Kings Valley 400k. Better. Sort of.

Ah, the 400k.  My most challenging distance.  And this year, a more challenging route as well.  More vertical feet, and a possible 100km stretch with no services whatsoever.  On the plus side, a new route with new places.

After a long lecture conversation with my coach on how I did not eat anywhere near enough on the fleche ("You had so little calories I am really surprised you could ride this long."), I rummaged around and found my old running watch, which had a working countdown timer, and set it to go off every 15 minutes.  Made up 5 packets of Skratch electrolyte drink (140 calories) and 5 packets of Carbo-Pro/EFS mix (350 calories).  Packed a lot of food, mostly Allen Lim's yummy rice cakes, Clif Builder Bars (protein!), and Shot Bloks.

Planned my "big" eating locations, and added those to the cue sheet, along with all the summits.  I like to know these things.

Received my new headlight, so had an evening soldering session in the garage.  It is mounted the same place as the previous light, but I am getting a new rack so as to mount it ahead of the handlebar bag.

After obsessing over the weather, also tossed in my lightest SP rain jacket, helmet cover, and booties.  Otherwise I was planning to wear pretty much what I wore on the fleche, and it was supposed to be warmer.

To make it more fun, an NPR reporter was going to be following us around :-)

Arrived at the LaQuinta Friday evening, just as the other 3/4 of our hotel room showed up.  Checking in, unloading, faffing...  and in bed by 9:00.  3am was going to arrive awfully early.

Up we got.  I made the sad discovery that I had forgotten to bring my knee warmers.  Michal offered up his tights, but they'd be really long, and too hot.  I figured I'd be ok.  I didn't need them at the moment.

Food swaps, and Cyndi had a nice breakfast for us all.   My contribution was single serving Egg/Swiss Cheese/Mushroom/Onion fritatta (protein!).

Signed in, chatted with other riders, and it was 4am and off we went.  Lesli and I were the only women in the crowd, and I didn't see her or Michal after about 5 miles - they were going for time.  We did have a bit of a ride together at the start, so Michal got to see the wonderfulness that is my new headlight (more on that later).

Bit of a puzzlement when I realized we didn't actually go THROUGH Dayton, but it was fine, and probably shorter getting to Amity.  There is a new market on the corner, so I went in to get some more water.  Lonnie was leaving just as I arrived.

My timer was going off every 15 minutes, and I was taking a big bite of something and drinking every 15 minutes.  For the whole ride.

The shoulder on Hwy 18 has not improved.  That stupid rumble strip goes right down the middle of it, leaving precious little space to ride.

Made nice time to Grand Ronde, which was a planned meetup with Angela from NPR, as well as a Real Food stop.  I am instructed to learn to eat "gas station sandwiches".  Grand Ronde offered made to order sandwiches, so I got my sandwich order underway, and walked around the store getting a Mocha Doubleshot and more water and getting the card signed, with Angela in tow.  Collected water bottles and sunscreen, and settled on the bench to eat, talk, prepare bottles and apply sunscreen.





While I was engaged in all those things, Jeff A rolled up, and we joined forces.  Bidding farewell to Angela, we headed up to Sourgrass Summit.  It didn't seem to take long... "wait, what, this is the summit?"  Zipped down to Hwy 101, where we turned left, and it was all new roads from here until Independence.







Then we turned onto Slab Creek Rd.  After hearing for years how awful the pavement was, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was actually pretty darn good.  Less good heading up, but new pavement heading down.  A very pretty climb, and since it wasn't killing me, perhaps I was not attacking it hard enough.  The downhill was way fun!



From there we ended up in Otis (more water; Jeff bought pepperoni sticks), then a bit more on 101 and off onto East Devil's Lake Rd, along the backside of Lincoln City.  It rolls a whole bunch there.  Lots of very, very nice houses, a summer camp where I have attended events, and some High Water.  I rode through it very slowly.  My soles touched the water, but never went under.

