Death Valley

The time has arrived. My crew and I leave for the Furnace Creek 508 today.

I'd like to take a few moments to thank first and foremost my crew. This ride would not be possible without the commitment and support of these three fine men. My deepest thanks to John Henry, J. Murray, and Dave.

I also want to thank my mom and sisters. While not understanding this craziness (few do!) they have supported me as I have worked towards this for the last three years. Also a shout out to my niece Laura, who designed the Desert Coyote logo shown above for me.

Many of you reading this deserve thanks as well. Many of you were there prodding me along to ride when it was wet, cold, hot, windy......or I just wanted to be doing something else.

My Oregon Randonneur buddies could always be counted on to ride even if the weather was less than ideal. Heck, some would argue that they ride especially if the weather is less than ideal! Who else would have 100% turnout for a ride that starts out in 52 degrees and rain? (Snoozeville Populaire anyone?) John, Joanne, Elise, Bill, Cecil, Lynne, and all the rest, my thanks to you for being there and showing me the value of pushing on regardless.

The active members of my social bike group deserve my gratitude as well. Everyone needs a little ego stroking from time to time, lets you know that your progress is being noted. Kris, Mark H, Mark K, Brian, Frank, Doak, Luis, Carol, and others shared many a mile with me (and a brew or two!) as I worked towards this.

And I thank the mid-week after work ride group at Olson's Bicycles in Forest Grove for bringing me back down to earth and letting me know just how far I have to go yet as they drop me off the back.........quite regularly! Owner, Mike Olson, has also helped me immeasurably, whether working on my bike or sharing advice on endurance events.

And though things did not end as I would have liked, I especially want to thank Debra, the "San Diego Tour Guide". Without her support I would not have been able to ride Townes Pass and Death Valley in June. That experience will be invaluable as I struggle over Townes Pass and ride across Death Valley in the darkness of Saturday evening.

Finally, I want to thank all of you who have sent your wishes via email. I'll do my best to not let you all down.

Ready or not...........this test begins.


My crew will try to post an update to this blog if they can get cell service along the route, likely near Baker, 400 miles in. Of course when I get back I'll post a recap here.

A more reliable source of data will come from the ride organizers who have satellite phones and such and will have time station data and some video posted on the web.

Here are the links they sent out to us:

WEBCAST INDEX
The webcast will be at this specific link, so let your family, friends, fans, sponsors, and local media know that they will be able to track your progress via our webcast:

http://www.the508.com/2009web/index.html


TWITTER
We will also post updates via Twitter. Spread the word and become a follower!

http://twitter.com/adventurecorps

FACEBOOK
We also post 508-related news to our FaceBook page. Spread the word and become a fan!

http://www.facebook.com/adventurecorps

YOUTUBE
We also post our 508 videos to our YouTube channel, and we're happy to feature your own 508 YouTube videos there, too.

http://www.youtube.com/adventurecorps


Let's get on with this!

1 day to go

My crew and I leave for Santa Clarita and the Furnace Creek 508 tomorrow night. I spent today chasing last minute details and bringing my bike to my LBS, Olson's Bicycles in Forest Grove. Mike Olson chased down the creaking sound that has been hounding me on and off for weeks. At first it was assembly issues with loose chainrings, loose rear derailleur, poor bottom bracket fit, Performance Bicycles fixed those issues under warranty. My Zipp wheels weren't covered under that so I went to Olson's and the wheel bearings got replaced. (they needed it) Today the rear hub got taken apart, cleaned, and re-lubed. I took the bike out tonight just before dark to give it a test spin...it passed the test!.....and attempt to get 6 miles to break the 1400 mile mark for the month. When the month started I had almost certain dreams of logging 2000 miles. Little did I know just how much time would be spent on Furnace Creek preparations. I also had a splattering of meetings to attend, but the business of preparing the support vehicle and race planning consumed the majority of my time.

Oh well, there's no award for getting 2000 miles in a month. It just would have been a nice feather in the helmet.........and put me just that much closer to riding more miles than Joanne and Cecil Anne!


