Pete's story: Passport 2 Pain

BaseCamp athlete Pete Holm shared his experience at the 2025 Passport2Pain bike ride in Washington.

I could go on and on about all the good things that BaseCamp does for you. It may not make you smarter about picking events.

I had a friend contact me and suggest that we ride arguably the hardest ride in the Pacific Northwest on the spur of the moment. After all, as Tim has pointed out, we have this fantastic base, and it would be a shame not to use it. This led to signing up for Passport 2 Pain. The event is structured for those who are a little crazy to begin with. The route names range from the Weenie (33 miles/3600 feet) to the Weasel ( 59 miles/6900 feet) to the Idiot (80 miles/10,000 feet). And those who previously competed RAMROD (Ride Around Mount Rainier in a Day - 160 miles/10,000 feet) and also choose the Idiot are classified as Lunatics.

Of course, since we already did RAMROD, we signed up for the Idiot, which made us Lunatics. Passport 2 Pain is held on an island in the Puget Sound, and the only way to get there is by ferry. So we had about 30 minutes waiting on the ferry to consider our life decisions. Just to make sure that each rider got the full effect, they issued "passports" that got stamped at 18 check points over the course. The route designers found every hill on the island and used each one on the Idiot route. Many were 500-700 feet down a hill to the checkpoint and the same route to climb back up to continue on to the next checkpoint. There was no flat; we were either climbing or descending.

The key thing that made this painful event so much fun was the Monty Python and the Holy Grail theme. We were stopped and asked about the "unladen airspeed of a swallow." Later, stuffed killer rabbits attacked us. We met the knights that said neep. Eventually we were quizzed on our quest and got to take a picture with the Grail if we answered the questions correctly. Each of these distractions and the associated stamp in the passport didn’t make the pain go away but made you want to see what was coming next. Curiosity won out over tired legs. After 80 miles and 10,000 feet, we reached the end and crossed the finish line. Now I have a stamped passport and streamers on my handlebars from the last stop to show off to my other friends.

For those that don't mind a bit of a challenge, I highly recommend this ride. See what that BaseCamp training has done for you. I would recommend putting it in your plan and not signing up a day before the ride on the spur of the moment.