The Go-Fast Permanent

Several months ago, Michal put forward that we should see how quickly we could do a 200k on our go-fast bikes.  You know, the ones with the skinny tires, no luggage, no lights, and no fenders.  Looking at the summer plans and rando schedule, this past weekend had to be it.  The weather was going to be, well, not to put to fine a point on it - hot.  With a headwind of sorts on the return.

We picked the Hillsboro-Dallas-Hillsboro perm, because it is a straight out and back, minimal controls, and not a lot of climbing, but for the middle bit from Perrydale Rd to Dallas and back.

 Michal had yet to ride a sub-10 hr 200k, so we were surely aiming for that.  I had a goal of beating my best-ever time on this route (9:23).

New equipment testing - PI Arm Coolers, a Nike Hypercool base layer under the summerweight wool jersey, and replacement Keen cycling sandals.  After 5 years, my current pair has gone way soft.

Knowing that the Fred Meyer at the start would not open until 7, we set the start time at 7:15.  Easily found Michal and Cyndi in the parking lot, faffed, got the receipt, twitched, and, at 7:15 (official time by Verizon), we were off.  Michal had forgotten to grab his cue sheet, so he'd be relying on me for the route.

Because I ride out there SO much, of course I spaced on a turn, and we had three bonus miles.  Bad me.  But we had a tailwind, and it wasn't quite so hot yet.







Uneventful run to Dayton.  Finished off that half of a Payday bar from my last ride.  A quick stop - I made up another bottle of Calories in the Bottle (300 calories), drank an entire Cranberry-Grapefruit Sobe (250 calories), ate something - chocolate? and we were off again.





The rollers on Perrydale always seem to be soul-sucking.  At least I know how many there are now, so I know when the end is near.  It certainly was a pretty day.  Munching on nutella-filled amaretti for this stretch.



Cross the highway, up a couple more hills, and into Dallas.  We wasted a bit of time looking for cottage cheese, then Michal called a halt to that and we got some Greek yogurt.  I also ate a banana.  Some folks in the store asked the usual.  Rode from Hillsboro.  In 4 and a half hours.  Riding back.  Might take a bit longer.  Big jug of water, filled our bottles, and then dumped it on our heads and jerseys.  Time for those neck cooler things I had bought years ago.

And there was our headwind.  It didn't seem all that bad; it was NNW and so usually not head-on.  The rollers on Perrydale are more fun in this direction, and after awhile, I pointed to the grain elevator in the distance - "see that?  We are going there."

Through Amity again (my favorite cafe, when I'm not pressed for time, seems to have closed :-( ) then onto the boring stretch.  I was pulling, and generally riding between 17 and 18mph.  There had been a comment earlier that I was pretty aerodynamic, and possibly not so satisfying to draft.  Michal pulled ahead - what, was I not riding fast enough? :-)  So he fell back and waited until I dropped off.  I was feeling pretty good right there.  We traded pulls all the way back to Dayton; Michal made me dump water on my head at least once.  Another Sobe, plus bottle refills.  We sat on the cool floor during consumption.

Hot.  My hands started blistering here; must retire those gloves.  I went with the thicker ones to compensate for not hardly any padding on the handlebars and the hard tires.  Mistake.  Drinking.  Eating (sort of).  More squirting water through the vents in my helmet. The salt content of the runoff was amazingly concentrated.

Onto North Valley.  Onto Spring Hill.  Just before the Laurelwood intersection (hill 2 of 3), my right inner quad started cramping.  This is a new one for me; I've not yet cramped up on the bike.  We walked the last bit up to the top, that seemed to make it go away.  More water on the head.  Our water bottles were hot; not very enticing.

We paused in someone's shady driveway for me to remove the base layer; maybe I'd be cooler without it.  And I was, some.  Wool really does keep you cool in the heat; I should have remembered that from the Wildflower Century (94 degrees, wool jersey there, too)



Turned onto Fern Hill, then Geiger.  Somewhere along there, Michal remembered he had Tums for cramps, did a lot of fishing around in his rear pockets (which is why rando bikes have luggage!), and eventually produced them.  A few miles later, Michal wanted more Tums.  Brief pause.  I offered up the cue sheet so he could set his PR.  I wasn't going to get lost here :-) No, we'll finish a sub-10 together.  I'd forgotten about that 15 minute offset.  Yes, we would.

