Unfortunately I'm going to be real busy working on a project with a close deadline, and not getting the necessary support from county offices. I've got to have major progress before I feel good about taking the weekend off to ride.
I did take the early morning and ride out and around Hagg Lake from McM's Grand Lodge before all the offices opened. It is going to be a nice day, it was real tempting to just turn the other way and keep riding.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............27...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
YTD...........1771....+.......720....=.........2481
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
quick little ride
I have an early afternoon meeting in Salem, thought about riding my bike there but there are just too many logistical hurdles to jump over. Instead I took advantage of a warm and dry (for now) morning and rode a quick little ride on my 22 mile Verboort/Greenville/Roy route.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............22...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
YTD...........1744....+.......720....=.........2464
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............22...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
YTD...........1744....+.......720....=.........2464
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Monster Cookie Metric Century.....plus
Well, the plan was to ride a "double cookie". Erinn and I got to the start at 8AM. My Race Across Oregon teammate John showed up with his tandem and his daughter Olivia tapped for stoker duties.
By the time we picked up packets and such we didn't shove off until 8:25AM. The tandem team did what tandem teams do best on flat courses........they flew! John and Olivia led us out at 22-24 mph.
I latched onto their draft and held with them for a few miles, but Erinn, being a Triathlon competitor is not as well versed in tailgating. She and I were planning on doing a modified cookie so I decided to drop off the back and regroup with her so we could talk strategy.
Not too many miles into the ride emergency vehicles came up behind us with sirens on. It didn't take long for us to confirm that it was in response to a cyclist accident.
I'll try to find out what happened, but here's what it looked like as we rode by.
Before long we got to the 1st rest stop at the Bible college. Salem Bicycle Club puts on a good ride, and this rest stop was no exception. Monster Cookies of course, but much more. We had warmed sufficiently to remove our windbreakers by this point. The helmet cam shows its limitations in this clip, or perhaps it just shows how much I move my head around!
One of the cyclists today was really happy that they even had macaroons!
Erinn was thinking that 100 miles would be the most she'd want to ride today, and I learned long ago that a lady is always right. Plus, my bike pansy was all in favor of a shorter ride today. We took a more direct route to Champoeg Park, staying on French Prairie Rd saving us about 3 miles. We figured two laps of about 50 miles would give us a good 100 mile ride, and still hit the rest stops if we just cut out a few of the side trips that the official route took.
We pulled into the Champoeg Rest Stop where John and Olivia soon joined us. We had more cookies and shared a turkey sandwich box lunch.
We soon remounted our wheeled steeds and began heading back towards Salem.
Erinn was leading our little band and followed the Dan Henry's out Matheny Road. Our plan was originally to not take this little side trip, but we did, and it was fun!
Here we are making our way along Matheny Rd, heading towards Wheatland Ferry.
and this taken from the "handlebar cam"
John and Olivia were both doing a season record 1 day mileage and it was beginning to wear on Olivia, and John no longer had it in his legs to take up the slack. They fell back as Erinn and I pressed on. As I mentioned before, she is not comfortable riding close enough to draft.......... I have no such qualms and took advantage of the 30% reduction of effort as we pressed on at 20-22 mph.
We climbed a short steep hill out of the flood plain and I lost momentum because of heavy bike traffic as well as a couple of vehicles working their way around us. I shifted into a lower gear and winched my way up. As I was doing this I felt the twinge of the beginning of a cramp. Upon topping out I pulled to the side, popped a gel and drank some water. Before long John and Olivia came by and I buddied up with them on into Salem.
We met up with Erinn at the finish and had our cookie desert. I took the opportunity to take a picture of John and Olivia and conduct an impromptu interview.
We arrived back in Salem in 3 1/2 hours, just shortly after noon and could have ridden a second time at a slower pace and still finished by the 4PM course closing time. But it was a good day for visiting and just soaking in the "bikeyness" of it all. Erinn said she really wanted more than the 62 miles of the Monster Cookie and suggested that 75 miles would be good number...... and as I mentioned previously, a lady is always right. We started off on our second trip around the route with the plan to loop back around when we reached our mileage goal.