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today.............6...............0..................6
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.....1322.....+.........0........=......1322
August total...1603.....+.........0........=......1603
Sept total.....1401.....+.........0........=......1401
Year to date...8584.....+.........30.......=......8614
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Wow, on the bike again

Between out of town meetings and FC 508 prepartations I haven't had much time to ride lately. Today I managed to get out on Salem Bicycle Club's "Peach of a Century".
The Peach is always a fast ride, seems that everyone has had all summer to get in bike shape and anxious to show off their fitness level one last time before the fall rains set in. Today was no exception. The only difference this time around was that I was one of the speedier riders. I was passed by 3 riders while on the road but passed hundreds. Others passed while I was chatting with friends at the rest stops, but when on the road I was pretty strong today. We rode into a pretty stiff headwind for much of the ride. It slowed me down a bit, but not as much as the others. Looks like my mega mile training has payed off. Now if it's just enough to carry me 509.58 miles through the Mojave Desert and Death Valley!

Back to the Peach! It was a nice ride, well supported. It was great weather, not too hot, not too cold, beautiful blue sky after a few morning clouds burned off. We rode across one covered bridge, and rode within view of a second before taking a turn before crossing it. The Stayton rest stop was actually ON the third covered bridge of the day.

Here's the first bridge:


I had a 17.5 mph average for the 104 miles, not bad considering the hills and headwinds on the middle half of today's ride.

Our route is HERE

After the ride we are treated to a slice of peach pie. Very yummy! I was lucky enough to enjoy the company of Elise and Joanne, Oregon Randonneur friends, while eating mine. Just as I'm feeling pretty good about finally riding more miles than Cecil Anne along comes Joanne........who's logged over 9100 miles so far this year.

With any luck I will gain on her a bit next weekend..... but holy smokes, what does a guy have to do to stay ahead of these women? !!!!!!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today...........104...............0................104
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.....1322.....+.........0........=......1322
August total...1603.....+.........0........=......1603
Sept total.....1395.....+.........0........=......1395
Year to date...8578.....+.........30.......=......8608
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

No, you haven't been missing anything

I'm the one missing something...riding! I had thought that if I could just ride my bike the usual amount but actually ride it 4 weeks of the month that I'd get 2000 miles in a month, for the first and very likely the last, time.

That idea has gone out the window. I hadn't taken into account just how much time would be required to get all the details in order for a Furnace Creek 508 endeavor. I had done much of this before when I was a member of the Race Across Oregon team last year, but had some help then, and it was local so there wasn't quite the planning required. Travel to and from as well as lodging and meals for the crew and I weren't even on the table for RAO.

I've spent the week getting the support vehicle set up. It's ready to go as of 5PM today. Flashing amber lights, "Caution Bikes Ahead" signage, rider ID signage, 115v service for the microwave oven, charging stations for GPS, cell phones, walkie talkies, laptop. Auxilliary lighting for better night illumination as well as a feeding zone light, a trouble light utilizing our 115v for roadside repairs on the bike at night, vehicle flats, engine trouble, just about anything at night that happens within 25 ft of the vehicle........the list goes on.

It was a perfect day to be on the bike, but I just didn't get there. Tomorrow afternoon I'm off to a two day conference/meeting related to one of the other hats I wear. I'm taking my bike with me in hopes of getting some riding in each morning before the meeting get started.

So, if you wonder why I haven't been logging my rides the answer is simple....
I haven't been riding!
:-(

Keizer Metric +

It was another gorgeous day. I re-rode the Keizer Metric Century route with a 12 mile round trip commute to and from the start location. Typical of the season, the morning was a bit brisk but before long the jacket was off as well as the arm warmers. A bit of a wind developed later in the morning but I was off the road before it became too much of an issue.

Went shopping for more Furnace Creek supplies later in the day. Time is rapidly approaching for all details to be taken care of.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............79...............0.................79
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.....1322.....+.........0........=......1322
August total...1603.....+.........0........=......1603
Sept total.....1291.....+.........0........=......1291
Year to date...8474.....+.........30.......=......8504
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Homework

Some days I feel like riding...a lot. Other days I really don't feel like riding at all. Today was one of those days where I just didn't want to ride.....but did. It's like homework, it has to be done.

