RATS (Ride Around The Sound)

RATS (Ride Around The Sound) is an annual ride in September hosted by the American Lung Association as their fundraiser. Unofficially, riders call it "The Lungbuster". The full route is a total of 92 very hilly miles that starts in Seattle, loops all the way around the Puget Sound, and finally ends at the Bremerton Ferry Terminal, where riders take their bikes on the ferry back to Seattle. Our group did a shorter, modified route that was approximately 76 miles with about 5,000 ft of elevation gain, and we would catch the Vashon/Fauntleroy Ferry back to West Seattle instead.

Last year, Nhan and I attempted this ride with a different group of friends, and it was the most fun disaster ever. We attempted a self-supported ride, and were supposed to end at his cousins' house in Port Orchard where a giant pot of homemade chicken curry was awaiting us. But along the way I had a blown tire, we took a few missed cues, the group got separated, one guy missed a wedding he was supposed to attend, we all ran out of water and food, and we miscalculated our distances and time to reach our destination. Disaster....but fun, nevertheless.

We were so ill-prepared for the super-strenuous hill climbs last year since we had only been road biking a few months at that point. We were so dog-tired, hungry and thirsty that we were picking wild blackberries and apples to eat at the side of the road, as desperate as we were. We had to get rescued twice before the night was over, but when we finally got to that pot of chicken curry, we annihilated it along with a half a dozen loaves of bread, a whole watermelon, and two carafes of orange juice. Stick your hand in at the table at the wrong moment, it would have been cleaned down to the bone the way piranhas feed-- that's how hungry we were!

This year would be different, right? We were more experienced, better prepared, and now familiar with the route. Nhan and I were the only returners from last year's group, the rest were new friends who would be doing the RATS route for the very first time.  

L to R: Chinh, Van, Di, Nhan, Phonsy, Aaron, Phal

Chinh Grin

We all met in West Seattle in the early morning, and right off the bat, three guys say they need to be back by 4pm to go to different birthday parties, grrrr. When you factor in 80 hilly miles and a ferry ride, they were cutting it close. I'm slow enough, and I don't like to be rushed on these touring rides.

Fun Nhan

Our first stop was at the Des Moines Marina and farmers market. Since this was the first time this particular combination of bikers ever rode together, we were already out of sync. Three of the speediest riders raced ahead, missed cues, and got separated from the group for 2 hours. In their defense, the road had tons of markings after a full season of event rides. They just weren't familiar with them. 

Nhan, Chinh, and I naturally stayed together since we rode together before at STP and RSVP, and knew each other's riding habits. Ever reliable, Phal hung back to try to look for Aaron, Phonsy, and Van. 

Since we had time to kill at the marina waiting for the others, we took a bunch of photos. A spectacular day like this should be immortalized in digital.

Chillin' Like Villains

Boats, Bikes, and Blue Skies

"Sealed" with a Kiss

Art Installation & Meditation

Nhan trying to call Van to get his 20

Nhan and Chinh were really tempted to eat something at the farmers market, but we were only a few miles into the ride. Finally, we see Van roll into the market and wave him down. Phal, Phonsy, and Aaron were still out there somewhere, but we decided to roll on after waiting almost an hour with no word from the others.  

Brain Freeze!

We stopped in at Starbucks to re-fuel. Last year, Nhan kept goading us on with the pot of chicken curry, so we didn't stop anywhere to eat. That was our first rookie mistake. This time, Nhan ordered a Venti green tea frappe, which he sucked down so fast that it gave him brain freeze!

Van is the young gun of our group. A newbie rider with really strong sprinting legs. He takes off so fast that he's lost our group on two separate rides now. But I think he is learning that if you want to sprint, you have to re-group at some point if you want to finish out the ride with your buddies.

Nhan made a comment about how Van's hair is always perfectly coiffed even after he removes his helmet!

Somehow, after all the separate misadventures, our group finally found each other again on the road!


Here we are at Brown's Point Lighthouse, happy to be re-united again.

