Cycle Oregon XVI

    Way back in February as my Valentine's day gift, Jada gave me guilt-free permission to ride Cycle Oregon this year (my first since 2000) if I decided I wanted to after viewing the route at the big unavailing party.  I attended the unvailing of the route hosted at the Nike campus in Beaverton this year, and decided to do it.  It fit my main criteria: a loop route in a part of the state I've never been.  This year's route started and ended in Baker City.  The main attraction was Hell's Canyon.  Our stops each night would be Farewell Bend state park; Cambridge, ID (marking the first time CO had ever left the state); Halfway; Wallowa Lake;  LaGrande; and finally back to Baker City.  (For those of you checking your maps right now, that puts you in the upper northeast corner of the state above I-84 and 308 miles from Portland.)  This time, I talked my friend Pete into joining me promising a good time and a mild looking route for beginners.  He accepted.

    As you may have read in my other journals, this tour was going to get off to a rocky start.  Pete and I were going to be at a wedding the night before we were to be in Baker City for registration and Day 1.  The wedding started at 4pm, and we ducked out right after dinner (~8pm) so I could catch some sleep before getting up again at midnight to make the 5.5 hour drive to Baker City.  I estimated if we did that, we could get there just in time for the registration to open for the morning, get the car parked in long-term parking, throw the bags on the truck, eat breakfast, and hit the road for the first day of riding.  It surprisingly happened just like that.  The registration even opened a little bit before 6am so we could get a bit of a jump start.  We left our bags with one of the volunteers (and forgot to ask which truck they would go on), and we got in line for breakfast.  Not too surprisingly, we ran into some friends from work. (Pete would actually meet several of his co-workers and former manager on the trip.)  Intel was pretty well represented here again this year.

    Day 1 was a nice and easy 50 mile run into Farewell Bend.  Pete and I were having fun attacking and counter-attacking each other on the back roads as we followed I-84 out of Baker City and most of the way down to Farewell Bend.  It wasn't too chilly this morning, and it was nice and sunny all day.  There was just one long climb at the end of the day, and it was only 2 mile bump of 700 feet which gave way to an incredible view of Farewell Bend and a nice straight downhill all the way to the entrance.  We got in to camp pretty early, and found a nice place to stake our claim.  After about 30 minutes of searching, we finally found our bags, got our tent set up and headed over to the shower truck.  We waited in line for about 15 minutes while the water heated up.  We were standing behind local Portland weather "celebrity" and Cycle Oregon regular Dave Salesky in line, and we had a nice chat about the ride and such.  We finally got back to the tent around 1:30pm or so.  It was time to crash.  It was very pleasant and sunny out still so we just napped on the grass.   I can honestly say that was the first time I have ever fallen asleep like that.  I probably only slept about an hour, but that was pretty good.  I was feeling pretty good for not having slept in over 24 hours.  Nothing of note really happened that evening.  I watched some native American dancers and drummers perform before evening announcements while I snacked on my post dinner Ben & Jerry's fix (they were a sponsor of the ride this year, and were nice enough to follow us around in their truck every day some times appearing at the occassional rest stop.  What a nice bunch of guys and gals).  An interesting band took the stage after announcements, but I figured our tent was close enough to the main stage to hear them, so I went back and fell promptly to sleep after preparing my gear for the next day.  Over night, there were high winds and rain.  Luckily Pete's tent is made for mountain climbing, so we were prepared.  I heard stories the following day of those who weren't.

