This spring has been a series of long rides, building the endurance base for RAO. After a humbling 300K, I did a hard ride around Alsea falls and then a confidence building 200 mile weekend to the coast. I followed the route Corvallis, Blodgett, Nashville, Siletz, Lincoln City to Pacific city and met Linda at a B&B. Coincidentally, there were some bicycle racers that I knew at the B&B and our breakfast conversation comparing Randonneuring to road racing was like describing a strange planet. The route back was via the Little Nestucca, Grande Ronde, Wilamina, Dallas and Monmouth. I rode my own pace and felt strong rolling back to Corvallis. The ride confirmed that the difficulties on the 300K could be avoided with rest, adequate food and reasonable pacing.
I took another rest week then three progressively harder weekend rides. The Covered Bridges 400K was flat and fairly fast. I rode with Kramer and Dave “Ready to Ride” Rowe. We rode with Dick Weber for a while around the halfway point, but he was riding at a pace slightly above what I could sustain. We let him go, and then caught sight of him again with 50k to go. He saw us and picked up the pace until he was out of sight. He came in coincident with us and confessed to a minor wrong turn. The lesson learned was to ride at my own pace and watch the route.
The next week was SIR’s Ephrata 400K. It was a hilly 400K with plenty of wind and heat. I rode much of it alone, good practice for RAO. I had a tough patch on Loup Loup Pass during the heat of the day, when I couldn’t eat for a while, but was feeling good by the end of the ride and pounded in the finish.
The following week was the XTR 600K pre-ride. It was a hot and hilly 600K. The write up’s on Kramer’s Blog; the short version was beautiful scenery, pretty hot, plenty of climbing and a good time. It was 3/4 of an RAO in the same area, Rando style. It was excellent endurance training.
I took a week off the bike and helped Kramer with the actual XTR 600K. My job was to man a secret control and then sweep (not sag) the course to deal with any heat related problems. I brushed up on first aid for heat stroke and heat exhaustion and stocked the cooler with ice and water. I essentially moved through the controls very near the closing times and got to see another side of the Brevet than I usually do. The temperature was about 5 degrees hotter than the pre-ride and for several people that meant they couldn’t really eat and digest food. That slowed them way down and they were up against time pressure, which meant they didn’t get much sleep or recovery time. They certainly showed a lot of persistence in the face of adversity.
After my rest week, it was time to head east again for a Credit Card Tour. My friend Brian has organized these tours for the past 11 years and this is only the second one I’ve been able to attend. Luckily it was on some of the same roads that the XTR and RAO use. The plan was four days on fast bikes with minimal stuff (carry one set of off bike clothes, wear one set of bike clothes, wash them every night). I rode the Serotta I plan to use on RAO with a large Vaude seat pack. Brian, John Wilson, Harry Phinney and I carpooled from Corvallis to the start at Prineville where we met our friend Dave Gast. Harry had fallen at home before the ride, and showed up with a sore wrist. We advised him to suck it up, probably just a sprain. The ride from Prineville along the top of Lake Billy Chinook was nice. By the time we got to the descent to Lake Simtustus, there were black storm clouds behind us and we could hear thunder. Even with a fast descent we couldn’t beat the storm and we took shelter in a Café in Warm Springs just as the gust front arrived. We ate sandwiches as the water poured down and heard reports of 60 mph winds and golf ball size hail just down the road, in Bend. We rode up toward Simnasho and got detoured to Kahneeta (incorrectly) by a downed power line. The director of security drove us back up around the power line and to the top of the hill. We missed a great climb, but with the detour our total distance to Maupin was still 104 miles.
We overnighted at the Imperial Lodge on the Deschutes in Maupin. The next morning we said good bye to Harry as he headed home to get his wrist checked (turned out it was broken). We continued north on River Road then climbed out of the canyon to lunch at Moro. A tailwind blew us through the wind farms to the John Day river crossing and then into Condon. At Condon we had great milkshakes at the soda fountain and an excellent steak dinner at the Elks Lodge.
The next day we raced the rain toward Heppner and took a right at Hardman ridge. We were in a short cold rain and then rolled south through high forests toward Kahler Basin. The road through the basin was new to all of us and was one of the highlights of the trip. It emptied into the John Day canyon at Spray, a short down river grade to our overnight at the Service Creek Lodge. That was an excellent stop with friendly people and outstanding food.
