Clearly Still a Work in Progress

Still don't have my March 200k, although not for lack of trying.  I had been wanting to ride my Beaverton-Bridge of the Gods perm again, to check out the new trail (no more riding on the I-84 shoulder!).  The ice and really bad weather postponed it from last weekend.  Michal came up to ride it with me yesterday (Sunday).



The weather was supposed to be awfully wet (100% chance of precip).  Well, only 200k, we'd survive.  To add on to the challenge, it was the start of Daylight Savings Time.  We'd have more daylight, but we'd also be short an hour of sleep.

Down to Jim and Patty's for our start verification.  Oopers, they don't open until 7am on Sundays.  So, at 7:08, we were off.

Back up the hill by the house, where Michal decided he was overdressed, so there was a pause for delayering.  It was raining, but not very hard.  Easiest climb of the ride, over Sylvan into Portland, and down through Washington Park.  Had to retrieve Michal from a couple of wrong turns.  Why wasn't his GPS beeping at him?

Into town, over the Steel Bridge, then north and east through NE PDX, eventually popping out by the I-205 trail at Sandy Blvd.  You will see the left turn to the bridge path by the large amount of trail construction. Over the bridge (loud).  The rain was by now a foggy drizzle.

We hadn't been making very good time - got to the gas station in Camas by three minutes.  I noticed that my SPOT had given it up, and installed new batteries.  Yes, I carry a few useful spare batteries.  Michal had total navigation electronics failure - his GPS had misplaced the route, and somehow, his front wheel magnet was not present, so no bike computer feedback either.

Ate some, drank some Coke, continued east.  What used to be a simple left turn onto SR-14 is now a large number of traffic circles.  Keep following the signs for SR-14 East, Kennewick.  Eventually you will be confronted by a ramp which is signed "Highway Entrance".  Take it, no worries.

Wound our way up to the top before Cape Horn.  There has been repaving, and the road is really nice.  Maybe even somewhat better shoulders, except, of course, when they go away.  Foggy.  There were occasional clumps of snow by the road, and lots of broken trees and branches from the winter storms.  At the first meadow, there are new landslide repair earthworks.  Stopped and zipped up jackets in preparation for the descent.

After the drop, on the way to Beacon Rock, we started to see bits of actual sunlight.  A pause for me to remove my jacket and helmet cover, because I was suffocating in the stored heat.

On to Stevenson; we finally got something that resembled a tailwind right around North Bonneville.  Got to Stevenson ("Land of pizza!" - Michal) with a half hour in the bank.  I got a slice of pizza and a coke.  Just couldn't consume it as quickly as I wanted, but I did eat it all.  Refilled my thermal bottle with coffee/perpetuem/hot cocoa, and we got our bridge toll money handy.  Or, Michal pulled out a dollar and informed me he was paying.

Bit of a headwind, but not bad, and a fun bridge crossing.  I like to look down and admire the river and bridge structure.  Not raining at all.

Onto the trail.  I don't know why it is, but any time the trail is adjacent to the freeway, it has that crushed red lava rock on it.  Gently riding over it, we soon moved away from the freeway and the trail became much nicer.

LOTS of water dumping down the creeks and falls.  Ruckel Creek was pretty spectacular.



We did encounter one landslide - right after the fish hatchery, where you are directed behind a fence... well, the bike path is covered in rocks and muck.  We went past that on the off-ramp and then lifted our bikes over the fence.  Not, of course without me trying to hike over the landslide.  Sucking mudpit, it was.





And the new part of the trail?  Nice!  I never realized there was an existing bridge over Moffett Creek.  It is a bit more climby than the freeway shoulder; the path crosses under I-84 (nice new stone facing on the freeway bridge) and then switchbacks up.  Great views to the north, which you don't get from the freeway. The new bridge over McCord Creek is adorable.  Lots of Art Deco fun had there.



I saw Michal standing at the far end of the bridge.  It turned out that there was a slick spot there and he'd fallen.  Casualties - handlebar tape, scrape on the brifter lever and the knee of his tights.

Horsetail Falls was exceptionally spectacular, and we paused for a couple of pictures.  Moving on, we passed by the Oneonta Tunnel, and were hit by a blast of frigid air coming out of Oneonta Gorge.  Very brief parking lot pause at Multnomah Falls - we could feel the ground vibrate from the force of all the water dropping over the falls.



