Planning Ahead: The Scenic Bikeways of Central Oregon

I think it would be super fun to stay in Sisters or Sunriver and enjoy some of the Scenic Bikeways of Central Oregon. The first on the list is McKenzie Pass, 38 miles one-way, which I think would be best enjoyed as the first ride of the adventure.

Sisters to Smith Rock might pose as a fun add on to a one-way McKenzie Pass ride, or a fun loop on it’s own right. Twin Bridges Loop is 36 miles total and makes for a perfect day trip. Madras Mountain Loop is also another perfect 29-mile day trip. Can’t go wrong!

There is also Crooked River Canyon, a 36-mile round trip scenic ride that would be fun as a day trip.

Planning Ahead: Old West Scenic Bikeway

I’m super excited to ride the Old West Scenic Bikeway and the I plan to camp at Clyde Holliday State Recreation Area and bike from there! I’ll bike through the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Bates State Park, and the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site. More planning to come!

National and State Parks for Free

The Adventure Cycling Association is doing it again, bike to a national or state park for no entrance fee. What a great gimmick for the Adventure Cycling Association! They say registration begins in March….

Haleakala Goals

Trainer Road’s “Ask a Cycling Coach Podcast” answered the question I submitted about climbing Haleakula in Maui. Every year I visit Maui in March with family. Every year I sit in a van while we explore the island and I look longingly out the window at all the cyclists riding on the side of the road. I see cyclists climbing the mountain and I am in so much envy. One time we stopped at a rest area and I chatted a bit with a woman taking a rest. It wasn’t her first time taking the climb and she seemed to enjoy every moment; its reward and struggle. After we chatted a bit I found out she was from Seattle and lived not far from me.

My question starts at 1:42:04. They took a direction I didn’t expect. They started talking about “The Growth Mindset”. They pulled that I had a fixed mindset from the way I phrased my question. This is an uncanny direction to take. Just weeks ago my employer held a forum on the Growth Mindset and asked me to present as part of a penel. Each person talked about their fixed mindset past and the struggle trying to take a growth approach. A bit part of my personality is my drive to experiment. I am constantly trying to learn about the world around me and thrive with novelty. And barely weeks away, the group of strangers pull my fixed mindset out from just a few sentences of writing. In crafting my question I thought about how I would sound. I didn’t want to come across too boastful because I am not a racer. I phrased it with the goal of coming off humble, not fixed. But where did my need for humility come from? How fixed is my mindset really? I grew up in the Western culture that declares “you can do anything if you just put your mind to it”. At the same time, I am filled with worry and fear every time I ride. I still ride, and I guess that’s what makes me different from others. Needless to say, I don’t love the Growth Mindset approach. I can see how it’s what my employer needs, but it doesn’t touch me personally. That being said, I am now more driven than ever to take on the next challenge. Prove them wrong. I lived many years filled with insecurity, but that isn’t me now and hasn’t been for a long time. Check back soon to find out what my next big challenge will be.

Cross-Training on the Books

I set a new goal for myself. This winter, I'm going to learn how to skate ski!!! I am beyond excited! 

Ski Touring is my most favorite thing in the world, but I don't feel safe traversing the backcountry alone and it's hard to find good ski buddies in Seattle. I feel safe skiing classic alone, but it's not very challenging. I think skate will be a great way to challenge myself and a safe way to ski solo. It requires a distinct muscle memory, so it will take a solid commitment to actually retain what I learn. I think I have a solid plan:

• I'm in a recovery phase now, but 8 weeks before my first ski, I am going to start pushing hard at the gym, specifically focusing on ski muscles.

• I am registered for not one, but TWO ski camps (3 days and 4 days)

• I signed up for physiology lab test

• I plan to buy some new skate skis for myself for my birthday

• I am planning a destination ski trip with a good ski friend for next year

• Chances are low, as I typically have no say in the annual family vacation decision, but I was actually asked this year, so there's a chance we might get to go to a ski destination

• I plan on getting a ski session in every week (except for a January vacation with friends)

• I am working on a carpool to make the day skis easier to do

RSVP (Ride from Seattle to Vancouver and Party) 2018

I first heard about RSVP when I rode the STP (Seattle to Portland Ride) years ago. I decided then that I had to do it. I mean, it has the word "party" in it! Back then, the rider registration filled up early on. It was such a popular ride that a second one was offered. Even though there were 2 options, the dates didn't work in with my schedule year after year. This was my lucky year. The Wooleaters decided to do it again (several of them have done the ride before) and I jumped in. There's something better about finishing a ride that just happened to be on your 'bucket list'. 

• Distance: 189 (over 2 days)

• Pace: enthusiastic tight riding team

• Mechanicals: We had a list of strange, but not debilitating 'mechanicals'. I lost my gloves in the rest room at the Lynden rest area. After looking for them I assumed all was lost, but Jessi suggested I check the food table again. After that recommendation, I saw them at the mechanic's tent. Yay! Bryant left his sunglasses in his luggage and had to buy a cheesy gas station pair. They were fabulous. Jessi's fender decided to rub on her tire weirdly. She stopped at a mechanic and they fixed it. Bryant stepped on his fender flap and it fell off. I decided it was due as well, considering all he did was step on it. Abby's fender also made a weird noise for some reason. Then at the very end of her ride her bell fell off the bike and she had to loop around to look of it.

• Flats: I got a flat riding out the gate. Literally 2 minutes in. A thorn. Guess I was due.

• Wildlife: There was much, but most notable were the black squirrels of northern Washington and at the Canada border. Not much road kill to speak of.