The last day we had to push the pace to get Brian home for a graduation party. We rode Oregon 207 to Mitchell then Highway 26 over Ochoco for the long pedaling downhill into Prineville. Overall it was a great trip and a good reminder why credit card tours are my favorite type of riding.
The credit card tour was the transition between endurance training and intensity training for RAO. It was essentially a 600K spread over 4 days and the recovery every night let me push harder than Rando pace on the climbs. After that I did a three week block of increasing intensity, hill repeats and multiple trips up Mary’s peak and Alsea falls. My last training ride on 6/28 was a race pace century with a climb up Mary’s Peak, Alsea Falls, over to Harrisburg and back up the valley into a strong headwind.
The last couple of weeks were just easy daily commutes and plenty of work on the logistics of bike, wheel and spare bike prep. I felt ready and rested by the time of RAO.
Showing posts with label brevet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label brevet. Show all posts
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Monday, June 16, 2008
SIR Four Passes 600K
The Seattle International Randonnoeur’s Four Passes 600K has been covered by John Kramer in his blog at http://randobiker.blogspot.com/2008/06/four-passes-ride-report.html
Here’s my report on the ride and some reflections about bicycling and the price of gas. On the way up Kramer was dozing in the backseat and Dave and I were talking about the implications of $4, then $6 then $8 gasoline. For Yuppie bike riders like us, it doesn’t look too bad. We both commute alternatively to our lucrative jobs. I can go a week and only use the car on the weekend to drive to a brevet or race. For me, the personal impact will be a significant impact in a very small percentage of my cash flow. If I can afford expensive bikes for my hobby/lifestyle, I can afford to spend more for gas to drive to an event. Perhaps there’d be a little more push to carpool to the races and brevets, but not real suffering.
A bigger positive personal impact will be getting some of the yahoos off the roads. As I’ve extended my distance cycling ability I’ve ended up riding more in the rural/urban transition zones. This year I’ve ridden a couple of times into and across Portland and in the exurbs of Seattle and have noticed a lot more jerks. There seem to be a lot of angry twenty-somethings in loud jacked up pickup trucks on the road. Both Dave and I commented on how much more aggressive drivers get as you get closer to the urban areas. Maybe it’s that they have less time to spare for courtesy, or maybe the time in traffic makes them perpetually angry. The biker’s answer to them as they roar by and shout “get off the road” is a silent “just wait for $8 a gallon gasoline, you’ll be walking.”
The Four Passes 600K was epic. A steep climb after the start spread out the group and then Dave got a flat. I stayed with him to help fix it and Kramer kept rolling in anticipation of hills to come. As we fixed the flat (twice) the balance of the riders rolled past us. The flat pushed us all the way to the back of the group. An hour into the ride we were DFL. Then the rain started. We slowly caught the slower riders and rolled back up toward the middle of the stream. The flat let us ride with and chat with some riders we don’t often see on a ride. After a long chase we finally caught Kramer and rolled with him for the rest of the ride. The three of us were using Perpetuum liquid food, so our control and food stops were very short and we passed groups of Randos at every control. Steven’s pass was a steady climb in rain and increasing wind. My new booties didn’t pass the test. At the top I put on all my clothes but the first part of the descent was still very cold. We rolled out on the Wenatchee River with a tailwind and patches of blue sky. The weather warmed up as we headed east along the roaring river. The high water made a great show and we rolled along easily taking pictures and videos. Somebody said it was like vicarious whitewater rafting.
Blewett was a long steady uphill, not too steep. The descent was cool in the shade.
We turned towards Ellensburg and out of the trees and the wind took over as the central character of the ride. We had a 35 mph tail-cross wind with gusts to 45. It was a wild ride, with us feeling every upwind detail of the terrain. We were able to coast uphill at 20mph.
Eventually, we turned the corner and headed south with a strong crosswind. It wasn’t too bad because we entered the scenic Yakima River Canyon. It was early evening with long shadows as we rolled along the river, sheltered by the wind. The road climbed up the canyon wall a couple of spots and we were halfway up the wall when we startled a Golden Eagle along the side of the road. We were only twenty feet away as he swooped out over the canyon to get some flying speed and then hooked back across the road about 25 yards ahead of us. He was angling across the road so it was easy to see that his wingspan was about a lane. He landed back on the sidehill above us and immediately disappeared in the brush.
After we exited the canyon, we set up for night riding and turned the corner back east. The wind was still strong and gusty but now it was a headwind as we climbed the approach to White Pass. Slow progress as we calculated and recalculated our arrival time. We refueled at the very welcome “secret” control and eventually reached the overnight stop before 2 AM. We had food, showers, three hours of sleep in real beds and were ready to finish the climb up White Pass at 6AM. It was a brilliant cool morning and a wonderful climb to the pass.