    Day 2 presented us with a surprisingly sunny morning though quite cool.  Little did we know that this would be the last time we would see the sun for a while.  The road started off flat enough.  I got my first puncture of the trip on a goat's head thorn...in my front tire, no less.  That just doesn't happen.  (Pete made yet another trip without a single flat, I might add)  Also, this marks the first time Cycle Oregon has left the state.  We entered Idaho by the time we got to the rest stop at Weiser (pronounced weezer), the wind had picking up, and the sun had gone.  From here, the road started heading upwards.  The climb must not have been all that bad since I don't remember, but it was really, really windy.  The day's mileage was a nice 57.  I do remember it was a little bit rainy and cold at the shower truck.  I remember it raining while I was napping in the tent.  Pete was off walking around town.  By the time I had gotten up and walked into town, the sun had come back out a little bit, and it actually got a little warm.  I was hunting for a phone.  After waiting 30 minutes for the phone, I found that it didn't take my calling card.  So I bought a post card at the post office, and walked back to camp to hang out.  We listened to announcements, and we watched an incredible moon rise over the main stage.  It was a full face.  Mars was also still visible after it's close pass with the Earth.  Another windy night.  I almost forgot my favorite part of the day.  Those of you who know me, and/or have visited me here in Oregon know of my affection for the "Congestion" road sign that is popular out here.  Well, Idaho has one that is just as funny, and we believe may have been sponsored by the religious right (possibly Mrs. Gore herself).  The road sign simply reads, "Watch out for rock".  Needless to say, every time I saw this sign, I turned to Pete, put my fist in the air and yelled, "watch out for rock!" in my best metal voice.  Ah, good times.

    Day 3 started with a cold 16 mile climb gaining 1000 feet followed by a fun, cold, twisty downhill over freshly wetted roads through a forest.  A rest stop awaited us at the bottom so Pete could catch up with me again.  We then followed an Idaho Power road next to the Snake River to the mouth of Hell's Canyon and our lunch stop.  We rolled into the lunch stop at 10.30am.  I remember this because the cut off to make the 20 mile ride into the canyon up to the Hell's Canyon Dam Visitors Center was 11am.  It was already starting to rain on us at lunch, so we decided to pass on the option today (which would have given us a whopping 108 miles), and just head on in to Halfway, OR (another 57 mile day).  We were able to get our tent up and shower just before the rain really started coming down.  I walked around town in the rain looking for a phone.  I called our day care provider's first to talk to Ellen.  She was up, but not very talkative.  I walked back to tent city, and they actually had phones setup for once.  I was able to talk to Jada this time.  It was raining pretty well at this point.  I knew Pete was still napping, so I went back into town and found a covered bench to sit down, read the paper, and write a couple post cards.  It stopped raining after dinner, and the Trail Band performed after announcements.  Then off to bed.

    Day 4 was the biggy.  A 77 mile romp with a 6 mile option (which I did this day) over 4 summits.  The first 10 miles were slightly downhill.  Pete lead us out of town at a good clip.  The sun flirted with us momentarily, but it was not to be.  Right after we turned off the main road onto the forest road, the sprinkles started, the road began it's 18 mile ascent, and the temp started to drop.  I don't think it was over 50 degrees until the very end of the day.  Shortly after we started the first climb, I kept dropping Pete without realizing it.  At the rest stop, we agreed that I could go on ahead at my own pace, and I'd wait for him at the next stop.  Then I'd take off again, and I'd meet him at the summit.  The option was just after the first peak (a 2500 foot elevation gain) and added an additional 300 feet to my gain on the day.  Unfortunately, the "scenic" overlook wasn't all that scenic.  Hell's canyon was complete socked in.  It was a good climb all the same followed by a great downhill.  I met up with Pete again at the lunch stop where some bow hunters were camping and had made fires for us completely unprompted if you believe Jonathan Nicholas (the guy who created this ride).  I avoided the fires even though it was only 45 degrees in the passes since I didn't want to get cold all over again when I stepped away.  (lunch was tuna salad today, by the way.  I choked as much of it down as I could, and relied on my cookie for most of my nutrition.  Luckily, by this time, I couldn't really taste anything anyway.)  I pulled Pete up the next hill for a while until my pace cracked him again.  The final snack stop was at the summit of the last hill.  Pete and I met up again for the final 10 mile descent into the Pine Valley where the sun was finally starting to come out ever so slightly accompanied by a cross-wind.  Pete and I formed a little echelon into Joseph, and then I broke wind (you don't know how true that is) for him to the lake.  Once we were on Wallowa Lake's rim road, the wind seemed to become a tail wind, so we cranked along pretty well the final 6 miles into camp.  Our overall riding time was about 6 hours 26 minutes.  There was no line at the shower since most people were still out on the course, but man it was chilly.  A big, gray cloud came in and parked itself over the lake between the mountains for the next 2 days of our stay here dropping rain on us occasionally.  The camp ground had deer (big deer) that were very unafraid of people.  They were grazing next to the beer garden and dinner tent.  We were asked not to feed them, but they didn't leave.  At one point, a dog spooked one, and it came running back through the camp area, past the main stage, and down between the food trucks and the food tent.  The entertainment for that evening was the bike rodeo put on by the mechanics from the Bike Gallery.  It's how they blow-off steam after working nearly 24 hours a day for the whole week.  Plus it's lots of fun.   We had front row seats, and almost paid for it a few times when they almost rode past the cones. People were still being sagged in from the course at 8:30pm.  It was a tough day.  I turned in early since I was planning on riding the century the next day, but I left myself an out if I wasn't feeling well.

