Three Prairies 200km Permanent or There's a Lot to be Said for Being Healthy

Friend Susan has been bitten by the R-12 bug, and she needed a ride for June. She recruited Cecil and me, and after Cecil suggested that we DON'T ride the Scio Covered Bridges Perm (I was going to make the same suggestion, but kept my mouth shut), we settled on the tried-and-true, never disappoints Three Prairies route. Two loops - a longer one to Dallas from Newberg, and then a shorter one to Mount Angel from Newberg. All the hills are pretty much concentrated on the first loop, on Perrydale Rd into Dallas. 4000 vertical feet. Scenery.

After cleaning the bikes, turned my attention to what to wear. No raingear needed. No warm clothes needed. Sunscreen needed. I narrowed it down to 2 jerseys and decided the morning of (Sheila Moon). At the last minute I tossed in my convertible windbreaker and arm warmers - it was 48 degrees. Just in case.

Found Cecil and Susan in the parking lot in Newberg. They were going for armwarmers. Susan and I also added a windvest. Cecil's comment on my jersey - "you know, I almost wore my sleeveless one like that, but I thought you might be wearing yours" :-)

They were riding their Sweetpea bicycles, and I was riding my Lemond (and wishing it was my Sweetpea. Soon. Soon.)

Over to the Thriftway for a starting receipt, and we were off. Through Newberg and Dundee, and that horrible excuse for a bike lane, then into Dayton. The vest came off. The long stretch to Amity (we pass at least 2 signs that say "Amity 5 miles". Oh, tailwind!

Brief pause in Amity, then south on 99W, Bethel, and then Perrydale Roads. I pushed the armwarmers down, and removed them altogether in Dallas.

We were moving right along - I kept up, as long as there was not climbing, then I'd fall back some.

Substantial snack in Dallas, then off to Rickreall and back up Hwy 99W to Amity (headwind - paceline!), then to Dayton and Newberg. 70 miles done, and I had a moving average of 16mph. Wow.

Another substantial snack, call from the son - he just bought his very own car, so excited :-), picture taking, and off again, headed for Mt Angel. More tailwind bopping down French Prairie Rd, I set a nice pace. I wanted to protect that 16mph moving average. I'm not sure when the last time was that I saw numbers like that on my bike computer. 2006? Maybe? Clearly there is a lot to be said for being healthy.

Turned east, and had a slight headwind. Over I-5, through Gervais, on to Mt Angel. Susan wanted to stop at a coffee shop that was on the cue sheet. The cue sheet is pretty old; we were dubious. But there it was. Unfortunately, closed on weekends (!) So off to the public restrooms and the Mount Angle (hey, that's what the receipt says) Market. More Pepsi. I drank more sodas on this ride than I ever do. I drank a LOT, and still have a post-ride headache.

Then back. Darn it. There was that headwind. Windy, hot, humid. Part of my brain was wanting a refreshing drizzle, or, at least some hits from the field sprinklers.

Surprised Cecil and Susan on one of the rollers outside of Mt Angel - they were ahead of me, and I built up a head of speed on the downhill, and zipped by them on the uphill. Paid for it later :-)

By the time we hit Champoeg, I had it in my head that it was 9 miles more, so making it in less than 10 hours would be iffy. We stopped for soda, chips, and shade. I then discovered it was only 6 miles more. Oh well. I've got to say that riding back to Newberg from there is much shorter in the daylight.

125.2 miles, 10:15 total riding time, 12.22 total avg mph. Riding average 15.5mph (the headwinds back from Mt Angel did me in, there). The 10:15 is a personal best for 200km.

Reviewing the archives reveals that I have not ridden that kind of distance at that pace since 2006. I hope it is a trend.

Three 100+ mile rides in the past 4 weeks :-)

What worked:

• eating. eating. eating. I carry most of my own food**, and try to make it something tempting. This day it was 4 well-buttered Rye-Molasses muffins*, a couple of hard boiled eggs, bars and a gel. I ate 3 of the muffins, both eggs, 2 bananas, and 1 bar. And some roasted, salted sunflower seeds, some of Cecil's lime-chile roasted almonds and a generous portion of Susan's big bag of Fritos. Two bottles of Gatorade, water, and 3 colas. Some food is just too much trouble to eat, and then I don't eat, and we all know what happens then. Or I'll think that I'm delaying folks by needing to eat, and I won't eat and...
• Wonderful riding companions. Really wonderful.
• Lantiseptic. Some of the, um, discomfort I've been having was alleviated. Not all, but most of it. Just because it has the consistency of spackle... yeah, well.

* a few years ago, I was sharing with my then walking and running companions at work what I would eat on a ride. "But that is so UNHEALTHY!" was the general reply. My counter: "I'd have to eat sticks of butter to keep up with the calorie expenditure". The muffins have a nice little slab of real butter tucked into each one.

** carrying food - I don't have to depend on finding something I'd like to eat in the convenience store. Plus I spend too much time staring at the offerings. Removing decisions conserves time.

Cecil's post