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.
I woke up this AM to the sound of rain. I had turned in the night before with a plan to ride either 100 miles in the desert if it was raining here or about 110 miles locally if it was dry. Off I went for Tygh Valley!
Good call!
I rode my Tygh Valley route in the reverse direction of normal because of gravel in the turns on the descent of Bakeoven Road. That meant whatever gravel was still there would be encountered during slow climbing. The fast descent would switch to "Lauren's Hill", the big climb we normally encounter from Shearer's Falls to Grass Valley.
There wasn't a cloud in the sky most of the day and temperatures rose to the mid 60's. Not a drop of rain! Look up the definition of High "Desert" sometime to know why I decided to drive a couple of hours today instead of riding from home. ;-)
There was a brisk wind today, perhaps 15 mph out of the south. That was an unexpected surprise. What it gave me was a good tailwind to go with the gradual downhill on the 30 mile stretch from Shaniko to Grass Valley. Downhill and tailwinds are a good thing!
I cruised it.
I made it back to Tygh Valley with 101 miles, and knowing that would leave me just a couple of miles short of 900 for the abbreviated month I rode an out and back to the fairgrounds to add just a few.
Drove back to Portland where I was greeted by rain!
Sure glad I was riding where I was today! :-)
Fellow social bike club member and friend, Kay, is celebrating her 70th birthday and helping to raise funds for aids research by riding her bike from San Francisco to Los Angeles in a few weeks. I think she said it was a 500 mile ride that she and the group will be riding in 6 days. Pretty darn ambitious for anyone, let alone a 70 year young person!
Tonight a group of us attended a costume party/dance that raised funds for the riders of that event. It was a fun evening. It's hard enough to recognize folks without their bike gear on but when they are wearing costumes beside....... ;-)
In other words, a perfect way to start a ride that was to go to a graveyard!
It was dark, foggy, and raining when I left this morning. I was wearing rain gear and on the rain bike. Before too long the rain stopped but I was glad to have the full fenders to protect me from the wet roads. Bro-in-law Dave and I rode to the ride.. just because. Dave had a flat on the way in so we rolled into the meeting spot with nary a minute to spare. The weather was improving as we rode, the road was mostly dry and the sun was well into burning the fog and low clouds off as we arrived at the meeting location.
The group ride was a social paced tour of the East Bank Esplanade, Springwater Corridor, then a detour to Davis Graveyard
Following the graveyard stop we continued out the Springwater Corridor to the I-205 Path to Gateway where we took Tillamook St back in. We had a post ride visit and food at Lucky Lab.
Everyone else loaded up and drove home, Dave and I headed out for bonus miles. ;-) We got on the East Bank Esplanade then eventually made our way to River Road and pedaled toward Oregon City. The Oregon City Bridge is under construction and bikes are prohibited on the I-205 Abernathy Bridge so we followed the "bicycle detour" signs that were posted. NOTE to ODOT: If you post a detour the signs should direct folks to where the would have been if the road were not closed. We followed the bike detour signs up to Beavercreek, where the sign prominently said "bicycle detour ends". Uh, ok. We made a right turn thinking it would bring us out toward New Era where we could get on Territorial Road and make our way to the Canby Ferry. Alas, we rocketed down a different road but the same hill we just climbed...right back into Oregon City, just a few blocks from where we had detoured. Drat!
We climbed back up a road heading south. We eventually dropped back onto Hwy 99E and followed it to Canby then crossed the Canby Ferry and made it back to Wilsonville. Our little hill climbing detour added a few miles to today's ride. I rolled into Wilsonville with 89 miles..... and just over an hour of daylight left. I didn't even get off the bike, I took a turn and pedaled on.
I turned the lights back on as I was finishing up. Started the day wet, foggy, and dark. Finished clear and dark. I guess that's called improving weather!
