Mill City Coffee Run 200k, again

Susan O claims it is the flattest, easiest 200k around, and she's in lower cycling effort mode at the moment.  Knowing that we are entering into the Holiday Juggernaut, I wanted to get my November 200k in sooner, rather than later.



She and Asta were planning to ride it, and Kevin L and I joined in.  Sunday was going to be the less bad weather day, although the south winds looked to be a little daunting.  The planned 6am start (ow!) was almost even more so.  Susan was also planning on a 4:30-ish finish.  Double ow.  Located all the rain gear for the highly possible rain, and rounded up a sufficiency of food (a couple of buttered rye-molasses muffins, a pumpernickel bagel with cream cheese, some gels, water bottle, and Gatorade-Tea fixings for the thermal bottle)

Then I went and played with the grandson (he's 5.5 month old, 18 lbs and very delightful.  You even get a picture after all my hints)



The replacement for my drowned Luxos U appeared this week, and was duly installed.  And there I was at 5:30am, in the parking lot, unloading my bike and chatting with Kevin, when Susan and Asta arrived.  Too early for the Starbucks, so we went over to the convenience store for a starting receipt, and, right at the dot of 6:00am, pushed off.  Not raining.  Kevin's take on the Luxos U... "show off!"



The headwind was certainly present as we headed south to Gervais, watching the sky slowly lighten.  We didn't stop there, but passed through at about 1:10 elapsed.    And then we turned full south onto Howell Prairie Road, right into the wind.  It is more than a bit discouraging when the HR is in the 160's (not unheard of for me; don't freak out.  I don't get pukey until the mid to high 170's) and I am only managing 10mph TOPS.  Often less.  Asta, Susan and Kevin pulled ahead, but we all eventually regrouped at the gas station with the portapotty.  I removed the jacket and dug up the short finger gloves - my warmer gloves got TOO warm and I ended up riding with no gloves for quite a few miles.



Pushed off again, still heading south.  We ride on Howell Prairie fairly often.  It is 16.9 miles, and I am now pretty familiar with every part of it.  It still wasn't raining.  Every now and then, a bit of drizzle, but not enough to want to stop and apply raingear.

Kevin had dropped back.  Every so often I'd catch a glimpse of his headlight, but I think a lot of that was wishful thinking.  I was trying to draft Susan and Asta, which helped a bit, but we were all feeling that headwind.  Asta told me to quit worrying about speed and just concentrate on steady effort.

Finally, through the hilly bits and vineyard at the southern terminus, and over to the Shaw Highway (two lanes, narrow, but still no traffic), into Aumsville, then east-ish to our first control in Stayton, at 43 miles.

Susan was in "SHORT STOPS!" mode, so I bought a banana, refilled the water bottle, took care of business, and came back outside.  Kevin appeared, but he decided to DNF.  He was coming off a cold, and the wind was, I think, the final straw.  He planned to ride back to the start, with what would be an amazing tailwind.

The next 20+ miles were imperceptibly uphill, and pretty quiet.  Farm animals, bucolia...  When we started the stretch from Lyons to Mill City, Asta allowed as how this stretch goes on rather longer than she thinks it should.

Ah, Rosie's Mountain Coffee.  I ordered the biggest Pumpkin Latte they offered, and dumped it in my thermal jug, and a bagel sandwich. Ate the whole thing.  I don't think we were there longer than 20-30 minutes.  Susan: "hey, we had a SIT DOWN lunch!".

From here, downhill back to Stayton, and a crosswind.  And another quick stop - bought another banana, a Red Bull for later, and refilled my water bottle.



Then we hoisted our jibs,  topsails,  and spinnakers and proceeded to THOROUGHLY enjoy that tailwind.  Moving average pace from Stayton to Wilsonville - 15.6mph, with an average HR of 138.  That's loafing. :-)



We did pause in Gervais so I could pour the Red Bull into a drink-accessible container, and were subsequently briefly detained by a southbound Amtrak.  Another pause in Donald to turn on lights - it was not yet sunset, but the shadows were starting to lengthen.

And, at 4:36pm, we rolled up to the Starbucks in Wilsonville, rolled our bikes inside (there is a good space between the grocery and the coffee shop), ordered up, and finished our paperwork.  And puzzled over a timeline posting, which became clear when I got home and managed to see all my email.

It relates to this: http://www.rusa.org/announce.html#2013_board_election_results

Stats:

10:36 elapsed time. Quickest ever on this route, which I can attribute to really short stops.  And the tailwind on the return.
Total miles 126.2, moving average 13.3mph
Bike computer claims 4200 vf, but I think it is exaggerating.