West, west, west, and then up to Crown Point.  Not my fastest ascent, but, of course, I got there.  Michal was waiting.  He then tried to go in to get some water, and discovered that Vista House closed at 4pm, and it was 4:30...  Well, ok, there are convenience stores in Troutdale.



Michal's GPS was telling him all sorts of things, none of which were related to the route, or indeed, where we were.

Climbed up to Women's Forum (road slumps repaired), and then prepared to enjoy one of my favorite descents (and, hopefully, make up some time).  There was a bit of a headwind, so we didn't get going for a mile, and then it was way fun.  Bell Road was, as usual, excellent fun, and then we continued dropping towards Troutdale.

Stopped at the convenience store.  Happy to sell us stuff, but no public restrooms.  Ok, the next control will have restrooms.  Looped behind the Troutdale Airport, and up onto Marine Drive.  The wind was non-hindering.  Behind the Portland Airport and off to the control.  A Subway has joined the 7-11 and Dutch Bros.  There is a restroom, but you have to ask for the key.

A customer asked where we were riding, and was a bit taken aback that we had started in Beaverton, ridden out to Stevenson, and were headed back to Beaverton.  She had just lost 70 lbs and had hand surgery, and was looking forward to riding her bike, but perhaps not that distance.

Ok.  17 more miles, one climb. Two hours.  Yeah.

I had carefully studied the NE PDX return navigation this time.  Yes, I designed the route, and yes, I have actually ridden on those streets, but often following Cecil, who knew where she was going.  My route knowledge of NE PDX is more theoretical than practical.  But it was still light, and we did just fine.  Not fast, though - still climbing up from the Columbia River.  Also, urban riding, many stop signs.

Across the Steel Bridge, north on Naito.  Dark now.  Turned a bit early, so had to loop around and take the sidewalk up to NW 9th.  Got onto NW Kearney (definitely climbing now), headed up to NW 25th/Westover.  Many stop signs.  Bit of a pause, because I know where to go when I can SEE, but it being Portland, street signs are sometimes not present.  Ok.  Headed towards Burnside to cross over onto NW Stearns.  Me: "see that black hole?  That's where we are headed."

Climbing Stearns in the dark made me very happy I had both the Luxos U and the Ixon.  Must adjust the Luxos angle downward a bit, I think.  Last info control, still more climbing.

(For the unitiated, Stearns maybe used to be a road; it isn't now.  Switchbacked trail up to the Rose Garden.  Sketchy surface at the bottom. Right now it has fresh Lion of Flanders markers on it for the upcoming De Ronde)

Bailed on the climb out of the Rose Garden (17%), and walked it up to the turn.  Then up through Washington Park (dark, no street lighting).  I have ridden it enough times to know where we were, and was happy to see the lights of the Zoo come into view.

15 minutes.  Still climbing, up to Sylvan.  Downhill all the way from there.  We had until 8:32pm.  Popped out into my neighborhood at 8:33pm :-( :-( :-(

So, at that point we finished at my house (on the route).  Sigh.

That said, always a pretty ride.  And the weather was considerably better than promised.

125.9 miles.
7242 vertical feet (claims the bike computer)

-

Arivaca CCW 210km. In Arizona!

I have taken to suggesting that our winter week-in-the-sun happen in a place where there is also randonneuring.  When we planned this year's escape, I picked Tucson.  Friend Susan O had ridden the Arivaca 210km perm, and recommended it.  Husband: "see if you can find someone to ride with you!".  Well, ok.  Joined the AZRandon google group and advertised.  And got a response!



After some email exchange finding a mutually agreeable date and time, Susan R and I registered for the counterclockwise version of the route - she doesn't like riding on Ajo Rd after dark.  Something about heavy traffic and junk on the shoulder.  Either way was fine with me.

Our respective spouses dropped us off at 6:45am at the McDonalds.  Bought some cookies, put on my summer shoes, said goodbyes, and headed out.  It was still quite chilly; I was wearing arm warmers, knee warmers, a windbreaker and a wind/reflective vest.  The shoulder was pretty yucky - expansion bumps and debris.  It improved after 5 or 6 miles, and the traffic dropped off as well.