I got off work a few hours early today. Wish I would have known that in advance, could have had something planned. It was a reasonably nice day, cool but dry. I decided to go for a bike ride. I got lost on Facebook for a bit and when I finally stepped out to ride there were just a few drips of rain falling. The forecast was for rain by evening. I decided to take the rain bike!
Good thing I did. I rode down to Salem and back, pushing a bit of headwind on the way down but enjoying a tailwind on the way back. For those who've never experienced it, I'm here to tell you that rain at your back is better than rain in your face!
All in all, a good ride despite the rain. I finished up well after sundown, dark in fact, but had planned on a longer ride and brought the "good light" along.
I plan on incorporating this into a viewing party/dinner/silent auction/door prize event to raise funds to help a potential RAAM participant to be able to compete.
Keep your eyes here, or on the Northwest Butts on Bikes site for notice of when this event will be. It's shaping up to be a fun evening!
It is supposed to start raining tomorrow and continue through the weekend. You wouldn't know it by the weather tonight. Clear with a slight north breeze blowing. Like many, I decided to take advantage of the nice weather and go for a bike ride.
A beautiful evening for a ride.
Fall evenings don't get a whole lot better than tonight was. Even with the flat tire it was a good night for a ride.
I had posted a 100 mile ride today for the social bike group. I said no need to worry about speed, if they could ride 14-15 mph on flat ground they wouldn't get dropped. I said I had all day to ride the 100 miles.
I didn't think they'd actually hold me to that!
I had 8 RSVP's on Saturday afternoon, but that dropped to 6 folks by late Saturday night. Of the six, two didn't show up, so four of us rode today.
There was occasional light drizzle falling. Not bad rain as far as rain goes, but it was enough to give us wet roads for most of the first 40 miles.
We enjoyed a bit of a tailwind on our ride to West Salem. We stopped at a Dairy Queen for snacks then continued on our way. We crossed the Willamette River on the Union Street pedestrian bridge.
We turned back northward into a slight wind. It was enough of a wind to work my riding partners. Our pace slowed considerably with the effects of distance and wind working against us.
When we reached Gervais we stopped for a rest and snack... and a little light hearted fun.
From there we made our way to the Canby Ferry to get back across the Willamette River.
It was a beautiful day despite the wet start, the bright fall colors were everywhere.
Most of our climbing today came late in the ride. Our pace reflected the long day. With each small incline the speed dropped drastically. We finally finished up at 6:10PM, about 15 minutes before sunset, and a full 10 hours after we started! But we did get the 100 miles in.
We celebrated a bit with dinner and drinks then each went our own way. The others by vehicle, me by bike.
I got 5 miles of bike commute plus the 100 mile ride.
Maria, who has dual citizenship in both NW BOB and the Vancouver Bicycle Club held her monthly French Toast Ride. To start things off she invited us all to her home for a french toast breakfast. Following some yummy french toast a group of 11 of us saddled up to ride.
We started off on a pretty quick pace. From the SE neighborhood we made our way to the Springwater Trail then to the Esplanade. As we made our way toward Marine Drive things began to slow down a bit. A couple of riders took alternate routes, and we picked up a couple of riders that planned to join us along the route.
By the time we exited Marine Drive and joined the I-205 bike path we were down to three of us.
The pace slowed down considerably. We were riding into a moderate wind, but the biggest factor was hunger. The girls were close to home so opted to just ride through it and get home.
I played burro and carried a few lunch supplies purchased at a grocery store because I had a virtually empty backpack along.
After dropping those supplies off I bid my farewell and took off for my pickup, parked at Oaks Park, just under 4 miles away.
Something strange happened along the way.... it was in the 60's and dry. Conditions will be getting worse as the weeks roll by. I decided to ride lap 2! Once finished with that I was just a few miles off the century mark, so I rode around the neighborhood enough to roll that 3 digit number over. ;-)
Tomorrow I lead a 100 mile ride with 7 attendees. I won't have to ride around the neighborhood to get a century in then!
