Comments: Forgot to write down complete stats. Includes a trip on the Pratum loop (14.68 avg), plus a few miles of test riding after maintenance.
This was the last ride before Oregon Bicycle Ride. With the cruise starting tomorrow and me going from cruise to OBR, everything bike-wise had to be done today, including packing and maintenance.
MAINTENANCE: Took off all three MP tires and put one of the fronts (20 x 1.75) on the rear. The other two 20 x 1.75s still have a bit of wear left in them, but I wanted no problems on Oregon Bicycle Ride. I put two new MPs (20 x 1.35) on the front and recalibrated the Astrale 8. I also adjusted the toe-in.
Checked frame welds: all okay.
Other maintenance included lubing the chain and overhauling the brake cables. I installed a metallic elbow on the right brake cable to alleviate the sharp bend there. I used a mixture of Slick Honey grease with some Tri-Flow to lbe the cables -- the brakes have never been so smooth! Wow!
Also put Loc-Tite on all of the hex bolts in the read fender/rack assembly. as well as the tie-rod adjustment nuts.
Comments: Cruise ship shore excursion (Bike 'N' Brew) with Mark S.
An easy road ride (except for a mile of easy double-track) through the outskirts of Juneau, Alaska.
The first stop was at the chapel at Lake Auke. Mendenhall Glacier and the surrounding mountains were stunningly and perfectly reflected in the lake.
There was a gentle climb and then we dropped down on to one of Juneau's many MUPs that seem to be adjacent to most streets other than neighborhood streets.
Next were two stops at Lake Mendenhall. The first stop at the southern end was a snack stop. Even almost two miles away from the glacier, there were chunks of ice in the lake.
The next (and final) stop was at the visitor center near the glacier itself. We turned our bikes in and walked through nature trails. We were rewarded with up close views of spawning salmon and black bears (including two cubs).
The glacier itself was stunning. That unearthly ice blue color mesmerizes me just remembering it.
Then we hopped in the shuttle van and drove to Alaskan Brewing Company for a tour and tasting (the smoked porter, oatmeal stout, and amber were especially fine) before heading back to the cruise ship.
Weather Conditions: Clear and sunny, with occasional puffy clouds.
Comments: Day 1 of Oregon Bicycle Ride, Ashland, Oregon. (Because I was on a cruise, I joined OBR a day late in Ashland, so this was the end of their first full day).
Ride from where I parked my truck (SOFC) to campsite for OBR. Included a dinner stop at the Great American Pizza Co. (good pizza, good beer selection, open late) as OBR had already stopped serving dinner by the time I arrived on site initially.
Except for the initial few blocks, I had a bike lane for the entire ride. Ashland is quite bike friendly.
Comments: Day 2 of Oregon Bicycle Ride (OBR). Ashland, OR to Yreka, CA (This was day 1 for me, as I joined the ride a day late)
Metric century #15
Personal Bests for altitude and climbing.
My First Times: MFT riding across a state line; MFT riding on a freeway (especially at 50 mph); MFT riding any of these roads (as well as driving most of them); MFT cycling in California (as an adult); MFT cycling this far south.
What a ride! We took old Hwy 99 over the Siskiyous. That was quite a trip in the days before I-5. Very twisty, but not quite as steep (in most places). Also an elegant 270-degree elevated switchback to cross the railroad tracks.
I went off-route where old 99 crossed I-5 and stopped to visit Charlie Selberg. I wasn't sure about riding Colestine Road, but it turned out to be pretty easy (fairly smooth gravel). What I anticipated being an hour or two chat turned into a four-hour-plus visit. Well worth it. As always, I came away from Charlie's enriched. Now there is a man who is intellectually alive!
Colestine Road below Charlie's was stunningly beautiful as always, with expansive views of Mt. Shasta and the Buddhist monastery, framed by oaks and groves of quaking aspen. However, the road was considerably rougher, resulting in the loss of some AA batteries from the charger that I had strapped onto the TailRider. (Note to self: Put the charger IN the TailRider next time.) We regained pavement a few miles before Hilt, near the old stage stop. The pavement wasn't a whole lot smoother, but it gradually got better.
Hilt has a store and cafe that makes fine burgers and shakes, but I had to pass this time in order to make some time. All of the signs were in and the OBR rest stops were closed on the route, so I needed to cruise to get into Yreka before dinner.
At Hilt, I did just that, as it was time to get on the freeway (and back on the route). For the next 5.25 miles, I had a fabulously smooth descent, breaking 50 mph for the first time on this frame.
Off the freeway at the Hornbrook exit for about 25 miles of mostly gradual climbing through small town east of I-5, including Hornbrook, Ager, and Montague. Most of the views had Mt. Shasta in them. Montague looked especially intriguing in a town-that-time-forgot sort of way.
There were some stiff headwinds and crosswinds through this section, but as I headed west for the final six miles they turned into tailwinds. I rolled into Yreka with enough time to cruise around for 20 minutes or so (to both cool down and get the metric).
Yreka is a very nice gold rush town with a well restored old town. Would be nice to spend a full day here.
Camp was at an elementary school. Ate like a horse, then went to bed.
Had a lot of trouble keeping my HR in zone 3 -- presumably due to altitude, as I live at 200' asl, and most of tdoay's ride was at 2,000'+ asl. This forced my cadence in granny gear down into the 60s at times.
Technical: Trikey behaved well, despite some very rough roads and high speeds. The decision to use the 11-32 cassette was a good one, although a 34T rear cog would have been nice at times.
