The rider's support vehicles and crew were not allowed on the course until the riders reached The Dalles, about 25 or so miles in. This was to keep traffic congestion to a minimum until the field had a chance to spread out. Two of us course officials were not only allowed on this first part of the course, but it was part of our job. One of our duties was to insure that no support vehicles were tagging along, and that riders were not drafting or violating any traffic rules.
In this first part of the race the riders climbed Seven Mile Hill out of Mosier. It's a relatively long and steep climb by social club measures, but just the first of many on this course, and at only about 1600 total feet of climbing it was one of the smaller climbs these folks would face.
I was impressed to see the riders climbing this hill at 12-18 mph!
Of course what goes up must come down. Here's some of the lead riders descending The Dalles side of 7 Mile Hill.
The riders and their crews were united in The Dalles and started climbing away from the Columbia River. They climbed up Hwy 197 and Old Dufur Rd heading toward Tygh Valley. They would climb to about 2600 ft in this stretch.
Just prior to reaching the small town of Tygh Valley the racers took a left turn and pedaled toward Shearer Falls on the Deschutes River.
After that fun descent to the Deschutes River it was time to climb away from the river and toward Grass Valley. In 2010 my RAO 2 person mixed partner, Lauren, really had her heart set on riding this torturous grade. We referred to it as "Lauren's Hill". ;-)
After climbing 2200ft in 4 miles the route tapers back to a more reasonable ascent. We had a clear day and riders had views of 5 Cascade Mountain volcanoes as they pedaled along.
The racers reached Grass Valley and took a brief run down US 97 before taking a turn onto Rutledge Lane on the way to Moro.
Moro was the location of Time Station 2. It was also the location for 1 of the few stop signs along the course. I took a position near the stop sign to check for adherence to the rules of the road. One of the support crews caught sight of me and immediately set about warning their rider to stop at the stop sign. It took a lot of effort for them to get her stopped.... even the slow roll through that the rider managed to do. I'm sure if they hadn't seen me she would have blasted through that stop sign.
It was just a beautiful day. A bit warm to be racing bikes UP hills, but the wind, that can just be a major problem out here, was not a real issue. Cell service is improving out here. In 2008 when I was on the 4 man team "Old Goats 4" there was only cell service in about a half dozen locations on the entire course. Last year when I rode it as a member of the "Flying Aquarians" 2 person mixed team there were many more locations where we could pick up a signal, though often it was one of those things where you'd have to face Mecca, stand on one foot, and moisten a finger. This year it was easier to find a cell signal, though there were still large areas where we were incommunicado. I called in a rider update to race HQ and at theat time also got my updated assignment. I'd be manning a time station in Dale for a short period of time until my relief, that was enroute, would arrive at which point I'd go back to following the race leaders.
This year the beginning of the route was changed to accommodate some road construction in Hood River. It shortened the course by about 20 miles. It was noticeable to me. These folks were riding fast, but not fast enough to account for the difference in daylight. The Flying Aquarians climbed Battle Mountain in the dark. We played cat and mouse with Team Teal a bit on the climb before I put my big gears on my bike to good use and dropped them on the descent. The leaders this year were well over Battle Mountain before it got dark. In fact, Dean Kindorf was all the way to the Dale time station just as it was getting dark.
(to be continued)
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