More wandering along, and we popped out by the Factory Outlet Stores.  Right after we turned onto 101, Jeff wondered if they had a Pearl Izumi outlet; I could get some knee warmers.  A bit of online research said no, but there was a Nike store, and a pair of running capris would do very nicely.  As I had worked at Nike for 22 months, I knew exactly what I wanted, and the store had it.  Most expedient trip ever in a Nike store.  First ever outlet shopping trip on a brevet, too.


Found Bill at Spanish Head, where pictures were taken.  Fabulous view of the ocean.

picture by Bill Alsup

Another 4.5 miles and we turned east on the Siletz Highway.  It is so very, very, very pretty back there.  What with all this newfangled eating and drinking, I also needed to do more stopping.  We found an RV park where the manager pointed us at the facilities and told us the combination to get in. My bike picked up a piece of gravel in the parking lot and the rear wheel would not budge.  I popped the wheel out to get it loose while Jeff finished up.  He just realized that he can Wash His Face on rides!  A wonderful feeling it is, too.  24+ miles on the highway, flat to gently rolling.  We saw pretty horses (white ones with gold manes and tails), llamas, cattle, alpaca, sheep, goats...

Eventually, we found Siletz.  Also Bill, who was finishing up.  We went into the market to stock up for the next possible services-free 100k.  I filled up my auxiliary water container (1 liter collapsible Platypus bottle), bought a sandwich and another Doubleshot, grabbed my sunscreen, and sat in the shade across the street to eat.  Lonnie joined us here - he'd gotten bonus miles by missing the Logsden turn and looking for it in all the wrong places.  He left before we did.  Hard to eat those sandwiches - the bread makes me choke.  Have to work on that.



I was doing my major cue sheet flip and pressing the air out of the big ziploc bag I keep it in, when a townsperson came by: "what are you doing?  what are you posting there?"  Umm.  Nothing.  Very weird.  Most of the folks in Siletz were really nice, stopping to chat, wishing us a good ride and so on.

Some more pretty and rolling miles to Logsden, and we got there long before the store closed.  There are great murals painted on the outside.  I got a gentleman inside to sign my card; there seemed to be random locals socializing in there.  Topped off the water again.  He insisted on taking my picture with the murals, too.







Now the "fun" started.  The stretch between Logsden and Blodgett is the really hilly part.  Rolled along for awhile, again, not getting overly stressed, except to wonder where the mythical gravel stretch was.  Oh.  There it was.  Hardpack with loose gravel all over it.  Kept a steady pace up until the road banked and I started sliding down.  Walking!  The grade was 8-10%, so I couldn't even think about starting up on that.  A motorcyclist came by and asked if this was the way to Blodgett.  We sure hoped so, and told him what our cue sheets said.

Walked up.  Then walked down, because it was no less steep and slanted.  Finally to a place where I thought I might be able to start up.  Headed down, it started to get a bit too exciting, but I could see the pavement, and headed right for it.  Whew!

Then the next climb, which went up to Summit (which wasn't, but I already knew that), and went up and down about 5 or 6 times.  And finally we dropped into Blodgett about 7:30.  And the store was still open!  More water and a Sobe.  I needed a break from electrolyte stuff.





In theory, we had three more summits.  The first one was over before we knew it, the second and third ones rolled along for awhile.  The stretch on Hwy 20 was not too bad - big shoulder.  It got dark along here, but with my wonderful new Luxos U headlight, I could see much better, and took the descents a bit faster.  It also helped that the pavement was absolutely wonderful.

Ok, so it is dark now.  Our intermediate goal was to make it to the control in Monmouth before the Burgerville closed at 11pm.  And we did, by 20 minutes.  I got a kiddie cheesburger and a Coke.  Jeff ordered a bigger one.  My kiddie meal prize was pea seeds and a plant marker - I gave them to Jeff for his daughter.  He ate my fries, too.  Pulled on the running capris and long sleeved jersey over the short sleeve jersey and arm warmers.

