It was going to be very cold. Low 25, high, 41. This called for extreme measures - the Pearl Izumi AmFib tights and really warm gloves. Spare hats. My SPOT GPS Messenger :-)
Drove down to Eugene late Saturday afternoon, enjoyed a good dinner, and finished knitting one armhole band on my handspun yarn vest. Almost done! Michal's daughter's friend thought we were crazy, but he was going floating on the McKenzie River the next day. Right.
Up early, and a very, very careful descent down the hill. No ice. Whew.
My rear tire looked squashy (?) Put some air in it, and after some hot chocolate, off we went.
Uneventful ride out to Walterville (no floaters seen on the river). Went to drink some water, and my bottle made cracking sounds, because it was now full of slush. Well, there was a hot drink in the thermal bottle. Plus a banana and some fruitcake.
Somehow, never did get warm enough to take off the jacket and wear just the vest over the jersey and baselayer. :-) Time to climb up Marcola. I sucked down a gel before the climb, and up I went. Then down the other side, and over to the Crawfordsville Store. We got hot things to drink, and Michal had a corndog. I really couldn't go there, but did make up another bottle of hot calories. The cashier was showing pictures of a couple of her new baby lambs. Adorable.
Then off to Crawfordsville Rd, just about the prettiest part of this ride. It undulates along past farms, and eventually has a couple of serious undulations at the end. Then left and left again to climb Fern Ridge. It seems that every time I encounter Fern Ride, I walk more of it. Must figure out what that is about. It has serious bits of 11-13%, and is pretty. Lots of snow-like substances on the ground this day, but the road was fine. Colder up there, too. It had still not gotten above 30 degrees. Another somewhat careful descent, and into Sweet Home. Brief stop there, then on to Lebanon.
I was not working up any great speed. I told Michal his job was to keep my from abandoning in Lebanon. We got to the control right at the closing time. My rear tire was again squashy. We got hot food, which I wasn't too excited about eating, and Michal and I (mostly Michal) got the tire changed. He was really trying to get me to keep going and I was really not wanting to go anywhere. I gave him my SPOT and sent him on his way - Cyndi would come rescue me.
Eventually I did feel like eating, and finished the noodles. And got a coffee, and Cyndi appeared. We loaded up the bike and headed out. Michal had hoped we'd pass him and wave, but that would have taken awhile on the back roads...
But wait! We knew exactly where he was! Drove down I-5 a good ways, then headed in to intercept. I will say that the Supernova and Ixon IQ are amazingly bright headlights. Wow. Hellos exchanged and an update on the closing time (he wasn't carrying a cue sheet), and off we went.
I got a very hot shower. Water bottle was still slushy. Dinner was eaten, Michal finished and got his dinner, and then I drove home, getting there about midnight.
Post-ride analysis - I did not eat enough. It is really, really hard to get calories in, even if there is a bottle full of tasty caloric liquid right there. Must continue working on that.
Next weekend promises considerably warmer weather. Stay tuned.
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