A Change of Plan

Today was the De Ronde Van West Portlandia.  I have participated many times, and was going to go again today, despite the fact that it is a very tough ride, and I'm in about the worse bike shape that I've been in for nearly 10 years.  Some friends went to Sisters on Saturday and biked up McKenzie Pass despite that the road is officially closed.  It is probably the most scenic route in Oregon.  I made a few phone calls and found that while the road is indeed officially closed, as long as cyclists ride at their own risk (don't we always?) they are welcome to ride and won't be hassled or ticketed.

If I start at the Ranger Station on the west end and ride to Sisters and back it has about the same amount of elevation gain as De Ronde,  I'll have 30 more miles to do the climbing.  The descent back down Deadhorse Grade is an E Ticket Ride, way better than anything on De Ronde, and the scenery is top notch.  I've also got a ticket to attend "Inspired to Ride" a documentary on the first self supported Trans America Bike Race.  I thought that I'd either be too late, or too dead, to make it to the movie.  That's it, the stars aligned.  I'm going to ride McKenzie Pass tomorrow instead of De Ronde today.

I took my new found free time and rode the fixie to the local car rental agency to work on details for the Race Across the West support van.


...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total
Today.............5...............0..............0...............0...................,5 Jan...............765...............0...............0...............0...............765
Feb................248...............0...............0...............0................248
March...........183.................0................0..............0................183
April...............65................0................0...............0 .................65
Total............1261...............0...............0...............0..............1261