And then I started to yawn.  Oh no.  Kept it going until Salem and the convenience store.  Bought a V-8.  No use of the bathroom allowed.  Ok then.  Not stopping there anymore.  Jeff knew of a good gas station store in Keizer on the way out, so we stopped there.  Got a Coke and put it in one of my bottles, and mixed up the very last drink mix I had (that is 10 packets of electrolytes, half with extra calories consumed.  A new record).

Out of Salem/Keizer, north on River Rd, north until it turned into French Prairie (friend Don lives there), right on St Louis Rd.  I started wobbling.  Finally had to call a halt and get a short (bike computer says less than 5 minutes) nap.

Off again.  Tried to stay awake.  Kept smacking my face, eating caffeinated mints, drinking the Coke and so on.  It was just NOT working.  Finally, right after the turn onto Boones Ferry (10 miles out.  Sigh) I did stop.  Jeff said try for a longer nap, and I was out for 25 minutes.  I hope he was too.  Tweeting birds woke me up, and we headed out for the last bit.  I really felt much more alert, so maybe the pre-nap caffeine and the nap combined to perk me up.  Finished BEFORE sunrise, at 5:06am.  Only 1 sunrise on this ride.

Got to the hotel, found the control room, and gently woke up the control worker :-)  John Henry and I chatted for a bit, then I headed over to the elevator and my room.  Cyndi let me in, and I took a good long shower to scrub off all the rando crust.  Oh, that bed felt really nice.

Woke up around 9am, joined the others for breakfast in the hotel lobby.  Home just after 10am, Mother's Day Brunch, short nap, Timbers soccer match, home, in bed by 6pm, didn't get up until 7am the next morning...

Final Comments: Finished it up at 5:06am, which was about 2 hours longer than I personally wanted it to be.  But it was still 40 minutes better than last year's ride, and a more challenging route, with no bonks, or even the hint of a bonk.  Took rather longer to get sleepy as well.  My coach is delighted.

SPOT track is here (stopped tracking about 10 mi before the end, because I rolled over 24 hours.  I have learned something new)

Distance: 252.85mi (almost exactly matches RideWithGPS.  Finally got the computer calibrated!)
Pace: 12.57mph avg.  slower than last year, but more climbing on this one.
Total Time: 25:06; 40 min faster than last year.  Less faffing/sleeping
Vertical feet: 10031 according to RWGPS
All the pics here (lots of them)

Fiat Lux!
Ah yes, the new light.  The Luxos U is amazing.  Wonderful wide light throw and a good long distance down the road as well.  The previous light is a Supernova, backed up by an Ixon IQ, and this is much, much better.  I did not give the charging function a test, so I cannot report on that.  But the light on the road is very good; it doesn't wash out the surface.  Did I mention the wideness and length and brightness of the beam?

THAT was a hot one...

This past weekend was the Oregon Randonneurs Tygh Valley Traveller 400k.  I was the co-organizer, and the day-of person in charge.  It would not have gone off as well as it did without the wonderful volunteers - Dave and Edna, who staffed the Pine Point control, Dave and Kevin, who surprised everyone at the Secret Control (gotcha Michael!  Not on Judd Rd!), and Vinny and Theo, who did some sightseeing, set up at mile 169, and then wandered back along the route after awhile.  And not to forget the Main Co-Organizer Susan O, who designed and submitted the route, and did much of the pre-event running around.  And all of our pre-riders, some of whom were not local and could not infer from tribal memory what some of the cues really meant.





After sending the riders off, getting Vinny all his supplies, and waiting out the hour, I set out to the start point for the 200k perm I planned to ride.  The speediest 400k rider assured me he wouldn't finish before 8pm, which would give me enough time to do my ride.

The temperatures were going to be extreme - over 100, which for Portland is awfully darn hot.