I rode the Wilsonville Century route again. The weather was nice, perfect really. It probably would have helped to have a riding buddy but I was solo, as I will be at Furnace Creek.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today...........107...............0................107
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.....1322.....+.........0........=......1322
August total...1603.....+.........0........=......1603
Sept total.....1212.....+.........0........=......1212
Year to date...8395.....+.........30.......=......8425
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Success!

The weather forecast was for a rainy morning. Frank and I had ridden earlier in the week and he expressed interest in riding a century, his first. The forecast was for a rainy morning so we looked for a route on the drier east side of the Cascade Mtns, and hoped to find one close enough to do as a day trip. A group of Oregon Randonneurs were riding a permanent that began in John Day and traveled much of the same roads that we rode on the `08 Race Across Oregon. It would have been nice to be back in that country but it was just too far to go.

We decided instead to ride the Cherry Ride route. Normally I'd start that in Hood River but the Mosier Twin Tunnel section of the old historic hwy is still closed due to a forest fire that burned in the area a few weeks ago. We started in Mosier instead and knew we'd just have to add a few miles to be sure to get the full 100 miles in. Starting in Mosier also meant that we began the climb up 7 Mile Hill without a warmup! At least we were succesful in finding dry weather. After non stop rain falling as we drove east until nearly Hood River the skies cleared and the roads were dry by the time we got to Mosier.

Here's Frank just getting started up 7 Mile Hill. (note the smile rather than a look of anguish!)

This is one of the tougher century rides around. Not only is there significant climbing, but often a brisk wind also. Today was no exception with winds in excess of 20 mph. There are also some long stretches without an opportunity to resupply unless you are riding on the "official ride" in Spring, or stash some supplies ahead of time at the far end. :-)

Here's Frank climbing away from the Columbia River.

The roads are quite nice to ride, very low traffic and what traffic there was seemed to have read the "Be nice to cyclists" memo! We both commented about that several times as we rode.




It was Frank's turn for tire problems today. First he developed a bubble on his tire. Luckily I had a folding spare along.

30 or 40 miles later he noticed a slow leak in his tube, so once again it was time to practice roadside repairs!

After the tire/tube problems we got a bit later than originally planned, but it did make for some nice photo ops with the long shadows.






I had been ahead of Frank on the 40 mph descent from Cherry Heights when he had the first tire issue and by the time I got the phone call I was 2 1/2 miles down the hill. I rode back up to help out. Because of that I was 5 miles ahead of Frank on the speedometer. Even with those "bonus miles" I was going to be short of the 100 when we got back to Mosier. There is a flat section of road just before dropping into Mosier which today was experiencing cross wind rather than a headwind/tailwind and we both used that opportunity to do a little back and forth on that 1.5 mile stretch to make sure we had our century complete.

The sun was just going down as we reached Mosier......with Frank's first century firmly in the bag! Congratulations to him!



+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today...........103...............0................103
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.....1322.....+.........0........=......1322
August total...1603.....+.........0........=......1603
Sept total.....1105.....+.........0........=......1105
Year to date...8288.....+.........30.......=......8318
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Some hills then some fast flat!

I started off mid afternoon with a ride from near US 26 and Cornelius Pass Road and rode out to Jackson School Rd via the Snoozeville Populaire route. From there I climbed up Mason Hill Rd then down Jackson Quarry Rd to Helvetia Rd, then up Logie Trail to Skyline before taking Rock Creek Rd back down to Old Cornelius Pass Rd and returning to my starting point.........where Carol joined me for a flat and fast ride out Evergreen Rd eventually reaching Forest Grove. We tootled around the residential streets of Forest Grove and Cornelius in an effort to stay off TV Highway as long as possible. We finally jumped on that and rode into Hillsboro then skirted along secondary roads before returning to our starting point. Carol had hoped I'd be tired after riding the hills .........ha! I tried to keep it below 20... did pretty well, but at times the speedo would creep up a bit. She kept up pretty well. I had lights on as we rode the last 8-10 miles and finally with a rabbit out in front of me, a tailwind behind me, and the buttery smooth Evergreen Rd under me I got on the pedals. I held a minimum of 25 mph for the 5 mile run on Evergreen. I passed the rabbit, and dropped Carol. The rabbit told Carol, "your friend left you for dead". Gee, didn't mean to. ;-)

