Ride Statistics

Miles: 254.72
Average: 13.10
Max Speed: 41.00
Elevation Gain: 7569

Oregon Randonneur 400 km.

Posted 11:59 PM by John Henry

Ride Statistics

Miles: 37.18
Average: 14.80
Max Speed: 37.00
Elevation Gain: 1026

SBC Wednesday Night Ride.

Posted 9:16 PM by John Henry

May Madness

May Statistics

April Miles: 1420.62
April Elevation: 60,453
Year to Date Miles: 3983.69
Year to Date Elevation: 148,361

This was an exceptional month for me. I doubled both my April Miles and Elevation gain. I guess I could say that I was in search of that place called "over training". I think I found it.

The month started off with something I have never done before - a Flèche Ouragan. At the end of this 24 ride, my team and I had ridden 269 miles. Next up was a Saturday Century at 97 miles. The next weekend started early with the Race Across Oregon Training Camp during which I rode 430 miles in four days, and they very hot days in Central Oregon. If that was not enough, the next weekend I did my first 600 km Brevet (358 miles). But the month was not done as there was a fifth weekend in May. So, I did another Saturday Century.

I should be tapering my miles, but June looks to be a very hard month. I start will a 400 km Brevet which will earn me my Super Randonneur award. Also, I plan on riding the Salem Bicycle Club's Watermelon Double Century later in the month.

Posted 8:09 PM by John Henry

Ride Statistics

Miles: 97.26
Average: 16.20
Max Speed: 42.50
Elevation Gain: 3270

SBC Saturday Century. We left the red lot and rode to Ankeny Wildlife Reserve via River and Riverside Roads. Crossing the Buena Vista Ferry an hour after it opened, we were told by the ferry operator that up to that point in time, only cyclists had used the ferry; no cars as of yet. We joined the SBC shorter route, but did not see anyone until the King's Valley Store where we stopped for lunch. We left the store with the others, but Mark was feeling frisky and we soon dropped everyone on the rollers-hills on Kings Valley Highway. Our next stop was Ricks Cafe in Monmounth, where we snacked with a couple riding a co-motion tandem. Lastly, instead of heading directly back to Salem, we extended the ride up to Zena Road so our ending mileage would be respectable.

Posted 11:59 PM by John Henry

Ride Statistics

Miles: 158.08
Average: 14.30
Max Speed: 34.00
Elevation Gain: 2869

Oregon Randonneur 600km - Day Two.

Posted 11:59 PM by John Henry

Ride Statistics

Miles: 220.13
Average: 14.70
Max Speed: 40.10
Elevation Gain: 8514

Oregon Randonneur 600km - Day One.

Posted 11:59 PM by John Henry

Race Across Oregon Camp

Portland to Maupin via Highway 216
Distance: 116.62
Elevation Gain: 7350


Maupin to Spray
Distance: 100.98
Elevation Gain: 8427


Long Creek to Prinville
Distance: 133.51
Elevation Gain: 5816


Warm Springs to Timberline Lodge
Distance: 74.58
Elevation Gain: 7975

Posted 6:59 PM by John Henry

Ride Statistics

Miles: 74.58
Average: 11.10
Max Speed: 41.60
Elevation Gain: 7975

Race Across Oregon Camp Day Four - Warm Springs to Timberline Lodge. The was the last day of camp and I was feeling the miles. So, in order to finish at a reasonable time, I was sagged up the route to Warm Springs in the morning. I missed a lot of early, cool flat miles so I could ride the hilly, hot miles. My plan was successful. I finished at Timberline Lodge just a few minutes after the rest of the group and we got off the mountain and back to Portland at a reasonable time/

Posted 3:13 PM by John Henry

Ride Statistics

Miles: 100.94
Average: 11.40
Max Speed: 41.80
Elevation Gain: 8427

Race Across Oregon Camp - Day Two The route was from Maupin to Long Creek, but I got off the bike in Spray. The non-seasonal heat got to me on the fourth (of five) climbs. I rode till I reached 100 miles and it took me ten hours to do so.

Ride Statistics

Miles: 133.51
Average: 15.10
Max Speed: 40.00
Elevation Gain: 5816

Race Across Oregon Camp - Day Three. The route was from Long Creek to Prinville, and I rode the entire distance. The heat was worst today; I saw 114° on my HAC4 bike computer during the last 17 mile climb of the day. Then, I had 30 miles of stiff headwind all of the way to the hotel. Just another character building experience.

