Race Across Oregon (2 course records), Furnace Creek 508, UMCA North American 500 Mile Time Trial Champion, 4 consecutive 10k mile years. I no longer bike after being hit 3 times by drivers who violated the law, but were never held responsible. I no longer want to risk my life for the fun of riding bike.
The month came in wet and left wet. In between was pretty wet too! In between all that rain I managed to get my first 1000 mile month since last September. It sort of came by accident. I've been "struggling" to get 500 each month but this month things just sort of fell together. Longer daylight helped, leading a twice weekly hill repeat ride for my social bike club helped, and a 200 mile day last week helped too.
What managed to put me over the top was riding last night late while waiting for a floor sealer to dry. Doing that after riding a ~70 mile ride during the day put me within striking distance tonight. I had planned on driving across the Abernathy Bridge on I-205 then unloading the bike and riding the rest of the way to Rocky Butte then ride back after the hill repeats, but I had to work late and that made time too short to be able to do that. In fact, even driving I made it to Rocky Butte less than 2 minutes before we started up the hill. Luckily I had everything ready to go, just put on my helmet and jumped on the bike.
Many of the normal hill repeat gang stretched their holiday weekend out a bit, and a few others had schedule conflicts. Finally it was only two of us tonight. Jim was there waiting when I got there. Jim rides a bit slower than I do and that was just fine by me tonight. I've got a pretty sore rib, either broken or cracked, and it's making taking deep breaths difficult. I decided to just ride along with Jim.
We rode up the normal way (through the tunnel) but descended via the longer north side. We made 4 loops tonight logging 15 miles in the process. Jim was very happy with the accomplishment and I was happy to be along.
I knew I needed a few more miles for my 1000. I thought about riding out to the Columbia River and riding the Marine Drive path. I don't know the area real well and decided that maybe it wasn't worth taking the chance of getting on sketchy roads on my commute over to the river. I loaded my bike back up and headed back to Wilsonville where I again jumped on my "night route". The sun was still up as I started the 21 mile loop. The roads were dry too.
By the time my 21 and change miles were finished though all that changed. I finished in the dark and it had started to rain. I had my lights along and a Tyvek jacket that did a good enough job of diverting the rain from me for the short time I had to be in it.
I finished up tonight with enough miles to bag my first 1000 mile month since last September. The last two years I rode 1000 mile months more often than not. This year not so much. That's what happens when there are no big rides to train for. I just ride for fun this year. This month there just happened to be almost 1000 miles of fun on my bike!
6 of us took off today with the goal of attending a Memorial Day service at a rural cemetery. 6 of us rode, but it was almost like a Randonneur Dart event. Out of the 6 of us, there were 4 starting locations. I rode 15 miles from Wilsonville to Metro Perc where I met Mark who had cycled in from Beaverton, about 5 miles away he tells me. Sandy and Janet each transported their bikes to Metro Perc by car so they would begin riding from there. Becky and Keith had started in Forest Grove and were riding just under 20 miles toward Metro Perc to join us.
We Metro Perc..ers where ready to roll just a few minutes early so we pedaled off. Keith and Becky had said if we were ready to roll to do so as they would be backtracking our route and we'd see each other on the road. We probably rode about 5 miles before we found them. We had started 10 minutes early, and they had started 15 minutes late. No matter, we were all together now pedaling our way to Verboort!
Despite the cooler than average weather the last few months the Crimson Clover fields have come into full bloom right on schedule. (just a reminder that you can always click on any photo to view full size)
The weather was good. We had no rain and a slight south wind that would be mostly at our backs as we made our way out.
When we got to the top of the Blooming-Fernhill Rd hill Janet had enough. Janet had recent knee problems and didn't want to cause any damage. Sandy said she'd accompany her on the ride back. When they got to the bottom of the hill they turned on Springhill Rd and headed back toward Metro Perc. They'd end up with just over 30 miles for the day.
Keith, Becky, and I were waiting to regroup at the bottom of that same hill. Mark was coming down at about 35 mph. We hear a loud pop, thinking it was a backfire from the import pickup that had just started up the hill. But alas, it was Mark's front tire. Not sure which came first, the chicken or the egg, but by the time he got stopped the sidewall of the tire was cut about half way around the wheel's circumference. I normally carry a spare folding tire, but had tossed it out today as I was riding my Zipp wheels that run tubular tires. Tubular tires/wheels are not compatible with standard "clincher" tires and tubes. Luckily we were only about 3 miles from Forest Grove and Keith pedaled home and brought back a spare tire.