Wilsonville to Stayton avg 11.5mph (surprised it is that high.)
Stayton to Mill City avg 12.87
Mill City to Stayton 14.22
Stayton to Wilsonville 15.6

Total time not riding: 1:11
stops in Stayton: 9 and 7 min
stop in Mill City (sit down lunch!) half hour?

Catching up

Hmm. Haven't posted a ride story for over a month. There has been much going on, not necessarily involving actual riding.

July 4 weekend, nephew Michael got married to the lovely Taylor. The wedding took place in Dallas. Much family convergence in Dallas, family invasion of the IHOP, sightseeing in Dallas, and... the wedding.

The next weekend cousin Marissa got married to the delightful Daniel. THIS wedding took place at Skamania Lodge. A thought - I could RIDE to that wedding. Fitz would be driving anyway; he could bring my clothes. Surely some relative who was not immediate family of the bride would be staying there; I could "borrow" their shower. And indeed, all these things came to pass.

Rode over to find Cecil at Kettleman's Bagels, and then we headed out on the standard Bridge of the Gods ride, except we passed the bridge and went into Stevenson for a grocery store lunch, pedaled back to the Lodge, where she then pedaled on home. 64 excellently sunny miles, PERFECT weather, and the best-ever descent from Cape Horn. Best ever. Dry pavement, practically no traffic, no wind. Best ever.

Found cousins Joan and Don and used their shower (I had shorts and a t-shirt along, while waiting for the fancy clothing to show up), wandered around the lodge visiting (family everywhere), then settled into the nice rocking chairs in the great room with the complimentary coffee and newspaper, watching the photography preparations. My uncle showed up and kept me company, then Fitz and the kids arrived, with my clothes.

A delightful wedding as well.

Then the next weekend, off to Michigan, with Rebecca and Jessica, where we first went to Mackinac Island ("What?!?" said Jessica. "You've NEVER BEEN! You are missing the BEST PART!") Don't know if I'd go that far, but it was way fun. NO motorized transportation on the island. None. Bicycles, horses, or walking; that's it. Well, ok, you can fly in and out.

We rented bicycles and rode around the island (all of 8 miles). It started raining about 6 miles in. Downpour :-) Got back to town. I had my new Showers Pass Double Century jacket along. It kept the top of me dry just fine. We turned the bikes back in, bought plastic rain ponchos, and then toured the Fort and town. The Fort was clearly the Party Posting of the latter half of the 1800's.

Then to the Fitzsimmons Cottage. Fitz's sisters Beth and Lynn and their total of 6 children were next door in the Yellow Cottage (heretofore referred to as the Fitz and the Yellow), so we had a fun week. Several amazing beach days, great runs along Lake Michigan (and no, it isn't flat - there's dunes to get over!), rides to and from the beach (1 mi each way) and a ride around Crystal Lake. What with internet now in the Yellow, I somehow didn't have the impetus for my once or twice daily 6 mile round trip rides into town...

Swimming at the lake was mostly wonderful - the water was perfect, and one day it was even a bit choppy. I like it choppy - more of an adventure to swim the line (1/4 mile). On the non-plus side, the Swimmers' Itch was pretty active this year. Usually I get one or two bites, and that is it. Not this year. Fortunately, I don't get as itchy as the kids seem to. Clear Caladryl and I'm good.

A new activity for me was being hauled off to a local golf course to hit a bucket of balls. I am not a golfer. It is probably pretty clear now that I will never be a golfer. SIL Beth and I dutifully hacked away at those little yellow range balls. We even connected reasonably well on a few of them, but, at least in my case, it was mostly whiffs, the ball shooting off to the right, or not going very far. Like maybe 30 feet. Beth and I concluded that golf is not for us. SIL Sue just watched - she already knows she isn't a fan of the game.

Knitting accomplishments on vacation - finished a pair of stripey stashbuster socks, bought some acrylic yarn at the Shop n Save in Benzonia and made Brian his Cunning Hat, and started a pair of Filey socks in a blue tweed for me.

And now, back home, led a Portland Velo ride (I took the faster half of the 14-16mph group), climbing Holly Hill. 47+ miles. Need to plan another ride for tomorrow.

More pictures:

Michael and Taylor's Wedding

Marissa and Daniel's Wedding

Mackinac Island

My Michigan running route (includes a highly scenic lighthouse!)

General Michigan pics

Mostly, I do this ride for the ice cream...

While deciding where to ride this weekend (that I'm riding is rarely questioned), Cecil proposed a ride out to Multnomah Falls. We'd meet up at the Kettleman's Bagels close to her house. Other persons were planning to also ride out to the Falls, but starting later in the day.

