Friday, May 30, 2008

late start, but at least got started

I didn't get on the bike until almost 5PM but at least I got on it. The major sections of roads I hit were Evergreen, Sewell, Jackson School, Dorland, Jackson Quarry, West Union, then back. I ended up with 27 miles, 1731 ft of climbing, all in the middle 3 miles, and a 15.6 mph average. It was a good ride. A few other folks thought so too as I saw several cyclists along the route.

I got a new toy, here's part of what it does for me:


Okay, okay....... that doesn't show up very well. I guess I'm still climbing the learning curve! Here's a link to the webpage with the data and route map

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today...........27...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
April total...629.....+........57.....=...........676
YTD...........2415....+.......743....=.........3158

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thursday, May 29, 2008

shame shame shame

It's been a tough week for me to get on the bike. Combination of busy with life, and just no impetus. (darn bike pansy has been lobbying hard!) I stopped by my local bike shop (LBS=Olsons)and the owner said he felt the same way this week. Must be something in the water. In the meantime one of my Race Across Oregon teammates is in hard into training for this weekends Team Time Trial. His team has been out on one hour training rides averaging 28-29 mph.

Talk about a call to action!
Shamed me into feeling I had to ride something somewhere.
I hopped on the artificial bike at the gym. 1 hour, 23 "miles", and a new found appreciation for the road bike.

I have a meeting from early morning until noon. Won't be back to my bike until around 1:30PM, but be assured that if I possibly can, I'll be back on it tomorrow!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............0..............23
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
April total...629.....+........57.....=...........676
YTD...........2388....+.......743....=.........3131

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Just a ramble around

Today was gray and cloudy however the roads were dry. Mid morning I finally hopped on the bike and went for a little random ride.... as in, "Gee an intersection, which way should I go?". I ended up on the west end of Skyline working my way towards Portland. I couldn't seem to find my rhythm today but did manage to log another 57 miles.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today...........57...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
April total...629.....+........57.....=...........676
YTD...........2388....+.......720....=.........3096

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sunday, May 25, 2008

ride when you can....................

because you never know what tomorrow may bring!

Yesterday afternoon was sunny and warm with a light breeze. I thought about riding just because the weather was so nice but decided not to since the plan was to do some hard riding in the West Hills this morning. Alas, by 8:30 PM last night we had a rare for these parts thunderstorm come through. It was one of the most intense t-storms that I remember happening here. Quite a show!

At any rate, this morning the roads were wet with a few showers playing around. The forcaster say there is a chance of more thunderstorms. Our ride organizer wisely cancelled today's ride. He may reschedule for tomorrow morning, but I already have plans for the morning. I may ride a more laid back ride tomorrow afternoon with some folks.

This morning I was already up, already had my bike ready to go. Figured I could just as well put in some miles as long as I stayed close in case the weather changed for the worse. I started by riding to Hagg Lake and making a lap then looped around Wapato Lake and back towards Forest Grove. All was going well, only a few light sprinkles from time to time, so I pedaled on over to the North Plains area. I took a little scenic tour of the local roads zigging and zagging my way back to Forest Grove. Other that having to wash the bike after riding wet roads, none the worse for wear.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today...........66...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
April total...629.....+........57.....=...........676
YTD...........2331....+.......720....=.........3039

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Ride of Silence

I participated in the Ride of Silence tonight. Team Troll, aka Dave and Laura, joined me along with a reasonable showing of folks.

The weather was cool with a few scattered light showers just prior to our start. The weather probably kept a few folks home. I'd estimate just slightly over 100 riders. Those who showed up did not lack motivation or understanding on why we were there. Scott Bricker, Executive Director of the BTA made a few comments to the group before we shoved off with full police escort allowing us to pass through intersections unimpeded and unhassled.

Joining us were several family members of Tracey Sparling who was killed this past year and who's ghost bike we passed.

Here's a photo of Tracy's mom Sophie riding in a pedicab. (I'm the rider on the left giving a helping hand to the pedicab peddler making his way up a slight hill)


I had attempted to use my helmet cam to record the pre-ride comments by Scott Bricker and the post-ride comments by Greg Raisman but seems that every time I rely on it, the helmet cam sound fails me. There are way too many extraneous sounds, rattles, clicks and whooshes as well as unexplained random changes in recording levels to make it listenable. :-(

I did get a rather lengthy clip of the ride as it unfolded,unedited except to chop it in two to meet maximum file size. Near the end of clip #1 includes the portion of the ride where we rode by Tracey Sparling's ghost bike.

clip #1


clip #2



Here's our group as we passed the ghost bike for Brett Jarolimek:


My personal thanks to the Portland Police (especially the motorcycle contingent) for their support of the Ride of Silence.