We got it all put back together and on the road again. Unfortunately it took a bit of time to get that all done. We took advantage of the open country and the tailwind to pedal a fast pace the remaining 5 miles to the cemetery, but arrived about 10 minutes late. In the big picture I guess it really didn't make any difference. We still remembered those who've passed on, and we still got in on the after service maple bars!
Sandy and Janet had turned around before reaching Verboort, Becky and Keith live out that way and decided to ride around Hagg Lake yet this afternoon.
That left just Mark and I to make our way back to Metro Perc. We had a bit of headwind but not enough to bother us much. The sky had brightened up a bit with sun peeking out from time to time and we still had no rain.
We arrived back at Metro Perc in Scholls Heights and took a little side trip to check out the new Sunset Cycles location. They hope to be open for business in two weeks, but at this point it's still just an empty shell of a building. A crew was working on the floors today (a holiday!) so I'm guessing that they are making every effort to be open on schedule.
After our window shopping Mark and I each went our separate ways to get home, Mark heading north, me south.
It was a good day to ride with friends and to remember the reason for the holiday.
Late evening update: OK, I admit it, I just "might be" a bit OCD. I was spending the evening installing a new bathroom floor. It's been a bigger than expected job. Tonight I put on a treatment prior to installing the new tile that required a 4 hour dry time. I begin to think about that pesky 4 digit number. I have a route that I ride during the winter when it's always dark that is well lit, low traffic, and wide shouldered. It begins just a few blocks away. It's a 21 mile route. I've got 4 hours. Yup, I changed into bike attire, put on my lights, and went to ride the night route....twice! I'm now within striking distance of that somewhat magical number. With a bit of commute to and from tomorrow's Rocky Butte repeat ride I should be able to get my first 1000 mile month since last September.
I had an afternoon full of jobs to do, but decided that I could maybe sneak away for a morning bike ride, after all, the roads were dry despite the forecast.
I was pedaling by 6:30 AM in an effort to get some miles before the rain returned. I took off more or less riding the route I returned on from Pacific City last weekend. I took my chances and rode to Amity where I stopped at every stop sign, but did not put a foot down. I guess the city coffers must be full, I passed through "town" without problems.
I got south of Hopewell and considered crossing the Wheatland Ferry but decided against it because I'd end up on the other side of the Willamette River which means I'd either have to cross the Canby Ferry and ride that steep little pitch up the west side away from the ferry, or cross the Boone Bridge on I-5 which has a lot of construction with non existent shoulders right now. I suppose I could have crossed the Hwy 219 bridge into Newberg but that put me on a busier road. I opted to stay on the west side of the Willamette River and turned back north toward Dayton.
I hadn't set out with any hard mileage goal but as I was back in Newberg I figured that with a little creative navigating I could get 100 miles today. A century is always a good goal. ;-)
When I got to Ladd Hill road I started up the hill. Proper planning would have had riding today's loop in reverse, riding the hillier portion at the beginning of the ride instead of the end, but it was okay.
As I got near home I realized I was going to be just a bit short of 100 miles. No problem, a couple of laps around a residential block was all it took.
The best part? Not a drop of rain! There were some big puffy clouds boiling around as the morning wore on. I'm guessing there will be some very hard showers later this afternoon, but a dry morning was good!
A few evenings ago I tangled with a car who intentionally slammed on the brakes in a blind corner in a tunnel ahead of me. The driver flipped me off then fled the scene. I called the police to report the hit and run. I really didn't expect much effort to be expended on this as I wasn't injured and there was no obvious damage to my bike.
Today I was pleasantly surprised with a phone call from a Portland Police investigator who was working on the case. He reported to me that he has located the car, located the house it's based at, and is familiar with the driver. Seems that the 18 year old driver has a history of run ins with the police. He also has a history of making himself not available for questioning. The officer said he has tried several times to contact the driver to no avail but would continue to try to contact him.
I'm not holding out a lot of hope, a guy like this probably has learned to stay pretty low. Depending on how long this incident stays on the books maybe the next time this guy is stopped for something this will show up and he'll get tagged for this as well.
I still don't hold out a lot of hope, but am very surprised, and thankful, that the Portland Police have put out the effort to chase this down to this point.
