:
RAMROD Autoresponder Email: Email RAMROD '08
Volunteer Information: Email the Volunteer Coordinator
Registrar Email: Email the Registrar
Voice mail number: (206) 781-3903
Snail Mail: RAMROD c/o Redmond Cycling Club
PO Box 1841; Bothell, WA 98041-1841

RAMROD 2008 - Thursday, July 31

last updated: 07-Apr-2008

RAMROD [Ride Around Mount Rainier in One Day] is the Pacific Northwest's premiere one-day ultra-marathon cycling event. It combines the incomparable scenery of Mount Rainier National Park with a challenging course featuring 10,000 feet of climbing over 154 miles. The course starts in Enumclaw, WA (elevation 720 feet) with a gradual downhill to its lowest elevation (300 feet) near Orting.  This is followed by 40 miles of rolling hills through the towns of Eatonville, Elbe, and Ashford, with a gradual climb to the Nisqually entrance of Mount Rainier National Park. The climb stiffens at Longmire where riders begin the 12 mile ascent to Paradise (elevation 5,420 feet). A 12-mile descent through Stevens Canyon follows and then a quick 3-mile climb to Backbone Ridge.  This leads to one of the most fun descents of the course: a swooping 5-mile run to the Grove of the Patriarchs and the intersection with Hwy 410.  What follows is generally considered the most difficult section of the course: the 9-mile climb up Cayuse Pass (elevation 4,694) which starts at 100 miles into the ride. The rapid descent from the pass ends with about 30miles to go. These last miles are gradually descending or rolling except for one final, fast descent down Mud Mountain Dam just 5 miles from the finish in Enumclaw. Join us for the 25th anniversary of RAMROD – it will be the best RAMROD ever.

FEES: The rider fee for 2008 will remain at $80 and the active.com registration fee is $6.20.

REGISTRATION: Registration was from March 1, 2008 through March 31, 2008, and is now closed.All entrants will be notified of their status by email approximately one week after the lottery.  WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOUR SPAM FILTER BLOCKS YOUR NOTIFICATION EMAIL. 

Go here for lottery results.

If you are not selected to ride, you will receive a full refund, including the Active.com registration fee.  If you so desire, you can have your name placed on a Wait List.  Make sure you check the appropriate box when you register with Active.com.  If for some reason a selected rider is unable to ride, he/she can receive a refund (see below) and the next person on the Wait List will be offered the slot.  (Last year all 250+ riders on the Wait List were given the opportunity to do the ride - though some were given this chance only at the last minute.)  The National Park limits us to a maximum of 800 riders.  Please only register if you are serious about riding RAMROD.  You will be charged a $10 handling fee and the $6.20 Active.com fee will not be refunded if you turn down either a winning lottery registration or decline a Wait List registration.  Any Wait List registrants who are not given an opportunity to get a ticket will receive a full refund (excluding Active.com fees) approximately 30 days after RAMROD is held.

"BUDDY" REGISTRATION: This is probably our most frequent request from riders. Unfortunately, because of potential abuse, we are not able to offer buddy or group registrations.

TANDEM REGISTRATION: We will allow tandems to register together. You will be registering as a tandem and paying a single $160 fee plus the $12.40 Active.com fee. IMPORTANT: If you register as a tandem, YOU MUST RIDE A TANDEM.  Tandems will receive one bib number and MUST check-in at the Start line before starting the RAMROD course or risk being blacklisted.

REFUNDS/WAIT LIST/TRANSFERS: This is another frequent question from riders.  After considerable reflection, we have decided to go back to the "no transfers" policy. If you are selected by the lottery and are unable to ride, please email the RAMROD Registrar as soon as possible so we may offer your ticket to someone on the wait list.  Refunds are not guaranteed after July 15, 2008, but e-mail us and we will attempt to sell your ticket to the wait list.

Remember: The fees are $80 for the ride and $6.20 for Active.com.  Refunds on returned tickets will be for $80 less a $10 handling fee. This is assuming we can find a rider to purchase your returned ticket.

2007 VOLUNTEERS: If you earned a bypass to the RAMROD 2008 lottery for your volunteer work in 2007, you are still required to register and pay for the ride. If you register within the time limit, your name will automatically be selected, thus by-passing the lottery.  Volunteers who earned a by-pass should receive a notification from RCC prior to March 1.  If you do not, please contact the volunteer coordinator. 

PACKET PICK-UP: Packet pick-up will be at the Start line at Enumclaw High School on July 30th from 4pm to 9pm and July 31st from 4am to 7am.

ALL RIDERS MUST PROVIDE PHOTO ID FOR PACKET AND JERSEY PICK-UP!! You may NOT pick up packets for your friends!

START/FINISH: Enumclaw High School, 226 Semanski St. S, Enumclaw, WA. This is one block west of the intersection of Highway 410 where the RAMROD course route turns towards Buckley. Free parking is available on-site. DO NOT park on the street. Click here for map.

RIDE JERSEYS:

Check back for more information on the 25th Anniversary edition of the RAMROD 2008 Jersey.

COURSE TIME CUT-OFFS: For your safety, we will be enforcing course cut-off times again this year.

This means if you are still climbing towards Paradise at 2:30pm, we will sweep you up. We have some hard-working volunteers who will do their best to get you off the road. This is not an easy ride! You are responsible for getting into shape and getting yourself over the passes in good time. If our volunteers have too many riders to sweep up, you may end up with a long wait to get off the mountain!

MAP OF RAMROD: The final details of the route are still awaiting snow removal, but we expect to return to the original RAMROD route. Click here for a tentative map (PDF) of the route.

PERSONAL SUPPORT VEHICLES: NO! NO! NO! The number of PSVs is a major complaint by riders and a significant safety issue. If you need a support vehicle, DO NOT RIDE! We work hard to provide all registered riders with sufficient food, water and safety support. If your spouse or friend would like to help, have them volunteer for one of our many staff positions. For more information, contact the volunteer coordinator. They can earn points towards the WIMPROD ride (a 2-day version of RAMROD) or a lottery bypass for RAMROD 2009!

"BANDITS": If you are not successful in the lottery, PLEASE DO NOT ride the course the same day we do. We are limited to 800 riders by the National Park Service and we base our food, water, and safety support on this number. By riding this event as an unregistered rider, you endanger the event ( as well as yourself and others) by increasing the number of riders (and PSVs) on the road and straining our resources.

If your group cannot all get tickets, please arrange to ride the course on another day. The mountain will still be here! We would greatly appreciate it if you would respect the event and the riders who follow the rules. Thank you.

Remember that you can earn a guaranteed lottery bypass for RAMROD 2009 by volunteering this year.  If you are interested in volunteering, contact the volunteer coordinator.

2008 Volunteers cannot also be on the Wait List.  You will have to make a choice: take a chance on riding this year by placing yourself on the Wait List or guaranteeing yourself an opportunity to ride in 2009 by volunteering this year.

UPDATES: Please check this web page regularly for changes.

Training Rides

Per and Shana Sunde are leading the RAMROD Training Rides. This year they are expanding to 16 rides, running consecutively from Saturday, March 22 thru July 5. Go here for more details.

Course Information:

Keep checking back here for the course map, cue sheet, and elevation profile.

Lodging Information:

Lodging & Dining Information (Surely not complete!)

For rider photo's of RAMROD '07, click here. Jon Brunk Photography can also be reached at 360-733-8185.