I managed to get the 8 miles of the ROS, plus another 2 of pre-ride puttering around, and a commute to a post-ride beer with 2 of the members of Team Troll.

I had been trying to find someone who wanted to join me on a long and/or difficult ride on either Saturday or Sunday. I was thinking of maybe doing some riding around in the West Hills or perhaps riding most or all of the Cherry Ride route. The instigator of most of the Sunday Irregular rides made it easy for me. He's doing a 55 mile ride with 4500 ft of climbing in the West Hills taking in McLean hill, Rocky Point, Old Skyline, Logie Trail, Mason Hill, Skyline, Thompson, and Cornell. I've decided to join him. Color me crazy.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today...........10...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
April total...629.....+........57.....=...........676
YTD...........2265....+.......720....=.........2973

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Monday, May 19, 2008

round and round we go

I took off at 5PM today and headed for a few laps around Hagg Lake. It was warm, but not terrribly so, with temps in the high 80's. It was rather humid though with some clouds coming in as the day wore on. I started my ride from the Lake Stop Store just not feeling up to riding out Hwy 47 today. I got 4 laps in before calling it a day.



A reminder that Wednesday evening the Ride of Silence will take place at 7PM. It's a ride to honor those killed or injured while cycling. The ride progresses in silence at no more than 10mph with a police escort............ very much like a funeral procession. I've participated the last two years and always found it to be a very moving experience.

The "official" announcement:
Please join the Bicycle Transportation Alliance for Portland's annual Ride of Silence. This slow, memorial ride will begin at 7pm at NW Park & Everett St. and will be 8 miles long. We will pass the ghost bikes for Tracy Sparling and Brett Jarolimek.
For a route map click here

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today...........46...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
April total...629.....+........57.....=...........676
YTD...........2255....+.......720....=.........2963

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Reaching the Beach...........or not



Like the sign says, there was only one way to go today, and that was to reach the beach! Dave, Laura, I....and about 2000 of our best bike buddies pointed our bikes towards Pacific City and pedaled. My schedule required that I be back on this end of the route late afternoon so my plan was not to reach the beach, but to reach Amity then pedal back to the start. That would give me the same miles, but at the end I'd be where I needed to be!

It was a WARM day, well into the 90's by the time I finished just after 2PM.

It was a good ride and would have been nice to continue on to the beach. It probably would have been a bit cooler there too.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today...........100...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
April total...629.....+........57.....=...........676
YTD...........2209....+.......720....=.........2917

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thursday, May 15, 2008

a really good ride

I had a meeting in Salem at 1PM, and as it ended up had a "pre-meeting" at noon so an early start was in order today. I left Forest Grove at 4:30AM and headed to Salem. It was clear with a noticable north breeze as I began my trip.

By the time I got to Newberg there was a rain shower working across the hills to the east. When I got just south of the Champoeg area there was total cloud cover with a brisk north wind blowing.

My bike buddy Erinn had an early morning errand to attend to and prefers to start today's ride in Jefferson. I had to finish in Salem due to time constraints so a Salem start made better sense for me. I planned to ride the first 25 miles solo until meeting up with Erinn in Jefferson. I had pedals spinning by 6:10AM, about 20 minutes later than I had hoped for. It was warm, I shed my windbreaker in the first 2 miles. I had a quartering to tailwind on the way south to Jefferson. Good thing to, because of my late start I knew I had to have better than a 20mph average to get to Jefferson by our agreed meeting time. As it ended up, my little "pre-ride commute" was a good thing, it forced my to ride harder than I normally would have.....the bike pansy was zipped tightly in the rear bag, in fact it may have fallen completely off the bike today! I pulled into Jefferson 5 minutes early..... with just over a 21 mph average for the 25 mile run. I was pleased.

Erinn and I rolled out of Jefferson and continued on the Peach of a Century route(metric version) that I had been following since Salem. With Jefferson being just about the most southerly point on the route, we were now heading into that wind.
It was a good ride. I felt strong.

I was on my aerobars most of the day and when we'd turn directly into the wind I'd just power through it. I still notice some residual effects of the resperatory problems of the last couple weeks, but for the most part it thankfully seems behind me now. The weather looked a little "iffy", we really expected some rain drops but they never materialized. The heavy low clouds stuck with us until around 9:30AM or so, then started clearing out.