The SolarRoll worked well, except that it's maximum output (4.5w) is not enough to power the 4 AA battery charger I brought with me (which draws 0.5a at 12v, or, 6w). I didn't do the math first. Will have to try to find a lower power charger. Fortunately, a friendly crew member allowed me to plug into the U-Haul's cigarette lighter every night.
Riding down the upper part of Colestine Rd at speed was very good practice for steering, as I had to rely heavily on brakesteer.
A tough day. I had burning eyes this morning. Blowing dust from a rock operation near Montague yesterday -- or possibly just too much sun glare? Woke up a number of times during the night, so was pretty tired this morning.
A mile or so down the road, my HRM started being flaky. After yesterday, I really wanted the HRM today, as I didn't want to go anaerobic and end up exhausted the next day.
I found that if the Edge 305 was about a foot closer to me, all was well. At first I suspected radio interference, but ruled that out. Next, I swapped the battery out. No joy there, either.
Then I stopped and switched the mounting positions of the Astrale 8 and the Edge in order to get it closer to my chest. During this, the sag wagon pulled up. Nice guy named Mike who supplied me with a mounting shim and black zip ties (I only had white, and ya gots to be color coordinated, y'know).
A few riders passed me during all this, and Mike informed me I was the caboose. Uh oh. He said he would swing back and check up on me. Off I went again.
Slight improvement in HRM, but not much. Grr. Then Wal-Mart appeared. I stopped and went straight to the rest room to wash the HRM contacts, knowing that I would have a few more options available if that didn't work. The wash worked!
I bought some small boxes of raisins in celebration and was so happy I forgot to get a replacement rechargeable AA battery for the one I lost yesterday (dang!). As I was leaving, another sag wagon stopped to check on me. He looked dubious. This didn't bode well.
I continued my interrupted warm-up amd eased into zone 3. The route was mostly flat to Gazelle (about 19 miles). It was open country with small ranches and farms. The road ran along an old stage route. Mike continued to check on me every few miles.
The rest stop in Gazelle was the first rest stop I had experienced on OBR. Fresh fruit galore, Spam (there seems to be a thing about Spam on OBR), various candies, crackers, and salty snacks, too. Plus biffies on a trailer, water for handwashing, and cold water and Gatorade to drink. And shade. And friendly people. I was the only rider there, except for a teenager who had decided to sag. I tanked up on cantaloupe, gabbed a bit, and off I went.
We started climbing right after the rest stop -- gently for the first 7 miles or so, then at 9-12% gradient. My HR shot up, and into granny gear I went. My cadence never got much past 80, and dropped as low as 60 at times. The steeper part of the climb went on for 3-4 miles, gaining about 1500' of elevation.
I began stopping whenever my HR got to zone 4.5 (about 144 bpm). I would rest 30-45 seconds until it came back down to 3.5 (131 bpm). I didn't feel bonky, just slow. It was just frustrating having to struggle so much. That's altitude for a flatlander, though.
About halfway through this steeper part of the climb, Mike started following me in the sag. While it was nice of him to do this, it actually made things worse, as I felt bad for keeping him back there so I pushed harder than I would have otherwise, which probably slowed me down. I would have been happier if he would have just left me to go at my own pace.
Finally, I reached the summit at 4,990'. Mike topped off my water bottle with Gatorade and off I went on a very fine descent. The pavement was much smoother on this side of the mountain. Except for one short climb, I had 15 miles of descent to Callahan, losing about 2,000' of elevation in the process. What a great ride -- even with a headwind!
The second rest stop in Callahan was doubly nice, as there were a few other riders still there -- the only ones I had seen since leaving Yreka. I was catching up!
I ate more cantaloupe -- and pickles! Yum! I gabbed a bit, ogled the remains of Callahan (very much a gold rush almost-ghost town), and watched as the headwind shifted to a tailwind. The other riders had left about 15 minutes before, so off I went again.
I enjoyed a very pretty ride through rolling hills (again, on an old stage route) with small farms and ranches. I was riding on the north side of the Scot River on a 1-1/2 lane road with very few cars. The floodplain was filled with tailings from the gold dredging operations of the 19th century, now being reused for rock products. HR wasn't much of an issue, so I cruised right along.
Very pleasant, until I hit a bump (hard) in the road. The bump knocked the battery pack for my headlight out of its pouch. The battery pack dangled briefly on the end of the cord, and then dropped to the road at 25 miles an hour, scattering batteries in all directions. Not my day for electronics.
I stopped and started looking. Having already lost some rechargeables and not having good prospects of finding any more, I needed these. I found the battery holder first, empty and cracked. Fortunately, I had a spare. Then I found the first battery. Fortunately, it was one of the ones with a bright orange top. A stroke of luck! I quickly found the second one.
A few minutes later, Mike pulled up in the sag. (I could practically read his mind: what is it THIS time?) As always, he was nice and helped me look for the remaining two batteries. I found a rusty horseshoe, which I left on top of a fence post (good luck for someone). We looked for at least ten minutes before I finally found the third battery under some sagebrush. After another five minute, Mike found the last one on the opposite side of the road from all the others, way downrange. Hurrah! Off I went again, but so much for any hope of catching the other riders again.
Mike resumed his position behind me again. Sigh. A mile or so from Etna, I waved Mike on so I could poke along for a cooldown.
I pulled into camp at about 4 p.m., grabbed my luggage, found a campsite, dropped my luggage off, and then scurried off to finish my cooldown.