Tonight was Tuesday and as such it was time to lead my twice weekly Rocky Butte hill repeat ride. I've been riding this hard always going for the full training benefit. That means I don't take photos, don't have time (or breath!) to visit with my fellow riders, and don't have time to just enjoy the ride.
Tonight was different. After last Thursday's tangle with the car I just couldn't get my mind around speed tonight. That and I really wanted to get a few photos for the club website. This has become a very popular ride and I wanted to share some of the photos with those who haven't yet joined us. I also rode along with a newer attendee, one who has never made it to the top of Rocky Butte yet without stopping. I figured that if I kept at her side she'd be less likely to stop. I figured correctly. :-) She made it to the top without stopping....twice!
I got a photo of every rider tonight except for John H, who jumped ahead right at the start and I never seemed to be back in position for a photo later in the ride.
Here's a few of us just prior to the start:
As is the norm, a few more showed up after we had started. No big deal on this ride, the hill is patient, it waits for those who had delays.
The turnout for this ride amazes me. The improvement exhibited by those attending amazes me. The amount of fun we have doing this amazes me! Check out the smiles:
Kay S joined us for the first time tonight. As she finished up tonight she made a comment that the rest of us voted as today's "phrase that pays"... her comment? "Gee, that was fun!"
As is the norm for this ride, a few of us went out for food and drink post ride. Kay was telling the story of an unfortunate incident that happened on Chilly Hilly and the reaction of those across the table was too good to let pass. It sort of reminded me of the "hear no evil, see no evil, say no evil" thing. ;-)
I only got 11 miles tonight, 3 repeats and a little bit of looping around to get photos of riders. Not many miles, no real training, but I sure had fun!
I started of from Conestoga Middle School in Scholls Heights about 5:45 am with the goal of ending up in Wilsonville, a mere 13 miles down the road.
Cycling routes are rarely the shortest distance between two points. Today was a perfect example.
I began by following the Reach the Beach 100 mile route. My riding partner today was Chris, a new member of our social bike club whom I had not ridden with prior to today. I showed up on my rain bike (heavier, full fenders, buddy flaps!) he showed up on his Ridley with Zipp wheels. :-O He was about 20 years my junior and rides with Del Sharfenberg's Tuesday group, a spirited and strong group that will rip the lungs out of weaker riders. I was outclassed and knew it. As we started out I told him that not to worry if he wanted to ride faster than me, that I knew the way. ;-)
He humored me through the first 15 or so miles over the hilly first section of the RtB route. He finally dropped me on one of the longer climbs before Newberg.
When I got to Newberg, site of one of the RtB starting points/rest stop I pulled in and pedaled around the parking lot a bit to see if Chris was there waiting for me. I didn't see him so I pedaled on.
I arrived in Amity, about 50 miles into the ride, just before 9AM. This was the 50 mile route starting point and the riders were just beginning to roll out. I hadn't seen any cyclists on the road on the ride so far, but that was going to change.
Post ride I found out that there was an Amity police officer who was out to show cyclists that stop means stop in his town. Sounds like a lot of people got $317 tickets. I won't argue that if a cyclist runs a stop that they should somehow be immune to the law. I will say that I think it's poor PR on an organized ride of this magnitude for an officer to be standing in the middle of the intersection telling riders to go to the side for their ticket, when all the other towns had officers standing in the middle directing traffic to keep cars and bikes moving efficiently and safely. It's all hearsay, but I was told that the officer told riders that they had to put a foot down. If that is true, I do have an issue with that. Nowhere does the law say that a cyclist (or a vehicle driver!) needs to put a foot down on the ground to comply with the stop law.
It's probably a good thing that I was through Amity before all that erupted. I'd probably be sitting in a small town jail right now.
I continued on my way. I stopped in Sheridan at a small store for a refill on water and to buy a few snacks. I was beginning to notice a gentle headwind. I presumed it would pick up as the day wore on and was glad that I had an early start..... and glad that it likely meant a good tailwind for me on the return trip a few hours later.
I may have been dropped by my riding buddy, but the rest of the day I was the one doing the dropping. I passed bike after bike and was passed by nobody. I wasn't in race mode, but was trying to hold a pace that would allow me to get today's ride finished up before dark. I was prepared for a later than hoped for finish though. I was carrying my Stella LED light in my pack. In fairness, the others at most had only to ride 100 miles by day's end, I had a bit more so needed to go faster.