Past the golf course. Michal: "first thing I am going to do when we finish is throw up".  Now, I wasn't feeling all that great, but it wasn't a subject that I would necessarily introduce.  So that was conversation for the next 3 or 4 miles.  Actually the first thing to do would be to get that finish receipt.

River Rd, Davis Rd, 234th, cross TV Hwy and DONE.  We went directly to the Starbucks to get something cold to drink, and wandered around the store looking for a place to sit down.

9:31 elapsed time.  Michal's fastest ever, and only 8 minutes longer than my fastest, in challenging conditions.  Although it turned out we both had the secret goal of a sub-9.  That will have to wait for another (slightly cooler) day.

I had a bicycle computer malfunction, but Michal's reveals total mileage of 129mi, with a 15.24 average.  Just about an hour off the bike.  We were somewhat more efficient at stops than usual.

There was no actual throwing up, but a lot of thinking it might be a possibility.  That's good.  Weighed 6 lbs less the next morning.  It will return, of that I am very sure.

On the R-12 front, I am at R-22 :-), Michal is now one month short of his first R-12.

A Bit of Fleece Spinning Characterization

As the fleeces have been drying - and they are ALL getting another wash*, in laundry detergent and Borax -  I've been pulling off pieces, carding them with the hand cards, and doing a little spinning with the drop spindle.





*they still smelled way too agricultural.  Much, much better now.

Drowning Wookies

Brian: "Mom, why does it look like you are drowning a wookie in the downstairs bathtub?"

After I picked myself up off the floor... Well, let's start at the beginning.

At my now-former job, I had a co-worker who had chickens.  So I got eggs.  And we got to talking, and it came about that he had sheep.  Four sheep, pets.  Oh, when you shear them, could I buy a fleece?  Or two?  And this conversation went on for several months.  There were two black sheep, one reddish sheep, and a gray sheep.

One day he brought in a small bag of fleece that the sheep had shed around the barn.  I got around to washing it, carding it (oooh! bought some hand cards!), spinning it, and taking the resultant 3gr of yarn back into work.  He thought that was pretty cool.



And then after many months, the sheep were sheared, and I ended up with all four fleeces (!)  Right off the sheep, so I've now moved as far down the fiber food chain as is possible without raising the sheep myself.





First, the fleeces had to be skirted and washed.  Skirting is where you cut off all the undesirable stuff around the edges (don't ask), and pick out all the short bits of fleece.  I will say the gray sheep was the pigpen of the bunch.



Washing.  Hmm.  Consulting the internets, it seemed that I should have kept my top-loader washer.  Oh well, there's always the bathtub.  Bought some big mesh laundry bags, and put half a fleece in each.  Soaked the fleece without soap for awhile.  That is a lot of dirt.  Then two soaks/rinses with liquid dish soap.  The dirt from the gray fleece seemed endless.  Hence the drowning wookie comment.



Now, how to dry it?  Turns out, we have a big screen from the just-replaced screen door - lay that over a couple of chairs outside, and it makes an expedient drying rack.



Three fleeces down, one more to wash and dry.  Then lots of flicking, picking out grass, and on to carding.  I will likely cut off the bleached/stained fleece first.  Stay tuned.

100% Chance of Fruitcake

I wasn't going to be able to ride the upcoming OrRando 200k brevet this weekend.  But last Saturday, David P recruited me to do a pre-ride with him, for a final check of the cue sheet.  This would work, because I don't ride much in the areas which require actual navigation.  I would have preferred to ride on Wednesday; much nicer forecast.  David could only ride on Tuesday, which promised precipitation in varying amounts (20-50%).  Our email exchange, verbatim:
> Tuesday would work, but the weather will be sucky. Say "Fruitcake" :-)
"There's only a *chance* of showers, and there's a 100% chance of fruitcake :-)"

(there could be a link to YouTube of Jimmy Buffett singing "Fruitcakes", but I'll spare you)

Hopped the MAX out to NE 42nd for our planned 7am departure.  It was drippy.  David appeared just before 7am, I signed the release, got my card, and we were off.