Following my practice of doing as much preparation the night before, I made a couple of sandwiches (smoked turkey, cream cheese, cranberry chutney in a pita), set out the water bottles, 2 bananas and a couple of bars, picked out riding gear, pumped up the tires (better to find the potential flat the night before), made sure the right stuff was on the Lemond (bike of choice for the day), and conked out.

Up at 5:30am, out the door by 6:40am (it somehow always takes me almost 30 minutes to make it from the bed to the kitchen). Nice ride over the hill, again going by way of Skyline/Fairview Blvd. Much more fun descending Fairview when it isn't pouring! Arrived at Kettleman's Bagels right at 7:30. Didn't see Cecil's bike. But I did see her inside, and as her bike was inside as well, mine went in to keep it company.

Everything bagel, lox cream cheese, coffee. This is a plan. We should consider this for a good am ride meetup point!

As we were not meeting anyone at Edgefield, we took the I-205 bike path north to Marine Drive, then into Troutdale from there. There was some wind assistance. Not much, but a real plus over wind harassment.

Brief pause at Troutdale City Park. There was a large group of Portland Wheelmen, who were still hanging around when we left. We figured they'd catch us at some point, but I am not sure they really ever did. By this point I'd already ridden about 30 miles.

Climbing up to the summit, and down to Vista House. Pause for the view and a sandwich and banana (third meal of the day :-) ). A cute young Japanese tourist was carefully inspecting and documenting the bike rack (donated by the Portland Wheelmen. Sadly, very poorly engineered; no one actually puts their bikes in it) and taking pictures of the crazy American cyclist eating her sandwich. Then down (me to Cecil - wait for me at the bottom). The road surface is starting to deteriorate some - holes, cracks... With the contrasty light/shadow, I had to exhibit a bit more caution than I would have. Still, a fun descent, if a bit chilly.

Rejoining Cecil at Latourelle Falls, we zipped eastward to Multnomah Falls. Seemed like the fastest trip to the Falls ever. It was Family Day, with the Forest Service booths (dead animals, skulls, fire prevention), Native American crafts, good music... And, of course, the reason *I* ride to Multnomah Falls - ice cream! Now, the last time I rode out here, the conditions did not suggest ice cream, and I passed on it. Today, however, it was bright and sunny, warming up, and the Forest Service smokejumper guys were watching our bikes.

The homemade ice cream sandwich is wonderful - two sugar cookies with ice cream in the center. It seems to have grown in size since I last bought one. Didn't matter. I still ate the whole thing. It lasted all the way back to Troutdale, too.

The Forest Service guys had a prize wheel where they were giving away Smokey the Bear items if you could answer their question correctly on fire safety. Now, I didn't want a Smokey the Bear[pencil, plastic hat, key ring,....] No, I wanted the historical reproduction Smokey the Bear bandanna. Stan the smokejumper was chatting up Cecil (we need to get her a more blatant wedding ring :-) ), so I took advantage of that. After slowly remembering the 3 parts of the fire triangle, I had a bandanna. (pictures for my friends at Archival Clothing to follow; it is currently in the wash)

As we were heading back west, we saw what might have been the Wheelmen arriving. Again, a shorter ride back to the base of the climb than I remember, then up. I knew I'd find Cecil at Vista House. For all I knew, she was already there. Did about ten 30-30's (ow. they'd better pay off in the long run), wound around the last curves, and heard more than one cyclist cheering me on from the Vista House overlook. Behold! Dave and Edna, on their way TO the Falls.

After much chatting we went our separate ways. Up the last mile, then down one of my favorite descents. Pause at the Troutdale gas station for liquid input/output, then back out to Marine Drive. We thought we'd take Cornfoot south of the airport and head home by way of North Portland.

The wind was not that bad on Marine Drive, although Cecil said it was picking up. We stopped at the Cascades area Starbucks by the airport for liquids and snacks. They had such an array of vegan options that it took Cecil some time to pick something out :-) Watched no fewer than three Southwest planes land.

South on 47th ("closed!" Cecil-"there's closed and there's closed"), onto the sidewalk, across Columbia, then climbing up the ridge. Did I mention that it was getting into really hot territory? We saw what we thought was a lemonade stand and stopped. It was shave ice, but they offered up ice and syrup in our water bottles. As I had another 15+ miles and a big hill to go, I went for it.

Back to Cecil's, then off to go home. At the corner, checked my phone for messages, just in case. Sure enough, husband - meet me at Overlook Park? Back to Cecil's to get directions (all of 3 blocks), then off again, north on the Esplanade, north on Interstate, and there it was, the Organic Brewer's Festival, with a local band we follow playing at 5pm. Husband showed up shortly thereafter.