We followed the Monster Cookie route until we reached Perkins Road, just past Volcanos Stadium. Perkins Rd turned into Chemawa Rd which intersected with the return leg of the Monster Cookie route. As we pulled back into bike traffic we remarked how different these riders were from those we had rode with on the first time around. These folks didn't always look back or check a mirror before pulling around a slower rider....and right in front of us. Often there would be bottle necks when someone wouldn't go around a slower rider and everyone would bunch up 2 wide behind, and the pace was slower in general. We did however make it back to the finish area with 77 miles for the day........and another cookie! ;-)
It was a good ride and very nice weather. My pickup's thermometer showed the temperature in the low 70's.
Once again Erinn proved herself to be a great riding buddy. John and Olivia earned a tip of the hat, and Dave and Laura did well too. We didn't see them because we started a little earlier than they did and rode a little faster but we were in contact via cell from time to time during the day.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............77...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
YTD...........1722....+.......720....=.........2442
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
By the time we picked up packets and such we didn't shove off until 8:25AM. The tandem team did what tandem teams do best on flat courses........they flew! John and Olivia led us out at 22-24 mph.
I latched onto their draft and held with them for a few miles, but Erinn, being a Triathlon competitor is not as well versed in tailgating. She and I were planning on doing a modified cookie so I decided to drop off the back and regroup with her so we could talk strategy.
Not too many miles into the ride emergency vehicles came up behind us with sirens on. It didn't take long for us to confirm that it was in response to a cyclist accident.
I'll try to find out what happened, but here's what it looked like as we rode by.
Before long we got to the 1st rest stop at the Bible college. Salem Bicycle Club puts on a good ride, and this rest stop was no exception. Monster Cookies of course, but much more. We had warmed sufficiently to remove our windbreakers by this point. The helmet cam shows its limitations in this clip, or perhaps it just shows how much I move my head around!
One of the cyclists today was really happy that they even had macaroons!
Erinn was thinking that 100 miles would be the most she'd want to ride today, and I learned long ago that a lady is always right. Plus, my bike pansy was all in favor of a shorter ride today. We took a more direct route to Champoeg Park, staying on French Prairie Rd saving us about 3 miles. We figured two laps of about 50 miles would give us a good 100 mile ride, and still hit the rest stops if we just cut out a few of the side trips that the official route took.
We pulled into the Champoeg Rest Stop where John and Olivia soon joined us. We had more cookies and shared a turkey sandwich box lunch.
We soon remounted our wheeled steeds and began heading back towards Salem.
Erinn was leading our little band and followed the Dan Henry's out Matheny Road. Our plan was originally to not take this little side trip, but we did, and it was fun!
Here we are making our way along Matheny Rd, heading towards Wheatland Ferry.
and this taken from the "handlebar cam"
John and Olivia were both doing a season record 1 day mileage and it was beginning to wear on Olivia, and John no longer had it in his legs to take up the slack. They fell back as Erinn and I pressed on. As I mentioned before, she is not comfortable riding close enough to draft.......... I have no such qualms and took advantage of the 30% reduction of effort as we pressed on at 20-22 mph.
We climbed a short steep hill out of the flood plain and I lost momentum because of heavy bike traffic as well as a couple of vehicles working their way around us. I shifted into a lower gear and winched my way up. As I was doing this I felt the twinge of the beginning of a cramp. Upon topping out I pulled to the side, popped a gel and drank some water. Before long John and Olivia came by and I buddied up with them on into Salem.
We met up with Erinn at the finish and had our cookie desert. I took the opportunity to take a picture of John and Olivia and conduct an impromptu interview.
We arrived back in Salem in 3 1/2 hours, just shortly after noon and could have ridden a second time at a slower pace and still finished by the 4PM course closing time. But it was a good day for visiting and just soaking in the "bikeyness" of it all. Erinn said she really wanted more than the 62 miles of the Monster Cookie and suggested that 75 miles would be good number...... and as I mentioned previously, a lady is always right. We started off on our second trip around the route with the plan to loop back around when we reached our mileage goal.
