Mill City Coffee Run with Friends

Susan O needed an August 200k.  That ride she did in the UK doesn't count for RUSA awards.  She rounded up a nice-sized crew for the Mill City Coffee Run ("flattest perm there is") - herself, Asta, me, Kevin L, Greg P (Kevin's friend), Bill A, Jeff A, Paul W, and a last minute rider, Ken M, the perm owner.  He said it sounded like too much fun to miss.  Or something like that.



We planned for a 7am meeting, to allow for visiting, coffee and faffing before the 7:30am start.  I collected Bill A, we headed south, and found everyone there.  Paperwork exchanged, coffee and snacks consumed, day-glo vests installed, and off we went.



There was the usual "fun" riding over the Willamette River on I-5, but we were quickly off the freeway and into the country.  All the wheatfields we had seen a month ago were harvested.  The corn was still there, and it smelled wonderful.





This was a "stick together" ride, and that is mostly what we did.  Stopped at Roth's in Stayton - the first control.  As usual, we were too early for the BBQ they set up outside, but we got drinks and things to eat.  Asta recharged and eventually Susan got us all back on the road again :-)



After leaving Stayton, Michal and I went ahead.  I was feeling pretty good.  We zipped up through Lyons and on to Mill City.  I was probably writing checks I couldn't cash, but hey...



We got to the turnaround at Rosie's; everyone else arrived a few minutes later.  Fortunately, we beat the rush.  I ordered a sandwich and a mango smoothie.  Ate the entire sandwich, but the smoothie was just too cold.  Poured it into my insulated bottle.  After about a half hour, Susan O evicted us again :-)  For someone recovering from a 1500k, she had entirely too much energy.









Anyway, we headed back down to Stayton and paused again.  My bike computer kept trying to leave me by jumping out of its mount.  I secured it (sort of) with some duct tape from Asta.  Green, naturally.



Mostly we drank cold things, and lusted after Susan O's teeny little rachet toolkit.  Something about a cleat bolt going AWOL.







After that, we continued north on Howell Prairie Rd.  The wind, while not favorable, was not entirely unfavorable either.  But it was hot.  Really hot.  We stopped at the gas station with the blue room at Howell Prairie and Silverton Rd.  Michal suggested I not wear my cap - it is constructed of some poly cotton fleece blend, and he dumped some water on my back.  Both those suggestions helped.

photo by Asta Chastain

We rode as a fairly tight group all the way to Gervais, with another stop for cold wet beverages and getting our feet out of our shoes for a bit.  Other than the heat, it was lots of fun.



More pack riding all the way to the I-5 stretch on the Boone Bridge, where we all endeavored to just get across and off the freeway!

As Ken (the route owner) was with us, we all officially finished, then adjourned across the street to the McMenamins pub.  Got a table outside in the shade, and had a wonderful post-ride social and dinner hour.



Kevin VanDyke saw on FB that we were there, so he dropped by for a few minutes.

Paul W finished his first 200 in over a year!  Yay!

Riding average 15.1 mph (!!!!!!)
126.2 mi, elapsed time 10:54, my fastest time on this route
All my pictures here
Michal's pictures here