Cycle Oregon: The Weekend III - Scenic Bikeway from Eugene to Oakland
Day 1 - (68.36 miles; 15.2mph average speed; 49.5mph max speed; 112 degrees high temp; 106 degrees in camp)
The morning started early to make the trip to the starting line in Eugene, OR. We left at 4:30am to make it by 6:30am since temps were predicted to be in the 100's again. We wanted to get out early to avoid the heat for as long as possible. No easy feat since it was over 80 at that time of the morning already and very humid which is all very unusual for Oregon. We managed to find the parking area, get our bags on the truck, and on our way before 7am under thankfully cloudy skies with a smattering of rain. It was more welcome than the blazing sunshine would have been.
We started out along the McKenzie river on a little park multi-use path. I missed a turn and almost dumped Jada off the bike after just a mile trying to get back on the path. On the whole, not the best way to start the day, but it was the worst that happened. We proceeded through the valley and into the foothills in and out of very light showers. We stopped at all of the rest stops to keep our fuel up. Each had a good assortment of snacks with PB&J sandwiches, cookies, fruit, and energy drinks. The third stop of the day had freshly made apple turn-overs. Man they were tasty. I probably shouldn't have eaten one, but it was just too good.
We survived 2 good climbs. The second of which started at Rice Hill (a stop along I-5) which was a killer. It was several miles long and very steep. We were crawling, but still making a respectable pace comparatively. Only the guys in team kits seemed to be passing us regularly, but we were also passing some people. Though at one point, I did find myself racing a butterfly. Jada was continually irritated by the guys calling out "could you go faster if she pedaled?" Or, "does it make you more aerodynamic if she puts her feet up like that?" We started under clouds, but the sun started coming out about 2/3's of the way up the climb, and as soon as the sun came out, it sucked all the air away. We continued to recite our mantra on the hills - "just keep swimming" from Finding Nemo. At the rest stop at the top of this climb, we talked to a guy who was watching his thermometer, and it had been in the upper 80's while under clouds, but as soon as the sun came out, it shot up to over 100 degrees in a matter of minutes. Later that night at announcements, the patron saint of Cycle Oregon, Jonathan Nicolas, announced it to be the hottest darn hill in Cycle Oregon history at 112 degrees. I don't think we were still on the hill at that point, thankfully. After the first downhill where we hit nearly 50mph, the last 25 miles was a death march into camp in very hot sun. I hadn't eaten or had enough to drink since I was bonking, but we still were pulling at least one person into Oakland. As we rounded the last turn, we found a wall that wasn't on the map leading up to the field where were going to camp. It was called high school hill. We rose to attack it standing together. Jada nearly made it all the way up standing, but had to sit just before the end. We still made it. And since we paid for the tent porter service this year, we didn't have to set up our tent. It was already set up for us and waiting. We didn't even have to carry our bags.
We headed to the showers in the high school which were ice cold. It felt awesome. It was much too hot to lay down in the tent to rest, so I found a bench in the shade to start writing this journal while waiting for Jada to come out of the shower. We sat there for an hour or so before Jada's scheduled massage where we found a better place to sit inside. The chairs in the waiting area were soft, and it was cooler though still not air conditioned. Dinner didn't start until 5pm, though the line started at 4:30pm. The walk down to town where the main stage was was too much to consider at that point. They served huge burritos for dinner which I shoveled down really quickly before I even realized it while talking to a retired couple from California sitting across from us. We rode down to town on a trailer that was running to the main stage. We stopped at a restaurant in town named Tolly's for hand-dipped shakes and a pie to cool down and call home. Then we laid in the grass to wait for evening announcements. After announcements, we skipped the band and went to bed. We elected to walk back up the hill, and then took the rain fly off the tent to sleep beneath the stars in an attempt to get cool. It actually worked. Sort of.
Day 2 - (72.2 miles; 14.3mph average speed; 43mph max speed; 104 max temp)
Day 2 got off to a slow start. We were up early to try to beat the heat again under clear skies and a beautiful sun rise. Breakfast didn't start until 6am, but we were in a long line waiting by 5:45am. It moved fast though. After some eggs, hashbrowns, and juice we got on the road. We warmed up quickly and started passing people even though we didn't feel like we were going that fast. The first climb of the day came up fast. We amused ourselves by taking self portraits while riding. They turned out ok even with my goofy self-portrait sneer. We were passed by a few, but we were passing some ourselves, so we were moving pretty well. The air was still cool, as we climbed through the trees. We made up some time on the descent to the first rest stop where Jada re-fueled with some strawberry pop-tarts. I wasn't hungry yet, but I grabbed a little something to eat on the road, and I worked on keeping my fluids up this day.
The next climb was the biggest and longest of the day at well over 1000 feet of climbing. It featured 3 separate mile long gravel sections. We grinded it out very well though it was a long slow climb. Somewhere near the top, we passed a tandem hauling what looked like a 4 year old in a trailer while we were being passed by another tandem. It was funny that we all converged at the same place. The tandem with the trailer flew by us on the back side of the climb towards the rest stop. We made a little more leisurely descent. At the rest stop, I filled up both of our camelbaks with ice to keep us cool for a little while longer. I tried to do the same at every stop.
We rode for a long ways on a private road owned by a timber company along a really big lake which I don't remember seeing the name of. It was a nice ride through the trees, but the temperature was starting to climb. The road took us into Cottage Grove, which is considered the "covered bridge capital of Oregon." We rode across one covered bridge and almost into another-luckily we decided to bypass it-as it turned out to only connect to the main road on one side.
By 11:00am, the coolness of the morning gave way to the sudden increase in temp, and with it the hot head wind that we followed into Eugene. But not without one last gift from the Oregon Department of Transportation - a newly tarred and chip sealed road up and over a 500 foot hill just south of Eugene. The heat coming off the road itself must have been over 100 degrees. The air was hot, the wind was hot, the road was hot. And it was steep. At the finish, someone aptly described it as like riding on a cast iron skillet. Half-way up the wonderful people of Cycle Oregon stationed a truck with cold water, but there was no way we were going to stop at that point. We powered over the hill and rode into town in the company of 7 or 8 other cyclists through the campus of University of Oregon (the Ducks as they are bizarrely known), and into the park where we started. We collapsed near the finish line in the shade and cool grass for a little while sucking down water and gatorade. It had been a good ride. We had our free lunch, filled out a survey, had a potty stop, retrieved our bags, changed in the field where everyone parked, and headed for home. Tired, hot, and happy. It was another fun and well supported Cycle Oregon ride. I can't wait for September when I get to do it again, but this time over 7 days.
Journal entry: August 1, 2006