The route to the Springwater Corridor, is, by necessity, through Portland.  Expect many stop signs. (Translation: you won't be making time here)

Out on the Springwater.  Still stop signs, but not as many.  I came up with a front flat, providentially at one of the covered benches.  I went for expedient and swapped out tube AND tire (on with the Grand Bois Cypres).  Meanwhile, David found the shard of glass in the tire and patched the tube. A couple of walkers stopped by to supervise, but it really went quickly.  In case anyone was wondering, the tire went on the 650B Aerohead rim with no tire levers.

First control is at a park.  There is a baseball field with (on this day) inaccessible blue rooms, but if you turn left past the field, you'll find more baseball fields and blue rooms.



Then, off the Springwater, and out Telford Rd, heading eventually to Boring and thence to Estacada.  There is one annoying climb in there somewhere. Van Curren Rd has an amazing drop.  I hit 42.5mph, which is a first for Sweetpea, and not far off my fastest single bike speed ever.  You have fun with that!



Through Estacada and then turning right onto Faraday Rd (aka PGE North Hydro Project).



Faraday Rd is freshly paved, and just gorgeous.  You'll pass two dams, and probably no motor vehicles whatsoever (only PGE vehicle access).  Check out the fish ladders.







Back on to Hwy 224. Promontory Park is a bit down the road, bathrooms and convenience store.  Then off to Ripplebrook.  Lots of cliffs, scenic river views, and generally not a noticeable grade.  There's a few bits of 4%, and then, near the top, a 6-7% ramp after the last bridge.









David stopped to chat with a motorist who wanted to know if this was the way to Salem.  It could be, but very roundabout.  He wanted scenic, so David told him to follow the road to Detroit, then turn right onto Hwy 22.



The wind was "variable".  We would get wet from the periodic bands of light-ish rain, then dry out in time to get wet again.  The lupines are just about ready to bloom.  Finally, the ramp past Indian Henry campground (and the 4th bridge), pass the marsh on the left, pass the work camp and the campground and... there's the Ripplebrook Guard Station!







Got snacks (Honey Stinger Stroopwaffel, Payday bar for later and coffee for me), visited with the guy running the store, sat outside in the sun, chatted with some folks in the parking lot ("where are you going?  where did you start?"), refilled bottles, pulled jackets back on, and headed down.







Got to Faraday Rd, where the sky opened.

We only stopped once between Ripplebrook and Boring; David had to take a call.  I consumed half that Payday bar during the pause.  Repeated my very fast 10 mile run between Estacada and Boring on Hwy 224.  But for that phone call, we didn't drop below 18mph more than once or twice.  I feel compelled to mention that because David wanted me to check the cue sheet, and because he had no fenders, I pulled most of the day.

We tanked up at the Barton Mercantile.  I drank the remaining half bottle of Food in a Bottle so I could refill it.  Coffee.  David went for the Jojos.  That fried chicken looked very, very enticing, and I bought (and consumed) some.  Probably the first time in years that I've eaten fried anything on a ride.  It hit the spot.



25 miles to go.  It is all pretty until you get into Oregon City.  The turn from Forsythe onto Apperson is immediate.  Oregon City has a fair amount of traffic.  The turn into the shopping center is, to my mind, subtle.  It isn't really marked, but there is indeed an overpass right after it, and I expect you'd end up at Clackamette Park if you went too far.



North on McLaughlin - you'll cross over a bridge - I missed it, but getting on the sidewalk is not a bad idea.  It drops you right back on the bike lane after the bridge.  Do follow the instructions for the left turn.

Slogging north on River Road, then David says: "remember that pitch on River Road where it gets steep, and the bike path goes away and it gets really narrow?" Yeeess.  "We don't have to do that anymore, the Trolley Trail is open!"