Etna is a very quaint little town, with a well preserved 19th-century main street, including a drug store and soda fountain, as well as an old fashioned hardware store. Camp was in the city park, which was a bit too small for the number of people we had.
After a hot shower and some cold drinks, I was feeling much better. Then the ride director stopped to have "a chat" with me.
She was not happy with the fact that I was so far behind everyone else and that this was causing a shortage of sag resources for riders further ahead. She informed me that I either needed to be one of the first people to leave camp or else sag to the top of any major climbs.
She viewed me and my trike as a problem that interfered with her logistics instead of as a customer who needed accommodation.
I gave serious thought that evening to leaving the ride. I was the only trike on the ride, and one of only five recumbents. Most of the riders were with groups, and most of the rest knew others from previous rides. Having missed the first day's ride and having spent the last two days riding solo, I was pretty socially isolated. That didn't help my mood, either.
I called Kim and talked with her. As usual, she calmed me down. I set my alarm for 6:20 and went to bed.
Weather Conditions: Cool morning (about 50), hot afternoon (90?). Variable winds. Clear and dry.
Comments: Day 4 Oregon Bicycle Ride Daytrip around Etna, CA
Metric #17
Personal Bests: Most consecutive metric centuries (3).
Today was a much better day. The altitude problems seem to be mostly gone. Got on the road solidly in the middle of the pack and enjoyed numerous conversations with folks during the day's riding. Lots of interest in my trike and the Solar Roll.
This was a rest/easy day, with a day ride through the Scott Valley and no heavy climbing.
We rode through farms and ranches along the eastern edge of the valley north to Fort Jones. The NFS ranger station there was very helpful, with plenty of maps, information, and a nice clean restroom (bonus!). I was still considering my alternatives in case things blew up on tomorrow's big climb.
From Fort Jones, we headed northwest on Scott River Road to where it intersected with Quartz Valley Road. This was the rest stop for the main route. I zipped in an spent the next 30-40 minutes eating and answering questions about the trike and gear. Sometimes riding a trike is a bit like being in a traveling circus....
There was an optional extension that continued about six miles down Scott River Road to a nice swimming hole. I really wanted to keep my string of metrics going, so that's where I went to get some more miles, as I only 20 for the day.
It was a good choice. The road followed the Scott River down a beautiful narrow valley. I was a little concerned about the climb back, as I wanted to be nice to my legs today. But, my fears were unfounded as the grade was gentle except for a few very short stretches.
The FS day use area for the swimming hole was six miles downriver, and there was another rest stop there. Yea! More snacks! I was still feeling good, so I decided to go on down the river a few more miles and then head back.
Another good choice. I think I saw maybe six cars and three cyclists. I poked my nose into Indian Scotty campground (very nice spot). I saw several osprey, both nesting and gliding along the river. On a tip from another rider, I stopped on the Williams Memorial Bridge and spotted a couple of schools of good-sized trout lurking in the pools there.
I kept riding past a couple of more FS campgrounds (primitive) until I got to Scott River Lodge. It was, as my father would have said (understatedly), "a modest little place in the woods." It looks like a lovely place to stay.
After stopping to watch a deer just past the lodge, I turned around and headed back. I had a nice ride back to the rest stop again. I snacked and chatted and then headed back to the first rest stop and grazed a bit there before heading back.
There were still about half a dozen riders behind me, but they either sagged back or took their own sweet time, as I never saw them. All of the signs had been taken in, too, which was kind of weird.
I had a very pleasant ride back on Quartz Valley Road. I rode through Mugginsville and briefly admired the Victorian-era houses that had been restored.
And then, the road started climbing. What the heck? It was only a 300' climb, but it caught me by surprise. I was rewarded by a speedy half-mile descent (-270').
Shortly after that was Greenview, which was so sleepy as to be almost comatose. Then it was onto Hwy 3 for the rest of the way back.
Hwy 3 had a strongly pitched shoulder in places -- usually on hills. This was tiring on a trike, as I had to exert constant pressure to the left. Most of the places with the pitch also had a sloped asphalt "curb". I tried putting the right wheel on the curb. Eureka! Trike was level, and required little steering effort.
Did my cooldown en route to Etna. Got back to camp and enjoyed a lovely shower. Spent the rest of the afternoon and evening either eating or getting ready for tomorrow.
Most of these folks seemed determined to start riding at the crack of dawn -- every day. I just don't get it. But, through observation I learned some things about how to break camp more quickly in the morning.
1. Sleep in your bike shorts.
2. Pack as much as possible the night before.
3. Have as many of your pre-ride chores done the night before as possible -- water, Gatorade, etc.
4. When possible, eat first, then break camp to give breakfast a chance to digest a bit before riding. (Thanks to Pansy for that tip!)
Tomorrow would be test of all this, as well whether my altitude issues were really resolved. I set the alarm for 5:20 and went to sleep.
Weather Conditions: Cool morning (50-ish left me wishing I had worn leg warmers), clear and warm in the afternoon (85-90). Light variable breezes.
Comments: Day 5 Oregon Bicycle Ride Etna, CA to Orleans, CA
Metric #18
Personal Bests: Most consecutive metric centuries (4); altitude; climbing.
What a great day! Woke up at 5:10 to a chorus of clicking tent poles being broken down all over camp -- in the dark. Breakfast started early, so I was on the road by 7.
We said goodbye to Etna and backtracked to Callahan using the same right as two days ago. It was cold, and I wished I had worn leg warmers. Fourteen miles and several pleasant conversations later, we were back in Callahan.