The descent was steep, fast and cold. Hot coffee and blankets at the control allowed us to get warm again before the uphill roll to the base of Cayuse. The day was getting warmer, so I stripped down to just shorts and a jersey for the climb. It was the last pass and I was feeling good so I pushed hard and caught and passed about eight Randos on the climb. Several had been keeping a constant gap on us since the start, but there were also a few that were ahead of us because they’d skipped sleeping the night before. That’s the hard way to make time. At the top I put all my clothes back on for the descent, regrouped with Kramer and Dave and then we bombed down the hill. It’s the last portion of the Ramrod course, so the descent was familiar and so was the afternoon headwind. We kept the stops short at the last couple of controls and collected or passed other Randos at each one. The last portion of the ride featured another flat, caused by a roofing nail through one of my Panaracer Pasela Tourguards. They’re robust to glass and rocks, but the nail was too much. The last portion through Redmond and Issaquah was another reminder about how great it is to ride far away from cities. We pulled in at quarter to five in the afternoon, 35 hours and 45 minutes after the start. A great ride: enough suffering in the rain on the first day, the wind overnight and the 20K feet of climbing to make it an epic; enough sleep to keep it safe; beautiful scenery and good riding companions.
We grabbed a bite to eat and piled into Dave’s car for the drive back south. On the way back, Kramer talked about the impact his social worker wife sees of the higher gasoline prices on the rural poor. It’s a real hardship for people without much income and will cause them to make hard decisions, between food and travel and perhaps giving up their roots in the land.
At dinner tonight I discussed this with Linda and a couple of my sons, including the economics major. In Europe, particularly Spain (where we lived from ’95 to ’98) they’ve had $8/gallon gas for a long time, coupled with below replacement birth rates. There was news in the Spanish paper from time to time when services were withdrawn from villages that had slipped below the economically viable threshold. In Spain, it was a government decision to make a town into a ghost town. While bicycle touring across northern Spain a few years ago, I rode through several depopulated towns. I’ve also been to some ghost towns in the US, depopulated by economic changes. In the US, economic forces like $8/gallon gas will cause gradual declines, and individuals will each have to make their own decision when to move to a more economically sustainable place. The value of transport is changing relative to the cost of labor, and the economy will drive people to make hard decisions.
It’ll be wrenching and difficult for people to change, but in the end we’ll have higher density which will (the optimistic view) lead to more social connections. Alternative travel (walking and bicycling) will reduce obesity and be a natural fitness program. Hopefully there will be fewer jerks and more bicyclists on the road. But there will be ghost towns.
Here’s my report on the ride and some reflections about bicycling and the price of gas. On the way up Kramer was dozing in the backseat and Dave and I were talking about the implications of $4, then $6 then $8 gasoline. For Yuppie bike riders like us, it doesn’t look too bad. We both commute alternatively to our lucrative jobs. I can go a week and only use the car on the weekend to drive to a brevet or race. For me, the personal impact will be a significant impact in a very small percentage of my cash flow. If I can afford expensive bikes for my hobby/lifestyle, I can afford to spend more for gas to drive to an event. Perhaps there’d be a little more push to carpool to the races and brevets, but not real suffering.
A bigger positive personal impact will be getting some of the yahoos off the roads. As I’ve extended my distance cycling ability I’ve ended up riding more in the rural/urban transition zones. This year I’ve ridden a couple of times into and across Portland and in the exurbs of Seattle and have noticed a lot more jerks. There seem to be a lot of angry twenty-somethings in loud jacked up pickup trucks on the road. Both Dave and I commented on how much more aggressive drivers get as you get closer to the urban areas. Maybe it’s that they have less time to spare for courtesy, or maybe the time in traffic makes them perpetually angry. The biker’s answer to them as they roar by and shout “get off the road” is a silent “just wait for $8 a gallon gasoline, you’ll be walking.”