I had fiddled with the adjustment on my new saddle, and there was some unfavorable interaction with the saddlebag and the rear wheel.  Several pauses to try to get it to that sweet spot of comfort and non-interference.  The Rachet Rocket got much use.  Susan wants one.



After 15 miles of headwind and saddle tweaking, we arrived at the first control.   Still not warm enough to remove the jacket.  Consumed a banana and some V-8.  I made sure I had plenty of water, including an extra bottle.  Susan offered to carry it, because my saddlebag was still having issues.  We had 45 miles of desert and no services.





We were now out of the headwind, heading toward Mexico.  If we missed the next turn...  Lots of desert, and views of Kitt Peak Observatory.



I was hoping to see a road runner, but it was not to be.  We did see many Border Patrol vehicles, and passed through a Border Control checkpoint.  Cleanest portapotties ever.



A couple more saddle adjustments, as well as a bottle refill.  I was drinking Skratch (husband: "what is that?" me: "artisanal Gatorade") and Perpetuem.  Started out with Caffe Latte mixed with coffee.  Went to Orange Vanilla later.  Ate my sandwich.



We stopped to get a picture at the turn, and wave at the Border Patrol guy sitting there in his vehicle.  Then nine miles of rolling on to Arivaca.  There is a store, but no public restroom.  We stocked up (Greek yogurt, banana, V-8) and relocated to some "shade".  The local restaurant has bathrooms off their patio, and are very nice about people coming in to use it.



After a not overly long stop, we continued rollering along.  Susan said the next batch of rollers were pretty fun, and, once we summitted out of Arivaca, they were indeed great fun.  Lots of cattle guards, too.  Bzzzzp!



It was easier riding into the wind there - air is drier and thinner.

Another Border Control checkpoint.  We stopped because the sign said Stop, and chatted up the staff.  They were interested in the ride, and probably thought we were more than a little nuts.  More exceptionally clean portapotties.  Shortly after that we came up to the I-19 frontage road, and paused for a water refill.

Then north, and then west and north again through Green Valley.  Nice pavement, wide bike lanes, because they were meant to be shared with golf carts.  Susan's rear derailleur checked out here, and we pulled into a golf course parking lot to poke at it.  A guy came over and poked as well, and he got it unstuck and working again.  The last on-course control was a few miles further north - another Circle K.  Their Circle K stores are so much cleaner and nicer than I remember the ones here in Oregon.  Of course, I haven't stopped in one since forever, probably because the last one in Salem was so grubby.

More bananas and water and nuts.  Then we popped out on Duval Mine Rd, right by the Titan Missile Museum, which Fitz and I had just visited the day before.  There were really big trucks, and not very much road for a few miles.  Then a cyclist came by who knew Susan, so they chatted for awhile.  I was not in the best place, mentally.  The road was going up, it was the hottest part of the day, and the snacks had not yet kicked in.

Then we turned onto Mission Rd.  Nine more miles of climbing, and then Susan promised me an awesome descent.  The food kicked in and my mood and pace improved.  We were riding along the back side of the Asarco open-pit copper mine.  Impressive huge piles of mine tailings.  Watching the miles tick by, and soon we were at the top.  I was still plenty warm, and didn't need to add any layers.



It was a great descent - nice pavement, not steep, but enough that I could keep well above 20mph most of the way down.  Eventually I could see the San Xavier Mission (we'd been there the day before as well), and knew that we'd be running out of downhill soon.  Darn.

Still not dark, but it was thinking about it.  We kept on Mission Rd for several more miles, before turning onto something else, where it finally did get dark.  Susan couldn't read her cue sheet or see her computer.  I could do both, so was calling out distances, not that there were many turns to the finish.

After the last turn onto Calle Don Miguel, I could see the McDonald's up ahead.  Whee!

Fitz was inside waiting; tapped on the window, then went in to get a Coke and fries.  Kirk (Mr. Susan) was there also, and we visited and snacked for a bit before heading out.



Very fun ride, and quite different from riding here in the Northwet.

130 miles/12:12 elapsed.  Wasted a lot of time with the saddle adjustment; I'll have to get it right when the bike goes back together.

Aftermath notes: while the saddle was not yet perfectly adjusted, I had none of the customary post-ride sore spots.  Not a one.  That alone is worth it.  The shoes on the other hand...  Maybe my feet are not the intended demographic for those shoes.