We followed the Monster Cookie route until we reached Perkins Road, just past Volcanos Stadium. Perkins Rd turned into Chemawa Rd which intersected with the return leg of the Monster Cookie route. As we pulled back into bike traffic we remarked how different these riders were from those we had rode with on the first time around. These folks didn't always look back or check a mirror before pulling around a slower rider....and right in front of us. Often there would be bottle necks when someone wouldn't go around a slower rider and everyone would bunch up 2 wide behind, and the pace was slower in general. We did however make it back to the finish area with 77 miles for the day........and another cookie! ;-)
It was a good ride and very nice weather. My pickup's thermometer showed the temperature in the low 70's.
Once again Erinn proved herself to be a great riding buddy. John and Olivia earned a tip of the hat, and Dave and Laura did well too. We didn't see them because we started a little earlier than they did and rode a little faster but we were in contact via cell from time to time during the day.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............77...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
YTD...........1722....+.......720....=.........2442
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Saturday, April 26, 2008
We went for a bike ride and look what we found! Oregon Garden Brewfest!
It didn't take us long to figure out what to do there.
Dave called last night and informed me that the Oregon Garden was the site of a brew festival today and that maybe we should ride there and partake. A bike ride AND beer? I'm all over that. ;-)
I drove to the Oregon Garden early this morning and dropped my pickup off so we'd have a ride back after the event in case it was dark, or in case we were full of brew and brauts! I rode my bike back to near Wilsonville where I met Dave and Laura and we made our way back to Silverton and the Oregon Garden. Day's don't get much better than today. Sunny, light breeze (tail wind!) and 70 degrees! I averaged 17 mph to the meeting point, and we held better than 20 most of the way back to Silverton. It was a fun little warmup for tomorrow's Monster Cookie Metric Century, which I'm riding as a "double cookie", making two circuits of the route.
It would have been a nice day to rack up a few more miles,we were in the pancake flat area of the Willamette Valley and the weather was perfect, but we had to sample the brewer's offerings..... they went to all the work to bring it there. It wasn't a totally "non bikey" afternoon. Notice this coaster!
While there we took the opportunity to take a walk around the Oregon Garden. There has been a lot of improvements in the last few years, but there is still a ways to go before it gives any competition to Butchart Gardens. It was very much worth the trip however.
The plans are still coming together for tomorrow's Monster Cookie Metric Century. One of my Race Across Oregon teammates is bringing his daughter and the tandem. They are riding the route once, but there are a surprising number of folks planning on the unofficial "double cookie" option. Tomorrow should be a good day for a bike ride.
With the rain, snow, and hail of April I note that I'm am low on miles. Even with the the double cookie tomorrow I will not match what I rode last month. Oh well. Nicer weather is bound to be just around the corner. ;-)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............44...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
YTD...........1645....+.......720....=.........2365
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It didn't take us long to figure out what to do there.
Dave called last night and informed me that the Oregon Garden was the site of a brew festival today and that maybe we should ride there and partake. A bike ride AND beer? I'm all over that. ;-)
I drove to the Oregon Garden early this morning and dropped my pickup off so we'd have a ride back after the event in case it was dark, or in case we were full of brew and brauts! I rode my bike back to near Wilsonville where I met Dave and Laura and we made our way back to Silverton and the Oregon Garden. Day's don't get much better than today. Sunny, light breeze (tail wind!) and 70 degrees! I averaged 17 mph to the meeting point, and we held better than 20 most of the way back to Silverton. It was a fun little warmup for tomorrow's Monster Cookie Metric Century, which I'm riding as a "double cookie", making two circuits of the route.
It would have been a nice day to rack up a few more miles,we were in the pancake flat area of the Willamette Valley and the weather was perfect, but we had to sample the brewer's offerings..... they went to all the work to bring it there. It wasn't a totally "non bikey" afternoon. Notice this coaster!
While there we took the opportunity to take a walk around the Oregon Garden. There has been a lot of improvements in the last few years, but there is still a ways to go before it gives any competition to Butchart Gardens. It was very much worth the trip however.
The plans are still coming together for tomorrow's Monster Cookie Metric Century. One of my Race Across Oregon teammates is bringing his daughter and the tandem. They are riding the route once, but there are a surprising number of folks planning on the unofficial "double cookie" option. Tomorrow should be a good day for a bike ride.
With the rain, snow, and hail of April I note that I'm am low on miles. Even with the the double cookie tomorrow I will not match what I rode last month. Oh well. Nicer weather is bound to be just around the corner. ;-)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............44...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
YTD...........1645....+.......720....=.........2365
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
good call!
