Spring came for the President’s Day weekend. It’s been cool in the mornings and warmer in the afternoons. All the way up to 60 on Monday afternoon.
The warm weather was just in time for the Cherry Pie Road Race. It’s a drag to ride in the peleton in the rain, so the sunny weather for the first road race of the season was especially welcome. It was a beautiful day and I felt good about the way I rode the race. I’m feeling more comfortable moving around the pack and rode most of the race exactly where I wanted to be, in the front 10 racers. There’s a good view, odds are crashes will be behind you, if you have to fade on the hills you won’t get spit out the back. My fitness allowed me to stay there all the way up to the final climb, where I faded on the uphill finish to place 20th out of 60 in the Masters 4/5 field. An OK early season result, on a glorious day for a bike race.
Monday was an even better day for a ride. Linda and I stayed in McMinnville Sunday night and I was planning on riding home. Luckily the wind was from the Northeast (cross- tailwind) for the one way ride. I found a wonderful stretch of road from Lafayette Highway to Amity. The picture above is between Amity and Perrydale, another one of my favorite areas to ride. I made the decision in Monmouth to take go via King’s Valley for some bonus miles and hills. The direct route home from Monmouth would have been 20 miles and mostly flat; the long way ended up more miles and plenty of hills. I used the whole day up riding and by the time I got to Corvallis it was already starting to get cooler. The rain is expected back on Tuesday, for at least a few more weeks of Oregon winter.
The warm weather was just in time for the Cherry Pie Road Race. It’s a drag to ride in the peleton in the rain, so the sunny weather for the first road race of the season was especially welcome. It was a beautiful day and I felt good about the way I rode the race. I’m feeling more comfortable moving around the pack and rode most of the race exactly where I wanted to be, in the front 10 racers. There’s a good view, odds are crashes will be behind you, if you have to fade on the hills you won’t get spit out the back. My fitness allowed me to stay there all the way up to the final climb, where I faded on the uphill finish to place 20th out of 60 in the Masters 4/5 field. An OK early season result, on a glorious day for a bike race.
Monday was an even better day for a ride. Linda and I stayed in McMinnville Sunday night and I was planning on riding home. Luckily the wind was from the Northeast (cross- tailwind) for the one way ride. I found a wonderful stretch of road from Lafayette Highway to Amity. The picture above is between Amity and Perrydale, another one of my favorite areas to ride. I made the decision in Monmouth to take go via King’s Valley for some bonus miles and hills. The direct route home from Monmouth would have been 20 miles and mostly flat; the long way ended up more miles and plenty of hills. I used the whole day up riding and by the time I got to Corvallis it was already starting to get cooler. The rain is expected back on Tuesday, for at least a few more weeks of Oregon winter.
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