Yes it is, and very, very nice.  Except the sky opened on us again.  Something about nice pavement.  "Squelch" said David.  My feet were not quite that wet, but they were wet.

Eventually back onto River Rd, looking for the left onto Wren.  Yes, downhill, but there is bicycle wayfinding signage on the right side of the road pointing left.  Then SE 19th drops precipitously down to the Willamette River, where you pick up a trail which takes you north to SE 17th (signed Harrison!)  Busy road; but there is a bike lane for most of it.  Where there wasn't, I rode out in the right-most tire track, because of all the parked cars.  I will not ride in the door zone.  The Veer Left onto SE Milwaukie is really the main road curving left - cars cannot go straight, and you aren't meant to on this ride.  SE Milwaukie is more of SE 17th - busy, parked cars, and so on.  Urban riding again, so you'll slow down.

Keep on.  Many of the Portland street signs are not very readable - the text is faded, or they are tipped up at a bad angle.  Cross Broadway before you start looking for Tillamook. :-)  Peaceful neighborhood stretch, and there you are at Velo Cult.





I hadn't been there before.  Job description must be interesting - the one person in the shop was mechanic/sales staff/bartender (!)

We finished at 7:04 for an elapsed time of 12:04.  I think that urban riding bit at the start and end didn't help much :-)

And yes, I did eat a lot of fruitcake.

131.6 mi, avg pace of 13.74. In-town riding does that.

Since May 19th, I have ridden a 400k, a 600k, 2 200ks and a random century.  So far this month, 783 miles.

Many, many more pics here

Finally Riding My Newest Perm

This is the permanent route I wanted to create for many years, but mapping the trail portions was problematic.  I finally solved that and created the route.  But I didn't get a chance to ride it until this week.

Recruited Kevin to ride with me this past Wednesday - he's got a flexible work schedule, and I have, at the moment, no work schedule at all.

Not much planning to do - pop the front bag onto Sweetpea, make up some bags of food in a bottle, toss in a banana, pick out clothes (sunny and hot, but chilly in the am), and that was it.

Kevin found me at the appointed start location, and we chatted while I finished my mocha (start receipt plus calories, plus caffeine).  And off we went.

The initial part of the route gets us over Sylvan hill (so much easier coming from the west side), through downtown, over the Steel Bridge, through NE Portland, and finally onto Killingworth (warning; gets quite industrial) and thence onto the I-205 bike path, over the Columbia River, and into Washington.  The damp and fog cleared away as we crossed the bridge.





Kevin had not yet ridden on the Washington side on SR-14 to the Bridge of the Gods.  Old Evergreen Highway was nicely deserted as we worked our way east; nice views of Mt Hood and the Columbia River.



Kevin wanted to know if we were going by the Camas paper mills.  Yup.  Right by them.  And then the control stop in Camas, where we split a strawberry milkshake and fries, topped up water bottles, and applied sunscreen.  Then off to climb Cape Horn, after working our way through the road construction on SR-14 from Camas.  Not a difficult climb, but it goes on for a few miles.  Nice views off to the right (river). Kevin had no cue sheet, so I told him that we'd summit before Cape Horn, and once we hit the meadows, almost there.



Pause for pictures.  I have only not stopped once, because the sky had opened.  Not today.  It was pretty windy, and I was a bit concerned about the descent, but it ended up being just fine - got into a traffic lull, so I had the road all to myself on the way down.  The shoulder is too narrow at those speeds :-)  Note: lots of shade and contrasty lighting conditions; turn on your rear blinker before the descent.

Brief pause at Beacon Rock for more water, then on through the headwind.  We tried to feel the cooling mist from the water spilling over Bonneville Dam.  The Native fishing encampment was in full swing, and wildflowers were cheering up the roadsides (vetch, sweetpea, others).