The wind was blowing about 25-30 and rain falling sideways when I left home this morning. I got over the pass without problems. It was 27 and icy but no issues. I'm now in Sisters and it's 43 and dry. Looks like I will get my ~70 miles in today on dry roads! :-)
UPDATE:
Bend was dry, as expected. I knew that my intended ride would be a gradual uphill route heading towards LaPine. What I didn't know was that it would be uphill AND against a 25+mph wind! ;-) At least it was dry. I wasn't sure if the shortness of breath was because of the elevation or if it was caused by the amount of energy I was expending going up that slight grade and fighting a substantial headwind. No matter, I just kept spinning the pedals.
It was nice to be on dry pavement and I knew there would be a lot of gravel because of the sanding operations. I just wasn't quite ready for the AMOUNT of gravel. On the secondary roads it wasn't too bad because I could take the edge of the travel lane and the vehicles had it pretty well blown clean. I did have to take about 7 miles of Hwy 97 and that was a little nasty. There was a wide paved shoulder all along however there was a rumble strip taking up the section of the shoulder I'd normally ride. That left riding right on the fog line (I don't like doing that on roads with that much traffic) or staying almost 3 feet from the fog line......... right in the copious gravel debris. Take a look at the video below and note the surface about halfway through the clip when I stop to show the falling snow. That shot was taken near Lava Butte where the elevation was near 4500ft and there was a lot of gravel.
I didn't have to fight it long because I turned west and took a parallel road as
soon as I was able. They also sanded these roads but there was no rumble strip and I was able to ride closer to the travel lane or in some cases it was safe to ride on the edge of the travel lane itself.
It took me longer than expected to reach LaPine because of the headwind, but I made up for it on the return to Bend..... minimum speed on the return= 27mph, maximum speed= 36mph. The BIG chainring the whole way. :-)
It was a fun ride. Would be even more fun when we start getting more seasonal weather! (I drove over 12 miles of packed snow on the drive over Santiam Pass on the return trip home!)
from the handlebar cam:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............73...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
YTD...........1601....+.......720....=.........2321
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
UPDATE:
Bend was dry, as expected. I knew that my intended ride would be a gradual uphill route heading towards LaPine. What I didn't know was that it would be uphill AND against a 25+mph wind! ;-) At least it was dry. I wasn't sure if the shortness of breath was because of the elevation or if it was caused by the amount of energy I was expending going up that slight grade and fighting a substantial headwind. No matter, I just kept spinning the pedals.
It was nice to be on dry pavement and I knew there would be a lot of gravel because of the sanding operations. I just wasn't quite ready for the AMOUNT of gravel. On the secondary roads it wasn't too bad because I could take the edge of the travel lane and the vehicles had it pretty well blown clean. I did have to take about 7 miles of Hwy 97 and that was a little nasty. There was a wide paved shoulder all along however there was a rumble strip taking up the section of the shoulder I'd normally ride. That left riding right on the fog line (I don't like doing that on roads with that much traffic) or staying almost 3 feet from the fog line......... right in the copious gravel debris. Take a look at the video below and note the surface about halfway through the clip when I stop to show the falling snow. That shot was taken near Lava Butte where the elevation was near 4500ft and there was a lot of gravel.
I didn't have to fight it long because I turned west and took a parallel road as
soon as I was able. They also sanded these roads but there was no rumble strip and I was able to ride closer to the travel lane or in some cases it was safe to ride on the edge of the travel lane itself.
It took me longer than expected to reach LaPine because of the headwind, but I made up for it on the return to Bend..... minimum speed on the return= 27mph, maximum speed= 36mph. The BIG chainring the whole way. :-)
It was a fun ride. Would be even more fun when we start getting more seasonal weather! (I drove over 12 miles of packed snow on the drive over Santiam Pass on the return trip home!)
from the handlebar cam:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............73...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
YTD...........1601....+.......720....=.........2321
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Rain, hail, snow, wind, cold.........