One of the prettier sections on this route, in my humble opinion, is the stretch along the Little Nestucca River. With the lush new spring growth and the full river it was just gorgeous.
It always seems odd that whatever the distance I intend to ride, when the end nears I'm ready to finish. Today was a prime example. If my goal was to reach the beach I would have been excited to reach my goal and ready to sit back and enjoy the rest of the day. Today it was just half way and I had no time for partying.
I saw Chris just as I was nearing Pacific City. He had already been there and eaten a bit and was now on his return. We stopped and chatted for just a bit then each continued on our way.
Despite plans to get the classic RtB photo with my bike overhead with Haystack Rock on the background, I just rode under the finish banner and turned right around and rode back from whence I came. A few onlookers were kind enough to point out my "error" by saying that I had turned the wrong way. I just smiled and said as I kept pedaling "Reaching Wilsonville!" ;-) I rode back to a roadside hot dog stand I had noticed on the way in and had a polish hot dog meal deal. Real food on a bike ride? Well, if you consider a hot dog real food then yes I guess so. ;-) By the time I got that all taken care of I had been in Pacific City for nearly an hour. That was longer than I had planned but still allowed me time to get back before dark.
I followed the vehicle detour back to Hwy 101 rather than backtracking the one way lane reserved for bikes. Last year I tried backtracking and it was too dangerous. A lot of the people on bikes are just zoned out after riding that distance. Even though I had my front blinkie on I had to keep yelling out "bike up" to keep from getting hit by oncoming bikes.
This plan worked well this year. I avoided the one way bike traffic and only added 2-3 miles. I picked the route back up on the Hwy 101 stretch. I turned back up the Little Nestucca River and turned on my front blinkie. With the steady stream of cyclists coming my direction vehicles were crossing the center line to get around them. The vehicles were for the most part patient and giving a lot of space, but I didn't want to leave any doubt that I was traveling the opposite direction from the rest of the bikes.
It was bit funny to see the difference in facial expressions as I made my way back through the pack. The earlier riders I passed by were all business and moving quickly.
As time progressed there were more flat bar bikes, and a lot more smiles. These folks were riding for the fun of it.
I pedaled past the Pow Wow Grounds about 3:30 PM. This was a designated food/rest stop that was about 30 miles to the finish for the RtBers. There was a sign that stated that the rest stop would close at 4PM (and was listed as such in the RtB literature) As I continued to pedal back through the stream of bikes I noticed that the folks (the phrase, "fat, dumb, and happy" comes to mind) were still all smiling and happy. I couldn't help but think to myself how the "happy" part of that description was going to leave for most of them real soon. These folks were relying on those support stations and unlike me probably weren't carrying sources of nutrition. With 30 miles to ride yet, into a wind, they were "bonks" waiting to happen.
I stopped in Willamina to get a few snacks to keep me fueled. I was beginning to enjoy a brisk tailwind. Life was good.
I was still seeing a few riders heading toward the beach. I was trying to do the arithmetic.... let's see, 40 miles to go..against the wind...making ...maybe 10 mph, it's already 4:30 PM....oh, not good.
I saw my last group of RtBers just on the east side of Sheridan. Their facial expressions told me that they knew they weren't going to make it.
It's too bad when people show up for a ride and aren't prepared for it. I can't imagine that it is too much fun having to struggle like that.
As for me I was making good forward progress:
Earlier in the day the sky was mostly cloud covered. I had just a half dozen drips hit me as I was along the Little Nestucca on the way to the beach, but no real rain. As I made my way out of Sheridan everything looked just perfect. The road was empty, the sun was shining, and I was riding quickly and effortlessly with the wind at my back.
As I neared Amity I could see a dark rain cloud to the north. I was hoping it would stay out there! As I arrived in Amity I noted that though it was dry the cars coming down Hwy 99 from the north were wet and had windshield wipers on. I pulled into a bus shelter and decided that this was a good location to attack some snacks in my pack and wait for this rain shower to pass. It never came so after about 15 minutes delay I started out again. Within less than 2 miles the roads were wet but the rain had stopped. I stopped and put my booties on since I had cotton socks on today and did not want wet feet. I also put on my Tyvek STP jacket. The brisk tailwind I had enjoyed for the last few hours had now become not as much a factor, but the road dried off and I still had a light breeze to my back. Life was pretty good.