The guys were getting hungry, and we weren't planning to have lunch until we hit Tacoma, the mid-point. Chinh somehow managed to talk Van into lifting him up on his shoulders so we could reach the apples in the tree. Van only relented because he was hungry, and because Chinh looked to be the lightest of the guys. Naturally, I didn't volunteer.

Best quote of the day from Van: "Chinh, your nuts are touching the back of my neck, man!"

Chinh grabbed a few apples and tossed them to Phal, who passed them out to the rest of us like rations. They were tart, but the only real food we had until Tacoma.

Apples + Nuts = Trail Mix
L to R: Chinh, Phal, Phonsy, Nhan, Van, Aaron

Nhan & Van, Apples to Apples

I tried to flex my arms as big as Phal's...fail

Anxious to get to Tacoma, and with some of the guys nervous about the timeline, we started rolling again. I remember these hill climbs last year that seemed so much more devastating. This year, I surprised myself by climbing some of them with more ease and enjoyment. We struggled badly last year, especially with all the climbs, myriad twists, steep descents on this challenging route. But my legs felt strong and I kept up. 

I first rode with Phonsy last year during one of his "recovery" rides. His usual riding group includes Phal and his brother, Lum, all very strong riders who regularly do 80-100 mile weekly rides at brisk on the hills to strenuous pace on the flats, no kidding. I affectionately call them "Cambo Velo", even though Phonsy is half-Viet and Laotian. He said I improved a lot since last year, which I know means, "You don't suck nearly as much now." Haha

As we climbed the steep urban hills into Tacoma, we hit a short but nasty hill with a 15% grade. I remembered this ugly bastard of a hill from last year, so I shifted into my lowest gear and stood up to grind up. My legs were burning as I neared the top, but I let out a belligerent yell and reached the top without clipping out or falling over like I did last year. Hell yeah! Phal laughed and cheered me on like he always does. The hill took out Aaron and Van, who both didn't anticipate the steepness and had to clip out suddenly and walk their bikes up. Can't blame them, this hill took out 3/4 of our group last year.

Feeling gassed out, we vowed to stop at the first food joint we saw, so we coasted into The Rock for lunch. They had a pizza on their menu called "The Slow Ride", which had andouille sausage and shrimp. Had my name written all over it, so I split it with Nhan since it called out his name too. The rest of the guys ordered enormous fatso burgers for themselves. I ate the two smallest slices of pizza and didn't lecture the guys about their meal choice-- they earned it. As for me, I learned my lesson once about eating a big meal in the middle of a ride. We were only halfway through 80-miles..... 

L to R: Aaron, Phonsy, Phal, Van, Chinh, Di & Nhan
You can see the reflection of Mt. Rainier in the window behind  us!

After a too long and leisurely lunch, it was nearly 3pm and there was no chance to finish the ride out in time for the three guys to make it to their parties on time. We still had 40 or so miles to go. So Aaron decided to ride home directly from Tacoma since he lives in Federal Way, and Nhan & Van decided to take the bus home to Seatac, where they would bike back to Nhan's house and get their cars later. So, not exactly the disaster of last year, but still a bust up of sorts. 

So, that left the cool kids (Phal, Phonsy, Chinh, and me) to see this thing through! Not gonna lie, it was now the hottest part of the day, and Chinh and I were feeling super tired after the long lunch stop. Felt like we were biking in slow-motion. I hate when my legs feel like this! I purposely did not eat a lot because I always tend to bonk out when I eat too much, or too little, or get too hot on rides. We had so far to go, so I just hung my head and dug deep to keep my legs going. 

We passed through a neighborhood where one house had their lawn sprinkler going. I got my bike up on the sidewalk and rode through that sprinkler like it was rain in the Sahara! The guys laughed at me, but I didn't care. That little refresher cooled me off and kept me going until we reached the Tacoma Narrows.

This would be the very first time that these guys would ride across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, and they were flippin' excited about it!

L to R: Chinh, Phal, Phonsy

I love riding across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge because the bike lane is very wide and well-protected from traffic, and the bridge is suspended at a breath-taking height above the strait of Puget Sound, connecting the City of Tacoma to the Kitsap Peninsula. It really is a different experience than riding the I-90 Bridge across Lake Washington.