.......perfect weather to give the bike pansy an advantage. :-(
I need to be in Bend tomorrow mid-afternoon, I'm thinking it's a perfect excuse to take the bike along and head over early. The dry side of the Cascades and a chance for a little high elevation training beckon. I hope to get in 60-80 miles beginning mid-morning. Hopefully the hail, snow, rain, AND bike pansy will be stuck on this side of the mountains!
Big goose eggs today. :-(
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today.............0...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
YTD...........1528....+.......720....=.........2248
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I need to be in Bend tomorrow mid-afternoon, I'm thinking it's a perfect excuse to take the bike along and head over early. The dry side of the Cascades and a chance for a little high elevation training beckon. I hope to get in 60-80 miles beginning mid-morning. Hopefully the hail, snow, rain, AND bike pansy will be stuck on this side of the mountains!
Big goose eggs today. :-(
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today.............0...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
YTD...........1528....+.......720....=.........2248
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Cherry of a Ride........
...and a pretty darn nice day too!
I had the bike fully outfitted with cameras, but alas......
I took a lot of video with the helmet cam including the ride along the River Front Trail, a run through the Mosier Twin Tunnels, and the screaming descent from the summit of 7 Mile Hill to Chenowith Creek, but somewhere during the last segment something happened and all the day's video files became corrupted. I did get some video from the handlebar cam, but only from the first quarter of the ride. I also got some stills with my digital camera, and Photobucket tech support finally found a work around to Blogger's problems so the photos are now posted at the end of this entry.
It was a great ride! The Dalles lived up to it's dry side of the state reputation. We started under mostly blue skies and the day continued that way. The forecast was for 27 degrees, a 25 mph wind, and 30% chance of showers. It was 30 when I left Forest Grove but warmed to 39 by the time I got to Hood River but dropped to 36 as I entered The Dalles. It was better than the predicted 27, the sky was almost cloudless, and the wind was barely noticeable as we began.
The ride began by heading east on Hwy 30 then began climbing away from the Columbia River on 8 Mile Road. We continued our climb through the rolling green wheat fields
(and a vineyard!) on Emerson Loop, about 600 ft vertical in 2.5 miles. Back on 8 Mile Road we continued our ride past wheat and cherry orchards for several miles until we arrived at the first rest stop at the intersection of 8 Mile Road and Hwy 197. At this elevation it was still freezing. The orchard fans were running and sprinklers spraying water to provide some protection for the cherry blooms. Climbing kept me reasonably warm, except for finger tips and toes, but descents were cold indeed!
After refueling at the well stocked rest stop we crossed Hwy 197 and did a 7 mile out and 7 mile back run on 8 Mile Road to where it turned to gravel. A quick stop at the same rest stop upon our return then a long run downhill following 8 Mile Creek to The Dalles.
From the handlebar cam:
Once back at The Dalles we worked our way out to the River Front Trail which we followed west to The Gorge Discovery Center. There was another well stocked rest stop along the path.
Once we got to The Gorge Discovery Center I was in familiar territory as I had ridden this section several times before. We headed west and made our way up the Rowena Loops. By now there was a noticeable wind, perhaps 20 mph blowing in our faces.
We rolled down from Rowena Crest to Mosier where there was another rest stop manned by the ever friendly volunteers. We continued west to the Mosier Twin Tunnel section of the Historic Columbia River Gorge Highway and followed it to the terminus of the hiker/biker only section at Hood River. We retraced our route back to Mosier.
Being unfamiliar with the route I did not know what awaited me otherwise I would have stopped at the Mosier rest stop again for some refueling and a bit of a rest. We immediately started up the locally infamous "7 Mile Hill". After more than 75 miles of riding we start a climb that would take us from Mosier (121 feet) to the summit of 7 Mile Hill (1800 ft) in.......7 miles.
There was another rest stop near the top of this climb where more friendly volunteers congratulated us and offered us gatorade and goodies!
From there we dropped down the steep descent to Chenowith Rd. I set a new speed record on my bike of 48 mph on this stretch, even though I was using brakes regularly.
The 100 mile route took leave of the 80 milers by following Chenowith Creek up to the Brown's Creek Rd intersection where we got one more chance to use some low gearing before finally making our final descent back to St Mary's Academy, our starting point.
Total ride today was just over 100 miles with 7900 ft of climbing.