Tomorrow I will finally get out of this 50-60 mile slump I'm in. Frank and I will be riding the Cherry Ride route out of The Dalles. We will be seeking dry weather, and Frank's first century! What a century to tackle first, SIGNIFICANT climbing! Tune in tomorrow for a report.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............58...............0.................58
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.....1322.....+.........0........=......1322
August total...1603.....+.........0........=......1603
Sept total.....1002.....+.........0........=......1002
Year to date...8185.....+.........30.......=......8215
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Loop, lunch, loop

Frank had posted a lunchtime ride today for our social bike group that would start at PCC Rock Creek and climb to Skyline then down Logie Trail and a return to PCC via Keiser Rd. Carol joined us today as a last minute entry. As we made our way along Skyline Rd we were treated to great views of the (for now!) rural scenery of the Helvetia area.


Carol was a trooper today. Here she is climbing some of the 3197 ft of total elevation gain on our route.


We rode a more relaxed pace today than last time and it gave us enough extra energy in reserve that Frank and I took a ride down Beck Rd and back up the other side adding both mileage and elevation gain to the original route.(Frank climbing Beck Rd)
We met back up with Carol at the Logie Trail/Beck Rd intersection.

From there it was a fast roll down Logie Trail to Helvetia Rd.
(Frank coming to the end of the descent on Logie Trail)

Frank and I were a little more willing to let the bikes roll in excess of 40mph than Carol was and we reached the Logie Trail/Helvetia Rd intersection just a few minutes before her.


From there it was a pretty flat ride back to PCC via Helvetia Rd/Old Cornelius Pass Rd/Germantown Rd/Keiser Rd/ and finally Springville Rd. A good ride!

After our ride Carol and I had lunch at the Helvetia Tavern while Frank had to get back to real life.

After lunch the weather was so nice, my bike was screaming for more miles, and I still had plenty of legs.... I rode the route a second time!

Again, not many miles, but at least today I logged nearly 6400 ft of climbing!


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............53...............0.................53
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.....1322.....+.........0........=......1322
August total...1603.....+.........0........=......1603
Sept total......944.....+.........0........=.......944
Year to date...8127.....+.........30.......=......8157
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

No way to train!

I listened to the weather forecast that predicted rain by afternoon. I decided I'd better get on the bike early. Well, not too early as I had a few errands to run.
I did end up on the bike and got a measly 54 miles before the drips started falling.
I spent the rest of the afternoon working on FC 508 details. The most exciting of those details was that I picked up my signage today! Our support vehicle will have some nice looking signs on it.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............54...............0.................54
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.....1322.....+.........0........=......1322
August total...1603.....+.........0........=......1603
Sept total......891.....+.........0........=.......891
Year to date...8074.....+.........30.......=......8104
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Going the wrong way!

I really need to be riding hard and long right now but can't seem to get it done. I had hoped to get on the bike early before other details got in the way. Before I accomplished that I got sidetracked on non-riding Furnace Creek preparations. I justified it by thinking, "no problem, I can start at 10 AM and still get some miles in". That changed to starting at noon, then middle of the afternoon. Finally at 5 PM after picking up the rebearinged Zipps I went out for a short test ride. I got 11 miles in before having to get cleaned up for a social bike club gathering at REI to attend a seminar on winter riding.

It's supposed to rain tomorrow afternoon. That just might provide the impetus to get on the bike earlier in the day!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............11...............0.................11
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.....1322.....+.........0........=......1322
August total...1603.....+.........0........=......1603
Sept total......837.....+.........0........=.......837
Year to date...8020.....+.........30.......=......8050
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Another low mileage day

Yesterday while the bike was in the shop the tech had some questions on whether a bad sound was coming from the rear hub or the bottom bracket. With two sets of wheels it was an easy thing to track down. This morning I swapped out the Zipps (and the accompanying carbon friendly brake shoes) and replaced them with the stock Ksyrium Equipe's. I went for a ride in the Helvetia area looking for some good ascents to test the bike under pressure. I found them!