South about 6-ish miles to NE Broadway and NE 22nd, where I inhaled a pumpernickel bagel with lox cream cheese, then off.  Eventually the route had me headed west on SE Stark, which turns into SE Water and eventually dumps me on the Springwater Corridor Trail.  All well and good, except when I got to the part where Stark turns into Water, there was a train.  A very long train.  A very long stopped train.  Ok, then.  A bit of mental navigation, and I turned around on Stark, turned right on SE 6th, followed it all the way to SE Madison, west on Madison. crossing the tracks on the Hawthorne Bridge approach and dropped down to the Esplanade, which would get me right to the Springwater Corridor Trail.

And, where the trail turned onto SE Umatilla, I was zapped with a Secret Control as well :-)  Good morning David!

Continued east, not too hot yet. Eventually off the trail and into Boring.  The clerk at the control told me several riders had stopped there - once on the Springwater Trail, I was on the same route until the turnaround.  Sucked down more liquids and continued on.  Eventually I ended up on Judd Rd, one of the two annoying climbs on this route. (7-9%).  It got warmer here.  But the reward for suffering on Judd is the drop on Van Curen. I was about a mile shy of getting up to the speed limit (45mph).  Next time maybe.

Getting hotter and hotter.  I stopped at a skate park on the outskirts of Estacada for more water.  And stopped again at Promontory Point, 13 miles down the road for more water.  The headwind on Faraday Rd was pretty stiff; it was like riding into a blast furnace.



Then up to Ripplebrook.  If the headwind had been anything like the stretch on Faraday, it was going to be a very long day.  The first 10-15 miles actually weren't all that bad.



Between bridges 3 and 4, though...  It was really hot.  My bottles were hot (yes, I was drinking).  The last 5 miles was painful.  My feet were really, really hurting (this much foot pain is very new), and, then, of course, there was the heat.  I pulled off the road at one point, took off the helmet and just sat.  One motorist (of MANY) asked if I was ok.  I would have killed for some cold water, but he didn't have any.  Shortly after that was the Indian Henry climb.  I walked it, which is a first, for me, ever.  It did occur to me to turn around and go back down, but the store was now less than three miles away, and it was the closest source of cold liquid things.



Topped that pitch, and started pedaling again.  I was also back in the shade.  And, maybe a mile before the store, who should I see but Paul W.  He was not having fun, and decided to turn back.  He thought I had already gotten to the store and turned around.  Hah.  No.  We went to the store, and I got a bag of salty chips and a bottle of Gatorade, and we sat in the shade.  At one point I moved and my right quad made like to cramp up.  Paul tossed me some Endurolytes.  Had a nice visit.  I've been on many rides with Paul, but not had much opportunity to have a real conversation.  Back into the store for liquids for the bottles, and then, after a really long sit (the control had closed 30+ minutes ago), we decided to head back.  Just before we left, Norm C rode up.  He wasn't having fun, either, but he was going to get his wife to collect him in Estacada.  Texted the control workers to expect 2 fewer riders.



Except for the drop at the top, the downhill was not nearly as much fun as it had been in June.  Paul: "has the wind shifted on us?"  Toward the bottom, Paul allowed as how he needed water - we stopped at Promontory Point, went inside, and I flopped into a chair and sat.  Big cups of ice.  The smart thing to do would have been to eat something, but I think I was past smart.  I was drinking calories, but not eating them. We used up all our warm water by dumping it on our heads, arms, and legs.  I dumped some on my jersey as well.  It lasted most of the way into Estacada.

Headed off to Barton.  Did I mention that it was hot?  Really, really hot?  Over 100 degrees hot?  Our bottles were hot again.  Finally pulled over into some shade, and flopped down.  Paul offered up some cold water- his Camelbak was still cold.  After awhile he said that while he wasn't as far along with the heat issues, he wasn't very far behind.  I thought about it a bit, then called Fitz and asked if he would please pick us up at the Barton Store.  Called David to tell him I was abandoning.