Cross Training

We had a bit of snow here.  For those of you who live where snow is expected, feel free to snicker.  Only the main roads are plowed or sanded or graveled.  Driving in a neighborhood is... challenging.  Where I live, all ways out of the neighborhood are down.

I was not interested in riding the bike - I no longer have a mountain bike, and the last time I tried to ride in snow, the fenders packed up with snow.  Traction was also nonexistent.

Running (yes, I run.  Or, I have been a runner and am working my way back into it).  No.

The snow was pretty nice, and there was certainly enough of it.  Then I remembered my parents had cross country skis.  And snowshoes.  My mom said the skis were in the cellar "somewhere", and they'd dig them up for me by the time I had hiked the two blocks over.  I figured I was "running" in the cold and dressed accordingly - three layers of wool on top with my Nike Storm vest over that, a ski cap, my Pearl Izumi AmFib cycling tights, heavy wool cycling socks, and wool gloves.

Not only that, my mom thought she'd snowshoe along.  Geared up (me staring at the skis and wondering if this was perhaps not the best idea I'd had), we proceeded over to the elementary school, and skied and tromped around the field.  I'd head out and then turn around and come back.

What did I just sign up to do here?

After a circumnavigation of the field, my mom thought that the wind was spectacularly strong, cold, and stinging ice, and she decided to head back home.

Mom considering her options

I thought I'd head out onto the streets to get in some more time and distance.  Headed out of the school, I saw another skier headed up the street.   As he got closer, I saw that it was friend and sometime cycling partner Chris.  We decided to continue on together.

Chris

He's a lot better at this, because he actually goes XC skiing.  This was my second time on XC skis ever; the first being a 6 mile outing by Mt Bachelor, mmm, decades ago.  I'd concentrate and move along reasonably well - we stuck to the flatter areas - and then lose the concentration and have a bit of a challenge :-)  Fell over once; very slow motion.

It was great catching up.  We both became grandparents this year, so there was that.  Still trying to get him to try randonneuring.  He was out playing while waiting for his bottles to sterilize so he could bottle his most recent brewing attempt.  He does brew good beer.

Me.  Picture by Chris

After an hour of wandering the neighborhood, it was time to head back to our respective homes.  I had to go by the parents' home (Axel Ski Rental and Party Supply) and return the skis and retrieve my boots.  I headed back through the school, and then the last bit to their house. Downhill.  Ack.  Edges.  I need my edges.  Managed to stop before causing any damage.

It was easier skiing than walking home.  The snow was starting to get an icy crust.

Aftermath - my core informed me that it had ALSO gotten a serious workout :-)

Snow was gone enough today that I could run.  It even felt good - I wasn't spending the 2:30 running parts wondering when the 2:30 would be over, and I had to tack on an extra loop, because I was farther along for the time than before.  Progress.

The New Bike Ride

Not mine :-)  Rando friend Michal just (as in just) took delivery of his custom Winter rando bike, so of course he wanted to ride.  Rando friend Graham was planning to ride Bill Alsup's Eugene to Beaverton 200k perm, taking the train down to Eugene on Saturday (Feb 1) morning, and starting at 11:30am, or something like that.  Michal suggested he come down Friday evening and start earlier Saturday morning, and I joined in. The finish is just over a mile from my house, so I offered up dinner for all afterwards.  Plans were made.



For me, it was "hop the MAX train downtown and figure out the best way to get to Union Station".  I could transfer trains and get right there, but with a 15 minute wait time, I could ride over there quicker.  Almost.  The roads are either one-way or transit mall.  Can't easily get there from here.  After trying this twice, I think I will stick to 4th St.  Anyway, got there, got my bike ticket, and Graham found me in the luggage room.  He got his bike ticket, and we went and hung out in the lobby waiting for the train.  Which was late.

When we got our boarding passes, they directed us to the left.  Everyone else was sent to line up on the right.  Eventually they told us it was so we could jump ahead of the group and get our bikes in the baggage car soonest.  Nice.  Other than the train being late, uneventful ride.  Graham and I got better acquainted, he did Sudoku puzzles, and I worked on my small knitting project. Cyndi was pulling in as we walked to the front of the station, and Michal had a batch of chili with tasty bread waiting.  And ice cream for dessert.

