Inversion Haiku

We’ve had an inversion this weekend. Cold settles into the valley overnight and then it takes all day to warm up. Sunday morning it was 28 degrees with brilliant sunshine and no wind when I left home on my mountain bike to meet the dirt bags at the Circle Bean. The 8:30 departure time came and went so I finished my coffee and headed out for a solo ride.

Riding alone was OK. I’m working through the sudden death of my friend Rosemarie last Sunday and used the steep climb up Chip Ross Park to compose a letter to her husband in my mind. It was good to be alone on a Sunday morning in the Church of the Spoked Wheel. God’s hand work was all around. At the top of the hill I came out of the trees into the brilliant sunshine with the letter about half done.

The singletrack to the base of Dan’s Trail required my full attention. It’s been dry for more than a week and the trail is all rideable downhill. Climbing up Dan’s toward Dimple Hill, the ground had thawed enough that there were a few muddy spots. A couple required short walks. At one point I came around a corner and was accelerating up a short steep pitch when the rear wheel encountered a root. The wheel spun with a br-a-a-a-p sound as the lugs slipped past the root. Forward motion stopped and the wheel went sideways along the root. I was down in an instant, still clipped into the bike. The trail was soft duff and damp soil, so there was no pain, but it took a while to get unclipped and back up.

Dimple Hill is about 2500’ and just poking into the warm air above the inversion. It was in the 50’s and calm at the peak, but there was a steady wind rustling the tops of the trees. I put all the clothes I’d shed on the way up back on and plunged back down the cold. By the time I got down to Oak Creek there was ice next to the road in the shady spots. Out in the sun on the way home it rapidly warmed up and by the time I got to Bald Hill Park there were plenty of families and dog owners enjoying the sun.

Inversion Haiku

Frozen mud below
Climbing the cold shady trail
Warm spring wind above

Fall mountain biking haiku

Cross season is over for me. It was fun, but I'm tired of racing for a while. Time for a short break then start training for the spring racing season and my goal for the year, Race Across Oregon, solo.

I have been doing most of my rides for the past couple of weeks in the Macdonald forest, solo, with friends and this weekend with my son Danny. It was a glorius fall, warm weather until the end of November. Winter came late, but it looks like it's almost here.

Copper colored leaves
Blanket the muddy trail like
Bran flakes for the earth

I took the long way home yesterday. I managed to leave work by quarter to five, unusually early for this phase of the project. It was a clear and unseasonably warm day, just begging for a bike ride. A winter weight long sleeve jersey and tights were required for the morning commute, but on the way uphill into MacDonald forest the afternoon sun was so warm I overheated in shorts and a jersey. I climbed Upper Dan’s trail to the top of Dimple hill and was on top of the world exactly one hour after leaving work. The Willamette valley was spread out below me in the late afternoon sun and snow covered Mt Jefferson was visible 70 miles away.

I started back down the trail and then the gravel spur connecting to 600 road. The road was a golden tunnel, with the sun low on the horizon to my left filtering through the alder leaves like a horizontal spotlight. It was a long straight downhill, and my shadow was projected on the hillside to my right, keeping up as I accelerated down the hill. After a minute the sun was below the horizon and I was back in a darkening green tunnel. A long cold gravel downhill lead out to the pavement and civilization. There was a clear view of the sky on Oak Creek road, with an almost full moon in a cloudless blue sky. The twilight was plenty bright to ride in, especially when I took the bike path around Bald Hill and was completely out of the trees. There was another beautiful view across the hay field towards the Benton County fair. The field was a smooth vibrant green six inch deep green shag carpet under a dark blue sky. I rolled into my driveway just as it was getting dark.

Fall mountain biking haiku:
Sunny afternoon
Tacky trail with muddy spots
They will be ice soon

Another beautiful weekend for bicycling, it could be the last nice day before winter. That excuse for a bike ride was used Saturday, Sunday and could have been used tonight on the ride home. This is the time of year when the nice days are precious and every one should be spent on a bicycle.

Saturday was an easy day; cloudy and cool in the morning. I went for a ride with the Mid Valley Bicycle Club and let the fast guys disappear in the distance while I spun along and chatted with my friend. He was taking it easy to peak for a duathlon, and I was taking it easy with Sunday’s race in mind. Funny how racing can blunt the competitive urges during training rides.

Sunday was another pre-dawn departure for a Cross Crusade Cyclocross race. The venue at Horning’s Hideout was above the valley fog, so it was already sunny for my 9:00 start. Parts of the course were difficult for me, particularly the long straight downhills across bumpy grass fields. The runups and climbs were more fun. The best part of all was the lead in and the barriers in front of the finish line. I got to pre-ride it a couple of times, and did it five times in the race. Each time was faster than the last, and every time I just had to grin.

Cyclocross haiku:
Fast rolling lead in
Up a steep man-high grass ramp;
Dismount, leap, leap, mount