I finally had time to get back on the bike. I joined quite a few other folks in riding the Strawberry Century. Less than 10 miles into the event I came across cousin Becky along the side of the road with a flat. I stopped to help and ended up putting the spare tire I carry on her wheel as her tire had a pretty bad gash. I rode along with her the rest of the century ride.
There are many covered bridges in the area and today's ride passed by (or over) two of them. Here's Becky at the Larwood Bridge about 25 miles into the ride today.
We pedaled along under mostly clear skies and the temperature eventually climbed into the mid 80's. After the recent weeks of mostly rain it was quite a change.
We reached Foster Reservoir and stopped for a moment to take in the view.
The route had a bit of climbing but nothing real serious. Though if you are trying to hang with Desert Coyote in hills you best bring your "A" game!
(just kidding around, Becky did well today, her first century of the season!)
If you keep your eyes open you are never sure what you might find along the way.
After making a trip around Foster Reservoir we came to our second covered bridge of the day. (The Crawfordsville Bridge)
The sky continued to clear and the temperature continued to climb. We picked up a bit of head wind as the day progressed but it wasn't much more than just an annoyance.
Before long we made the last turn and were back at Lebanon High School, our start/finish location..........and the location where a strawberry shortcake desert was waiting for us!
With the nice weather......and the memory of all the recent rain.........I decided to go for some bonus miles. I had planned on riding another 25-30 miles but as I shoved off I began following the pavement markings for the ride thinking it was a good way to get out of town. Before long I found myself exploring the 53 mile course. It follows the Santiam River a bit more closely than the 101 mile route did. By this time of day I had the course to myself.
I rode a bit faster without other cyclists to be concerned about as well as the end of the day approaching. Official sunset today was nearly 9PM so I didn't have to worry too much, but I pedaled quickly none the less.
Before long I reached Lebanon High School again, but by this time the volunteers,....and the strawberry shortcake were long gone!
That was okay by me. I still got a 150+ mile day, and this time the weather just about couldn't be beat!
Tomorrow I'm hoping to get another hundred miles in. I'll be doing a little pre riding before joining my social bike group for some miles in Portland's West Hills.
While I'm riding strawberry desert rides Sandy is still riding across the country. She's just over 1000 miles in, about half way across Colorado.
Go Sandy Go!
............BIKE............LIFECYCLE.....ROLLERS....TOTAL
Today......155................0.............0.........155
Jan........618...............0..............0.........618
Feb........692...............0..............0.........692
March......940...............0..............5.........940
April......934...............0..............0.........934
May........905...............0..............0.........905
June.......411...............0..............0.........411
_________________________________________
TOTAL.....4515...............0..............5.........4520
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