Day 0: Paisley
Date: 9/9/00
Weather: Sunny. Mid 70's.
After ~6 hours of driving, Jada and I reached the town of
Paisley. the population is 350 people, and it is primarily a ranching
community. This was Jada's first Cycle Oregon experience so she got to see
first hand what the first day is all about. Since she is not an official
participant, she wasn't allowed to eat the food provided, but she did a
very good job of packing cold and dry food for snacking, lunch, dinner, and
breakfast. However, she was allowed to eat with me and watch the opening
ceremonies.
After setting up camp and registering, we went for lunch at
the Homestead restaurant. Jada's sandwich was made with love, and mine was
made with beef. Then we chilled to watch local talent under the tent at
the main stage. We ate our dinner (w/ chocolate mousse cake! mmm), watched
the opening ceremonies, and then went to bed after the evening announcements (it
was 8.30am!). It was pretty soft ground on the field we were on, so I
slept OK even though I was very warm all night.
Day1: Paisley to Silver Lake
Date: 9/10/00
Distance: 51.19miles
Average Speed: 15.9mph
Weather: Sunny and very windy. Mid 70's.
I saw Jada off this morning after we had breakfast
together. My camp tear-down routine is a little rusty. Then I was
off on my first day. A fairly easy 52 miler with an optional 40 mile
addition at the end. Pretty much every one was adopting a wait and see
attitude towards the option.
The morning temperature was cool. Probably just above
32 or so, but the sun was out, and we were ready to ride. The road was
highway 31. It followed the contour of Summer Lake on our right and Winter
Ridge on our left. The lake doesn't actually have any water in it at
the moment. It is just a vast place holder if a lake should decide to take
up residence there.
The road itself didn't have many potholes, but it was made of
energy-sapping, constantly-jarring pebbles. It was mostly downhill though,
but a slight wind was making its way over the ridge. After moving up over
a short climb through Winter Ridge, the wind started. For the final 10
miles, I was sputtering along into a vicious head wind. It just stole the
last of my energy and left me spent and hoping that my legs would carry me
through to Silver Lake.
I made it just ahead of the baggage trucks at about
11.10am. So I staked out my camp site and went to help unload the luggage
trucks (first I ate some chips and cookies I had saved from lunch). In the
process of unloading, I managed to scrape my face on someone's garbage can they
had used to pack. No good deed goes unpunished, I guess.
I then went for a shower. The water was warmed
perfectly. However, when I got out, I realized I had forgotten to bring my
towel to the shower truck. (I swear this happened to me last time on the
first day also). So I put my cycling shorts, and walked dripping back to
my tent for the towel where I dried off. Then it was back to the truck to
run a comb through my hair and brush my teeth. Then I saw my injury in the
mirror and went to the med tent to get a cleaned up.
Now I'm in the midst of Team Bag Balm who showed up after I
had already made camp. I still have 2 hours before dinner. I need to
go pick up a new rear-view mirror because while setting up my tent, the wind
blew my bike over and snapped it off. That's ok. It didn't work well
for me anyway. Jada called just after my shower to let me know she made it
home ok. Now I can stop worrying and start missing her.
CO log supplemental: I wasn't able to purchase a new rear-view
mirror. I hope I don't get in trouble. The Bike Gallery is expecting
more in on Wednesday...Of course, we'll be in Bend, so I can go to any number of
bike shops. I'm just not going to tell anyone and see what happens.
I met a tandeming couple at dinner. They (John and
Kathy) met at COIX and have been tandeming for 3 years together. The yare
just now starting to get more fluid. They suggested trying to get into the
Oregon Bike Ride. It's a similar ride to CO, but they only let in 300
people. And it is held in August. I'll have to try to look into it
since Jada can never do CO because she is back to school in September, and does
not get any personal days for that time period.
The air is getting more chilly now as the sun sets and we all
wait for evening announcements. Everyone I've talked to or over heard
today were planning to attempt the option, but the 10 miles into the wind sucked
it out of them. Speaking of wind, that seems to have died down also.
Finally, this year's CD of choice is a Tom Petty album. I don't know the
name of it. I'm going to bed after announcements again tonight. Jada
won't be home yet, but I'm tired. Possibly no good night call tonight.
Day2: Silver Lake to La Pine
Date: 9/11/00
Distance: 88.88miles
Average Speed: 16.9mph
Weather: Sunny. High 80's. Low 30's.
Another cold morning. People were breaking camp
early this morning to try to get out ahead of the wind. It was 5:15am when
I got up. It was a good thing that I did too because the line for
breakfast was already very long. I didn't see any Cycle Oregonians.