I also brought the Zipp 404's into my local bike shop to have new bearings put in them. :-(

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............59...............0.................59
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.....1322.....+.........0........=......1322
August total...1603.....+.........0........=......1603
Sept total......826.....+.........0........=.......826
Year to date...8009.....+.........30.......=......8039
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Art's Hubbard social ride..... x2

Art from my social bike group liked the ride we did a few weeks ago so well that he led it today as an organized ride for the group. Frank and I decided we would ride the 35 mile route at 7AM and be back in time to join the group for the 9:30AM official start. The weather was ideal and we rode hard. We made it back in plenty of time to join the others.

The second lap was significantly slower than the first, but that's okay. It was nice to see so many out on their bikes. I counted 15 of us today.

Art had a flat tire today, but luckily it was a front tire, and we had all we needed to fix it. All chipped in to help or at least offer verbal support!

The route went from Wilsonville to Butteville, south on Butteville Rd to Broadacres Rd, then over to Hubbard, Canby, and across the Canby Ferry before challenging the hill on Advance Rd and back into Wilsonville.

I commuted to the ride, plus did a few "test drive" miles at Performance Bicycles after their shop did some tuneups, bringing me to 76 miles for the day. Still not getting the long miles in, but at least I'm getting miles!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............76...............0.................76
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.....1322.....+.........0........=......1322
August total...1603.....+.........0........=......1603
Sept total......767.....+.........0........=.......767
Year to date...7950.....+.........30.......=......7980
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Warm

It was a warm September day, the opening day of High Cascade Buck season, the first time in 33 years that I have not been up near timberline on the North Sister just enjoying the beauty of the world around me. But alas, I have a goal this year and need to keep working towards it. It is all consuming at this point.

Today I worked on the support vehicle lights and 120v system, then went for a ride to Forest Grove to pick up some items for the ride through the desert that I had in storage. It was near 90 degrees today as I rode. Not all that bad as long as I wasn't riding too hard. ;-)


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............68...............0.................68
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.....1322.....+.........0........=......1322
August total...1603.....+.........0........=......1603
Sept total......691.....+.........0........=.......691
Year to date...7874.....+.........30.......=......7904
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

split mileage

I started late this morning by re-riding the Keizer Metric Century route that is actually only 61 miles long, relatively flat. Late in the day I joined Frank and Luis from my social bike group on a 24 mile ride in the Helvetia/Skyline area. A few more hills on this ride, 2643 ft of climbing according to my Garmin. Not bad for a 24 mile route! I didn't have my camera with me, wouldn't you know it! But the weather was beautiful and the views from Skyline were awesome. I rode around the parking lot of our starting point (PCC) while waiting for the others to arrive getting in 2 extra miles, bringing my day's total to 87 miles.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............87...............0.................87
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.....1322.....+.........0........=......1322
August total...1603.....+.........0........=......1603
Sept total......623.....+.........0........=.......623
Year to date...7806.....+.........30.......=......7836
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

short ride

I spent the majority of the day on preparations for the Furnace Creek 508. Lights, signs, wiring, etc. Late today I finally hopped on the bike. I rode from Wilsonville to Liberal and back. 34 miles before hunger won out.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............34...............0.................34
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.....1322.....+.........0........=......1322
August total...1603.....+.........0........=......1603
Sept total......536.....+.........0........=.......536
Year to date...7719.....+.........30.......=......7749
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Wilsonville Century....revisited

Today Doak and I rode a route we call the Wilsonville Century. It's a 103 mile route that takes us from Wilsonville to Champoeg, to Keizer via Saint Paul, Wheatland and Windsor Island then turns east into Silverton and continues to Scotts Mills, Molalla, Liberal, and Canby, then over the ferry and back to Wilsonville. Along the way the route accumulates nearly 5000 ft of climbing, all in the last half the direction we rode it today. (can you say "Bird Hill"?)

Doak is a strong rider and we pushed hard to Keizer. We rode consistently in the low 20's. The nice thing about this route is that there are opportunities to refuel and rehydrate about every 20 miles. We took advantage of the opportunity in Keizer and ate a pretty good lunch. We had begun our ride at 10AM today so it was lunch time by the time we got to Keizer.

The day started with a reminder that fall is approaching. It was blue sky and cloudless, but quite cool. I had long riding pants on and armwarmers along with a windbreaker. I kept it all on for about the first 25 miles when I took off the windbreaker. I didn't roll up the armwarmers until mile 55 even though we were riding hard.