Posted 9:34 PM by John Henry

Ride Statistics

Miles: 121.19
Average: 14.40
Max Speed: 40.00
Elevation Gain: 7350

Race Across Oregon Camp - Day One - Portland to Maupin. The morning broke with a slight cloud cover which we enjoyed as the forecast was for 90° plus. We rode as a group (the seven campers) until the first hill where I dropped off of the back. I stayed off of the back all day expect for Jody and Bill. Jody in not used to the climbing, and Bill tired over time. The route was not the Official RAO route due to snow closures. We took Hwy 26 all of the way to Hwy 216. Then took 216 all of the way to Hwy 97 where we had a choice. We could turn right and ride downhill to the hotel, or we could turn left and do the Ring of Fire night loop for extra miles. I turned to the left. The loop was fun and very hot. But when I finished the night loop, I was not done. I decided to add extra, bonus miles and did the steep portion of Bake Oven Road. And it was a Bake Oven; it was 96°! Tomorrow, we cycle over five climbs, ride 154 miles and go to Long Creek. I understand that all communication (including cell / telephone / internet) is down so I will not be able to post again until Saturday.

Posted 8:28 PM by John Henry

I'm a RAO Camper!

Yes, tomorrow I start the Race Across Oregon Four Day Camp. Four wonderful days of riding the Race Across Oregon route. I am so excited.

What could make it better? Well, tons of heat! The forecast for tomorrow is for a high of 90° and the rest of the week is only going to get hotter. Yum!

Posted 9:27 PM by John Henry

Saturday Century

Ride Statistics

Miles: 97.44
Average: 15.90
Max Speed: 38.00
Elevation Gain: 2584

SBC Saturday Century. We had four riders in addition to ourselves. We headed north to St. Paul where Brandon discovered he had a broken spoke. So we headed to Newburg and it's bike shop. The shop did fix the spoke, but it took a while. After the repair, we had lunch. With the original route no longer a possibility, we head south along 99W (what a busy road!) to Dayton and then to Grand Inland, the Wheatland Ferry and back to Salem.

Posted 10:00 PM by John Henry

Ride Statistics

Miles: 36.26
Average: 14.70
Max Speed: 29.40
Elevation Gain: 746

SBC Wednesday Night Ride. The wind continues so we road the fast tandem. On the way home, while attempting to negotiate the Keizer Station underpass, we dropped the chain in between the rear cassette and the spokes. We had to call Martin for rescue.

Posted 10:00 PM by John Henry

Ride Statistics

Miles: 22.35
Average: 16.70
Max Speed: 27.70
Elevation Gain: 285

Scott's Tuesday Night Ride. I took it easier than usual, but the peddling was still hard.

Posted 10:00 PM by John Henry

Ride Statistics

Miles: 46.57
Average: 16.80
Max Speed: 35.00
Elevation Gain: 923

SBC Monday Night Ride. This was suppose to be a recovery ride but it turned into a fast ride early and a limp home ride late. Perhaps the heavy west wind had something to do with my late weakness.

Posted 10:00 PM by John Henry

Ride Statistics

Miles: 269.91
Average: 14.00
Max Speed: 37.00
Elevation Gain: 10872

Oregon Randonneurs Fleche Ouragan. Eugene to Sisters to Forest Grove.


The Route


The Team ready to ride at 6:00 am, Saturday Morning.


Mark, waiting in the snow.


The after lunch in Sisters, Or.


Sandy, achieving the summit of Santiam Pass.


Paul, with the summit sigh.


A cyclist's nightmare, a closed store!


Where to stay warm in the middle of the night? In the Post Office!

Posted 3:49 PM by John Henry

Saturday's Route

2008 Oregon Randonneurs Fleche

Posted 10:40 PM by John Henry

Wednesday Night Ride

Ride Statistics

Miles: 26.98
Average: 14.00
Max Speed: 27.90
Elevation Gain: 810

SBC Wednesday Night Ride. Took it very easy as I have a very long ride on Saturday.

April Statistics

April Miles: 721.87
April Elevation: 30,715
Year to Date Miles: 2563.07
Year to Date Elevation: 87,908

The heavy rain this month decreased my mileage. Last year, my April miles totaled 825.36, but I am still ahead of last year. It rained 19 of the 30 days in April, as the following graphic shows...

Posted 10:00 PM by John Henry

Oregon Randonneurs Three Capes Loop Brevet

Ride Statistics

Miles: 187.08
Average: 14.60
Max Speed: 40.50
Elevation Gain: 6828

Oregon Randonneur Three Capes 300K. Very good weather! Rode with Sal on the first two hills and Paul and Mark J. for the major portion of the ride. With the easy early pace, I did finish strong and felt I had another metric in my legs.


Overlooking Capes Mears


The view from Cape Lookout


Climbing in the Oregon Sun!


Elevation Graph

Posted 11:00 PM by John Henry

Saturday's Route

The Oregon Randonneur's Three Cape 300K Brevet.