I'll have to check later.
I got out at about 6:40am heading straight into the
sun. I decided to do the option which added 20 miles even though I had
already ridden the roads it was on before. Punishment, basically, for my
lack of training this year. It was neat though as we rode in and out of
the fog. I could just make out the few other brave souls who also did the
option. I didn't catch up with them until after the first water
stop. I joined 3 other riders after Christmas Valley, and we ran a pace
line at about 18mph to the next rest stop 17 miles away. It sure saved my
legs.
Then it was on to Fort Rock for lunch. I was thinking
that it would be at the entrance to the park so it would be easy to take a trip
to the cave where they found the 13,000 year old sandles, bu it would have been
another 6 miles plus a mile hike to the cave. They had a shuttle bus, but
they didn't have room for everyone. So I skipped it.
Instead, I headed out to the next water stop where I did a
very typically Dave thing. I filled up both bottles and took off for the
next run. I was playing my CO drinking game (see a sign, take a drink) when I
realized that I had left both bottles on the bumper of the water truck. So
I adopted some anti-dehydration techniques I've picked up over the years:
breathe with your mouth shut, drop speed, and hope for a sag wagon with
water. After about 10 miles, I found one. They gave me a bottle of
water. I made it the rest of the way with that. I'm hoping that
they'll turn up at the lost and found later.
I'm at camp now in LaPine. My bike should be clean
shortly. They have a tent set up here for clean and wax for $13.
Oh! On the option I forgot to mention the
"fogbow" I saw. It was a rainbow that was just bright white
against the gray background. Since I was in the line at the time, I didn't
stop, but it wouldn't have turned out anyway.
It also took me a while to find my bag. They told me it
was on truck 4 when the kids put it on this morning, but after walking around
forever, I started looking in other trucks. I found it on truck
5.
Dinner was good. Still no sign of my water bottles at
lost and found, but they gave me one of the Nike ACG ones to tide me over.
It's still warm out. I'm burned on my legs and probably face. My
feet are nicely tanned in the Teva pattern. I'm getting ready to head back
to the main stage for announcements after getting shoes and a jacket.
The family with the triple are behind me tonight at
camp. A father with his 2 daughters are riding it. KGW's weather
man, Dave Salesky, is camped across the aisle from me.
Day3: La Pine to Bend
Date: 9/12/00
Distance: 66.96miles
Average Speed: 16.4mph
Weather: Sunny. 90/34
Am I at an age where I need to start packing ibuprofen for
my achy joints? My knees hurt so bad this morning that it was nearly
unbearable. It didn't help that it was also 34 degrees, and we were riding
through cold morning fog that was moistening my clothes and my spirits. My
left lower back was also hurting pretty badly. But enough of my bitching.
We left the vast openness of the Great Basin area to the
sporadic trees and sand of the High Desert. We rode the scenic highway
which travels along the high lakes region nestled near Mt. Bachelor, Three
Sisters, and Broken Top. These lakes were around 4000-5000 feet in
elevation. the lunch stop was at Elk Lake at around 4400 feet. It
was perfectly flat and calm. These lakes are fed by the snow packs and
rain, but have no outlet. Similar to the now empty lakes of the Great
Basin. Prior to lunch, we followed the Deschutes River.
The real climbing began after lunch. I adjusted my seat
by about 0.25 inches to try to help my ailing knees (by the way, I met the guy
who has the blow up doll at lunch. I didn't ask. he mentioned it to
his buddies). The seat adjustment helped. The first few hills to the
next water stop were hard on my legs, especially after lunch, but the climbs
were very moderate. I stopped at the water stop before the next big climb,
and got my water bottles back! She saved them assuming that I would come
back to find them! The stop was just on the opposite side of Mt. Bachelor
facing the newer ski runs.
Then the real climbing began. The climb up to the main
lodge. It was a steep 5 mile climb. I started out slow, and found my
groove singing to myself (Queen and Eric Clapton songs), and I started passing
people. FOr some reason I seem to get stronger on climbs as they wear
on. Finally, a guy came up behind me and said I was looking great.
He had been trying to catch up with me for a while, but wasn't making much head
way. I got on his wheel for a little while, but it threw off my rhythm. So
I backed off and got my pace again as I powered up to the lodge. I had no
idea there was a parking lot right beneath the big blue lift just outside the
lodge when all the snow is gone since during the winter, the road we had just
climbed is closed due to the heavy snow.