Doak kept right with me (albeit in my draft most of the time) on the flat first half. When we started the climbing my mega mile training and hill work showed itself. I was able to stay out in front without problem once we got in the hills. That's a good thing...........I've got just a few short weeks before I need to be able to RIDE hills, Doak doesn't have to worry about that right now.

He had never seen a Willamette River ferry so our ride across the Canby Ferry at about mile 92 was a treat for him.

We finished strong and rode back into Wilsonville with 103 miles on the odometers. I added 4 because I rode to the ride.

A great day on the bike!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today...........107...............0................107
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.....1322.....+.........0........=......1322
August total...1603.....+.........0........=......1603
Sept total......502.....+.........0........=.......502
Year to date...7685.....+.........30.......=......7715
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The Keizer Metric Century

5 of us rode from Butteville today in search of a metric century.



We pedaled west to begin with, past Champoeg Park, across Hwy 219 and generally followed the Willamette River to Keizer.

Along the way James had his head down and missed a turn, Dave, Elise, and I waited.


While Doak chased him down and brought him back to the fold.


We reached Keizer, our halfway point today, and stopped for some food and drink at the Albertsons there.


It was a good day for a ride and all of us enjoyed the day.



Dave


Elise


James


Doak


We had one rain shower today, and we watched the black clouds approaching for quite some time. Luckily most of us got to this lovely shelter before we got wet! (Our thanks to the owner!)


We were in Marion County, and along with a few less than courteous drivers we noticed this.

I guess if you don't ask you won't receive!

We finished up our ride with a mile short of our 62 mile (100k) planned mileage, but it was no big deal to us. We retired to Wanker's Corner for our post ride debriefing where our favorite waitress was there to help us out!


Tomorrow at least two of us are planning to ride a 103 mile route from Wilsonville, our aptly named "Wilsonville Century". Leaving Fry's parking lot at 10AM, join us if your have the day!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............61...............0.................61
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.....1322.....+.........0........=......1322
August total...1603.....+.........0........=......1603
Sept total......395.....+.........0........=.......395
Year to date...7578.....+.........30.......=......7608
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Rain, wind, FUN!

I continue my low mileage days logging a mere 55 miles today. I joined 6 other folks from my social bike group for Paul's Sunday Social Saunter Series. We started at Scholls Heights Elementary as is normal for this weekly event.

The wind was blowing in excess of 20 mph, the rain and hail were falling hard as we milled around the parking lot. We figured we just as well shove off and ride to Hagg Lake since we were getting wet anyway!



Our group had varying speed today so we planned to regroup from time to time. Here's some of our group riding into Scholls, our first regroup location.


The forecast was for showers in the AM turning to rain and/or t-storms by afternoon. We did experience some very hard rain showers from time to time, some with hail.
Here's Ann riding near Gaston with some very ominous clouds hard on her tail!


With the very hard rain falling in the foothills most of our group stayed at the Lake Stop Store snacking and sipping on hot drinks while 3 of us rode up to Hagg Lake. One of our small entourage had only been there once many years ago.


When we got back down to the Lake Stop Store James partook in a little trash talk and told those that didn't make the trip to the lake that he loved riding in the rain!


We rode up Blooming-Fernhill Rd adding a significant hill, but cutting a couple of miles from the route. It also gave Ann a good view of Forest Grove!


Surprisingly it was a good ride! Our group had high spirits despite the wind and rain. We all agreed that if this were November we'd be overjoyed that it was warm!
True dat!

Tomorrow a few of us are riding a metric century loop beginning in Butteville and riding to Keizer and back. Only a 20% chance of rain, so James will just have to make do! ;-)




+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............55...............0.................55
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.....1322.....+.........0........=......1322
August total...1603.....+.........0........=......1603
Sept total......334.....+.........0........=.......334
Year to date...7517.....+.........30.......=......7547
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

What a difference a day makes

I joined a group of 35-40 bike riders ....hmmm, given the rainy weather maybe these folks were all CYCLISTS... no fair weather social riders today....to show support for the Helvetia area and their battle to be designated a "rural reserve" rather than an "urban reserve" in Metro's land use plan. The irony that the new building we met at (Team Estrogen) was built on land that was farm land not very long ago was not lost on me. Sort of struck me as "I've got mine, now go away".