My comfort level with traffic is a little higher than Erinn's, as she avoids riding the part of the route near Salem, even though it just skirts the edge of town. When we got about 5 miles from Salem, 58 miles for me, 28 for Erinn, it was time to part ways. We had agreed beforehand that I'd ride the complete route so I ended up in Salem at the end of the day, and she'd ride the eastern portion as an out and back. We visited a bit then went our separate ways. By the time we split up the sky had cleared and the sun was beginning to warm things up.

I continued on to Salem via the Peach route then rode a ~10 mile out and back mostly on Cordon Rd to bring me up to my planned 80 miles. Erinn was going to do the same on her end of the route. Since I started about an hour earlier I hoped that it wasn't too warm by the time Erinn got her 80 miles in.
It was 77 at my pickup when I got back. By late afternoon it was 86 in Salem as I headed back towards home after my meeting, and hit 90 as I got back to Forest Grove.
I'm glad we rode early.

With all of the miles of headwind I was surprised to see my average was 18.3 mph. I had rode 60+ miles on Tuesday and held just over 16 mph. I guess having a tight time schedule........and a riding partner to push you helps bring out the best.


My next planned ride is Saturday morning. I'm going to tag along with some friends who are riding Reach the Beach. My schedule won't allow the full ride to the beach, but I hope to ride about 40-50 miles out then return. My pace will be somewhat limited by the expected bike congestion and the pace of my partners but it will still be a good chance to spin some pedals.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............83...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
April total...629.....+........57.....=...........676
YTD...........2109....+.......720....=.........2817

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

the calm before the storm

I had a meeting in Portland all morning, now taking the afternoon to update my bike safety presentation that I have to present this Saturday evening. Tomorrow I chair a 1PM meeting in Salem, but am going to get an early start to the day by riding 80 miles with my bike buddy in the morning before the meeting. We plan on leaving Chemeketa Community College shortly after 6AM and riding Salem Bicycle Club's Peach of a Century route (100km version) then an out and back to bring us up to 80 miles. I have a 24 Hour Fitness "all club" membership and will take the opportunity to shower at the club just down the road from Chemeketa before heading over to the meeting near the Capital Building. Other than the bike locked in the back of the pickup, my meeting cohorts may never suspect that I just got done hammering out 80 miles! The weather guys say tomorrow is supposed to be in the 90's. Doesn't look like it now, but we'll see!

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

turning the corner

My health continues to improve. (yipee!) My riding buddy and I were going to ride down in the Salem area today but last minute problems scuttled that plan.
I decided it might just be a good day to ride the 62 mile Snoozeville Populaire route of the Oregon Randonneurs as a backup plan. It is sort of in my backyard, having only to commute about a mile to access the route. Still recovering I thought a brisk, but not blistering pace might be in order. I managed to ride the 65 miles in just a few minutes over 4 hours. Not bad for a "sicky". The morning had a few scattered showers and I managed to get hit by a few. Not too bad, it gave me an excuse to clean the bike up after the ride. ;-)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............65...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
April total...629.....+........57.....=...........676
YTD...........2026....+.......720....=.........2734

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sunday, May 11, 2008

mothers X4

I began my day by giving one of my sisters a mother's day card. She's not MY mother, but a mother none the less and I figured she deserved a card. (at least!)

After doing that I rode my bike from Wilsonville to my youngest sister's home in Tigard and gave her a card too. (yup, she's a mom too!)

My mom will get her card..... and a hanging basket of nasturtiums a little later today.

That will leave just one more sister to take care of, and I'll catch her this evening.

Oh, and on my little ride today I stumbled upon a place where you can get a heavenly maple bar in case you ever find yourself in need of one. ;-) Donut King in Tualatin will help you with your sweet tooth if you are ever in the area!


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............22...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
April total...629.....+........57.....=...........676
YTD...........1961....+.......720....=.........2669

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Butteville and a cookie

Dave, Laura, and I rode from Butteville today. We followed the Monster Cookie Metric Century route until we got to Hopmere. Laura was having a tough time today with having to fight a stiff south wind, and she flatted there so we fixed the flat, bought a cookie at the Hopmere store then turned and made our way to Hwy 99E. We hoped on the tailwind freight train and at Gervais jumped on Butteville Rd bringing us back into Butteville. It was a fun run, 20-22 mph the whole way. I'm still fighting the respiratory issues, but fared well today.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............40...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
April total...629.....+........57.....=...........676
YTD...........1939....+.......720....=.........2647

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Friday, May 9, 2008

A great day

Decided I could no longer justify not riding. I tried a few of my buddies to see if they could join me on a ride, no luck. I started off from the site of the Sunday Irregulars' rides and got an easy 42 miles in. Really nice weather and a somewhat subdued pace made it all good.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............42...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
April total...629.....+........57.....=...........676
YTD...........1899....+.......720....=.........2607

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Too much information

Last month the incessant ice, snow, and hail resulted in reduced miles for the month. Looks like this month health issues will be the demon. I NEVER get sick. I haven't missed a day of work or school since the 6th grade. (the 6th grade is ancient history for me!) I was able to ride last Sunday at perhaps 75% capacity without issues and could probably do at least that now. However, I was thinking that maybe a couple of days of complete rest would allow me to totally shake this. I'm in a lot better health than I was week ago, but still have congestion in my lungs and to some extent my sinuses. I breathe somewhat normally at rest, but deep breaths result in a noticeable wheeze. The few days of rest haven't eliminated that, but I do notice SLOW improvement.