Into Stevenson, where we stopped at the market for a bit.  I had honey Greek yogurt and grapefruit juice; Kevin had some sort of rice cake creation with brown sugar and bacon.  He offered one, but I thought I'd pass.  There were two touring cyclists also stopped - their bikes had front and rear panniers, and they were headed for Montana.  They allowed as how the headwind was pretty special with their setups.  It was pretty special in any case, but at least it was not blowing me to a stop.



Turnaround!  Tailwind!  Wheeeeee!  Back to Bridge of the Gods, where I again tried to get pictures while on the main bridge deck, but had to chicken out because the crosswind was pretty fierce.  We went from there right onto the trail; no stopping in Cascade Locks.







The trail is getting really, really bumpy; lots of roots running under it.  We found a downed tree, but the portage was much simpler than the one on the Banks-Vernonia trail a few months back.  Lots of nice trail riding, a pause while we climbed the stairs, and more trail riding until it was time for our freeway stretch.  Kevin - "aren't we going to use the gate?".  Nope, there is a better spot a half mile or so further along; less time on the freeway.  In September, there should be no time on the freeway; the trail should extend all the way to Warrendale.  Except they'll be repaving the Scenic Highway from Crown Point to Latourell Falls, and the route will be unavailable for the duration of the work, as the road will be closed to ALL traffic.



Eastward, not getting as much help from the tailwind as I would have liked, but no hindrance either.  I did catch some spray from Horsetail Falls.  Nice.  Through Oneonta Tunnel, and off for the ice cream sandwich at Multnomah Falls.  Kevin got his first, while I watched the bikes and applied more sunscreen.  He thought it was really big, so we split it.  Sandwich consumed (really good chocolate chip cookies for the outsides), we pressed onward.



The climb to Crown Point starts at Latourell Falls.  I've kind of kept track of how quickly I ride up.  I think my previous best was in the vicinity of 19 minutes.  It was just under that today.  No one cheering me on at the top; I had left Kevin behind.  Perhaps his poor sleep the night before was not helping.  Pictures, standing around, jingling the bike bell back at Kevin when he appeared around the curve.



Last mile up - the road had developed an amazing slump; not difficult if you know it is there, now you do.  Then on to the Best Descent Ever.  Kevin had never ridden down Bell Rd, either.  We flew down to Troutdale, through, then onto Marine Drive.  Kevin: "do we have a headwind again?".



Defeated Marine Drive, then south of the airport, where I had to flip my cue sheet.  Kevin lobbied for a pause in the nice green grass, so we sat for a bit.  I didn't lie down, because I knew I wouldn't get up.  It was that nice and green and shady.  Kevin: "we've got 3.5 hours to go 25 miles.  I'd like to not use all that time"  Me either, let's get going.

Info control at the Air National Guard base, but as it is tricky to find, and there is a new 7-11 store a mile further on, I've now moved the control there.  You'll want to get water and food by then anyway.  We did; at least some water.  Ate my banana and a chunk of Trail Putty, made up a bottle of Nuun.

Into NE Portland (quieter riding), then winding around to end up at the Steel Bridge.  We headed a bit north from there, then up from the river (ouch, but there's really no way around it), and onto Stearns Way, switchbacking up to the Rose Garden in Washington Park.  Kevin: "this is ... pretty".  Translation: "ouch"  Not that bad really; the worst pitch is yet to come.  Stopping at the last info control, I declared that desperate times called for desperate measures, and sucked down a gel.

And there that last nasty pitch was, exiting the Rose Garden.  17%, but very, very short.  We got up to the top of the curve and took a moment.  I was just thinking that this ride was somewhat harder than it should have been.

Winding up through the park, up the road (easy) and the path to Sylvan summit.  All downhill from here.  We cheered.  Flew down the trail, through the neighborhood and off to the Mexican restaurant at the finish (that Starbucks closes at 7).  Chips, salsa and a Diet Coke.  Entered the perm results from my PHONE!  And then Kevin coasted over to the transit station, and I rode the mile or so back up the hill to my house.

130+ miles in total, 12.6 avg, bike computer claims 6880 vertical feet.
12.36 total time; 2 hours off the bike.
all the pics here