    Day 5 was the "rest" day.  There was also a planned out and back route to Flora that measured 100 miles.  I decided to head out and aim for the full century.  I was in clouds and sprinkles on the 6 miles out of the Wallowa Lake canyon.  Then the clouds lightened up on the ride into Enterprise (home of Mike Rich, screen writer for the movies Finding Forrester and The Rookie).  I was more or less in sunny-ish skies the rest of the day with a few dense cloudy sprinkly areas.  The nice thing was that the ride out to Flora had a nice tail to cross-wind which made it go pretty well.  It was extremely windy on the return trip though, and I wasn't strong enough to catch on with either of the pace lines that passed me.  So I fought it alone, and there were times when the wind made it feel like I was going backwards.  My total round trip time was identical to the previous day at 6 hours, 26 minutes.  I heard that only about 87 people of the 2000 cyclists on Cycle Oregon partook of the century day.  I think most people spent the day in Joseph and Enterprise setting single day spending records.  Pete spent the day resting.  He deserved it.  I know I'm difficult to ride with in the mountains because I have a speed, and I stick to it.  It's not good to mess with a climbing rhythm that works.  He browsed the towns and napped.  I got back around 2.30pm for a shower and short nap before dinner.  My legs still felt fine.  I guess I prepared well enough for this one.

    Day 6 was largely downhill, but it was one of those unsatisfying downhill's with a head wind where you have to really grind on the pedals to make any headway.  We managed to catch on to a pace line for 5 miles into the first water stop, so that helped.  Pete and I headed one up for a while, but it grew larger than 7 riders which was the limit set by our state police escorts, so we dropped off.  After the lunch stop, the road turned away from the wind and the sun was actually staying out.  Pete and I were crusing along at 23 miles per hour for most of the second half of the ride.  There was 1 tough climb just after lunch that left me hungry again by the time I got to the top.  Luckily I had saved some pop tarts from the first rest stop to snack on while waiting for Pete.  Only 12 minutes ticked by while I was waiting.  He was getting stronger as the week went on.  The ride into La Grande was fast, but on chip seal roads which sap strength.  They were long, straight country roads that have right-angle turns in them, so we'd be rolling at 20+ mph for a while, then hook into the wind and drop to 12 mph.  Luckily, the final road into La Grande was with the wind.  We camped in a terrific sports field.  On the way into camp, I dropped my bike off at the Community Cycling Center booth for a well deserved detail and re-lube job.  La Grande closed down it's main street for the party, and we all had to bus into town (or ride).  That evening's entertainment was Quarter Flash!  That's right, the '80's band that did the song "Harden my heart".  Marv and Rindy Ross have been involved with Cycle Oregon since I've been doing it.  Marv runs the company that does the sound for the evening's entertainment, and Rindy founded the Trail Band.  Unfortunately, I was too exhausted to stay up for the act, and I need to pick up my bike from the detailing booth.  I had been having a harder and harder time sleeping at night, but on the plus side, the skies were completely clear, and we were treated to another nearly full moon rise.  I barely needed my head lamp.