But to get to the point, this month will probably end up with less riding too. That's not the way it's supposed to be....... I've got goals to achieve this summer!

I need to just get out and ride the bike!

Monday, May 5, 2008

Sunny day, warm temps......and tons of office work to do. :-(

It would be a nice day to go for a ride but I've got a project with a hard deadline that I need to wrap up today, so here I sit looking out the window at the sunny day instead of riding. It's probably just as well because my respiratory problems are still with me. My sinus congestion has cleared for the most part, but I still have a lot of down deep throat and lung congestion. My situation seems to be improving, albeit slowly.

I hope to have my project wrapped up by tomorrow with time to go for a short ride before I have to present in the evening.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Hopefully on the road to recovery

I bagged yesterday's planned ride in the Gorge because of respiratory issues. Today I thought a gentle bike ride might be just what I needed, increase circulation, loosen "lung debris", and just get out and enjoy the sun. (it was in the mid 70's today)

I had originally planned to ride from Cornelius Pass Roadhouse which would have given me about a 50 mile ride today, but decided if I would begin where my social bike club was starting out from (Grand Lodge) that 27 miles might be just enough for this sickly guy today.

It was a great day for a ride. We started off from Grand Lodge and made our way to Hagg Lake. Shawn decided that we all needed a lesson on how to change a flat on a road bike so he obliged us with an impromptu lesson.


The class in rapt attention!


All of us made one lap, some made two. I did one lap and a little random riding as well as an out and back to bring today's total for me to 32 miles. I was riding a slower pace, averaging just over 16 mph, but it felt surprisingly well.

We had a wide range of riders today, everything from seasoned roadies to a mountain bike, even a single speed. Some worked harder than others, but I think it's safe to say that we all had a good day........... at least we were all still speaking to each other at the "post ride briefing". ;-)


At the Iron Work Grill in Grand Lodge:





+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............32...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
April total...629.....+........57.....=...........676
YTD...........1857....+.......720....=.........2565

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Friday, May 2, 2008

John Day river

I whitewater rafted A LOT in my "previous life" and there was a feeling of being "home" when I awoke to the sound of a river rushing by in the morning. I felt the urge to grab a pump and head down to the tethered boat to "top it off". ;-) I took this picture about 6 AM before taking a walk along the river bank scanning the hillsides for deer!

Cary and I were both up early and had breakfast all finished and tents put away before J Micheal woke up. The dry climate and a gentle breeze eliminated any concerns about rolling up a damp tent. Morning temperature was mild, in the low 40's.



I had been trying to dodge a mild cold since about midweek. I told the teammates that I'd probably have to work a bit harder because of that, breathing issues and all. I was very surprised to wake up in the morning completely congested. Before this it was more of just a dry cough type cold.

I figured I'd just do what I could.
We started off from the little town of Kimberly. There can't be much for than 20 people who live there.

(there are some huge video files in this posting and none will play properly until all load completely)
"

Cary and I had our bikes ready to go before J Michael so we leaned them up against the side of the Kimberly Store while J Michael finished gearing up.

That proved to be a mistake.

About 4 miles into our ride I was surprised by a flat back tire. I run Slime Lite tubes and Kevlar tires. I haven't had a flat in years. The roads were debris free. Inspection showed a very small thorn, less than half the diameter of a sewing needle, had found it's way to my tube and with each revolution of the wheel it would wiggle around and let air out. I pulled the thorn and was somewhat surprised to find that the tube did not leak. The Slime had plugged the leak once the thorn was no longer an issue. It didn't take long for Cary to figure out where I had picked that up, he inspected his tires since we parked our bikes in the same weed patch. Sure enough, he had a thorn in his tire too. I looked my tires over and found one more in the rear tire, and one in the front. By deflating the tires we were able to pinch the tire and pull the thorns. Unfortunately, in the airing up process, my valve stem broke. In went the spare tube.

