Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway, day 2

Doak and I wanted to get an early start to get as much of the return done as we could before the anticipated headwind became a factor.  We were ready to roll out shortly after 6 AM.

Since this was an out and back, I didn't bother creating a separate route on the Garmin for the return.  The only place that made a difference was on one way streets in towns. That would not be a major concern as we skirted most towns with one way streets.  We did start out having to navigate the twisting bike paths/freeway interchanges by the seat of our cycling shorts to get out of Eugene.

We enjoyed a sun dog show as we made our way north of Coburg.

We were relieved to get the first few miles finished without any headwind. The miles from Coburg to the hill are quite exposed.

See, I really was in front of Doak at times!

 We got over the hill and stopped at a convenience store for a morning snack. We continued on to Brownsville where the scene was much more subdued that when we passed through yesterday afternoon. 

 We had 50 miles under our belts before the wind became an issue.

A country church on Sunday morning

 We arrived in Albany and took a bit of a detour into Bryant Park.

Doak doing his own version of "Road Bike Party"

 Having taking enough break, we continued on northward. I stopped to take the following photos as we pedaled through the Ankeny Game Refuge.  Doak continued on. It would be the last I saw him until we finished up in Wilsonville!

 As with yesterday, the winds were more intense in the south valley.  We never experienced more that a 10-12 mph wind.  We both were grateful. As I approached Salem, I was ready for a break.  I stopped at the convenience store near the golf course on River Road.  I spent nearly 30 minutes there resting, filling water, snacking, and nursing a big cup of Sprite.  I was concerned about drinking something fizzy while biking, given my history, but something ice cold sounded so good.  While the wind was less than yesterday, the temperature was about 10 degrees warmer.  Doak texted me just as I was ready to pedal out saying he was in Keizer and would meet me at a favorite watering hole in Wilsonville.  He was about 45 minutes ahead of me at that point.

I pushed hard and stayed on the aerobars most of the way. The rest and recharge and done well.  I was able to hold in the high teens, even into the wind.

I arrived back in Wilsonville, a bit tired, but pleased that I had nearly closed the gap on Doak.

We had a cold adult beverage and debriefed the weekend of riding. It was fun!

..........road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total
Today.........153...............0..............0...............0...........153 Jan............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ...........701.............0..............0...............0............701
April..........749.................0..............0...............0..........749
May...........613.................0..............0...............0...........613
 June............309...............0..............0...............0...........309 Total..........3668...............0..............0...............0..........3668

Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway

I have not been on my bike since June 5th, and then it was only a five mile commute.  My last decent ride was last month. Since that time I've been sitting in a car following cyclists across the country.  It was with some trepidation that I set off on a 300 mile weekend this morning.  Would I be able to do it?  Would I be able to keep up?

I arrived at our meeting point a few minutes late. I found nobody there.

I checked my phone for messages, and rode around the area looking for others.  It seemed that Doak was doing the same.  We eventually found each other and determined that the other half dozen were going to be no shows.  I thought I had left that behind when I left Meetup.

Doak and I started south at 6:20 AM, on the longest day of the year.  The sun had been up for nearly an hour already.

I've always appreciated local scenery, but I did even more so after my recent travels.

The Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway takes us from Champoeg Park near Wilsonville to Armitage Park near Eugene.  We travel right down the heart of the Willamette Valley, Oregon's most populous region, but stay in remarkably rural areas.

As we pedaled out the wind was calm, and temperatures were mild. A north wind by afternoon was predicted, as is common with a fair weather pattern in summer.

We pedaled along taking in the scenery and awaiting a gentle push from the wind.

We made our first stop on the north side of Salem, about 40 miles in, where we refilled water bottles and ate a quick snack.  From there the route turns out toward Independence, following the Willamette River.
At Independence the route bends back SE following the river toward the Buena Vista Ferry.  We wouldn't be crossing the ferry today as the Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway stays on the east side of the river. Just before reaching the ferry we turned east and rode by the Ankeny Wildlife Refuge.

We turned south again and soon began to notice a slight north wind pushing us.  It was 10:30 AM
 We pushed onward.

We stopped for a brief tour of John Deere combines!

White Clover filled the air with a pleasant aroma.

I've done this route a number of times and always look forward to some ice cream at the Shedd Store.  A very short detour off course takes us into "town".

 Having enjoyed our ice cream sandwich, chicken nuggets, and a refill of water, we pedaled on.