Of course, time was spent in the garage admiring the shiny new bike.  He really had only ridden it around the block when he picked it up, so this would be all new.

We planned to leave the house about 7am for a 7:30 start.  Michal and Cyndi had breakfast out and multiple cups of home-roasted coffee.  Still dim heading down the hill, but our bright headlights helped.  We arrived at Full City Coffee, and bought yet more coffee for that starting receipt.  I had some Caffe Latte Perpetuem and hot cocoa mix in my thermal bottle, and just had them fill it up with coffee.  Lots of coffee.  We set out only 4 minutes after 7:30, which has got to be a record.



So Michal had his entirely new bike, and I was riding on an entirely new saddle - a Rivet Pearl.  Right out of the box, and only a couple trips up and down the driveway, plus the 2 miles total riding to get to Union Station.  This could be an interesting ride.

First stretch, Eugene to Brownsville, 29.7 miles.  Early, sunny, cold.  The wind was not hindering, and might even have been a teeny bit helpful.  The climbs on Gap Road were not a big deal (somehow, they always hurt coming the other way toward the end of the Five Rivers perm), and the descents down the other side were quite fun.  Horses, cattle, sheep, and llamas out in the fields.  Still very much winter, but some trees were getting that pre-leaf fuzzy look.



There might have been a pause along the way to remove some layers.  Or we did it when we stopped in Brownsville; I really don't remember.  Bought some peanut butter crackers, but I really had plenty of food with me.  Also ate a slab of Italian Fruitcake.  Michal broke his bike in by plopping a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos on the seat.



Graham's front bag has a built in corndog holder.



Brownsville to Hoffman Covered Bridge info control 24.2 miles.  Still wonderfully sunny.  More rolling hills (I think they call them buttes).



Passed through Lebanon and Crabtree (there isn't much in Crabtree), to turn onto Hungry Hill Road, where the bridge is to be found.  We stopped to write down the answer, and take a few pictures.





Hoffman Covered Bridge to Stayton 13.2 miles.  The last time we rode this, we stopped in Scio, but not today.  The only wall of the route was waiting - gets up to 12% or 14% toward the top.  I bailed and spun my way up; Michal and Graham climbed somewhat faster.  This puts us on top of a ridge with wonderful views.

By now I was noticing that I had a new saddle.  Or, more to the point, the sitbones were noticing.  Shift, wiggle, shift. Michal was also noticing his new saddle, but perhaps not as acutely.

Found Michal and Graham at a corner, with a bit of a quandary on which way to go.  Michal's GPS was indecisive, and I thought we'd stay left.  I got to pull out MapsWithMeLite with the ride track installed and verify that this was indeed the case.  We continued on Stayton-Scio Road, and quite soon found ourselves in Stayton, headed for the Safeway.  Applied some lubricant to my poor sit bones.  Bought a sandwich, which seemed to take longer than it should have, but Michal was still in line at the Starbucks.  Got another bottle filled with coffee, Perpetuem and cocoa mix, and topped off my water bottle.  Ate half my sandwich and a banana, and we were off again.

Stayton to Woodburn  28.7 miles.  This stretch was mostly autopilot, as it goes from Stayton to Aumsville, north on Howell Prairie, and then, departing from the Mill City Coffee Run, into Woodburn, rather than Gervais.  We were all looking forward to some Mexican food in Woodburn, at one of the many stores which line the main street.  This is a pretty stretch of the route.









Heading into Woodburn, an impatient driver passed on a two lane road, with oncoming traffic.  The oncoming pickup almost ended up in the ditch.  We all shook our heads in disbelief.

Stopped at the same place in Woodburn as before, except all the window signs were now in Korean(?)  Bought a Red Bull to get a quick receipt, not that we were anywhere near pushing the time limit.  Receipt time was almost 30 minutes off :-)  Then went to order some food.  Brain freeze.  I just ordered what Michal had - three tamales.  They turned out to contain chicken, and were somewhat spicier than either of us were expecting.  I ate two.