A friend and I made a trip to Salem tonight to attend a virtual ride on stationary bikes through Napa Valley wine country (got that???) then stayed around for wine, snacks, and bike talk. I'm not a normally a big fan of anything less than real bikes on real roads, but this was fun! If you ever find yourself in Salem check out JoyRide's calendar and catch a ride.
I rode relatively hard for the 70 minute session. Hard enough that I'm going to award myself 20 miles for the effort. If I were on a real bike I would have gone at least that far in 70 minutes at that effort.
On the drive back northward my friend and I noted the beautiful weather for a night ride. 62 degrees, no wind, dry. We should have been riding, but alas, no bikes with us.
I couldn't get my head around riding tonight. I was officially the ride leader for a 2x25 mile loop tonight. Ken rode in about 25 miles from SE Portland. We rode 1 lap, a paltry 25 miles for me. There were some really pretty colors showing but I didn't have my camera with me tonight. By the time I thought about using my phone to take a photo the sun had gone down. Take my word for it, these trees were practically electric when the sun was on them.
After the first lap Ken and I visited a bit before he began his commute back home. I watched him pedal off into the night...........looked at the dry roadway and felt the relatively warm temperature, and felt guilty. I unloaded my bike and went on lap two. I figured if Ken could ride 25 miles home I could ride 25 miles in a circle.
The Grand Poobah of our social bike group posted a ride late this afternoon that would take place at 5PM and ride some hills in the Helvetia area. How fortuitous I think, I've got to make a trip out to the west side tonight anyway! I loaded my bike up and made a mad dash to the ride's starting location. I made it with 15 minutes to spare, plenty of time to get the bike ready to roll.
There were 4 of us, a pretty good showing for a ride that was posted just a couple of hours in advance. The fact that the sky was clear and the temperature was in the mid 70's might have had something to do with it!
We had 3 of us old goats and one young lady about 25 years younger. We'd try our best to not drop her.... or die while riding! ;-)
Dropping her wasn't an issue, she road strongly and was breathing down our necks most of the time.
It was a spirited ride, as much for the sheer pleasure of riding quickly as it was trying to complete the ride before darkness! We rode a 21 mile route that had about 1900 ft of climbing. Our 14.3 mph average was respectable.
We managed to finish just shortly after the sun set.
Not many days left this month, and a whole lot of miles to ride yet if I'm to get a thousand miles for October. :-( But I've been having fun!
I haven't been on my bike since October 2nd, about two weeks ago. I remedied that sorry state of affairs by attending Double Trouble. I was joined by a fellow member of our social bike club.
Because of the distance involved in getting to the start, and the early hour of the start I spent the night in Maupin.
Chris and I were riding this, like the majority of participants, as a "ride and tie" event. Short explanation, we were riding a relay with each of us alternating riding and shuttling my pickup up the course. Chris took the first leg, riding from Maupin up out of the Deschutes Canyon over to Tygh Valley then back down to Shearer's Falls on the Deschutes River. She started off at 6:30, still a bit dark but soon the sky lightened up and she was having fun.
After passing her, making sure all was going well, and taking the above photo, I drove to Shearer's Falls where I parked the pickup and started up "Lauren's Hill", an 8 mile climb with 1500 ft of elevation gain. I arrived in Grass Valley just a few minutes before Chris arrived in the area with the pickup. She missed the rest stop but parked the pickup a few miles up the course.
We continued on the course through Moro and Monkland. There were quite a few wind generators in the area but we didn't encounter a whole lot of wind today.
On this stretch I was "treated" to a climb away from the John Day river that climbed 2200 ft in 9 miles. It was one of the more notable climbs in this very hilly course.
Chris and I regrouped at most of the rest stops today and we spent a bit of time at the Condon stop talking with the owner of a hotel there that he had just refurbished. It was a very ornate establishment right out of the wild west.