I saw fellow Oregon Randonneur Lynne, and met her other half, the often alluded to but rumored to not actually exist, Fitz. Usually when one see's Lynne, Cecil Anne is not far away, but I didn't see her. Seems from her Facebook post that she was busy making "the best zucchini bread ever"...........and not sharing it with us! ;-)

At any rate, it was a rainy day, our first in quite some time. Quite a change from yesterday. There was a surprisingly large turnout. There were two ride options, a shorter ride and a longer version. I decided to ride the longer option..........no surprise there!

I brought my Marin, because it has a rear luggage deck that shields me from wheel rooster tail and because I did not want to take the Zipp 404's on the carbon bike on the wet and gritty roads. I'm concerned about grit getting down in the valve extenders and mucking up the sealing surface on the open valves deep down in the wheel.

Before our ride there were several speakers talking about the importance of saving the farm ground and rural character of the area. Like I said, sitting in this brand new building situated on land that I had sprayed for a farmer not too many years ago and hearing folks talk about the importance of saving farm ground and rural character seemed to ring a bit hollow.

I've spent my life in this area, I know the farmers in the area. I knew both farmers who spoke. One especially talked about sharing roads with cyclists. He related how last summer he was driving a loaded truck (40,000 lbs net, ~60,000 gross) on West Union Rd and attempting to pass a group of cyclists. He said as he went around the cyclists he met another group of cyclists coming the other way AND an oncoming car. He said there were mere inches between his truck and the cyclists and that it scared him. A thought for my farmer friend (and yes, I will call him this evening) if it scared HIM as he sat high above the roadway surrounded by heavy steel, imagine what the lycra protected cyclist felt like as an impatient truck attempted to pass with inadequate clearance giving only a few inches of space between them and the tires.

Okay, back to the ride. I joined the group seeking a longer ride and we had a ride leader who was showing us the route. We pedaled off and very soon entered a separate bike path.



Of the first 6 miles 4+ miles were on paths. There was quite a bit of "accordion action" as folks would slow for hills, debris, or bollards with no way to maneuver around them. When the ride leader turned on to a gravel road I bailed out. I presume that the gravel surface wouldn't last too long in the suburban locale, but just had enough of this style of riding. I have a road bike, so turned into the West Hills and rode two loops of my social bike group's "Luis' after work ride". The route is a nice little route that offers some good elevation gain to Skyline.

So for another day I'm in my low mile zone. In reality, if I continue to ride 50-60 miles a day by month's end it will still be acceptable, but for training purposes I really need to be logging longer efforts.

Forecast is for showers, rain, and possible T-storms the next few days. We shall see how many long rides I get in! I am supposed to join a group on a 60-70 mile ride to Hagg Lake tomorrow.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............61...............0.................61
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.....1322.....+.........0........=......1322
August total...1603.....+.........0........=......1603
Sept total......279.....+.........0........=.......279
Year to date...7462.....+.........30.......=......7492
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

An open letter

To the Marion County Sheriff's Office, Officer Helbling, Ray Thomas, Bob Mionske, and others who told me after the last event that the best thing to do when a motor vehicle driver does you wrong is to not escalate the situation, but to take the license number, a description, and call the police.

Yesterday while riding in Marion County a white full size Ford pickup intentionally nearly right hooked me. How do I know it was intentional? He honked his horn and then accelerated hard to cut me off. If I hadn't braked hard and taken evasive action I would have been road kill. Because I was busy trying to keep from getting killed I didn't get a license plate number. I didn't motion for the idiot driver to come back to discuss his actions. I may be old but I can still learn a thing or two, and I was in Marion County where drivers can intentionally hit a cyclist, flee the scene, and not be prosecuted.

Today six of us were riding in Clackamas County. A small white import sedan honked as it came up on us, the passenger yelled something unintelligible and likely unintelligent, then tossed a large volume of trash out at us as they passed.

I did exactly as instructed, I noted the license number and a description of the vehicle, and called 911. The operator took my report.