Then it was all downhill to the Inn of the Seven Mountains
(Incidentally, I can't actually see any mountains from here). I glanced
down occasionally and was hitting 45mph, and 30mph while pedaling. It is
tiring to be in an aerodynamic tuck for 14 miles. I got in and set up
camp. The shower trucks weren't ready yet, but there were showers in the
pool house that I used. I spent $7 for lunch to tide me over until dinner.
I'm wasting time writing in my journal until 3pm when I can
try to call Jada at school.
The problem with climbing well like today is it makes me
believe I can tackle the option tomorrow. We'll see. More later.
Dave's Log, Supplemental: Dinner was good - chicken fajitas. I talked with some more folks to pass some time. One was an internist with a joint doctor. She suggested Advil for my knees. Settling down for announcements, I finally pulled off the dead nail on my right big toe. It was hurting when I wore socks. Pondering the route tomorrow. So far, I'm still planning to do it. Unless it is too cloudy or rainy. There's no point in hauling my ass up McKenzie Pass if there's no view. I just found out that the McKenzie Pass option is closed due to a chance of thunderstorms (30% according to Dave Salesky). What'll I do now? I guess I'll just pack rain gear, and ride to Sisters.
Day4: Bend-Sisters-Bend
Date: 9/13/00
Distance: 95.5miles
Average Speed: 16.1mph
Weather: Sunny. 90/40
I packed my rain gear and headed out into the beautiful
sunny morning to Sisters. About 3 miles from the camp site, I rode through
some glass and punctured. Other than that, the day went well. I made
it to the first water stop just up the road from the Tumalo Camp site Ryan,
Dave, and I camped at for the last 2 years to do some mountain biking. The
water stop had a bike tech with a pump so I was able to get the proper tire
pressure after the flat.
The ride to Sisters was round about, but the last 10 miles
were on highway 20. I went ahead and had lunch while I tried to decide
whether or not to do the ride up McKenzie Pass anyway. The weather still
looked great. Sun was shining. No clouds around. Some other
people were going up. They just said the course was closed, and if we
decided to go we wouldn't be supported. It was only 15 miles to the summit
at the Dee Wright Observatory. So I set out past the course closed sign.
It was a long, slow climb, but not overly difficult.
The view from the top was really interesting and gorgeous...in a very barren
sort of way. The observatory is made of lava rocks and situated in the
middle of a 65 acre lava field nestled in between Mt. Washington and Three
Sisters. There are vistas of Broken Top, Three Fingered Jack, and Mt.
Jefferson. The observatory itself looked like a turret on a castle.
The weather held the whole time. Lots of people went up. I passed
several on the way up who were on the way down. I also passed many while I
was on the way down who were heading up. The ride down was fast and curvy.
At the bottom I saw a sag wagon starting its way up the closed route. I
figured they would send one up just to get a count.
The ride back to camp was hot, windy, and painful. I
made it back around 2.45pm, but I was dragging the whole time. I bought
some Advil and water. Then I called Jada. She has no idea I already
ordered flowers for her birthday. I ordered them Monday from La
Pine. Now I'm starving. 10 minutes until dinner.
MMMmmm. Dinner. We had spaghetti. It was
good. Cheese cake was desert, but that wasn't enough for me. Oh
no. I had to find the last pint of Ben & Jerry's Phish Food at the
little market when I was just looking for an ice cream sandwich. I'm
almost out of cash now, so I have to stop buying things. Good thing
too. I don't think I'm losing any weight on this ride. :) But
I'm re-stocking my supply of Clif bars. Tomorrow, they're going to have
Clif Shots at one of the stops. I'm curious to try it. That's out
100 mile day.
I'm so sleepy right now, but I bet I have trouble sleeping
again tonight. Everyone will be getting up early tomorrow for the
century. I think there are quite a few century virgins this year.
The profile looks good though. A very downhill trend with stops in Madras
and Smith Rock State Park. For now, I'm just chillin' on the grass waiting
for announcements. It's getting cloudy now. It should trap heat in
tonight, and make it a warmer start in the morning.
Day5: Bend to Antelope
Date: 9/14/00
Distance: 100miles
Average Speed: 16.5mph
Weather: Sunny. 90's/40's
Happy Birthday, Jada!
The ride today was hot and long. 100 miles following
the 95 I did yesterday was tough. I started off the day by tossing my
things in a truck without looking at the number. I assumed it was
#1. I was right! Yea!