My back tire didn't feel right, so I stopped to find it nearly flat. I had a slow leak -- probably a pinch flat from the ride down the Colestine. I pumped it up and rode on. I kept a close eye on it the rest of the day.
Once past Callahan, we began climbing on Cecilville Road. We climbed for the next 12 miles, gaining almost 3,200' -- mostly in the last six miles. I felt great! In fact, I felt so good that I didn't realize I was still in the middle chain ring until about a mile from the summit. My HR only occasionally went into zone 4, but never far enough that I needed to stop. My cadence dropped below 80 only a couple of times. What a difference a couple of days makes! I even passed a number of folks during the climb.
At the summit, I left Kim a jubilant voice mail message. And then, with whoop and a cackle, I began the descent. The first 18 miles to Cecilville were utter bliss. I carved turn after turn, passing I don't know how many riders along the way. The pavement was smooth and the turns were well marked and well engineered, allowing me to really push my skills as I hiked into the turns with my face beyond the inside wheel at times.
The difference in climbing and the descent apparently sparked more than a few conversations as the day went on.
There was a quaint little store at Cecilville, but I was having too much fun to stop. Unfortunately, the road narrowed to one lane with rougher pavement. But, the descent continued, with some rollers thrown in, through a stunningly rugged valley carved by the Salmon River.
The road was often literally at cliff's edge, with no guardrail. Fortunately, there were few people on the road other than us cyclists. I continued to zip along at a slightly more sedate pace as the downgrade lessened.
The second rest stop was at Forks of the Salmon, a tiny hamlet with a few houses, a new post office, and a school. A remote place to live. I had a big grin on my face as I rolled into the rest stop. I grazed a bit, topped off the rear tire, and headed downriver.
A mile or so after the rest stop, we broke 100k for the day, with a long way to go. I had been pushing a bit on shallow downgrades and short climbs, and realized I needed to ease up if I was going to make it to Orleans.
The cliffhanger road continued for another 18 miles until we got to Hwy 96. We were starting to get more rollers, and fellow riders were clearly starting to tire.
Hwy 96 didn't help. It was like riding the coast -- headland to headland -- with very strong headwinds to match. Not much fun. At about mile 83 or 84, I had to stop at one of the "headlands" to put more air in the back tire. My reliable Topeak Road Morph pump became unreliable, as apparently something came loose on the plunger about halfway through pumping up the tire. I was by myself and hadn't seen a sag wagon for over an hour, so I headed on, knowing it wasn't too many more miles.
It turned out that the stop was the top of the last climb, and I rolled into Orleans, elevation 418'. There weren't many people in camp yet, which made me happy. I grabbed my gear and dropped it on the edge of the ballfield where there was a little breeze.
I got a quick drink of fruit juice, and then set out to try to get a cooldown ride in. After some hunting, I found a fairly flat FS road on the edge of town and did some laps.
Along the way, I explored what there was of Orleans. There is a strong hippie-redneck dichotomy here, with rednecks yelling at "hippie" cyclists offset by a groovy community center. But, that's about all there is in Orleans, other than one bar, a campground, a school, and a store.
The ground was very hard, and I had to keep dodging this one patch of stinging nettles between my tent and camp central. I took a gamble that there wouldn't be any mosquitoes and just pitched the groundsheet and fly to see how that worked out.
I bought a sandwich for lunch (I had never been in camp that early before) and enjoyed a couple of hours of chatting with various folks (including DebbieBikes) in the shade of the pavilion.
I spent the rest of the day and evening patching the rear tire, remounting the right front tire (another apparent slow leak, but couldn't find it), oiling the chain, and getting ready for tomorrow.
I visited the fine folks from Sunnyside Sports in the mobile bike shop to get a replacement tire lever (I broke one of mine) and to see if they had replacement parts to fix my pump. They had tire levers, and they had parts for my pump, but it turned out it just needed a bit of grease. It was like a new pump after that. They even had spare brake pads for my Avid BB7s (I was getting a little anxious due to my rather heavy braking lately -- losing brakes on one of these descents would be B-A-D). Nice folks.
There were several more nice conversations with folks, including the shower truck driver (very interesting guy in his late 40s who has done all kinds o' stuff in his life, including living in the Idaho woods for nine years). The time just flew by.
It wasn't until I jotted down my stats for the day that I noticed I only needed six more miles for a century. I thought about it briefly, considered the next day's ride, and said, "Forget it."
I crawled into bed at dark, set the alarm for 5:20, and went promptly to sleep, tired and happy.
Weather Conditions: Cool in the morning (50-ish), clear, sunny and warm in the afternoon (85-90). Strong winds the last hour or so.
Comments: Day 6 Oregon Bicycle Ride Orleans, CA to Happy Camp, CA
Metric #19
Personal Bests: Most consecutive metric centuries (5).
My First Times: MFT truly enjoying a climb.
Today's ride had a nasty start called Ishi Pishi Road -- 1274' of climbing in the first 4.6 miles, and most of that in in less than two miles. Breakfast just kind of sat in my gut and churned for the first part of the morning. The 1420' summit was a relief to most of us.
The climb was followed by an 810' descent for the next 2.8 miles (avg grade of -5.4%, with spots up to -12%. Whee! The bottom of the descent was on a bridge across the Salmon River, which was lined on both sides with cyclists. I had the pleasure of bombing through at 41 mph. That was fun.
After a quick stop at Salmon River Outpost store to call Kim from the pay phone (no cell service in Orleans), the ride settled down to a more sedate pace.