Will anything happen? Will the registered owner be contacted? Will it by my word against their's? Will they deny even being in Oregon today????

There were a few other minor issues with drivers in the area (something in the water?) but other than that it was a good day.

5 of us from my social bike group joined our ride leader Art for a planned 46 mile ride in the Clackamas River area. 3 of us felt like adding a few miles on such a nice day and commuted to the starting point in Carver. I started out from Willamette (near West Linn) and rode 11 miles to the start.

It was a pretty good ride in, and followed the south side of the Clackamas River for much of the route.


Here's the gang regrouping at the top of the first long climb.


We had some pretty nice views from time to time.


We took an extended stop at a quaint country store.


While there we rehydrated, ate a few snacks, and rested up a bit!
(looks like kindergarten...chocolate milk, donuts, and nap time!)


The daylight hours may be rapidly getting shorter reminding us that fall is just around the corner, but right now the roadside berries are at their peak!




Here was my route. When we got to the Redland Road/Fischers Mill Rd intersection I bid my farewells to the rest of the group who turned on Fischers Mill Rd to return to Carver. We started quite late in the day and I didn't want to be on the roads during rush hour if I could help it. By continuing on Redland Road I'd shorten my ride by about 4-5 miles. I did get a bit of a bonus mileage by chasing down one of our group who took a wrong turn today. I ended up with 64 miles.

A good ride, strong riders!


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............64...............0.................64
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.....1322.....+.........0........=......1322
August total...1603.....+.........0........=......1603
Sept total......218.....+.........0........=.......218
Year to date...7401.....+.........30.......=......7431
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

2 rides, neither completed

I had two invitations to ride today, as it ended up I didn't complete either of them.
Two fellow Oregon Randonneurs (Randonneuses?) invited me to join them on a ride to Silver Creek Falls. I had an appointment to have my new bike tuned and adjusted so I was unable to join them at the start, but did eventually get there and try to catch them somewhere on the route. I eventually rendezvoused with them, finding them relaxing on the side of Victor Point Rd waiting for me!

We rode on together and enjoyed the day.



Both the ladies got more than 70 miles, my late start cost me and I logged a mere 51 miles.

My plan was to join my social bike group for an after work ride in the Helvetia area with a climb of Logie Trail, but as I was preparing to ride my morning ride with Joanne and Elise I got an invitation to attend a graduation ceremony for a friend. I figured that I can ride any day, but graduations are fewer and farther between so I sent my regrets to the social ride leader and attended graduation instead.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............51...............0.................51
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.....1322.....+.........0........=......1322
August total...1603.....+.........0........=......1603
Sept total......154.....+.........0........=.......154
Year to date...7337.....+.........30.......=......7367
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

2nd day of the month, first ride....Wilsonville Century

I took the new Zipp wheels with tubular Gatorskins out for a spin today. I rode a route that we've come to call "The Wilsonville Century" It's a nice route for self supported riding with opportunities to resupply about every 20 miles or so.

My tires have a maximum pressure rating of 170 psi, I had them at 160 psi today expecting to just get hammered to death with vibration. Boy was I in for a surprise. I don't know if it was the carbon rims, the tubular tires, or a combination of both but the ride was buttery smooth. My other wheels have clincher tires and at my normal 120 psi inflation I can feel every bump in the road. Today several times I'd grip the handlebars tighter as I saw rough pavement approaching only to roll over it surprisingly smoothly. Gotta love it!

They are a bit noisy. The tires have a bit of herring bone type tread and the hum that generates is amplified by the deep dish carbon. My bike now sings to me!
Along with a loudly ratcheting rear hub and there is no more stealth mode for me, at least when on these wheels. :-(

It was a nice ride today, great weather. I better enjoy it while I can, a downturn predicted for the weekend........and the rapidly shortening daylight tells us that summer is on it's way out.

My niece has been working on a logo for my Furnace Creek 508 team. Here it is in grey scale. Color coming. Getting up against deadlines so glad to have something in hand at this point.




+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today...........103...............0................103
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.....1322.....+.........0........=......1322
August total...1603.....+.........0........=......1603
Sept total......103.....+.........0........=.......103
Year to date...7296.....+.........30.......=......7316
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++