The Four Passes 600K was epic. A steep climb after the start spread out the group and then Dave got a flat. I stayed with him to help fix it and Kramer kept rolling in anticipation of hills to come. As we fixed the flat (twice) the balance of the riders rolled past us. The flat pushed us all the way to the back of the group. An hour into the ride we were DFL. Then the rain started. We slowly caught the slower riders and rolled back up toward the middle of the stream. The flat let us ride with and chat with some riders we don’t often see on a ride. After a long chase we finally caught Kramer and rolled with him for the rest of the ride. The three of us were using Perpetuum liquid food, so our control and food stops were very short and we passed groups of Randos at every control. Steven’s pass was a steady climb in rain and increasing wind. My new booties didn’t pass the test. At the top I put on all my clothes but the first part of the descent was still very cold. We rolled out on the Wenatchee River with a tailwind and patches of blue sky. The weather warmed up as we headed east along the roaring river. The high water made a great show and we rolled along easily taking pictures and videos. Somebody said it was like vicarious whitewater rafting.
Blewett was a long steady uphill, not too steep. The descent was cool in the shade.
We turned towards Ellensburg and out of the trees and the wind took over as the central character of the ride. We had a 35 mph tail-cross wind with gusts to 45. It was a wild ride, with us feeling every upwind detail of the terrain. We were able to coast uphill at 20mph.
Eventually, we turned the corner and headed south with a strong crosswind. It wasn’t too bad because we entered the scenic Yakima River Canyon. It was early evening with long shadows as we rolled along the river, sheltered by the wind. The road climbed up the canyon wall a couple of spots and we were halfway up the wall when we startled a Golden Eagle along the side of the road. We were only twenty feet away as he swooped out over the canyon to get some flying speed and then hooked back across the road about 25 yards ahead of us. He was angling across the road so it was easy to see that his wingspan was about a lane. He landed back on the sidehill above us and immediately disappeared in the brush.
After we exited the canyon, we set up for night riding and turned the corner back east. The wind was still strong and gusty but now it was a headwind as we climbed the approach to White Pass. Slow progress as we calculated and recalculated our arrival time. We refueled at the very welcome “secret” control and eventually reached the overnight stop before 2 AM. We had food, showers, three hours of sleep in real beds and were ready to finish the climb up White Pass at 6AM. It was a brilliant cool morning and a wonderful climb to the pass.
The descent was steep, fast and cold. Hot coffee and blankets at the control allowed us to get warm again before the uphill roll to the base of Cayuse. The day was getting warmer, so I stripped down to just shorts and a jersey for the climb. It was the last pass and I was feeling good so I pushed hard and caught and passed about eight Randos on the climb. Several had been keeping a constant gap on us since the start, but there were also a few that were ahead of us because they’d skipped sleeping the night before. That’s the hard way to make time. At the top I put all my clothes back on for the descent, regrouped with Kramer and Dave and then we bombed down the hill. It’s the last portion of the Ramrod course, so the descent was familiar and so was the afternoon headwind. We kept the stops short at the last couple of controls and collected or passed other Randos at each one. The last portion of the ride featured another flat, caused by a roofing nail through one of my Panaracer Pasela Tourguards. They’re robust to glass and rocks, but the nail was too much. The last portion through Redmond and Issaquah was another reminder about how great it is to ride far away from cities. We pulled in at quarter to five in the afternoon, 35 hours and 45 minutes after the start. A great ride: enough suffering in the rain on the first day, the wind overnight and the 20K feet of climbing to make it an epic; enough sleep to keep it safe; beautiful scenery and good riding companions.
We grabbed a bite to eat and piled into Dave’s car for the drive back south. On the way back, Kramer talked about the impact his social worker wife sees of the higher gasoline prices on the rural poor. It’s a real hardship for people without much income and will cause them to make hard decisions, between food and travel and perhaps giving up their roots in the land.
At dinner tonight I discussed this with Linda and a couple of my sons, including the economics major. In Europe, particularly Spain (where we lived from ’95 to ’98) they’ve had $8/gallon gas for a long time, coupled with below replacement birth rates. There was news in the Spanish paper from time to time when services were withdrawn from villages that had slipped below the economically viable threshold. In Spain, it was a government decision to make a town into a ghost town. While bicycle touring across northern Spain a few years ago, I rode through several depopulated towns. I’ve also been to some ghost towns in the US, depopulated by economic changes. In the US, economic forces like $8/gallon gas will cause gradual declines, and individuals will each have to make their own decision when to move to a more economically sustainable place. The value of transport is changing relative to the cost of labor, and the economy will drive people to make hard decisions.
It’ll be wrenching and difficult for people to change, but in the end we’ll have higher density which will (the optimistic view) lead to more social connections. Alternative travel (walking and bicycling) will reduce obesity and be a natural fitness program. Hopefully there will be fewer jerks and more bicyclists on the road. But there will be ghost towns.
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