By this point I'd gotten a text that another rider was abandoning, and then one more rider called from Maupin to say his ride was finished as well.

Laid around in the shade for awhile longer (tried to get up twice, got a bit dizzy), then rode the last 4 miles to Barton at a very relaxed pace.  We got some cold drinks, and, not 15 minutes later, Fitz appeared.  We must have been sitting in that shade a good long time, because it isn't that quick a drive.

So much for that perm.  Sigh.  Back to the start location, where I checked in, and we all got showers, and went to find some dinner.  The Island Cafe on Hayden Island is kind of fun, and it was certainly the right temperature to be eating outside on a floating restaurant.  Paul and I demolished some burgers; Fitz was more restrained - "I didn't earn that".

Back to the hotel - no one had finished yet.  Got a text from Vinny estimating a midnight finish for the speedy riders.

Sat around.  Dozed.  Probably fell asleep.  At midnight, there was a knock on the door.  Opened it to find Michael W (first finisher), and Vinny and Theo.  Finish card rituals, visiting, then Theo took Michael home.  He came back (he had Vinny's truck :-) ) and more sitting around.  Kevin showed up for his shift right about the time Del finished, just before 1am.  He ate a bagel and visited for awhile, then took himself home as well. I turned control over to Kevin and fell asleep.  Vinny and Theo fell asleep.  For all I know, Kevin fell asleep.

Woke up at 4:45.  So did Vinny - "got to get home before the traffic picks up!".  So we went out and moved the control equipment and supplies back to my car.  He and Theo departed, and shortly after that, Kevin left as well.

One more phone call - a rider abandoning in Troutdale.  He had deliberately gone off course on Devil's Backbone.  The climbing finally did him in.

More dozing, then a call from Shun.  The folks at the front desk were great - they'd sign the card, and then send the rider up.  They thought this was great fun.  Shun ate a bit, took a shower, and got a nap.  Just one rider still out there.

I went down to get some breakfast, sitting where I could see folks come in.  And just as I sat down, Ed finished! Yay!  He joined me for breakfast, as did Shun.  Shun headed out.  Ed got a shower and a nap.  I loaded the car, sat around, and eventually wondered if Ed was rested enough to get home.  He was, so we cleared out of there.

I went home and was catatonic until we went to the Portland Timbers game.  Catatonic there as well, and not at all sad to leave at the half because Fitz wasn't feeling great either.

For the day, about 109 miles.  For the 102 miles of the perm, I averaged 13 mph.  I just spent so much time off the bike in the heat, though, that finishing in time just wasn't going to happen.

Tygh Valley Traveller 400k Tantalizing Teasers

Some notes and pics from the pre-drive.

Pause at the Ripplebrook Store for snacks.  They have free wi-fi, flush toilets, and a good stock of snacks and drinks.

First order of business was to explore the Anvil Creek Portage.  This is the adventure part of the brevet.  At about 84 miles, the road will stop.  But you won't!

Go to the end of NF-4810.  Go past the orange bollards.

Pretty soon, you'll run out of pavement.

Keep going.  You can probably ride most of it, but it is a short hike.

Then there's Anvil Creek - we crossed it without getting our feet wet, and I bet it will be easier having the bicycle to balance with.

Then you have to go up the bank.

And turn right - there's the road again!

Except you'll come to a big pile of dirt.  Go around it on the path to the left, because the dirt pile is steep and slippy and has glass bits in it.  The path through the trees is much nicer.

Then along Timothy Lake - we are planning a staffed control at the Pine Point Campground, just across the Timothy Lake Dam on NF-57.  Loads of new water spigots and new, clean pit toilets.

You'll now be working your way toward Maupin - long descent and you are on the dry side of the Cascades.  Drop down into Maupin (yes, this implies a climb out), and tank up on food.

Then up, and over to Tygh Valley.  Wonderful descent, but the left turn is before the bottom of the hill.  There is a store in Tygh Valley; it closes at 6:00pm.  We'll have an info control question for those arriving after 6pm.  This is why you needed to stock up in Maupin.