I rode the next leg from Condon through Fossil and continued up an 8 mile climb with 1200 ft of climbing. I stopped part way up this climb to take a photo and take advantage of the first cell service I had seen in some time.
The pickup was waiting for me on top of this climb where Chris had left it. She was taking the descent to the John Day river.
I loaded my bike and caught up with Chris about 1 mile into the arduous climb out of the canyon. It was another one of those 2200ft in 9 mile deals.
Chris had never ridden more than just over 60 miles before. Today's hilly route would challenge her. When I caught up with her she already had 74 miles for the day, a new personal best for her. (congratulations to her!) ....and she was still smiling.
She decided to call it a day. The majority of the remainder of the route today was downhill and it was awfully tempting to just pedal it out. However, I didn't want Chris to have to wait around while I pedaled, and we did have an awards presentation and costume party to attend in Maupin. We bagged it at mile 162 and headed to Maupin to get cleaned up and into costumes. :-)
We made it back to the finish line where we were met by one of the most ugly podium girls I've ever seen.... actually a participant in tonight's costume party. ;-)
It was a short mileage day for me with only 78 miles, but I did get 7833 ft of climbing in!
FWIW, the costume party was a hoot. I went as a pirate, Chris went as a "badazz pirate's wench. ...and a darn fine wench she was too!
The Desert Coyote is in California, on his way to the Furnace Creek 508 for the 4th consecutive year. In 2008 I crewed for Mike "Siberian Husky" Arenberg, in 2009 and 2010 I was the guy pedaling, and this year I am crewing for John Henry "Hoary Marmot" Maurice. He has expressed it best, "we are going to have so much fun".
I am stopped for the night just under 90 miles from the starting location for the Furnace Creek 508. The rest of the team is about 2 hours behind me and we will meet here for dinner tonight, get a good night's sleep, and in the morning make a dash for inspection at Santa Clarita. The fun is about to begin!
Evening update: The Hoary Marmot and his crew did indeed manage to gather tonight for dinner. Note for future events.... even "mild" Indian food is quite spicy!
No bike miles to update, I don't even have my bike with me. It will be my longest time off a bike since 2008, when I crewed for Siberian Husky!
Today Ken and I rode a 100 mile route from Tygh Valley that was pioneered by Lauren and I last year as a training/preview ride for Race Across Oregon. 2 other members of my social bike club didn't come today. One changed her mind and let me know, the other just didn't show up. Grrrr.... I hate no shows.
Ken and I began today's ride in Tygh Valley. The roads were damp from a night shower, but not splashy wet. Good thing, neither of us had fenders.
We had seen 6 road killed deer yesterday and before too long we saw our first of the day.
We hoped it was more a case of errors on part of the deer rather than errors on the part of vehicles.... cyclists don't fair much better than deer when tangling with cars.
Neither of us had time constraints today and Ken had never seen White River Falls so we took the opportunity to play tourist.
We got back on the bikes and made our way down to the Deschutes River at Shearers Falls. It is a site rich in history as a tribal fishing site, and even today Native Americans dip salmon from the river while standing on flimsy looking platforms overhanging the frothy waters. From Shearers Falls we rode downstream along the Deschutes for a short distance.
In short order we turned toward Grass Valley and rode what we've come to know as "Lauren's Hill" after my 2010 Race Across Oregon partner. She had her heart set on riding this long tortuous climb, and absolutely rocked it. Neither Ken nor I would be riding it that hard today!
Part way up we came across the scene of an apparently recent accident. Suddenly an old Harry Chapin song began going through my head, lyrics went "he said, 'God, make it a dream' as he rode his last ride down".