For the next 38 miles, we trundled along Hwy 96. We only gained 323 feet of altitude, but we climbed 2223 feet doing it in a series of "Paul Bunyan" rollers, with most climbs between 5 and 6 percent for about half a mile each, and one longer climb of 1.4 miles.
It was pretty country, and the road followed the Klamath River, crossing it a few times. But the terrain was not exactly my concept of "rollers". There were more pleasant conversations with folks along the way, which helped.
Happy Camp, our destination, caught me by surprise, as I thought we still had a few miles to go. I had recalled Happy Camp as a depressed lumber town with not much to offer, based on a night-time drive through about 16 years ago. I had judged it unfairly. It was a nice little town, actually, if a bit tired.
As I rolled down to our campsite for the night at a city park by the river, the road turned to gravel, then dirt. The surroundings were brown and dry. What kind of place had they picked for us, I wondered dubiously? Then I rounded a corner and was face to face with acres of lush green grass and lovely shade trees!
I grabbed my luggage and started looking for a campsite. Then I spotted a little footbridge. My inner little kid made a beeline for it, and found another couple of acres of lawn and shade trees with only a couple of tents pitched! O frabjous joy! I had a shady camp for the first time on the tour!
I pitched my tent, and then spent the next 30-45 minutes just laying on the grass, enjoying the shade and gentle breeze while chatting with my neighbor (a RANS rider).
I still needed a cooldown (for what it was worth after flopping on the grass for so long), and I had seen a promising pizza joint in town. So I got back on Trikey and rode the conveniently located second access road behind my tent for shorter ride out to the pizza place. I had a tasty veggie calzone and a bottle of Blue Moon wheat beer. Yum. I also had a nice conversation with the young family in the booth next to me, who were in town visiting the husband while he worked on the fire crew. They were from Scott Valley near Etna and had lived here all their lives. We talked about roads and passes, and they helped me figure out which pass I had recalled so fondly from a previous vacation here with Kim (Scott Mt. Rd.).
After lunch, I poked around a little bit, heading up Indian Creek Rd a short distance before deciding I didn't really want that kind of climb at this point in the day. I poked through some residential neighborhoods and blundered my way down to Hwy 96 north of town.
On a lark, I decided to head out on 96 and see where it took me. There was almost no traffic, and the pavement was good. After a mile or so, the road began to climb. I considered briefly, and then said, "What the hey?" and kept riding. I felt good and I wanted some more miles to get another metric, as I hadn't broken 50 miles yet for the day.
The road climbed at a steady 5% for the next 2.3 miles until I reach Cage Summit at 1755'. It was shady and cool. I passed a few riders bombing down the hill the other way, presumably with the same idea I had.
At the top, I had to top off my rear tire again. Apparently last night's patch wasn't good enough. Grr. I mused over the fact that I had just voluntarily climbed 600 feet and enjoyed it! And then I rocketed back down to Happy Camp (avg 29.4, max 42.3). Whee!
I still needed a few more miles, so I rode down into the older part of Happy Camp. There was a quaint old general store (no rechargable batteries, but lots of kitsch), a saloon, a cafe, a defunct old hotel, houses, the high school (student body of 70), the old log high school (now a senior center), the local court/sheriff's office/fire hall, a museum/gift shop for the local Indian tribe, and forest service headquarters (busy with fire crews). I was chased for two blocks by a fierce little dachshund and I waved to nice people.
I finally rode up the lower part of Indian Creek Road to the local grocery store. No rechargeable batteries there, either, but the local high school German teacher was selling homemade fudge to raise money to take her class to Germany next summer. I bought a piece (yum), and then realized that the store would have chocolate milk! Glug glug glug makes a happy Mikey.
Content, I rode back to camp and lazily took care of various chores. Apparently, I missed the memo about dinner being an hour early today, but I still got fed. I watched the first couple of acts in the "last night of the ride" talent show. One of the crew did a nice juggling routine, and some others had some good songs accompanied by guitar.
I left in distaste when a group got up to do a mock "Zulu" dance routine "from the deepest jungles of Africa". They were dressed in fake native attire, shaking sticks, pounding on 5-gallon buckets, and jumping around. The only thing missing was blackface. Unfortunately, the crowd thought it was great.
I went and took a shower, and then caught up on my journaling. I missed out on a song later that was a take-off on "Bye Bye Love" that seemed to involve me. I am told that the woman sang about how her husband had left her behind on the ride on his fast bike but that she had found a new love in the man who wasn't afraid to ride a bike with three wheels....
After getting everything ready for in the morning, I called Kim and then went to sleep. Tomorrow held a lot of climbing.....
Weather Conditions: Cool morning (low 50s), sunny and warm (upper 80s?) in the afternoon. Variable breezes.
Comments: Day 7 Oregon Bicycle Ride Happy Camp, CA to Cave Junction, OR
Metric #20
Personal Bests: Most consecutive metric centuries (6).
Got up at 5:20 this morning. It was chilly, so I put on my leg warmers. Broke camp quickly. Breakfast was offsite today for some logistical reason. Knowing the climb we had right off the bat, I decided to skip breakfast and see if the grocery store was open yet. It wasn't. Ate some granola bars, and then hit the road as one of the first couple of dozen riders.
The initial climb was about 210 feet, followed by a short descent. We spent the next 8.7 miles climbing gently at 1.4 % (avg). During this time, I discovered a psychological drawback to being one of the first riders out: most of your fellow riders are going at a comparable pace, so you don't see them, and there aren't any slower riders ahead of you for you to pass -- only faster riders coming up behind you.