Turn around and almost immediately turn right onto Wamic Market Rd.  About 5 miles out of Tygh Valley, there is the Sportsman's Pub and Grub on the right.  The kitchen stays open until 10pm.  

Somewhere along here there are real cattle guards (just ride straight over them, bzzzzt!) and horizontal expansion cracks, for about 5 miles.

Then a long stretch (approx 34 mi) climbing gradually up to US-35.  You will join up with US-26, and stop in Government Camp.  Public toilets at the north end of town (where you hop off US-26), a Shell Station, which will likely be closed, and further along, the Huckleberry Inn which is open 24 hours, and is reputed to serve great breakfast meals.  Pancakes at midnight!

(brief nostalgic aside - I ate breakfast at the Huckleberry Inn just about every Saturday during ski season in the late 70's and early 80's.  The waitress was... memorable.  I asked at the Govy Store if she was still working.  No, she's retired.  You are safe.  The cashier at the store and I shared a good laugh over that.)

You can also get something to eat at Charlie's, across the street from the Govy Store.  The Govy Store closes at 9pm.

Pull on your extra layers, wind shell and warm gloves.  The descent on Hwy 26 will cool you down right quick.

But yet, you are not done with the climbing.  Eventually you will be on SE Marmot Rd, which starts out fairly harmlessly.  But then it gets, as Theo puts it - lumpy.  Quotes from an anonymous co-organizer along this stretch: "Marmot Rd is kind of evil.  Holy S----.  I need a bigger cassette!" followed by "good company might be critical at this juncture"

SE Shipley - ditch naps inadvisable on this stretch.

SE Gordon Creek Rd - innocuous until the steep descent (truck on a triangle) sign.  Impressive hairpins along here.  Ride carefully!

So, from 6 or so miles into SE Marmot Rd, until you arrive at the Historic Columbia River Hwy, it is a challenging 20 miles.

Then, all downhill/flat from here to the finish.  SE Bell Rd is a wonderful descent in the daylight, but in the dark, if you don't know it, exercise caution.

More later after the pre-ride!

Eden's Gate 400km

Disclaimer: this was a hard one to write.



Last year, my only goal for this ride was to finish it in time.  This year I was hoping for a better performance on my part.  The weather was going to be about as perfect as it could be.

To make it easier (I am getting SO spoiled just falling out of bed and doing a ride without having to drive anywhere.  Owning perms does that to you.), I got a room at the motel near the start, and scoped out expedient routes to the start, involving shortcuts through a shopping center that didn't used to be there, and walking paths through the office park.

Tried to get ODOT to sweep the Boone Bridge shoulder on I-5 northbound, but they just couldn't get to it before the weekend.  That would be fun, it looked pretty trashed when I drove by it last weekend...

Asta was going to stay as well, but was delayed in town, so she'd ride to the start.  I told her I'd get two room keys, and we could revert to plan A for after the ride - she'd beat me in by HOURS, get some sleep, and I'd get her back to Portland.

Packing accomplished (throw everything in a laundry basket), food prepared (hummus wraps, a couple of homemade guacamole-bean-cheese-mild salsa burritos, cookies, some gels), bicycle loaded, and off to Wilsonville.  Michal and Cyndi visited for awhile, engaged in our pre-ride food swap, then all off to get a good night's sleep.

Cyndi had some real coffee for me, saw us off, and Michal, Norm and I headed over to the start. Not a huge crowd (Susan F: "about what you expect for a post-PBP year") The usual round of visiting, standing around,  and finally it was 6am and off we went.

A large-ish group did stay together until just before the turn onto Ehlen Rd, at which point Sweetpea threw a chain, and it was just Michal and me.  Uneventful ride south to the Gallon House Bridge, where we found a couple other riders.  Brief pause in Silverton (removing extraneous layers, among other things), then winching ourselves out of town and onto the (endlessly rolling) Cascades Hwy.