Not much to talk about on this ride really, and after 100
miles in this heat, I don't have the energy to remember everything. We had
a water stop at Smith Rock State Park. What a cool place. I'll have
to come back with Jada and hike it some time. At the last stop I had a
Vanilla Clif Shot. It was good. I swallowed. I was surprised,
but everything tastes good when you've been on your bike for 6 hours. Like
I said, it was a long, hot day. I'll write more if I'm up to it later.
Dinner was great. Prime rib. Most of mine was
fat, but the meat portion was delicious. I'm waiting for the gear drop
truck to show up with my stuff. It's already too late for it to actually
get dry before tomorrow, but that's ok. I'll manage. I helped unload
the first truck load. My knees really hurt again today, but they were
joined by my right Achilles tendon. I'm dropping a couple Advil before I
go to bed tonight. Only 2 more days to nurse it through and 115
miles.
Antelope is really small. It is nestled in between
parched grazing land of brown and golden rolling hills. It is the only
thing for miles. Back in the 1980's, it was the home of a cult (Bagwan or
Rashneesh or something like that), but internal struggles brought the cult down,
and now it is a friendly little community again. We're camping in a field
at the center of town. I doubt I'll be sleeping well tonight on the lumpy,
hard ground. I wonder how many people are left on the course still?
It closes in 15 minutes. I hope the gear drop arrives before 7.30pm when
evening announcements are. I think some people skip announcements. I
don't know why. They are very entertaining.
Day6: Antelope to Dufur
Date: 9/15/00
Distance: 65.04miles
Average Speed: 14.3mph
Weather: Partly cloudy and very windy. 85/40
It was warm this morning. I decided to eat before
breaking camp this morning. It was a pretty good plan, and I was on the
first climb right out of town by 7:15am. Coming up to the first turn, one
of the sag wagon drivers was playing Amazing Grace on the bag pipes which roused
a herd of antelope in the field behind him. It was breath-taking watching
them gracefully bound across the field in the early morning light.
I'm not going to lie...The climb hurt. My Achilles hurt
very badly this morning along with my knees. I lowered my seat a little
bit, but it didn't help. The best thing for them was to go at the hill in
my normal attacking mode for climbs. It hurt, but it hurts less than
riding slow. The ride to Maupin was hard with knees and ankles yelling all
the way, but the final descent was fun, steep, and curvy. Another
contradictory sign to a cyclist was posted at the top: "Steep
hill. Slow" These 2 things do not go together for us.
Lunch was at the bottom along the Deschutes River. I
finally talked to AMR and got my ankle taped. I also lowered my seat back
to the original height. My knees felt better in the afternoon, but I had
to alter my pedaling style to compensate for the Achilles. It worked out
ok. We were pedaling towards Mt. Adams most of the day. We have a
nice view of Mt. Hood from our camp site. One of the locals said that the
moon should set almost directly over Hood tomorrow. I'm going to try to
get a picture of it. I might get lucky.
I also took several pictures of the mountains along with
White River falls today. Bike Rodeo was entertainment tonight along with
the founding members of Quarter Flash performing in the Oregon Trail Band.
Should be fun. Terrific sunset over Hood too!
Day7: Dufur to Hood River
Date: 9/17/00
Distance: 51.92miles
Average Speed: 15.0mph
Weather: Sunny and very windy. 80/40
Last day. And it is short! I got an early
start this morning as did others so I could get home as soon as possible.
I spent most of the morning before hitting the Columbia River Gorge in The
Dalles trying to get a picture of the moon setting over Mt. Hood, but I lost it
long before I could get a good shot. Oh well. It didn't make it any
less beautiful. The wind really hit at lunch on the east side of The
Dalles as we were entering the Gorge. We took shelter behind a wall so we
could eat without having our salads fly all over the place. It was only
9am at lunch. I made great time.
The next fun thing was riding the Gorge Scenic Highway.
This is a terrific stretch of road. The grade is nice and moderate with
wide-sweeping turns to make the most of the vistas available on this
highway. This is how you build a road! Below us was interstate
highway 84. This is a ride I would love to do with Jada on the
Tandem. Perhaps some day.
The last stop was the recently re-opened Mosier Twin
Tunnels. They are only open to foot and bicycle traffic. They are
quite impressive. Definitely a nice historical trip for the scenic
highway. Finally I coasted into Hood River from there. Jada was
waiting for me at the finish line, but she didn't recognize me with my helmet,
shades, and week's beard growth. It was good to be home.
Thank you again, Cycle Oregon. Another well run event. I hope to ride again in COXV with Jada on the tandem...we'll see.