PRACTICE RIDES
Area Rides to Train On
Nothing prepares you for P2P like doing hilly rides in the PNW. These are the ones locals actually use to get ready - and a few double as a fun day out on their own.
Chilly Hilly
The unofficial start of PNW riding season. A ferry ride, a loop around
Bainbridge, and a reminder that your legs forgot what winter did to them.
Cascade Bicycle Club puts it on every year.
Daffodil Classic
April · Orting Valley · up to 60 mi
Rolling hills through daffodil fields, run by the Tacoma Wheelmen. Multiple distances, so it scales whether you're training for the Weenie or the Idiot. Strawberry shortcake at the finish, which is frankly more than P2P offers at any checkpoint.
RAMROD
Late July · Enumclaw · ~150 mi, 10,000 ft
The gold standard for punishing one-day rides in this state — if you can do RAMROD, you can definitely do P2P, possibly even enjoy it.
Note: RAMROD isn't running in 2026 due to a permit dispute with Mount Rainier National Park. Organizers are hoping to return in 2027 — check before you build a training plan around it.