The winds were not unfavorable, and we were both feeling pretty good, and found ourselves in Stayton about 9:15am.  There were a couple of riders eating outside; asked where they were riding.  Wow.  400k.  That's a LONG ride!  You all ride careful, ok? :-) Got a mocha and ate something.  I forget what, probably a hummus wrap.

Of course, after Stayton comes the fabled rollers of Cole School Road. I was hoping to even up the score (rollers 3, Lynne 2), but it was not to be.  2/3 up the second (steeper) roller and the warp engines decided it wasn't the day.  Hiked up the last bit, and found Michal at the turn onto Ridge Rd.  Enjoyed the twisty drop down to the Shimanek Covered Bridge, where we stopped and filled out the info control question.

Continuing south on Richardson Gap (this is the original route, which gives Scio and many other covered bridges a miss), we set out for the Larwood Bridge. I spent this stretch munching on the bag of cookies from Cyndi.  Another pause at the bridge to fill out cards and take pictures (it is a very pretty bridge).



Then off to Sweet Home, through a somewhat hilly section.  Lots of fields with white flowers; a crop I had not seen before.  Theo said afterward that they smelled wonderful, but my nose had decided to get all stuffy, so not able to smell much.  A brief navigational confusion - our bike computers were both a mile optimistic, and we thought we'd missed the turn onto Lacomb, so went back a bit, and no, so retraced our steps and found it a bit further along the road.



20 miles after that, and just before 1pm, we were in Sweet Home. Bought some pea salad from the deli, and a Doubleshot and had lunch with Michal and Ray; Norm was heading out.  Except I couldn't eat it all.  Hmm. Bill arrived shortly thereafter.  Removed all my extra layers here, applied sunscreen.



Michal, Ray, and I then headed out.  Out of Sweet Home is initially kind of UP, but then it backs off and is a very pretty ride along Old Holley Rd, working our way to Crawfordsville.  Turned navigational control over to Michal, as we were now in his normal riding area.  Up Brush Creek/Marcola.  Michal pulled ahead (not unexpected; he's a very strong climber).  Passed some locals out for a ride.  And soon there was more sky than trees, and I summitted.  More pictures.



The descent was great - no rain (last year) or bad pavement (year before that).  As we were getting low on water, we stopped in at the Mohawk Post.  Last year it was the halfway point, but not this year.  Water and (yum) deviled eggs.



Then, east to Walterville, following a gently rolling road along the McKenzie River.  Sat down outside and ate most of a burrito.  Michal offered chips, but the burrito was more than enough.  Chatted with Ray about the Lane County line sign ("Nuclear Free!"), and how Fitz's niece and her husband work at the Calloway Nuclear Plant in Missouri, and their flood contingency plan (highly unlikely is overstating it).  Ray - what about the Missoula Floods? Me - If those happen again, it might be that we'll have much bigger problems.  Kind of like when we were doing disaster preparedness at a Brownie meeting (oh, SO many years ago), and one delightful little girl piped up: "the sun will go out eventually." (GS Leader Lynne excuses herself into the hallway and decompensates.)  Yes, well, where were we?  Bike ride.  Yes.



Back the way we came, eventually ending up in Coburg (pause.  eat.  I think.), then north to Harrisburg.  Pulled on some layers. Joined up with Ray and Holden.  This was the easiest and fastest transit of Peoria Road ever.  I think there might have been a tailwind.  Glorious pavement.  Darkness fell along here, and with the four of us riding together with our awesome headlights, we lit up quite a stretch of road. Was getting a bit dozy, so crunched on some caffeinated mints.  That was better. Then onto White Oak Rd, crossing SR 34 onto Riverside Dr.  There was a lively celebration with great music going on.  Holden pulled over, so we all pulled over, figuring he wanted to check it out.  Well, that wasn't it, so we moved on down the road a bit :-)

Crunched on a few more mints.  You know, my stomach didn't think that was the smartest thing I had ever done.