At mile 10.2, the real climb for the day started. For the next nine miles, we climbed. The average grade was 6.0 percent. There weren't any losses of altitude, mercifully, but the second half of the climb alternated between stretches of 6-8% and stretches of 11-16%. Ugh.
The first rest stop was just 500 vertical feet shy of the summit. For the first time on the ride, I was tired when I rolled in to the rest stop. The view back south was tremendous, showing valleys and ridges one after the other, but I was still tired. I only had to stop a couple of times (including once to top off the blasted rear tire), but man, what a climb. This one was not fun.
I rested a bit and refueled, then knocked out the last 500 feet to Page Mountain Summit and crossed back into Oregon. Then it was time to zip up my jersey, get slouched down behind the fairing, and limber up my hips for a wild descent.
For 12.1 miles, I whooped, hollered, and jockeyed my way down the mountain, descending 3,209 feet in just under 24 minutes. My average speed was 30.5 mph, with a top speed of 43.7 on the straightaway near the end. My speed never dropped below 25 mph, except during two turns (one turn was signed for 10 mph, and the other SHOULD have been signed for 20 mph -- at mile 28.8 from Happy Camp).
I had a grin three miles wide as I rolled into the rest stop at the bottom of the mountain. What a ride! I toped off the fuel tank again, took off my leg warmers, and rolled out into the flats for the final leg to Cave Junction.
As the ride went on, I found myself pushing way too hard to get to the end. Others seemed to have the same problem. Interesting psychology there.... I finally got myself calmed down a few miles before the end.
I meandered into Illinois High School, got some lunch, and found some shade. The sun was very warm. I grabbed by luggage and began the task of refitting Trikey for self-supported touring. Off came the TailSok, and I broke the frame down completely so that the tubes fit in with my tent poles. I hung the panniers on the rack, moved some things around in them, re-rigged my lights and flag, and I was ready to go.
As I was finishing up, another rider I hadn't met before came over and started asking questions about my trike, etc. At first, they were the usual questions. Then he went off about how HE never had any problem with body pain on his road bike because HE learned how to ride correctly, blah blah blah. What a nice way to end a ride, eh? Eventually he wandered off with a "different strokes" comment.
DebbieBikes generously offered to ferry any extra gear home for me. I did have some extra gear, but I wanted to find out what a full day of fully loaded touring was like on Trikey, so I declined.
Rob, the OBR route director, came up and provided me with an alternate route for tomorrow that would reduce the amount of climbing. He also suggested a campsite down the road. What a nice guy. His wife was equally helpful.
After a guy I had had several conversations with during the ride snapped a photo of me on Trikey, off I went. I stopped at a store and bought some trail mix from a clerk who was idly listening to a teleevangelist talking about the End Times. I took Rob's tip and pedaled about eight miles to Eight Dollar Rd on Hwy 199. It was a gateway into the Kalmiopsis Wildernesss.
The road wound down the Illinois River Valley, gradually descending to the river at a bridge about three miles down the road. I continued on for another 1/4 mile to the end of the pavement. I had passed three primitive campgrounds. I went back to the first one at Little Falls and set up camp.
The site was nice. No water, and only a pit toilet, but three nice campsites and a trail down to the river. And only one other site in use. The other occupants turned out to be a young couple very much in love. Fortunately, they were pretty quiet. Ahem. They even offered me some firewood (more on that later).
After making camp, I hopped back on the lighter, slimmer Trikey for a cooldown (and to get my metric). I rode up to the top of $8 Road and back down, spotting a stealth camper just down the road from me in a nice spot.
Back in camp again, I walked down to the river. It was a 1/4 mile hike down the trail, and what I saw almost made me cry. All I could remember was this public service ad from my childhood:
Bottles and trash, and old tire on the trail, erosion from people cutting switchbacks, a tractor tire in the river, cigarette butts on otherwise beautiful sand beaches, and the nice young couple next door starting a campfire despite signs saying no burning due to high fire danger -- and this an area that had burned just six years earlier. "Roads" and "wilderness" are mutually exclusive. Sometimes I wonder if the planet would be better off without us....
The river was clean except for a little bit of algae, so I stripped to my bike shorts and rinsed off the worst of the day's sweat. Schools of little fish came up and nibbled at my feet and shins as I waded. Then clouds covered the sun. Uh oh. Time to head back to camp.
Back in camp, I hung my shorts up to dry, replaced the tube on the rear tire so I wouldn't have to worry about it, remounted the right front tire with correct orientation (wasn't paying attention a few days back), oiled the chain, and ate a bag of trail mix for dinner. I should have bought some water at the store, so I was stingy with what I had.
I took another look at the sky and decided to put the rainfly on. I journaled and went to sleep with the loss of daylight.
Weather Conditions: Cool morning (50-ish), clear, dry, and warm (low 90s?) in the afternoon, overcast in the evening. Variable breezes.
Comments: Day 7+1 Oregon Bicycle Ride Cave Junction, OR to Ashland, OR
Metric #21
Personal Bests: Most consecutive metric centuries (7); 7-day mileage (491.74).
Oy, what a long day! I woke up a number of times during the night to close and open the rainfly as the drizzle stopped and started. I lay around a bit this morning, waiting to see what the weather was going to do. It finally settled to a light drizzle, so got into my raingear in the tent, put away as much as possible, and then emerged from my cocoon. I loaded Trikey, ate a couple of granola bars, and headed out at the resort hour of 8:05. (My neighbors were sleeping the sleep of the young in love.)