Woodburn to Beaverton 29.6 miles.  And here we were leaving Woodburn, and it was still light!  Granted the shadows were getting long, but still...  A zombie freight train was heading north, same as us (the locomotive was at the other end, running in reverse), so I could head straight on, knowing that no one would be turning or crossing in front of me.  Michal and Graham came up in not too long, and we headed into and through Hubbard, then NW towards Aurora.  A stop to swap to the clear lenses and turn on a few more lights.  Rode alongside the Aurora airport, and Graham and I swapped stories about my brother's flying lessons there, and his flying lessons there.

Then it was time to hop onto I-5 for the Boone Bridge crossing.  Still not full dark.  That didn't happen until we were headed through the Wilsonville industrial park.

Last time we did this ride, it was dark and raining, and we had to stop and check the cue sheets much too often.  I had done some serious review of the route north from Wilsonville, and Michal had his GPS set up.  I was a bit stressed about the next stretch on Boone's Ferry/Tualatin Rd, because, again, the last time was in the dark and rain, and the road was two lanes, no shoulder, and heavily traveled.  I was in for quite the pleasant surprise!  Road widened, big shoulder/bike lane, and new white curbs, which my headlight picked out quite nicely!

Into Tualatin Community Park, over the Tualatin River bridge, and then the left turn in Cook Park on the bike path. Now, this is clearly a recreational, meandering path.  Not a single light in the park, and no edge lines painted on the path.  Good thing there was a wide beam on my headlight!

Now north on road with names I recognized - SW Hall, SW Burnham, a funny u-turn in downtown Tigard, through some neighborhoods, and then we popped out on SW Greenburg Rd, at which point I no longer needed the cue sheet.

Pulled into the Starbuck's at the Beaverton Freddie's, and I ducked in to get us a receipt.  Came out to find Bill A, the route owner.  Called home to say we'd all be there in about 10 minutes.  Graham wanted to get a picture of a license plate (200 DNF), so he said he'd be right behind us.  He never was right behind us, but as we headed up my street, I could see a bike taillight in front of us.  Bill pulled in right behind us.



Aftermath.  First things first, it being Graham's first R-12, his wife Sharon had brought a bottle of champagne, and we had a celebratory round.  Then we fell into dinner.  Sharon had also made a wonderful lasagna, which we accompanied by a big Rich and Charlie's salad, bread, apple cake and ice cream.  And beer and cider.



The route
130 miles in all,
13.05 moving average,
11:57 total time, about 15 minutes quicker than before, even without the tailwind assistance
about 3800 vertical feet

Lemond Rolls over 14,000 Miles, or Bring Your Fast Bike

Last weekend was the West County 100k.  Susan O posted that the weather would be clear and sunny (and seriously cold), and we should remember what it was like before we started doing rando rides, and bring out our hot bikes, which have neither fenders nor serious luggage.

So, the Lemond Zurich had its flat tires pumped up, and I made sure there were basic supplies on the bike (Detours High Tail to carry things).  Found a pathetic little battery light (a Cateye LED light) to be a headlight for the 30 or so minutes before the sun rose on the ride to the start.  I was surprised that it worked right out of the drawer - I haven't used it in a very, very long time.

Also new on this ride were new homebrew reflective ankle bands from my expedition to Rose City Textiles and their awesome reflective trim department.

Seriously cold.  Not like the polar vortex, but still, it was 26 degrees when I headed out.

Found Susan and Kevin at the Jackson's Convenience Store.  Kevin had his Rawland Stag, and he said he'd have to work extra hard, because I was on the Lemond, and Susan was on her carbon fiber Sweetpea.  And right at 8am, off we went.

I will say right now that there were no pictures, because it was too cold to change to camera-friendly gloves, and I was working pretty hard to keep up with Susan!

We zipped around the route.  First timed control at the Shell Station just west of Gales Creek Rd on Hwy 6, where I bought a snack and ate it while waiting in line - they could scan the wrapper.  There was a Latte Perpetuem-Coffee-Hot Cocoa concoction in the thermal bottle, with tons of calories, so I was mostly working on that.

South on Gales Creek Rd, then onto Stringtown - no cute little pack of barky chihuahuas today.  Next timed control at the Gaston store.  Couldn't find the Red Bull, but I did get a bottle of grapefruit juice, plus ate some snacks from my bag.

It had finally gotten above freezing.

Heading out toward Hillsboro, I was starting to hurt.  Well, ok, I had been hurting, but it was getting beyond annoying.  The Lemond has a much more aggressive posture, and I had been for a run the day before.  Ow.  Kevin came to the rescue with some ibuprofen, which kicked in a few miles down the road.