As we arrived in Brownsville it seemed that they were enjoying the Summer Solstice with a festival.  There was band playing in the town square, and people all over the place.  Even a group of the other kind of cyclists were in town.

The wind was increasing, we now had a sustained tailwind of about 10 mph. We played cat and mouse with a Blacktail doe. 

We were in wide open country now and fully exposed to the wind. At one point I was pedaling along at 17 mph keeping pace with the wind.  We were making good time south, but talked a bit about what tomorrow might bring as we pedaled back northward.
We continued to ride southward, taking in the scenery as we did so.

Doak says this is his favorite scenery!

Before long we passed Armitage Park, the official end on the Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway.

Today we'd pedal a few more miles yet, crossing the Willamette River into Eugene where we had reservations for lodging and plans for dinner.

I was a good day to be on the bike.  Despite earlier concerns my legs carried me well.  Doak was kind enough to slow his pace so we pedaled together most of the day. 

..........road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total
Today.........151...............0..............0...............0...........151 Jan............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ...........701.............0..............0...............0............701
April..........749.................0..............0...............0..........749
May...........613.................0..............0...............0...........613
 June............156...............0..............0...............0...........156
Total..........3359...............0..............0...............0..........3359

Unfullfilled Dreams

J.P Lingley withdrew from the Race Across America 4 miles short of Time Station 39, Bloomington, Indiana. Because he didn't arrive at TS 39 his official result recorded at TS 38, Sullivan, Indiana.

Rider #   Name     TS #        Miles  Avg MPH   Official Status
511     PJ Lingley    38     2218.30      11                    DNF

The Race Across America is a formidable task, and to complete it requires a strong effort by rider and his support crew.  Hopefully PJ returns in the future and takes the lessons learned this time and puts them to use to complete RAAM.

It was quite an adventure.

Following the Desert Coyote - 220th phonecast

Following the Desert Coyote - 219th phonecast

Following the Desert Coyote - 218th phonecast

Following the Desert Coyote - 217th phonecast

Following the Desert Coyote - 216th phonecast

Following the Desert Coyote - 215th phonecast

Following the Desert Coyote - 214th phonecast

Following the Desert Coyote - 213th phonecast

Following the Desert Coyote - 212th phonecast

Following the Desert Coyote - 211th phonecast

Following the Desert Coyote - 210th phonecast

Following the Desert Coyote - 209th phonecast

Following the Desert Coyote - 208th phonecast

Following the Desert Coyote - 207th phonecast

The last bike ride (for awhile)

The Race Across the West/Race Across America odyssey has begun.  My bike and I hitched a ride into Portland this morning with my brother-in-law.  He was nice enough to drop  me off within walking distance of the bus stop, saving me the grueling 1.5 mile bike ride (grin).  I took the Bolt Bus to Seattle where I unloaded the bike and rode up to Queen Ann.  Tomorrow morning Mick and I load a van and start the drive to Oceanside.

..........road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total
Today...........5...............0..............0...............0.............5 Jan............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ...........701.............0..............0...............0............701
April..........749.................0..............0...............0..........749
May...........618.................0..............0...............0...........618 Total..........3359...............0..............0...............0..........3359

Annnnnnnnnd they're off! (almost)

Tomorrow morning I will take my last bike ride for several weeks.  I'll ride my fixed gear bike to the Bolt Bus pick up point in Portland. My bike and I will take the trip to Seattle where I'll ride the last few miles to Julie's. All tolled, I'll get about 7 miles.

From there on it is a sprint for Mick and I to get a rental van outfitted for Race Across the West support duty and get on the road toward Oceanside.

I'll be crewing for Team Pactimo/FOURdot (R 203, Mick Walsh & George Thomas)
I'm expecting them to do very well.

When I finish crewing for Mick and George in Durango, I'll jump in with Racer 511,  PJ Lingley, and support his Race Across America effort.

Daily updates and video reports of the the race(s) will be posted at RideFarther

The RAW leaderboard  is HERE

The RAAM leaderboard  HERE

RAAM and RAW satellite tracking is available HERE  (RAW tracking is on the same map, but RAW racers are listed below the RAAM racers) You can zoom the map in to get better detail.

Cell service is far from universal along the route, but I'm going to do my best to post morning and evening audio updates to this blog (and to my Facebook page simultaneously).  I won't be able to format it on the road so each audio update will just show up here as a new post on top of the list. I'll spruce it up a bit when I get home. My reports will be centered on my team, as information we have on fellow competitors will be limited to what you already have available via the above links.