I continued to get used to the heavy version of Trikey. My first short descent out of camp showed Trikey to be even more stable with a load. I hit 35 mph and Trikey felt solid as a rock.
It continued to drizzle intermittently, but my raingear did its job. All the same, I was happy to see Selma after 6.5 miles. But, I didn't find the hoped-for cafe -- just a grocery store and a convenience store with a sign for biscuits and gravy. Hey! That'll work! The nice lady behind the counter directed me to the cafe up the road once she realized I was looking for a meal and a dry place to sit. I thanked her, and sure enough, the promised Country Folks Restaurant was open just a half mile down the road.
I ordered hot chocolate and headed for the rest room to wash up. I looked in the mirror and understood the slightly wide-eyed expression the waitress had given me: I had some dried blood on my face from a nosebleed during the night. (I have been fighting nosebleeds for the last three days -- hot dry air and altitude).
The waitress was much more relaxed when a clean Mike sat back down at the counter. They had a "Cowboy Up" item that included three pancakes, choice of biscuits and gravy or toast, two slices of bacon, two sausages, and three eggs. I asked the waitress how big the pancakes were (one of my standard diner breakfast questions). She said, "Oh, about ten inches across." Gulp. I ordered the lesser version with three pancakes, two eggs, and bacon.
It still kicked my butt. That was the first time in probably 20 years that I haven't been able to finish a restaurant meal. The waitress turned out to be the owner. She told me that anyone who can eat the "Cowboy Up" gets their photo on a plaque, and that those who fail go in the scrapbook outlined in pink on the "cowgirls" page.
After a nice chat with her and her husband (cooking in the back), I promised to come back again sometime really hungry.
Back on the road, I had another short climb followed by a nice descent where I hit my top speed for the day. Wonder was near the bottom, so I stopped at the store to use the privy and buy some Gatorade. The sun was coming out and the rain had stopped, so I took off my raincoat and put on arm warmers instead.
At Wilderville, I left Hwy 199 for Fish Hatchery Rd, and later, Southside Rd. I rolled along through small hills for the next few miles before I stopped to take off arm warmers and switch rainpants to leg warmers. I continued on to Hwy 238 (Williams Hwy). I paused briefly at the old Williams Creek bridge, built in 1917 and one of only two spandrel arch bridges remaining in Oregon. It is a graceful little bridge -- hard to imagine it was only replaced in 1996, considering how narrow it is.
As I headed southeast into the beautiful Applegate Valley, I picked up a good tailwind. For the next 16 miles, I averaged a nice 15.0 mph with an average HR of only 128 bpm while gaining 426 feet of elevation. The valley was actually lush -- I haven't seen a place quite like it before.
All good things must come to an end, it seems, and my tailwind was no exception. As I left the Applegate Valley and headed due east to Ruch, the road also began to climb. I stopped in Ruch for a snack and removed my leg warmers, as it was sunny and getting warmer by the minute. I bought some more Gatorade at the grocery store (carpeted floors!), and then settled in for the 600-foot climb to Cady Rd.
The grade was easy -- an average of only 2.3% with a few 6-7% bits. I stopped briefly at the Log Town Cemetery -- the first cemetery I have seen in a forest like that. At Cady Rd, I left the official OBR route and began following Rob's suggested alternate route (through Jacksonville). It was a good choice.
I had a very nice descent into Jacksonville -- 2.7 miles at a 30 mph average. Jacksonville is a lovely historic town that merits a day to itself in the future. I stopped in a nice little city park to use the restroom and wash the worst of the sweat and grime off. I called Kim with an update, and an older couple struck up a nice conversation with me when I got off the phone. Trikes will do that....
I left Jacksonville on S. Stage Road -- in a bike lane! This was to be the theme for most of the rest of the ride -- either MUP or bike lane. How nice!
At this point, the ride was starting to get pretty long. I hadn't even ridden 50 miles yet, but I had done it with a lot of gear. I rolled along through wine country and gently rolling hills to Voorhies and then south to Phoenix. Along the way, I passed (going the other way) or was passed by, at least half a dozen road bikers. Only one of them acknowledged my hellos or waves. Funny how such a cycle-friendly area seems to generate such unfriendly cyclists.
In Phoenix, I had to hunt around a little for the Bear Creek Greenway MUP, but I found it eventually. For the next 6.5 miles, I had a very pleasant ride on this multi-use path. The first part was in very good condition. The last part had numerous root bumps and such, making the ride a bit bumpy. At least the bumps were marked with spray paint though. Unfortunately, the trail was under construction for the last part, forcing a one-mile detour on a narrow medium-traffic hilly road (Eagle Mill).
I bumbled along and picked up the OBR route again. Whose flippin' idea was it to run the route up the aptly named Mountain Ave with its 10% grade??? Especially right after losing the altitude a moment before on Hersey St? Grr. My knees were not at all amused by this climb.
I was definitely ready to be done. As I tried to get some cooldown time, my speeds dropped below 10 mph much of the time. I was starting to get a little bonky, but didn't realize it. I picked up another MUP along the railroad tracks and followed that past the SOU campus and through the cemetery. From there, it was only a couple of miles up Hwy 66 and 99 to my truck.
I finally pulled up behind the truck and just sat there for a few minutes. I had done it: seven straight days of metrics covering almost 492 miles and 30,530 feet of climbing (almost 1/3 of my climbing for the entire year to date!). I had had no significant mechanical problems. My body behaved well until the last part of the last day, when the extra weight was just a little more than I was ready for.