And then done.  More snacks - it was a good day for peanut butter crackers and cheesy crackers and a packet of tasty mixed nuts.  Kevin offered me a ride home.  I caved and took it.  He seemed surprised that I could lift the bike up to the roof rack, but when we got to my house and he took it off the rack, it all became clear :-)

for the 100k, 5:04 total elapsed time.  Much better than all those Dayton Flyer excursions.
for the day 69.5 miles total, avg speed 14.12 mph
Lemond's odometer - 14007.3 miles

Slightly Quicker, Dayton Flyer, Yet Again

Ray was looking for company this past Saturday, to attack the Dayton Flyer 103k yet again.  The times I have ridden it, finishing in time was always an issue.  Not much fun, stressing practically the entire route!  But, glutton for punishment, and always needing to build more character, there I was.

I had hoped to start on time, for once.  No, not this time either.  The weather was cold and foggy.  Sometimes not a whole lot of visibility foggy.  We are in an air stagnation phase here in the valley, and for us, that means really dense fog.  So we were all reflective geared and lit up.  Mostly.

A few miles out, I came up with a flat.  First flat ever on these tires (Some Xpress).  Checking the records, that is 3775 miles without a flat.  Not one.  Nice.  Of course, the tires not being removed in all that time made for a bit of work getting it off, but the reverse operation when quickly, and without tire levers.  The cause of the flat was a shard of glass.

Pause at the first control to get our not lit rider illuminated.  New batteries for the rear blinkie, and connecting the generator light helped a lot. :-)  I inhaled a PayDay bar.

Off to Dayton.  Stag Hollow Rd was dry (yay! no mud!)  I ate part of my sandwich along here.  Then through Lafayette and back roads to Dayton.  We were ahead of time, but not by a whole bunch.  20 minutes?

Discussion along the way as to what our control strategy would be.  Ray wanted something hot to drink.  I noted that the Center Market (other end of town) had hot things.  Didn't want to enter into the timesucking vortex of the Block House Cafe, and I wanted some Red Bull and food.  Ken peeled off right in town; I think he went to the ATM.  Ray, Kevin L, and I headed to the Center Market.  They had bananas!  Got a banana, the Red Bull, and a really big cup of coffee, which I poured into my thermal bottle.  I was headed back before the control closed.

Ray and Kevin caught me on the other side of Lafayette.  We didn't find Ken until Yamhill Rd - the other gravel stretch, with the added bonus of (occasionally steep) climbing.

The sun came out!  I did have to stop and put on the sunglasses.  Yay sun!

Over the rollers on Spring Hill, then into the Lake Store; last on-course control.  Fortunately, not like the other times; we had enough time that I sat down on the store bench and drank a bottle of grapefruit juice.  Kevin had left, and then Ken.  Finished the juice and headed out.  I knew Ray would catch up.

Saw Ken up ahead.  I do not remember if I passed him or not.  I must be getting old.  In any case, Ray did catch up, and we talked about how done we felt.  Miles back!

As it was just over 7 miles to the end, we soon found ourselves in Forest Grove, headed for the coffee shop next to the Safeway.  Kevin was already there.  Ordered coffee and a cookie; and we all finished up our cards.  I should mention that no receipts collected that day bore any resemblance to the time they were issued.

Finished at 6:34 elapsed time, with 14 minutes to spare.
Bike computer says: 65.3 miles (extra distance to the Center Market and back) and
3300 vertical feet.

January, Check

Ken and I had planned to ride the Mill City Coffee Run (what, AGAIN?) on Jan 2 (Thursday), but he had an Appliance Emergency, so we rescheduled for Saturday, Jan 4.  Ken publicized, and we had a great turnout - Maria, Laura, Kevin L, Jeff, Greg, Chris, and, because he absolutely could not resist the chance to ride a January 200k in reasonable weather, Jason K.  I did a lot of printing (Ken also had a Printer Death), and we all converged on the unsuspecting Wilsonville Starbucks before 7am.  I handed out cue sheets to all, but left the card distribution to the perm owner (Ken).

