Ken had time constraints today, on both ends of the day. Instead of starting in Tygh Valley as we usually do, we started in Maupin at the Imperial River Company. That would shave off about 15 miles, and one climb out of the Deschutes River Canyon.
We started riding along the banks of the Deshutes River heading toward the Grass Valley climb, aka "Lauren's Hill" after my 2010 Race Across Oregon partner. She had her heart set on climbing that hill, and did a stellar job.
The low in the area this morning was in the lower 30's. There was still a chill in the air as we started out, but our 10am start took some of the bite out of it. By the time we started climbing toward Grass Valley we were plenty warm! We made it up that hill in the previously described "record time" (that's the story and we are sticking to it!) then pulled into the town of Grass Valley to eat a few snacks and rest of a bit.
From Grass Valley we turned south and followed Hwy 97. The road is a bit busier than the other roads we'd ride today but the traffic was all very friendly and accommodating
There was a slight north wind and it helped us cover the 28 miles to Shaniko a little easier than normal.
I had been tailing Ken most of the day so far, but put the hammer down with about a mile left to go, just to beat him to the town line! We pulled into our normal stop, a smokey little dive of a market. We spent nearly a half hour there eating hot dogs, ice cream, and candy bars. I got a large bottle of lime Gatoraid to refill my bottles, Ken had a Starbucks coffee drink and refilled his bottles with water.
From Shaniko we turned westward and made our way to the high point of today's ride then played on some rollers heading toward the Deschutes River Canyon.
Ken was ahead of me (see that yellow speck one hundred yards ahead of me?) but wouldn't stay there for long. The rollers lost elevation as they rolled along. Just perfect for me. I passed him, held back a bit on a small climb to remind him of the likelihood of gravel in the turns on the Bakeoven Rd descent, then put the hammer down. In the last 8 miles I put a 3.5 minute lead on him. I rolled into the Imperial River Company just after 4PM, right when Ken was hoping to be there. We had 86 miles on the odometers.
Ken loaded up and headed out for his home commitment, I rode to Shearer's Falls and back to get my desired century in.
It was nice day on the bikes. Ken and I were pretty evenly matched............. both of us WAY faster than the rest of you. ;-)
Upon arriving back at Imperial River Company I took out my phone and checked on the status of my friends who are riding the Furnace Creek 508, then I too headed west toward home, just as the sun was setting.
A perfect day.
............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today.........100..............0.............0..........0..........100
Jan...........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb...........428............108.............0.........24..........536
March.........809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April........1010..............0.............0..........0.........1010
May..........1000..............0............20..........0.........1020
June.........1500..............0.............0..........0.........1500
July.........1558..............0.............0..........0.........1558
Aug...........531..............0.............0..........0..........531
Sept..........730..............0.............0..........0..........730
Oct............315..............0..............0..........0...........315
YTD..........7972............142............20.........46.........8131
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