I was tired, but very, very happy. And hungry. After buying a half gallon of chocolate milk and some onion bagels, I hit the road for home. I felt a lot better after eating, and that chocolate milk was heaven. The only thing better was sleeping in my own bed that night next to the love of my life again (my wife, not my trike!).
Weather Conditions: Rain and drizzle in the night and morning, turning to mist and low clouds which burned off by mid-day. Sunny and warm in the afternoon, with puffy white clouds. Winds varying from none to 10-12 mph at times.
Took yesterday as a rest day. Had planned a recovery ride for today, but my knees told me it was not a good idea. Used the treadmill for an hour instead. Felt good.
Comments: Tried to catch the Wednesday morning ride with Salem Bike Club, but got to the rendezvous site a few minutes too late and they were already gone. So, I went off on a meander through the east valley.
Out Lardon/Kaufmann to Cascade Hwy, then south to State Street and back home.
Knees felt better today. Morning HR is starting to come down to normal levels (was up to 60-64 during OBR, now down to 54-56). Legs were a little bit stiff from fencing after a two-week absence. (Need to remember that next vacation.)
A nice ride today, except for the older woman who decided to slowly pass me (I was in the bike lane) while approaching State and Lancaster (we had a green light) and then execute a right turn five feet in front of me without signaling. Nice. And then she had the nerve to look surprised when I gave her the AirZound! (Interestingly, this produced a substantial spike in my HR.)
Comments: Metric #22
Thermometer ride
Total time: 7:50
This ride marked a PB for monthly miles: 721.02. Whoo-hoo!
This was three rides in one -- almost four.
I started out with intentions of a statute century, hoping for back-to-back centuries today and tomorrow. Alas, it was not to be.
I rode out to Howell Prairie Road and then north to Waconda Road, where I cut over to Hwy 99E. Along the way, I stopped at the Pioneer Cemetery off of Waconda and 72nd. This stretch if Waconda was new to me -- mostly nurseries and open fields. There was lots of corn (ears) by the side of the road -- a sign of the season.
The ride back to Salem on 99E was uneventful, except for an episode where I swore something was biting the back of my leg through the mesh seat. I stopped and looked, but no obvious source. I kept riding, and stopped a short time later when I felt it again. After an even more thorough look, I shrugged and rode on with no further problems. Hwy 99E was a little noisy, but there was a good shoulder and nice pavement, so the miles breezed by (avg 17.7 mph).
I had an interesting time figuring out how to get from westbound Chemawa Rd onto the Parkway MUP. It turns out that the powers-that-be have created a less-than-friendly little maze of crosswalks for cyclists and pedestrians to navigate. On the bright side, there is only about 100 yards of asphalt left to be installed before the MUP will run all the way out to Radiant Dr by the stadium, which will make northbound rides a bit easier.
I finally got on the MUP and rode back to the salle. The root bumps on the last section of MUP before Cherry Ave are getting worse and worse.... I gave my lesson at the salle, then rode downtown to get some lunch before meeting up with the WU bike club at 3:00.
Lunch was at Venti's. Had a nice falafel bowl and strawberry lemonade. Apparently they lost my order, but were apologetic at least. I scarfed and got to campus just in time.
There were 19 cyclists there. We went for an 8-mile ride out Pringle to Reed to Salem Industrial Park and back by way of Madrona. I learned a nice little shortcut to bypass the Pringle/Madrona intersection (via Edwards Dr and Georgia Ave).
I also learned that college cyclists do not wear HRMs, do not warm up, and go anaerobic up all hills. So much for my aerobic training day.... I also learned that the club needs to do some basic instruction in group ride etiquette in order to avoid earning the wrath of the drivers of Salem....
Back on campus, five or six of the guys said they wanted to go out for another hour. They were going the same way I wanted to go, so I tagged along. All was well until we got on River Rd. Then they dropped the hammer for the next 2.5 miles, averaging 22.7 mph.
Foolishly, I kept up with them until we got to a short climb. My HR averaged 160 for this stretch, completely hosing my workout. As we started up the climb, reason prevailed in my mind, and I dropped out in order to have a prayer of getting a century.
I eventually got my HR down into zone 3 at Halls Ferry. I should have just stopped and rested, but I thought I could just ease it down. Nope. Lesson learned.
I continued out to the Independence Bridge, which was my decision point as to whether to loop home via Independence Hwy or go farther south. I stopped, evaluated, and quickly decided the century was not going to happen today. I called Kim and then headed across the river and home.
I turned off Independence Hwy to take advantage of the quieter road and smoother paving of Greenwood Rd. Along the way, some chump in a beat-up small pickup zoomed me and threw change out the window. None of it hit me, but it was annoying.
Once on Hwy 22, the fun continued when two clowns in a jacked-up 4WD Ford pickup (late model, greenish-blue) decided it would be fun to slow down as they passed me, and then gun the engine, spewing a cloud of diesel smoke in my face. I choked, and they got the bird.
A few miles later, I passed the fuel co-op, and guess who was leaving the driveway just then? Yup. Another face full of diesel smoke. This time I called 911. I suspect Polk County SO had better things to do, but who knows?
I passed the pathetically closed Holman Wayside (closed due to Polk County homophobia).
And a short while later I was home, several lessons wiser.
Weather Conditions: Clear, except for a few morning clouds, dry. Variable wind at 3-9 mph, except for strengthening to 14 during the last hour.
Round and Round and 'Bent Outta Shape