    The next morning, we were up early again for the last day so we could get back to Baker City and on the road as early as possible.  Day 6 started off cold.  It was clear over night, so morning temps were around 33 degrees F, but at least it was sunny so we weren't complaining.  The route was mostly uphill for the first section.  We hit lunch at 9:30am just before the first big climb (1000ft elevation gain in 6 miles).  Only 7 minutes went by as I waited for Pete at the summit.  I barely had time to get out my sunscreen before he came over the rise.  He was getting stronger and stronger.  Then there were some nice long downhills followed by a great little series of hills into the final rest stop just 6 miles from the finish.  For the first time since the first day, I removed my long sleeved jersey in favor of short sleeves.  Pete led the way into Baker City to a heroes welcome.  Then it was a 2 mile ride to long-term parking where our bags and a shower truck were waiting.  Much to our surprise, we didn't have to wait in a line at the shower truck.  We had each packed a separate change of clothes and a good towel and left them in the car for the week just in case we'd be able to take a shower when we got in.

    We made good time on the way home, and the most important thing was that I got home in time to see my ladies before they went to bed.

    Some extra details on how I spent my days for future reference.  A BKM for Cycle Oregon, if you will.:

    Night before:  Each night, I would prepare my cycling clothes for the next day and keep them in the tent with me. 

    Morning tear down:  In the morning, I would try to wake up around 5:30am, hit the blue rooms, and get dressed.  After getting dressed, I would get my sleeping bag stuffed back in the bag followed by getting the tent torn down and packed.  Then the re-organization of the duffle bag once more to get everything in there.  Most mornings, one of the high school kids with a 4 wheeler would be by to pick up the bag just as we finished shoving things in there.  All we needed to know from them is which truck they were putting it in. 

    Breakfast:  I prefered to take the eggs and whatever meat (except the bacon and sausage because it would cold and pretty unedible by the time we reached the table anyway).  If oatmeal was available, I'd take that.  Otherwise I would fill a bowl with granola, raisins, and almond pieces.  Grab a muffin or danish, and finally a cup of yogurt.  If it's warm, I'd drink OJ.  Otherwise, hot chocolate was the order of the day (and it was most mornings on this trip).  I poured the yogurt over the granola mix, and ate that.  We'd read the special Cycle Oregonian until finished and be out on the road by 6.45 or 7am.  I like to be out just as the sun is coming up...when there is sun, that is.  Not as much traffic, car or bike.  Plus it gives me time to take the options when they exist, and spend a little extra time in the rest stops if I so choose.  NOt to mention beating the heat if it is going to be a hot day.  Sure, we eat lunch most days before 10am, but that's not such a bad thing by then.  The rest stops have plenty of snacks to stock up on for the time in camp before dinner.

    Camp: As soon as I get in, I take my bike to find a nice camp site and stake it out with my gear stripped whilly-nilly.  Then I go find my bag on the truck.  Some days it's on top, most it's on the bottom.  (By getting up earlier, it's easier to find the bag since it's at the end of the row.)  Then I setup the tent and head for the shower.  After shower, Pete introduced me to a wonderful thing called an afternoon nap.  I've never done that prior to this tour, but it's definitely something I'll be adding in the future.

    Dinner and evening entertainment:  By the time I reach camp, I'm looking for a phone to call home.  This year they didn't provide a phone trailer except in Halfway, so I wait in line.  4.30pm is the start of dinner, and I'm usually one of the first in line.  I like to take my time, and read the Oregonian if I'm able.  After dinner, I wander around and settle in front of  the main stage to catch the local entertainment before evening announcements.  It would normally be here that I write my journal for the day, but I forgot an empty notebook this time.

    Bed time: Shortly after announcements, I listen to a little bit of the evening entertainment, and then head off to my tent to change into my jammies and brush my teeth.  And that brings us back to the beginning where I lay out all my shtuff for the next day.

    Below is the list of items I brought with me on this year's tour: