Kitsap Color Classic

I rode Cascade Bicycle Club's Kitsap Color Classic today.

 It was wet, wild, and windy.

I could have been worse.

Rules #5, #9, and #85 were all employed, and earned.



 ...............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle........total
Today..............58...........0................0............0.............58 Jan..................93..............0...............0.........0..............93 Feb................411..............0..............0.........0............411 March.............653.............0..............0.........0............653 April..............696..............0...............0.........0............696 May...............900...............0...............0.........0.............900
June..............484...............0..............0..........0...........484
July..............1300................0...............0..........0.............1300
 Aug................638.............0.................0..........0.............638
 Sept...............232..............0................0...........0.............232 Total...........5163.............0...............0..........0.............5163

Training wheels?

That's exactly what I was asking myself tonight.  I haven't been on my bike in over two weeks, a record for me that reaches back 8 years.  I was wondering if I still knew how to ride!

My brother-in-law Dave invited me to join him on an after work ride.  Dave is a strong rider, and just came off Cycle Oregon beside.  I knew I'd have my work cut out tonight.  I met him at his work location and we rode to the Rose Garden (Moda Center) where we accessed Portland's 40 Mile Loop.

It was 76 degrees as we pedaled out.  There was not a cloud in the sky.  It was a perfect night for a ride.

Dave was breathing down my back and I did my best to keep 18+ mph.  I even held a pretty respectable pace up the hill to Adidas Headquarters.

We rode past University of Portland then across the Peninsula Crossing Trail to the Columbia River.  An Osprey cheered us on as we rode past.

We kept moving along but the light was fading.  Dave had a headlight on for the entire ride, I stopped to put mine on as we were coming back on the Springwater Corridor. I just wanted to make sure other riders could see me coming in the shadows.

We reached the Willamette River and followed it downstream. It was not dark dark, but it was getting a little bit dark by the time we rolled along the East Bank Esplanade.

We finished the loop up without any incidents.  It was a good night for a ride, and I'm glad Dave got me out there tonight.  As Rod Stewart sang, "It's late September and I really should be back at school".  Well, maybe not back at school, but late September in NW Oregon means that we should be cherishing the sunny dry days.  The rains will be here soon enough.


 ...............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle........total
Today..............42...........0................0............0.............42 Jan..................93..............0...............0.........0..............93 Feb................411..............0..............0.........0............411 March.............653.............0..............0.........0............653 April..............696..............0...............0.........0............696 May...............900...............0...............0.........0.............900
June..............484...............0..............0..........0...........484
July..............1300................0...............0..........0.............1300
 Aug................638.............0.................0..........0.............638
 Sept...............174..............0................0...........0.............174 Total...........5105.............0...............0..........0.............5105

The Hoodoo 500

This weekend I will be crewing for JT Sothern at the Hoodoo 500.
I fly to Las Vegas early Friday morning where Joel will pick me up as he drives from Southern California to the race's start location in St George Utah.

Racing begins early Saturday morning and race updates will be posted HERE


Be looking for JT Sothern to set a new course record for solo 50+ men.

Post race update:
JT Sothern did indeed set a new 50+ men's record on the Hoodoo 500 course. He was the fastest solo rider overall, and 5 hours 16 minutes ahead of rider number 2.  An amazing feat!

A good wrap up of the event is posted HERE.

  

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Fixie Fun

There was a big thunder and lightning storm last night with a lot of rain.  By this morning all was calm. By afternoon I was itching for a pedal.

I took off on the fixie to go to the hardware store.

Later I once again hopped on the fixie and met some folks at Starbucks.

And finally, just before dark, I again hopped on the fixie just because it was fun.

I got back home just as the light was fading.

 ...............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle........total
Today..............10...........0................0............0.............10 Jan..................93..............0...............0.........0..............93 Feb................411..............0..............0.........0............411 March.............653.............0..............0.........0............653 April..............696..............0...............0.........0............696 May...............900...............0...............0.........0.............900
June..............484...............0..............0..........0...........484
July..............1300................0...............0..........0.............1300
 Aug................638.............0.................0..........0.............638
 Sept...............132..............0................0...........0.............132
Total...........5063.............0...............0..........0.............5063

It is not my birthday

But I did ride my 58 mile birthday ride route.

The day dawned with the promise of another nice day.  I posted a last minute invitation to join me on the 58 mile route that a group of us rode last February.



A combination of a holiday weekend, and short notice meant that I would have been surprised if folks could join me.

There was no surprise that I was alone as I pedaled out this morning.  I parked just over a half mile away from the Steel Bridge, my official starting point for today's loop.  The weather was perfect.

I pedaled along at a comfortable pace as I made my way down the banks of the Willamette River to The Bluff by the University of Portland and kept right on going to near Kelley Point Park before turning east and following the Columbia River back upstream.  I crossed over the Interstate Bridge and entered Washington State.  I made my way north and a bit westward through Vancouver and accessed the Burnt Bridge Creek Trail. .  The route takes me back to Oregon via the Glenn Jackson Bridge then follows the remainder of Portland's 40 mile loop.

It was a great day to be out riding, too bad I couldn't convince others to join me.

 ...............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle........total
Today..............59...........0................0............0.............59 Jan..................93..............0...............0.........0..............93 Feb................411..............0..............0.........0............411 March.............653.............0..............0.........0............653 April..............696..............0...............0.........0............696 May...............900...............0...............0.........0.............900
June..............484...............0..............0..........0...........484
July..............1300................0...............0..........0.............1300
 Aug................638.............0.................0..........0.............638
 Sept...............122..............0................0...........0.............122
Total...........5053.............0...............0..........0.............5053

Westside Wanderings

I joined 8 other folks on a ride of Western Washington County roads.

Jose Angel Cisneros photo

 The trip was advertised as 16 mph on the flats, but we did a little better than that.  I saw 20 mph way more often than 16.  We started in Hillsboro and rode west to Verboort.  That was all pretty flat and was a good warm up for the hills that were about to begin.  We road to Forest Grove via Thatcher Road where we stopped in Lincoln Park for our first pit stop.  From there it was southbound.  Some of us rode up Winters Road (18%) and some rode around the hill, all of us arriving at the Forest Hills Golf Course, where we refilled water bottles.

Then it was off to Laurel and a fun little ride of Holly Hill.  We had a few more small hills along Vanderschure Rd but that was about it for hills.  As we neared Hillsboro, a few of our ride partners began to feel the effects of a quick pace and hills.  Our group spread out a bit, and wait times for regroups were longer.

We did all however make it to the end, where most of us settled in at BJ's Brewhouse for a little post ride kibble and visit.

Today's ride data:   
Miles:  63.16
Avg speed: 15.4 mph (moving on bike time)
Maximum speed: 45.7 mph (Laurelview Rd)
Total elevation gain: 2254 ft
Maximum Grade: 18%
Calories burned: 3624
Avg Heart Rate: 104 bpm
Maximum Heart Rate: 183 bpm (Winters Rd)



 ...............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle........total
Today..............63...........0................0............0.............63 Jan..................93..............0...............0.........0..............93 Feb................411..............0..............0.........0............411 March.............653.............0..............0.........0............653 April..............696..............0...............0.........0............696 May...............900...............0...............0.........0.............900
June..............484...............0..............0..........0...........484
July..............1300................0...............0..........0.............1300
 Aug................638.............0.................0..........0.............638
 Sept................63..............0................0...........0..............63
Total...........4994.............0...............0..........0.............4994