Really much more enjoyable than it sounds.......
especially when the Willamette Valley was getting rain, snow, and hail!
The route was well marked, rest stops well stocked, friendly volunteers, good weather, and a good cause. I'll be back next year!
On my return drive I hit hail and snow just beyond Cascade Locks and by the time I got to Multnomah Falls the freeway was running at 30 mph because of the ice on the road. The hail continued until Troutdale.
Welcome back to NW Oregon!
One thing I noticed after returning home was that at 100 miles and 7900 ft of climbing this route was about 1/5 of our Race Across Oregon route both in distance and elevation gain. I only have to ride this 5 times in 48 hours and I'll be well prepared for the RAO! ;-)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today...........100...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
YTD...........1528....+.......720....=.........2248
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I had the bike fully outfitted with cameras, but alas......
I took a lot of video with the helmet cam including the ride along the River Front Trail, a run through the Mosier Twin Tunnels, and the screaming descent from the summit of 7 Mile Hill to Chenowith Creek, but somewhere during the last segment something happened and all the day's video files became corrupted. I did get some video from the handlebar cam, but only from the first quarter of the ride. I also got some stills with my digital camera, and Photobucket tech support finally found a work around to Blogger's problems so the photos are now posted at the end of this entry.
It was a great ride! The Dalles lived up to it's dry side of the state reputation. We started under mostly blue skies and the day continued that way. The forecast was for 27 degrees, a 25 mph wind, and 30% chance of showers. It was 30 when I left Forest Grove but warmed to 39 by the time I got to Hood River but dropped to 36 as I entered The Dalles. It was better than the predicted 27, the sky was almost cloudless, and the wind was barely noticeable as we began.
The ride began by heading east on Hwy 30 then began climbing away from the Columbia River on 8 Mile Road. We continued our climb through the rolling green wheat fields
(and a vineyard!) on Emerson Loop, about 600 ft vertical in 2.5 miles. Back on 8 Mile Road we continued our ride past wheat and cherry orchards for several miles until we arrived at the first rest stop at the intersection of 8 Mile Road and Hwy 197. At this elevation it was still freezing. The orchard fans were running and sprinklers spraying water to provide some protection for the cherry blooms. Climbing kept me reasonably warm, except for finger tips and toes, but descents were cold indeed!
After refueling at the well stocked rest stop we crossed Hwy 197 and did a 7 mile out and 7 mile back run on 8 Mile Road to where it turned to gravel. A quick stop at the same rest stop upon our return then a long run downhill following 8 Mile Creek to The Dalles.
From the handlebar cam:
Once back at The Dalles we worked our way out to the River Front Trail which we followed west to The Gorge Discovery Center. There was another well stocked rest stop along the path.
Once we got to The Gorge Discovery Center I was in familiar territory as I had ridden this section several times before. We headed west and made our way up the Rowena Loops. By now there was a noticeable wind, perhaps 20 mph blowing in our faces.
We rolled down from Rowena Crest to Mosier where there was another rest stop manned by the ever friendly volunteers. We continued west to the Mosier Twin Tunnel section of the Historic Columbia River Gorge Highway and followed it to the terminus of the hiker/biker only section at Hood River. We retraced our route back to Mosier.
Being unfamiliar with the route I did not know what awaited me otherwise I would have stopped at the Mosier rest stop again for some refueling and a bit of a rest. We immediately started up the locally infamous "7 Mile Hill". After more than 75 miles of riding we start a climb that would take us from Mosier (121 feet) to the summit of 7 Mile Hill (1800 ft) in....
There was another rest stop near the top of this climb where more friendly volunteers congratulated us and offered us gatorade and goodies!
From there we dropped down the steep descent to Chenowith Rd. I set a new speed record on my bike of 48 mph on this stretch, even though I was using brakes regularly.
The 100 mile route took leave of the 80 milers by following Chenowith Creek up to the Brown's Creek Rd intersection where we got one more chance to use some low gearing before finally making our final descent back to St Mary's Academy, our starting point.
Total ride today was just over 100 miles with 7900 ft of climbing.
Really much more enjoyable than it sounds.......
especially when the Willamette Valley was getting rain, snow, and hail!
The route was well marked, rest stops well stocked, friendly volunteers, good weather, and a good cause. I'll be back next year!