With our tire woes hopefully behind us we continued east towards Long Creek. The first part of our ride would take us over the flatest part of the RAO course, a rolling 15 miles to Monument. From there we would begin a long several thousand foot climb.

As we rode along the rolling terrain my throat began to burn and I'd break into coughing spells. At one point the gasping for air and hard breathing triggered a hard cough that resulted in throwing up. At that point I knew I just was not going to keep up today with the serious climbing in store for us and the time constraints of finishing before dark.

A fall back plan was hatched. Cary and J Michael would ride on, I would continue on as long as I was comfortable, albeit at a slower pace to keep from aggravating my throat any more than necessary. At some point I'd turn around and ride back to my pickup, where I'd drive today's route in reverse meeting back up with the guys and then assume "support duties".

Once I dropped off the fast pace of my two partners I improved and coughing didn't happen near as often or near as hard. I thought it might be a nice goal to ride a metric century....62 miles. I got out of the rollers and started the serious climbing. I just kept working my way up. The grade relented for a short stretch as it went through the small town of Hamilton, then resumed the climb up.

I finally got to the top, there was a little snow around in the trees. I looked at the drop before me to the town of Long Creek. I didn't feel I had it in me to make that descent only to turn around and climb back out. I turned around with 26 miles on the odometer. A wind had developed that ended up being a headwind on the way back to Kimberly. It kept my downhill speed to between 35 and 40, a manageable speed on these sweeping turns.

From the handlebar cam:


There were some very pretty views and I was glad we got the chance to see this in daylight, when riding RAO this entire stretch will be in the dark.







When I got off the hill I had to put a bit of effort into riding the rollers into the wind. I thought about my teammates who would be riding a long stretch on Hwy 26 through Dayville the same direction and likely battling the same wind.

With my breathing issues it was the hardest riding I've ever done. This was harder than any of my one day STP's. I took a little rest as I went through the town of Monument.



After a short tour of Monument I pushed on. I finally rolled into Kimberly, so glad to finally have the bike portion behind me. I just sat on my tailgate and drank some water and had a few cookies....I'm sure with a blank stare on my face! The temperature was 70 degrees. I ended up with 52 hard earned miles. I finally got enough energy to change out of my bike togs and into "regular" clothes. The store in Kimberly with it's one gas pump closed at 3PM and I just missed it, so I drove back to Spray to get gas.

I then beat feet backwards along our route to assume my support duties. I got to the intersection of Hwy 26 and was a little surprised that I hadn't seen the guys along that stretch of the North Fork of the John Day river. I didn't get more than a mile or two east on 26, right in the Picture Gorge section when as I came around a corner where vision was obscured by the narrow gorge, here comes J Michael and Cary, just flying. I turned around and was going to come in behind them. They pulled of at a wide spot in the road. I thought they might need a refill of water bottles..... but they said that with 93 miles under their belts, and several high mountain passes they were ready to call it a day. The unnamed pass on Hwy 395 south of Long Creek is in excess of 5100 ft. They reported a lot of snow around, but no issues with the route like hairpin turns, rough road, and the like. They said that the pull into the wind was brutal. They took turns leading their mini peloton with about 1 minute pulls, but there just weren't enough riders to allow much rest between pulls. It had drained them.

We loaded up the bikes, they changed out of their bike clothes, and we proceeded to follow the RAO route by auto back as much as possible. Some of the roads are still closed by snow.

This part of Oregon is so friendly....rural America at it's finest. As we drove the route we figured about 2/3 of passing vehicles would wave, uninitiated by us. As we rode bikes most drivers waved at us.....and unlike in the big cities, they used ALL their fingers!

They also have a good sense of humor.
(click on photo for larger version)




The sign at the base of the tree says "No cherries, no peaches, just a few pairs"



+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............52...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
April total...629.....+........57.....=...........676
YTD...........1825....+.......720....=.........2533

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Thursday, May 1, 2008

On our way to ride bike!

We are on our way to preview part of the Race Across Oregon route. We will drive much of it, and plan to ride about 113 miles of which 93 will be on the RAO route.

I picked up J Michael and we drove to Government Camp on Mt Hood where Cary joined us.
We had a bite to eat at a brewpub and here are the lads toasting to our success.



Our plan is to drive to near Service Creek and camp along the John Day river, about 1/2 hour from our bike starting point of Kimberly, Oregon. One of the team had some time constraint issues and we got a late start so we didn't make it to Service Creek until just before midnight. It didn't take long for any of us to fall asleep.

April totals finally tabulated......... looks like the snow and rain won out way too many times. I'm going backward!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today.............0...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
April.........629.....+........57.....=...........676
YTD...........1771....+.......720....=.........2481

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++