Michal and I were going to stop in Pop's Branding Iron (24 hour place in Albany) for some food.  Ray and Holden went on.  We went in and... I bonked.  Couldn't eat.  Couldn't stop shaking.  Did finally manage some soup and a gel.  Wrapped up in my mylar blanket.  I didn't lose it mentally, but I just couldn't eat or stop shaking.  After much too long of this (and by then it was Sunday, so Happy Birthday Michal) we set out again, at a steady, but not earth-shaking pace. "Let's go shut down that bar in Independence".

Given that the caffeinated mints were not helping, I quit eating them, and took a short nap on Buena Vista Rd.  Apparently right by Worlds of Wonder, with mint fields I did not smell :-)  So, very unhappy stomach.  At this point my head was exploring all the options to DNF.  Michal: "we'll finish".  Someone needed to be optimistic, so I was glad he was.  I sure wasn't.

Eventually into Independence, where the bar was closed, so we had to do the info control.  They had nice chairs outside, so we sat for a bit.  Watched the police cruisers go by.  They were singularly incurious about a couple of brightly flashing bicycles and riders on the sidewalk somewhere around 2:45am.  Tried to eat some of my chocolate bar.  Did get some down, but it was much harder than it should have been.  When I can't eat a chocolate bar...  I think I took three little naps in all.  Many fewer than last year.

50 more miles to go. 6 hours to do it in. Not normally a challenge.  About 10 miles to Salem, where there was an all-night convenience store.  Michal: "we'll get you some noodle soup."  The clerk got the soup started (sort of.  Filled them up w/cold water and pointed us at the microwave).  Soup heated, we sat on the floor and started slurping.  He came over and said that it was against store policy to have people hanging out in the store (!)  4am.  Two tired cyclists.  What were we going to do, exactly, other than sit on the floor and try to eat our soup?

Outside (darn.  It was warm in there.).  I think the clerk just wanted to step out for a smoke, and didn't want us in the store when he was outside.  Through Salem (the route in does a lot of outskirts riding, so it doesn't seem like you are getting anywhere, and suddenly you are in downtown), one last porta-potty stop...  Michal: "sun is up.  You do better when the sun is up."  Yes I do.  Not that I was eating much of anything, because every time I ate a little something, my stomach got really upset.  Better to sip on Nuun and water.

Right turn on Keene, and the last 20 miles.  Passed by the Old Believer church right at Keene and Broadacres before 7am.  The parking lot was full.  Me: "I guess I'm not going to DNF".  Michal: "nope. too late."

 Michal: "given the time, we'll have more options than Shari's for a finish control receipt."  Yes indeed.  I even knew where a convenient Starbucks was located.

Over the Boone Bridge (shoulder full of junk), and to the Starbucks.  Hot cocoa.  7:45am.  The clerk: "starting out on a ride?"  No, no, we just finished one.

Faster than last year, but didn't make our goal of 24 hrs.  When we finished, I was seriously considering avoiding any more 400s until next year, and just get through it once.  Also questioning the wisdom of a 600 in 2 weeks, and the 1000 in July.  Now I am slightly more optimistic.  I don't know why.  Sleep deprivation does strange things to the brain.

That said, I still need to get better at the nutrition thing.  Time for calories in the bottle.  I will drink, even when I won't eat.  (Cecil: "you made it further this year before you bonked...")

Moving average 13.47mph.  Somewhat faster than last year.

Things to do before the 600:

• new rear wheel (rim arrives today) - I dented it last summer, and got it trued (sort of), but the mechanics at the bike store remind me of it every single time I am there.
• possible new front derailleur - too much chain throwing.  Shimano Tiagra, and it does not stay adjusted.  I have the very same crankset on Bleriot, with a 90's era Deore front derailleur and it has never, ever given me  any trouble.

All the pics here.  Only until Walterville; didn't take any after that.