As I neared Newberg my luck began to change. It began to rain..sort of. Big drops, few in number, began to fall. Not enough to get the road wet, but unsettling in that I kept expecting them to multiply rapidly. I kept my eyes open for places to take cover if the skies decided to open up.
I got a flat front tire just before entering Newberg. I fixed it and was back on the road pretty quickly. I was going back to Wilsonville instead of to Conestoga Middle School so this is where I deviated from the RtB route. I took the turns through Newberg to put me on Wilsonville Rd where I'd follow the north bank of the Willamette River back to Wilsonville.
Wilsonville Rd can be a bit treacherous. It's a bit curvy with poor visibility and can have a lot of traffic on it at times. I got through at a good time today. I had 9 cars pass me (in the same direction I was going) in the ~15 mile stretch. With the tree cover/shade and the cloudy dark sky I had my front blinkie on again. (my rear super flash was on all day) It continued to drip, but still the road was dry.
I arrived on the edge of Wilsonville and decided rather than to go through the construction of the freeway exchange near the new Fred Meyer that I would jog over to the North Wilsonville over pass to make my way across the freeway. As I made my turn to the frontage road suddenly the road began to get wet. I had less than 3 miles to go, I was not going to stop and wait this shower out. It didn't rain hard, but it was raining now.
In just a few minutes, with my 200 miles accomplished, I pulled into home. My Tyvek STP jacket had repelled the last few miles of rain, my feet where dry thanks to my booties, and I was happy to be finished. Remember that thing about always happy to be finished? :-)
I went out to Rocky Butte again for our twice weekly hill repeats. It was gorgeous weather, sunny and in the mid 70's. We had 11 riders tonight. 5 more showed up a few minutes late.
I rode hard. I held a heart rate of 160-165 on the ascents. That's a 5bpm bump up from what I normally can maintain. I thought with the relatively short climb I might be able to hold that. I was right.
I was working hard, trying to get that 8th climb inside of our 90 minute cutoff. I didn't think I could get it, but wanted to come close.
On my sixth descent I was on schedule to be about 2 minutes short of topping out on #8. Then the plan went out the window. My ride ended with a visit with one of Portland's police officers.
I was coming down Rocky Butte Rd with a car a few blocks ahead of me. I gradually closed the gap up just before the tunnel. For those not familiar with our route there is a tunnel about 1/3 the way up that has a very sharp curve in it. Probably posted as about a 15 mph curve. The car was going about 15-20, I was following about 30 ft behind. We were in sunshine then entered the unlit tunnel. There is a curb on the center line to ensure that everybody stays on their own side as they traverse the tunnel. There is a healthy dose of gravel against that center curb. At any rate, the car decide that I was following too closely. They might have been right, because just as they entered the sharpest part of the curve (in the shaded tunnel) the driver slammed on the brakes and came to a stop. I braked hard, but couldn't put the brakes on full because of the sharp corner and a fear of sliding a tire and going down. I bumped into the back of the car at perhaps 3-5 mph and went down.
As I stood back up the driver gave me a one finger salute and sped off.
I did manage to get the plate number and immediately called 911 to report the "failure to perform the duties of a driver" (hit and run).
Within about 15 minutes a Portland Police officer arrived to take my statement. He noted that since I had rear ended the car that I was likely at fault. I reminded him that regardless of fault the driver left the scene of an accident. I also told him that I figured it was a fair trade if I got a ticket for following too closely as long as the driver got a ticket for failure to perform the duties of a driver.
The officer said he was not going to ticket me. He ran the plate number and came up with a car that matched the description I gave him. The driver was male, but the car is registered to a female.
The officer told me that if they made an arrest they would call me.
Hopeful, but not holding my breath.
I guess I'll have to try to get that 8th lap in next Tuesday.
I rode Portland's Ride of Silence tonight. Having been hit by a car while cycling this event holds special meaning for me. That, and that little stubborn streak that get's really irate when I see vehicle drivers not held accountable when their error or inattention causes a cyclist or other non-vehicular road user to be injured or lose their life.
We had nice weather for our ride tonight. A smaller crowd than hoped for, but probably about as many as participated last year. (maybe 100 people or so)
I led a group of 13 on our twice weekly Rocky Butte hill repeats ride. It is just amazing to see the improvement gained by those who've attended at least most of the rides. I think this was ride number 7.
Just over half of the group managed to arrive in time for this pre ride photo. Monica and Kevin stayed behind the camera.