On my return drive I hit hail and snow just beyond Cascade Locks and by the time I got to Multnomah Falls the freeway was running at 30 mph because of the ice on the road. The hail continued until Troutdale.
Welcome back to NW Oregon!
One thing I noticed after returning home was that at 100 miles and 7900 ft of climbing this route was about 1/5 of our Race Across Oregon route both in distance and elevation gain. I only have to ride this 5 times in 48 hours and I'll be well prepared for the RAO! ;-)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today...........100...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
YTD...........1528....+.......720....=.........2248
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Hammer Time!
Partly because I had about an hour to ride today between a board meeting in Salem and an awards banquet back near home. The plan was to hop on the bike ....which I conveniently carried with me to Salem ;-).... and hammer out a few fast miles before having to get cleaned up for the banquet.
..... and partly because I also got hammered by hail!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............22...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
YTD...........1428....+.......720....=.........2148
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
..... and partly because I also got hammered by hail!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............22...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
YTD...........1428....+.......720....=.........2148
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Friday, April 18, 2008
Remembering Brett Jarolimek
(click on title for more information)
I was busy volunteering at our local fire station today, no biking. Too many pieces of equipment to haul to consider commuting to the event by bike.
Tomorrow I have a fire meeting in Salem, I would think seriously about commuting to that (100 mile round trip) if it weren't for the 100 mile ride the next day with significant climbing.
I really should go for a short ride yet tonight...........but as I type this it's hailing........ and of course that bike pansy heard the hail pounding on the roof and is now raising a ruckus. So I'm likely to be off the bike until Sunday.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............0...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
YTD...........1406....+.......720....=.........2126
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I was busy volunteering at our local fire station today, no biking. Too many pieces of equipment to haul to consider commuting to the event by bike.
Tomorrow I have a fire meeting in Salem, I would think seriously about commuting to that (100 mile round trip) if it weren't for the 100 mile ride the next day with significant climbing.
I really should go for a short ride yet tonight...........but as I type this it's hailing........ and of course that bike pansy heard the hail pounding on the roof and is now raising a ruckus. So I'm likely to be off the bike until Sunday.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............0...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
YTD...........1406....+.......720....=.........2126
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Thursday, April 17, 2008
A nice route today, but no peaches
Erinn emailed and suggested we ride the 100km Peach of a Century route beginning at Jefferson today. What a great call! We began our ride at noon and had really good weather. There was a noticeable wind out of the north but it just added to the workout of the first half as we pedaled mostly north. We had nice roads, low traffic, and great views. The temps were in the upper 60's and the sky had a smattering of white clouds. No threat of rain. I had 4 cameras in the pickup (if you count the cell phone as one) but didn't get any of them on the bike so you won't be bothered with photos or video today. ;-)
We rode an out and back version today, from Jefferson to Stayton then towards Salem until we got 30 miles then backtracked. Well, backtracked except for a few blocks of "exploring" in Stayton that added just a bit to our route. The return trip was a blast. What had been a bit of work into the wind turned into a speed fest on the return with a trailing wind pushing us. I rarely saw below 22 mph.
We came back to our vehicles with a good ride behind us and not exhausted. I think we both would have been up for more miles, but there will be other days.
A good day, good company....... a good ride. The only thing keeping it from being classified as a great ride was there wasn't any peach cobbler waiting for us at the end!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today...........62...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
YTD...........1406....+.......720....=.........2126
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We rode an out and back version today, from Jefferson to Stayton then towards Salem until we got 30 miles then backtracked. Well, backtracked except for a few blocks of "exploring" in Stayton that added just a bit to our route. The return trip was a blast. What had been a bit of work into the wind turned into a speed fest on the return with a trailing wind pushing us. I rarely saw below 22 mph.
We came back to our vehicles with a good ride behind us and not exhausted. I think we both would have been up for more miles, but there will be other days.
A good day, good company....... a good ride. The only thing keeping it from being classified as a great ride was there wasn't any peach cobbler waiting for us at the end!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today...........62...............0
Jan total.......98.....+........402....=..........500
Feb total.....385.....+.......220....=...........605
Mar total.....659.....+........41.....=...........700
YTD...........1406....+.......720....=.........2126
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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