After tracking down Greg, we all set out, just a few minutes after 7.  It was cold, but not anywhere near as foggy as it had been for the Dec 200k the previous Sunday.  We headed south watching the sun rise, and the group started spreading out.  Jason and I found everyone in Gervais, where I stopped long enough to remove the jacket and swap the warm gloves for shortfingers and wool overgloves.

Then on to the longest part of the ride, Howell Prairie Road.  We did have a slight tailwind, but somehow, it was a slog.  Still cloudy.  I did eat, really.

Finally into Stayton, where we found everyone at the Roth's, eating and or just sitting.  I ate a cup of chicken noodle soup, some cheese, and a banana, in the hopes that it might help on the stretch to Mill City.  Asked Jeff A why he wasn't wearing his hat with the cute little pom-pom... "because it doesn't go with this outfit".  I use the same standard in selecting my riding socks for the day.

The food helped.  The group splintered again; Jason and I rode together.  We had been imperceptibly climbing, and now it was still very gradual, but we had gained some altitude and there was frost everywhere.  It was pretty, and on the bright side, the sun started breaking through the clouds.  I hadn't seen the sun for about a week, so it was quite welcome!  We came upon everyone else gathered around a bicycle - Greg's left crankarm had detached itself(!)

After watching for a bit, I decided that, being slow, I'd go on ahead.  We were almost to Mill City.  Jason and I went on, and the others found us before we got to Rosie's.  Greg wanted a sandwich-length stop.  Fine by me.  They are pretty quick.  Ordered my usual turkey croissant, and got my thermal jug refilled with hot chocolate and coffee.  Kevin eventually appeared, and ordered some lunch.

We all headed out but for Kevin - he said he'd be along after he ate.  It was a bit chillier heading down, but the frost had all cleared away.  I rode solo for awhile, then with Ken until Lyons.  He caught me again before I got to Stayton, and we got to the Roth's grocery.  He wanted to go to the espresso stand; I headed into the store.  Banana, water bottle refill and a Red Bull.  I had a sandwich and some fruitcake that I was eating while riding.

We headed out, and stopped to chat with Kevin headed in.  He was feeling better.  We left; all dreading the inevitable headwind on Howell Prairie Rd.  I attached myself to Jason's rear wheel, and Ken was behind me for much of the time.  Jason punches a nice hole in the wind, yes, he does.

The hilly bits at the south end of Howell Prairie were not as downhill as they were supposed to be.  Jason and I both noticed that.

The bike computer had checked out early in the ride, so I spent the time not really knowing how fast we were moving.  It was a slightly unsettling feeling.

We passed Maria and Laura stopped along the road for some unknown reason (eating?), but kept on.  Finally, the turn to head into Gervais.  I think we stopped, but don't actually remember.  I may have taken the pause to eat something, but I didn't get off my bike.  Still not dark.  Ken: "if you told me that we would be in Gervais before dark, I wouldn't have believed you".  Or something like that.

It did get dark somewhere along Butteville Rd.  Ken wanted to stop at the Broadacres store, and Jason and Jeff stopped along with him.  I stood there for a minute or two, then announced I was going on; they'd catch me.  Surprisingly enough, they didn't reappear until the turn onto Keene.  The store was apparently missing something important.  By now we were just about done.  Turning onto Boone's Ferry, I made a joke about needing a nap.  (Slept there on the 400k, less than 10 miles from the end...)  Jeff didn't take it well.  So.

Onto I-5, over the Boone Bridge, first exit.  Ken suggested we take the sidewalk, rather than do two left turns.  It was indeed quicker and easier.  The Starbucks was still open for another 20 minutes, so we ordered up some hot drinks, finished our paperwork, and visited.  Greg was already there.  No Maria, no Laura.  My reading glasses had vanished sometime after leaving Stayton.  They were my most expendable pair, but I still liked them. :-(

After awhile we were delighted to see Kevin, Maria, and Laura roll up. There had been a wrong turn, and then they met up with Kevin and finished together.  As Kevin was sitting down... "are you having trouble reading?".  He handed over the reading glasses - they had been on the pavement at the intersection leaving Stayton, and he noticed them and thought they looked familiar. :-)

Eventually the nice people at Starbucks kicked us out so they could close, but they were really nice about it.

And then I found a really nice note stuck under my windshield wiper from Susan O, Theo, and Asta, who were on a 100k that day.

A good day.