Posted 10:00 PM by John Henry

Ride Statistics

Miles: 90.03
Average: 12.60
Max Speed: 42.90
Elevation Gain: 6095

Cherry of a Ride. The forecast was for bad weather including snow, but we had a clear blue sky but with cold temps and a bit of west wind.

Cherry of a Ride

This little known ride is a real gem. The 2008 edition was the third year for the ride and Joanne and I have done all three.

After a continental at the local Super 8 motel where we spent the night, we check out and drove the short distance to the start of the ride. After paying our day of ride registration we were on the course at 7:45 am. We head through a quiet downtown The Dalles and then up Lower 8 Mile Road to Emerson Loop Rd. After climbing up to an elevation of 1148 feet, began a steep decent. After we had pick up speed on the Cannondale tandem, I took my eyes off of the road to look at my computer to see how fast we were going. I saw 39 and thought that was about what I expected. Then it came to me. I had set the display of my HAC4 computer to temperature, not current speed. 39° was the temperature, not our current speed!

The route is passes the first rest stop to an out on 8 Mile Road to where it turns to gravel and then back to the same rest stop. As Joanne and I were feeling well, we blew by the rest stop and continued on toward the gravel. This section of the road is genital rollers but it continues to climb. Since it is an out and back, we were able to wave "Hello" to several riders who were coming back as we headed out. After turning around, we picked up speed and were soon passing the riders we had waved hello to. One jumped on our wheel. We were happy to pull him along until he decided he had enough fun and returned to his left behind girlfriend.

The first rest stop on the 2008 Cherry of a Ride.

After leaving the first rest stop, we descend back to The Dallas via 8 Mile Road. The wind was in our face and as such we just putted along not working too hard. The route took us back through downtown The Dalles where a raised, red Toyota pickup truck tailgated us. The road was two lanes wide, but Big Red was happy to follow us through town at 20 mph. Jealous I guess.

We took the River Front Trail, a multipurpose path along the Columbia River before heading westward Highway 30. This is a gem of a road, lightly trafficked and with great views of the Columbia River Gorge.

Looking westward on Highway 30 outside of The Dalles

There is one thing about Highway 30, it climbs up to Rowena Crest Overlook. The climb is 600 feet in just 3 miles. But once on top, you are rewarded great views of the Gorge.

Looking east from the Rowena Crest Overlook

After leaving the Overlook, we descend into the small town of Mosier where we found the local cafe, the HWY 30 Cafe. Joanne and I must return and spend some time exploring this cafe.

HWY 30 Cafe in Mosier

But, across the street, one can buy a classic International Dump Truck if you have $4,500.

International Dump Truck for Sale in Mosier

We decided to skip the 10 miles through the Mosier Tunnels as we have been there, done that and scattered the tourists before. Instead, we headed up the toughest hill of the day - Dry Creek Road. This rises 1,700 feet in seven miles with several steep sections. During this climb several singles passed us. As they passed, they praised us. Seems climbing hills on a tandem is an achievement to one riding a single. To further there impression, we blew by the water stop on the hill and continued to climb to the top, where we enjoyed a fast, but windy descent.

Reaching the bottom of the hill, we could have turned to the left and returned to The Dallas in four short and flat miles. But no, we turned to the right and headed toward the final climb of the day. By now we were tired and we just limped along, hoping that beyond the next turn we would find the top of the last hill. We had that thought many times as there were many turns that were not the last turn before the final descent. Finally, it came, we descended and the ride was finally over.


2008 Cherry of a Ride Elevation Graph

Posted 7:56 PM by John Henry

Three Capes Postponed!

This weekend's event is postponed until next Saturday (Apr 26), same time, same location. We will be using the Three Capes route unless more unforeseen circumstances indicate otherwise. The event is still an ACP event.

Posted 10:00 PM by John Henry

Spring in Oregon

After suffering through 90° heat in California last week, I come home to Oregon to find a much different reality. This, from our Randonneur RBA...

"With snow forecast for the Three Capes route on Saturday, 3 capes route will not be run.

I'm currently working on a route that is in the Willamette Valley and does not go above 500 feet. The start would be the same and you'd travel as far south as Albany before returning to Forest Grove. I will be preparing the materials for this alternate route tonight. Start location is the same.

Still, if the weather looks anywhere close to freezing in the valley I will be postponing the ride until next weekend (Apr 26). I will make that decision before Thursday evening."

Posted 11:23 AM by John Henry

Ride Statistics

Miles: 28.68
Average: 13.60
Max Speed: 41.70
Elevation Gain: 1906

Tuesday Night Tualatin Ride. Wet and Winded. Legs and lungs tired after Saturday's 12 hour time trial. But felt better the more I rode. Weather started out cloudy but turned to rain later. Rode with Mike and Angela and their blue tandem.