Listened to the band while consuming a huge cup of lemonade, visited with the trumpet player afterward, visited with daughter and partner (hey, where'd THEY come from?), got dinner, tasted 2 of the 3 ciders and a beer, chatted with friends. Then, finally got home.

Where I had to eat MORE ice cream, with fresh Oregon strawberries.

I had hoped to put in a least 100 miles, but the diversion at the end had it right at 95.

Proud Parent, Part 2

Brian graduated from Oregon State University this past Saturday. He elected to participate in the Entire University Graduation Ceremony.

We got up at the crack of dawn and drove to Corvallis to join him for a pre-ceremony bagel.



Then off to Reser Stadium to get some covered seats - it had been raining off and on the entire drive down, and we didn't want to get wet.

Then lots of waiting, until we could see the graduation procession (all 2000+ participants) marching down the street. It was displayed on the stadium Jumbotron, and was completely impressive.



Lots of processing in, then the speeches (good ones!), the PhD presentations, then the mass diploma presentation. Everyone received their very own real diploma.





We hiked through the campus to have a celebratory lunch at McMenamin's.

Brian starts his 6 month intership at Mentor Graphics in a week.

Proud Parent, Part 1

(graduation season. this is one of two.)

Rebecca is now Rebecca, M. Architecture. Thursday night was Thesis Exhibition and Review, and this afternoon was the University of Oregon Portland Center graduation ceremony.





It was a nice, small, informal ceremony. The keynote speaker was excellent (Will Bruder). No academic regalia, no music, no procession. Each professor presented the graduates from their Terminal Project class.



We then enjoyed the reception, where, not only did I renew my acquaintance with Rebecca's fellow student whose mother I went to high school with (in TEXAS), but his grandmother was there. She and my mom were fellow Girl Scout leaders... They had a nice visit.

Then adjourned to The Noble Rot, for a celebratory dinner.

Jessica is looking forward to seeing Rebecca again. Wedding plans are up next.

36 Degrees and Raining!

Maybe the end is in sight. Dawn this morning was pretty.



I was up and walking around at dawn because I spent the night at my parents' home. We are having natural gas issues (think incomplete combustion/carbon monoxide). I got up to get home to wait for the furnace guy. But we decided it was the hot water heater, and the hot water heater guy will be here later this afternoon. As it is Christmas Eve, I'm amazed. I wasn't pushy or anything, even. And they are busy.

As last night was our family Hanukkah dinner, I had to relocate it. We took over my parents' kitchen, cooked, ate, cleaned up. They hardly knew we were there :-) except they didn't have to cook any dinner.





Ongoing Happy Hanukkah to all!

Summer Vacation

(getting caught up here...) We spent a week at the Fitzsimmons family cottage outside Frankfort, Michigan. Not NEARLY enough time. We caught Fitz's youngest sister Lynn and her family for a couple of hours before they headed home. Fitz's brother Michael came up for a few days, plus his youngest son was already staying elsewhere in town. Sister Beth was there the whole time, with her family, and sister Sue came up with her husband, and two of their three children showed up for our last day and a half.

Rebecca joined us; Brian elected to stay home and work; he'll catch up the the Fitz side of the family at his cousin Joey's wedding next month, in St. Louis.

Highlights: I took Bleriot, of course. The first day I was loafing around, knitting, and realized that I had forgotten some knitting needles. This necessitated a trip to the yarn store in Beulah (26 miles round trip), but it was mostly on the Betsie Valley Trail, which I'll ride all day, every day. It is that pretty.



Bleriot rolled over 5000 miles during that errand.

Rebecca and I rode over to Elberta for the Farmer's Market, only to discover it was on Thursday, not Tuesday. We consoled ourselves with a trip the the smokehouse in Frankfort for some smoked whitefish. It started to rain. We got wet. Frankfort and the Congregational Summer Assembly being not a large place, of course we ran into no fewer than three folks that knew us (not relatives, I might add) and felt sorry for us. We rode home and enjoyed the whitefish :-)

Rode around Crystal Lake once. Fitz and Rebecca played golf several days. I went to the beach, swam the line (1/4 mile), then sat and visited and knitted. One day it was pretty choppy. I've got a high tolerance for chop, but this was just about over the edge.

We had a fire at the Pt Betsie lighthouse and made s'mores.

Then Fitz, Rebecca, and I took the bikes up to the Old Mission Peninsula north of Traverse City and did a 20+ mile ride there. Rebecca isn't a cyclist, but she wanted to come along, and was a really good sport about it. We stopped at Two Lads Winery and did a wine tasting (lots of wineries on the peninsula), and I amused myself by adding things to my Carradice Barley bag (fresh dill, bottle of wine, the lunch and snacks I was already carrying...) It was really pretty.









Like I said, a week was not nearly long enough!