Just for fun.... I put my Zipp wheels in tonight, and finished the ruse off by wearing my Furnace Creek 508 finisher's jersey. (oh, and wore my Adventure Corps arm coolers for the first climb too)
I'm not sure if it was the Zipp wheels or the jersey but I did manage to shave off 6 minutes from last Thursday's ride. I was on my 8th ascent as our 90 minute time expired. I'm closing in on the 12 minute lap average time. I might just reach that sub 12 next time out.
I rode with a small group on a ride that included a stop near the end to catch a live performance by the father and son group "Buckwheat"
and drat, the video I took with my camera is nearly twice too large to post here. :-(
Along with some warm soup, hot chocolate, a chocolate chip cookie, and a sandwich, the bluegrass tunes were just what we needed! ;-)
The ride itself was just over 30 miles but I commuted to the ride which started in Scholls Heights from Wilsonville adding a few miles.
Today's forecast called for an 80% chance of rain. Yup, today it did just that. It rained lightly from when I got on the road at 8:30AM until nearly 3pm as we were sitting in the South Store Cafe listening to Buckwheat. At least it wasn't cold.
4 of us made the trip today on bike, our ride leader met us at the South Store since he's still recuperating from ACL replacement. Another cyclist also met us at the store, but she's "with the band". :-)
(Paul and John) (Carol and Jetta) (The Desert Coyote and Dave)
The music ended at 3PM, the rain had ceased just a bit earlier. We had dry weather and a dry road for the return trip.
First the bad. My whole calendar was messed up. I thought I had a meeting in Salem this morning so I skipped a plan to ride 100 miles with the Portland Wheelmen and instead drove to Salem (but did have my bike with me so I could ride between the morning meeting and an evening banquet.) As I drove down to Salem I was notified that I was mistaken and there was no morning meeting.
So, the good was that I got to start my ride sooner than I had planned. I parked at the 24 Hour Fitness on Lancaster Drive and hopped on the bike and started pedaling toward Silver Creek Falls State Park via Shaw. There was a 70% chance of rain today, but not a drop of rain fell on me as I rode. Spring is surely in the air as witnessed by the growing grass, blooming trees, and this brightly blooming field of mustard.
The traffic was very light as I made my way up into the hills. There were a few more cars in the park, but still not bad. There is a bit of climbing but one has to expect that if there are waterfalls in the area!
Here's North Falls:
I exited the park and descended through Silverton on my way back to Salem.
With the earlier than anticipated start today I finished up with time to spare. I used my 24 Hour Fitness "all club" membership and showered then drove back up to watch a bit of the OBRA Silverton Road Race. Those folks pedal hard!
There really wasn't much ugly today, unless you count my scheduling snafus. Not only did I mistakenly think I had a meeting in the morning, but also had the time for the banquet wrong as well. I arrived at 4:30PM, ready for a 5PM social time leading to a 6PM banquet, only to find that it was supposed to be a 6PM social time with a 7PM banquet.
It was a good banquet though.... and a good bike ride too!
I led Rocky Butte hill repeats for my social bike group again this evening. I have been telling the participants if they attended regularly they'd be seeing improvement in both strength and speed. Tonight there was obvious improvement. Everyone did notably better than just 3 short weeks ago when we started this craziness.
We had another beautiful evening. Sunny and comfortable temperatures were the weather du jour. The days are getting notably longer too. Tonight the sun was still shining at 8pm, and didn't set until around 8:15. A far cry from just a few short months ago when it was pitch black at 5pm. I just love Oregon summer and fall. We'll be there pretty soon, just as soon as we can get rid of these pesky rain showers and cold mornings. ;-)
I managed to get 7 repeats in again tonight. More notable was that my last climb was my fastest.
I led the Rocky Butte hill repeat ride for my social bike group again tonight. It was 70 degrees and sunny as we started off. The nice weather helped persuade a good number of folks to join in the fun tonight. I got 6 repeats in, one less than last Thursday but I had more fun this time. ;-) I pedaled one of the climbs while chatting with a friend at a slightly slower pace than I could have pedaled if I had just been trying to hammer it out. Sometimes slower is a good thing.
In our third week we are starting to see good improvement. One of our riders, who was unable to make it to the top the first time out, made it up twice today. :-)
It is supposed to rain tomorrow, but be nice again on Thursday..... our next scheduled hill repeat day. Gotta love that!
By popular demand I had posted another ride for "newbies".
Likely my last.