Posted 10:00 PM by John Henry

Posted 3:44 PM by John Henry

Ride Statistics

Miles: 163.10
Average: 14.50
Max Speed: 42.00
Elevation Gain: 8750

Davis 12 Hour Challenge. Very hot day - 91 degrees. Core body temp and stomach issues caused me to stop at 12 hours.



Comparing the 2007 and the 2008 Davis 12 Hour Challenge. Notice 2008 temperature (pink) graph!

Posted 10:00 PM by John Henry

Goals for the Davis 24 Challenge

I have been quite this week. I only road my bike on Wednesday, and did not work out at the gym at all. Why? Because I was tapering for the Davis 24 Challenge, a 24 hour time trial.

I did this ride last year, or I did the 12 hour version. I did 177.5 miles with an average of 15.5. Total elevation gain was over 8300 feet according to my HAC4. The reason I cut my ride short at 12 hours was that I had foot problems. I forgot to wear my orthotics.

This year, I have better orthotics, better training, but more weight (by 10 pounds). Also, the temperature is foretast to be 86°, 10° warmer than last year.

Goals:

1) Ride for 24 hours
2) Average 15.0 mph for the long day loop
3) Have a negative split; have a faster average on the second 12 hours.

Very high goals, but one must always reach.

Posted 5:07 AM by John Henry

Ride Statistics

Miles: 18.66
Average: 14.80
Max Speed: 27.50
Elevation Gain: 373

SBC Wednesday Night Ride. I took it easy tonight as I am tapering in preparation of the Davis 24 Challenge, a 24 hour time trial. I was successful in keeping my pace down and not working hard. Weather was cloudy and cool, but no rain and the roads were dry. We had a total of five folks, Joanne, Gary, Don (new) and Jeff who was back from Texas.

Posted 10:00 PM by John Henry

Ride Statistics

Miles: 124.20
Average: 15.50
Max Speed: 36.60
Elevation Gain: 3346

Oregon Randonneur Birkie Brevet.

Posted 10:00 PM by John Henry

Del's Tuesday Ride Writeup

We fittingly started our season on April Fool's Day this year.
Weather was sunny and although only 54 degrees it was an
excellent evening to ride. Much better than the rain, snow and
hail (sometimes all at the same time) I had been commuting in
the last 5 days. After a lot of emailing and other sleuthing, I
have 45 riders listed by name, and I know there are still a few
I don't know about. Please remember that signing in (legibly)
is a requirement, an important part of keeping the rides legal.
It is also a huge help to me in writing up these recaps and just
trying to keep track of rider's welfare. I pretend like I don't
really care, but have been known to wait around in the parking
lot after dark for overdue riders. The people who read this
missive all sign in, but some of your friends perhaps do not
know they are supposed to, so please remind them.

Mike and Dave made up the first early group, on the road
before I arrived at about 5:45 to sign in a bunch of eagerly
waiting guys. More than a dozen left the park about 5 or 10
minutes before six, including a few that didn't realize this was
not the "main bunch". And finally we had nearly 30 in the
actual peloton. We were just a few minutes late and a bit
confused as quite a few riders arrived late due to flat tires
and other mishaps en route to the start. There were several
new riders, including several Portland Velo riders who I did
not meet and could not keep up with. It was great to see
Pat Murphy back on his bike after missing the last half of
2007 recovering from a high-speed close encounter with a
vehicle. Pat was riding strong again, but cautiously. A new
rider was Sam Huffman, one of the stronger randonneur
riders, who recorded an interesting gps track of today's ride.

We started at an easy pace, delayed by stop lights in the
first few blocks. As usual, the pace increased significantly
as we left the city and enjoyed the rolling open roads. The
pack split up on high-speed Mountain Road and the yoyo
effects of the Advance roller-coaster. I've been too busy
to scout or pre-ride any routes lately, so was surprised at
how bad the torn up roads were through Wilsonville. Thanks
to everybody for riding sensibly through that pothole minefield.
It was also the opportunity for a few of us off-the-back chasers
to finally regain contact for just a few minutes before getting
shelled again by the diminishing pack on Wilsonville Road.
I spent a lot of the ride chasing with Jay, within sight of the
pack but not even close to contact. Frustrating. Wish I
could tell you the play-by-play on the climbs, but I was out
of it. I did hear that anonymous Mitch Lee perhaps "won" the
kom, with John Hatfield, Ken James and Mark Steger close.
Thanks for the surprise regrouping at the top of McConnell
I got to see the fast guys again briefly. Thanks to all for a
fun ride on a pleasant evening.

Posted 2:37 PM by John Henry