The value of nutrition

I took off very early this morning on short notice to join my brother-in-law on his 20 mile bike commute to work. Unfortunately he didn't know I was coming........and I didn't know his route! I arrived at his work shortly after he did. It was such a nice day I decided to ride more even though I only had one water bottle with me, no food, and no money! Here's where I went:



The Garmin software, "Training Center", tells me the total miles was 124.36, it goes on to say that I burned 10,475 calories, and climbed a total of 16,314 ft.

I took it a bit easy since I knew I was going to be running on empty. Dave lent me $10 before I pedaled away this morning. That got me a good breakfast at Village Inn Pancake House with a few bucks to spare in reserve for later in the day.

The San Diego Tour Guide had spent a good deal of time helping me navigate in San Diego and really went above and beyond by supporting me in my crazy riding in Death Valley. It would have been nice to have returned the favor today by showing the Tour Guide one of my favorite rides, as well as a stop for breakfast along the way!

Having fueled up I decided to head eastward towards the Columbia River Gorge. The ride out was uneventful while at the same time being enjoyable. I only had one water bottle with me so I kept an eye open for opportunities to refill it. I didn't have much trouble keeping hydrated today, but it was straight water, no added goodies.

The new bike made it up to Chanticleer Point like a champ.


I rode to Multnomah Falls where I used my remaining monetary supplies to get a corndog, the only thing on the menu that I had enough to cover!

I continued on my way eastward out past the recently reopened Oneonta Tunnel.

I rode as far as I could without getting on the freeway. That amounts to a few miles beyond Ainsworth State Park to a dead end after crossing under the freeway.

Surprisingly, winds in the Gorge today were light, almost imperceptible. I turned around and began the return trip. Just before reaching the Oneonta Tunnel I came across two "grandmotherly type" women, one had crawled have way under their car. I stopped and offered to help. I had no tools or supplies of any kind with me but figured maybe I could do something. A plastic splash pan had come loose under the engine and was dragging on the road. To make a long story short I used some gauze from their first aid kit to tie the offending piece back up and send them on their way. Just trying to earn my way to heaven!

The waterfalls today were in fine form.


I was bonking hard. My stomach was growling, my legs were cramping, I was tired. I just kept pedaling along because there was no other option. Once I got to Troutdale I pushed along pretty hard because I was to meet Dave back near the Rose Garden and join him on a 28 mile return ride to Wilsonville......via Pete's Mountain! I didn't take time to refill water along this last leg and paid for it a bit. I really was in hydration deficit by the time I arrived at his work.........with 2 minutes to spare.

We rode along the waterfront on the Springwater Trail. Near Oaks Park Dave gave me a Cliff Bar from his supplies. I downed it quickly, I could have eaten a dozen of them!
Just before beginning the climb of Pete's Mountain Dave handed me his last treat, a strawberry Cliff Shot. Dave led the way up the climb with me just trying to hang on.

As we made our way out Mountain Rd just east of Wilsonville Dave was out in front by a good half mile. Dave has beaten me back to his house the last two rides. I saw him attacking the hills hard. I knew he was going for a threepeat. I was tired, I was hot, I had already ridden over 120 miles with temps in the upper 80's,..........but I had this new carbon bike and some pride. Dave was NOT going to beat me today. I dug deep and tried to close the gap. He made the turn onto Advance Rd and I had closed the gap to 1/4 mile. There are some tight turns on a descent. I have a little less trepidation on descents than Dave does. I hit the hairpin corners a little faster than Dave did, and as he began the climb out of the little del I carried enough momentum to catch him before he reached the top. I continued to pour it on because I was NOT going to let him "reach the barn" before me. I wasn't sure I could hold out, but was going to do my best.

There are some big roller coaster hills on Advance Rd. The first one being the biggest. I got a good run at it, but with tired legs it wasn't quite good enough. Dave caught me again just before the top. We traded the lead back and forth a bit.
He had the lead as we hit the second roller coaster but not by much.

It is said that all is fair in love and war.........what they don't tell you is that some times all is fair in friendly competition between brother-in-laws. With just a few blocks left Dave was ahead by about 40 ft. He continued straight ahead to take the road that cars take. .....I turned left 1 block earlier, inched my way around a locked gate across the road, and pedaled HARD. I pulled into his driveway about a minute ahead of him. Enough to break the string!


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...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today...........124...............0................124
Jan total.......501.....+.........30.......=.......531
Feb total.......614.....+.........0........=.......614
March total.....860.....+.........0........=.......860
April total.....790.....+.........0........=.......790
May total.......901.....+.........0........=.......901
June total......543.....+.........0........=.......543
July total......124.....+.........0........=.......124
Year to date...4394.....+.........30.......=......4424
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