The guys were blown away by the stunning views of the water and sky as we biked across. 

Phonsy chose this moment to tell me he was scared of heights as he passed me in the bike lane, haha.

L to R: Phonsy, Phal, Chinh

Out of the urban and concrete jungles of Tacoma, we rode past some quiet suburban subdivisions, onto the quaint waterfront hamlet of Gig Harbor.


The view of the marina itself presented like a stunning postcard, showcasing Mt. Rainier in all its glory on a beautiful sunny day such as this. It's hard to see in the photo below, but a migratory flock of birds alighted on the water briefly, then scattered in perfect unison. 

I never understood how birds can fly in such close proximity, rapidly changing directions, but never colliding. I guess bikers can learn a few things from birds about how to migrate in an orderly fashion. After all, didn't we learn to draft from ducks flying in perfect V-formation to take advantage of drafting?

More Chinh Grin

We briefly lost our direction on the route in front of Peacock Hill in Gig Harbor. We started out climbing it, but I didn't recognize it from last year. I called out to Phal, who had to consult his Garmin. We finally found our way out of Gig Harbor 

We rode leisurely through some pastoral scenes on the peninsula, past farms, cows, apple trees, deteriorating barns, and past charming rural homes on acreage. 

Nhan texted me a few times to see where we were on the road. He and Van managed to make it back home after a 45-minute ride on the bus.

By now, we reached the elementary school in Olalla. We stopped briefly where this picture of the guys was taken. No, I'm not a creeper, and no, they weren't really taking a group piss. They just thought it would be a funny photo.

It was getting late, we still had to catch the ferry back. We were about 70 miles in, and I was starting to bonk again. I was middle of the pack before in our big group, now I was starting to fall behind. I hate being the girl who is last. 

I ate my last gel shot, kicked my ass into gear, and started sprinting. I flew past Chinh and said "howdy" to Phal as I passed him too. Now I was chasing Phonsy who held the lead for most of this second leg. 

Phonsy looked around, I'm sure, expecting to see Phal and Chinh as he has for the last 10 miles or so. The look on his face was priceless when he saw it was me on his wheel instead. I had a BIG smile on my face, and Phonsy laughed at my sheer gumption! 


We hauled ass through Olalla and Port Orchard, and finally arrived at the Southworth Ferry terminal by about 6pm. We had just missed the boat! It would be another hour or so before the next one came. This ferry also stops at Vashon Island first before heading back to Fauntleroy in West Seattle. 

This made me think of my Viet Velo friends who were riding the Passport to Pain event on Vashon Island today. It's an 80-mile ride with 10,000 ft of elevation gain. There's a reason I skipped out on that ride and did RATS instead. Both are approximately the same distance, but ours was only half the elevation gain over the same 80 miles!

As we waited for our ferry, we had a chance to reflect on our amazing ride today. Phal took off his helmet and discovered he had "hair horns". 

Phonsy told me he can't remember when he last enjoyed a bike ride so much. He and his friends usually hammer it on their training rides, so this leisurely touring ride opened up a whole new world for him. He said they never stop for food and photos the way we do. He asked me when the next one would be, because he was all in!

After we tied up our bikes on the ferry, and after we settled in on the passenger deck for the long ride back, we started to dream about the food we would order once we got back to the "mainland". We only had one meal today, so the thought of consuming pho or Chinese food consumed us!

The promise of food was the only motivator left as we climbed one last 7-10% grade hill in the dark from the ferry dock in Fauntleroy back to our cars in West Seattle. I followed the blinking red lights on Phal and Phonsy's bikes like a beacon. Chinh was right there with me, climbing that beastly hill. 

We shared the best Chinese meal of roast duck, salt & pepper spare ribs, crisp sauteed green beans, and hot white rice after the ride. It was a fitting end to another epic ride. If I can keep recruiting new riders, I will never be short of riding buddies or good memories like this!