The 12 folks who said they were coming had pretty much fallen into two groups, those wanting to ride no more than 14 miles, and those wanting to ride 25-30. Since the ride was an out and back on the Springwater Corridor I could accommodate that as long as I had another ride leader agree to lead on of the groups.
Since riding 10-30 miles at 10mph doesn't hold much appeal to more seasoned riders I always do a "preride" to give the more seasoned riders a chance to get a good workout in before taking a few miles of cool down with our more social paced friends.
Today Carol joined me on a ride out to Vista House in the Columbia Gorge and back from the Willamette River prior to the newbie ride. John commuted by bike from Vancouver so he got his workout in also.
Out of the 12 who said they were coming just how many showed up? Well technically 1, but he was hardly a newbie. Steve was able to ride 17-20 or better all the way out to Linneman Station and back. Hardly a newbie pace.
The others either didn't show up, or unRSVP's after the ride began.
Here we are starting out under mostly blue skies along the Eastbank Esplanade.
I'm thinking I will forgo leading newbie rides from here on out.
Oh, and by the way, we had a few rain showers on the preride, but the "newbie" ride was dry. Too bad they missed it.
I rode Vancouver Bicycle Club's "Ride Around Clark County" today. The forecast was for rain, significant rain. I brought the rain bike and wore light cycling clothes with rain gear over the top.
Mistake!
We had more dry than wet. I got way too warm riding in rain gear, but couldn't take it off because my cycling clothes weren't warm enough to ride in, especially since they were now wet with perspiration.
I unzipped every zipper on the rain jacket and slowed my pace. The first 10-15 miles or so there was a light rain falling. Then we enjoyed some pretty bright skies, even saw some shadows. The rest of the day there were about 4 more rain showers, probably lasting a total of 1 hour.
I started the ride with Dave.... and after about 15 miles he dropped me like a bad habit.
I don't ride in Clark County often and it was a treat to see the countryside. Much of the route follows along rivers and with the abundant rain this Spring the rivers were quite a show.
I did manage to cut the sidewall of my front tire just before the first rest stop. The tube was doing it's best to exit the tire through that cut. I always carry a spare tire, and this was the first time I got to use it. I've lent it out many times, but this was the first time I actually put it on MY wheel. It was a good place to have it happen. The route mechanics let me use their floor pump. They even offered to change it for me, but I figured I could handle that part!
After the tire change the rest of the ride was uneventful. I just pedaled slowly along.
Dave finished up a full hour before I did! But I had fun none the less! ;-)
One of my bicycling buddies was planning on riding Salem Bicycle Club's Monster Cookie Metric Century today. He was riding with a group that was going to ride about a 35 mile commute to get there, ride the 62 mile ride, then ride about 30 miles back. He warned those thinking of riding along that he was going to "roll with a fast group" but would wave as they went by. :-) I ride enough to know that there is always someone faster, someone stronger. I don't ride fast, I just ride...mile after mile after mile.
The Monster Cookie Metric Century route is notoriously flat and fast. The only limiting factor is that it's early in the season for most.... most that have a biking season! Some of us just ride year round because ..... well because what else would we do?
For my goal today I decided to also commute to Salem for the ride. I ride to meetings in Salem from time to time, I know the most direct route to the Capital.
I hopped on the bike just after 7AM and pedaled hard. I planned on a "no stop" day. I arrived at the Capital and made a loop and headed back north on the Monster Cookie route. I blew right past the cookies. That was uncharacteristic of me, but I was on a mission, a mission to stay ahead of those fast riders who were going to wave as they passed. When I got to Champoeg Park I refilled my water bottles at the Visitor Center rather than go down into the park to the official stop. I headed back south toward Salem. It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm. I was drinking a bit more water today that I usually do on Winter rides, but I guess it's not Winter anymore!
I arrived back in Salem, looped around the start/finish area and headed back north again.
A bit of a wind in my face as I made my way back but nothing serious.
I did manage to stay ahead of those fast folks. ;-)
No cookies, no photos, just rode the bike pretty quickly. (for me)
123 miles 18.9 mph average 143 bpm average heart rate
Oh, and a PS: 223 mile weekend, the most since last October
In October of 2010 I completed a 4 year goal of finishing the Furnace Creek 508, an Ultra Cycling race billed as "The Toughest 48 Hours in Sport". I had planned to put together a video of the experience, however I could never come up with a plan on how to document what ended up being just a long bike ride.