Ken continued to show me why I'm not in his league as we climbed this hill to Grass Valley. But a funny thing happened, as we neared Grass Valley I gained on him. We made a brief stop in Grass Valley to rehydrate and refill our calorie reserves, then headed south toward Shaniko, 30 miles in the distance via a continued but gentler climb, and into a noticeable headwind. Before I knew it Ken was lagging behind. I was not pedaling hard, but it was more than Ken had in him at this point. I arrived in Shaniko with a 17 minute lead on him. We spent 45 minutes there eating just about everything that little store had on the shelves. ;-)
We then turned northward toward Bakeoven Rd and it's fabled crazy fun descent to the Deschutes River. Before we could do that fun descent though we had to continue to climb a bit to our highest point on today's ride. We reached the Bakeoven Summit then playing in the rolling country a bit. Ken was still lagging. I told him I needed to savor the moment, it's not often that I find myself leading him!
All jest aside, it did make me feel a bit better. Not that I out rode Ken, but that I could ride strong after significant miles and climbing. I have been in the shadow of better riders for the last several months as was beginning to worry about my bike fitness a bit. Today I remembered my little mantra, "I'm not the strongest rider, I'm not the fastest rider, but what I have going for me is that I can ride at a decent pace all day, all night, and all the next day if I have to". I just played around not wanting to drop Ken.
We arrived at the power substation marking the beginning of the descent into the Deschutes Canyon. I took the first sweeping turn at a brisk pace and was picking up speed. Up comes the second curve and I'm on the aerobars and into my groove picking up speed. Up comes the third and whoa, gravel! The next curve same issue. I note that new gravel has been applied to the shoulders of the paved road, and it's been dragged across the turns. Ken and I reluctantly brake our way down the hill at 10-15 mph instead of 50 mph.
We do eventually reach the Deschutes River at Maupin.
We climbed up away from the Deschutes River and headed toward Tygh Valley.
I was still able to ride away from Ken at will.
I was having so much fun today. I was riding strong and it had not so much as rained a single drop on us (and the text messages I was getting was letting us know that it was raining back home!)
I got back to Maupin just a bit ahead of Ken, I took the opportunity to "round up" to the next mile. I stretched the 100 mile route to 101. :-)
We loaded bikes, changed into street clothes and headed to The Dalles for pizza!
You can see the rest of the photos from today's trip HERE
The weather gurus predicted rain in the Willamette Valley. I decided that a weekend of riding on the dry side of the Cascade Mountains might be just the ticket.
I arrived in Hood River following the late night out just as the sun was rising.
Today I was joined by Ken and we rode the Cherry Ride route in The Dalles. There were a few clouds but no rain. There was a very brisk wind though!
We began pedaling in Hood River and made our way along the Historic Hwy... and through the Mosier Twin Tunnels before beginning the climb of the 1802 ft 7 Mile Hill.
We zoomed down the east side of 7 Mile Hill buffeted by winds to Chenowith Creek Rd where we learned that what goes down must go back up! We rode to Cherry Heights then down to The Dalles where we stopped at a grocery store to rest and resupply.
We then rode along the Columbia River and past The Dalles Dam then began climbing away from the Columbia River up into the rolling wheat country on the Columbia Plateau.
There is a beauty in Oregon's dry side of the state that really must be seen to be appreciated.
Ken had some time constraints so we skipped the out and back on the upper end of the course saving ourselves about 10 miles. We came back down 8 Mile Creek but the wind kept us about 10-15 mph slower than we'd normally be going.
We got back to The Dalles and got onto a water front multi-use path.
After a few miles of that we returned to the Historic Hwy and started toward Rowena Crest.
We rode the graceful Rowena Loops up to Rowena Crest.
We retraced the route through the Mosier Twin Tunnels and arrived back in Hood River with 20 minutes to spare for Ken's hoped for departure time.
I had no such constraints so I pedaled off in search of 11 miles.
Mission accomplished. ;-)
It was a tough ride today, plenty of climbing was expected. The wind was no surprise, but hadn't been planned on. The wind was near 30 mph at times, enough to buffet us around and make pedaling difficult. I had leg warmers on all day and arm warmers for most of it. Once again I learned that when I'm a bit too warm I don't pedal well. Ken is a strong rider and made me earn every mile today.
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.