• Weather: Smoke from nearby fires made the air quality dangerously poor, with the index over 150 in places. News mentioned breathing Washington air was as unhealthy as smoking 7 cigarettes and that the air was worse then Beijing. But. It lifted Friday morning just before the ride started and sunk again in full force Sunday after the ride was long over. In fact, the drive home Sunday exposed me to some of the worst air I've ever breathed. The temperatures were cool. I wore my new little jacket all morning both days. I could have been more heavily dressed, but I was also fine as I was. I've been inordinately lucky in weather lately.

• Snacks: ride stops early on treated us with delicious muffins, scones and hard-boiled eggs. Each stop had stuffed Cliff bars, some sort of dried fruit and fresh fruit option. One stop handed out entire sleeves of Oreo's. Water was aplenty, but some of the spigots ran very slow. Overly sweet Nuun was available at every stop; I took some for the last push of each day. The Canada stops boasted a cookie in a Kiwi box. I excitedly grabbed several, curious what a Kiwi cookie would taste like. Turns out they were ordinary chocolate chip cookies that happened to be packed in a Kiwi box. I grabbed a Rice Crispies treat to save for Bryan. But I ate it at the Chuckanut viewpoint and it was delicious. The best stop wasn't a sanctioned one. Hosted by a family as a fundraiser, perfectly poised that the top of the last hill on Chuckanut drive. Known near and far as the lemonade stand, signs preparing us for the stop started cheering us on miles early. "Clap! Clap! Clap!" they said, and other comments about how awesome we were and how much we needed lemonade. They were raising money for college. I guess in years past they raised money for various camps, back to having their kids, back to getting married, and then on. This family grew up with RSVP going by their house every year.

• Meals: RSVP had a clever option for lunch on day 1. Several local businesses offered a "ride meal" that you could exchange with a coupon attached to your bib. You could also exchange the coupon for $7 of food inside the restaurant. We chose this option at the Stilly Diner. Kreg ordered pancakes. I ordered French toast. My meal appeared, a tiny pat of food on a gigantic plate. Kreg's order arrived, massive pancakes bigger than his head. It was not clear how to options priced the same could be so different, but Kreg kindly shared his. He gave me way too much. I drank several cups of coffee from the coffee pot. This is a new thing I never used to do. Once we arrived in Bellingham, we ate at the Brewery. I had a too-sweet cider and delicious poutine. The hotel we overnighted in offered a breakfast in the waiting room of the front desk. It was pretty good. I ate Trader Joe's style hash browns, an English muffin, sausage, and a hard boiled egg. I did not have enough caffeine. The party portion after the ride in Vancouver boasted a beer garden. We sat there for a spell, but they only offered beer so I drank nothing. After that we had another food ticket for the food trucks at the park. After waiting in line for a long time at the choice food truck, they ran out of food so we grabbed some corn on a stick at another, but they wouldn't accept the meal ticket so we grabbed some hot dogs too. After eating all that food, we ate more at a lavish Italian joint in downtown Vancouver.

Videos of the Ride

Relive 'RSVP (Ride to Vancouver and Party) 2018 day 1'

Relive 'RSVP (Ride from Seattle to Vancouver and Party) 2018 day 2'

Photos of the Ride

Many photos credited to The Wooleaters

Ride Details

Note that a programming error from Garmin made day 1 appear to happen on Thursday evening when really it happened Friday morning. 

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

I earned all 8 tacos for Bike Everywhere Month in just 3 days! I set me goal next week for 12 tacos! Will I make it? Only taco will tell!

Bucket list riding?

I spend a lot of time thinking, "What's next on the bike?" Long ago, I had an idea of riding an MS ride in every state. But with limited time off and many rides happening on the same weekends, it would be a long time before I could hit all the states. On top of that, I'd have to more than triple the amount of fundraising I do. It occurred to me that I could just ride the states on my own. Sure, I wouldn't be putting money to a charitable cause, but maybe I could plan out a way to simply promote bicycle transportation, if nothing else. It seemed like a pretty attainable goal. Then I mapped out how many states I have left. Hm, maybe this goal isn't so attainable after all. Still, if I start mapping out a plan now, I'd be one step father to doing it.

RSVP 2018

Cascade's RSVP ride has been on the bucket list since I found out the "P" stands for PARTY! I mean, a ride has to be a good time when it has party right there in the name, right? Well, I am pretty excited. It sounds like the Wooleaters are gearing up to do this ride in 2018, and I already have one foot clipped in! 

Bike MS Oregon 2017: Just a few Weeks Away!

I've been working hard to train up for a century ride this August. It will be here before you know it! Support my ride by sponsoring me today! I've been planning on making it easy this year and just riding the 100 miles in one day and being done with it. It's been a long year. But...if I raise $1500 I WILL ride the full 150 miles in 2 days. I'll do it for people with MS! And I'll do it because of you!

Washington Rides

Cascade Bicycle Club sent me a newsletter that listed major rides throughout the state. I was pretty proud to see I've already done a number of them! I circled the rides I did in red; a total of 15 of Washington States' quitensential bike events. I added up 4 more I'd really like to do, and highlighted a couple that look like viable options to do this year. 

Upcoming rides?

New rides. Hm. What's next? What's in store? Next year? The years after that? What's the next big ride to train for? I have no idea. There is some talk about riding a National Park during car-free days with my friend, Heather. We don't have any definite plans yet. 

Bike MS 2017

Wow. I'm already registered for 2017. Just like that.  You can already donate. It's not even 2017 yet! How is this possible, you ask? Why, just go to the link here: DONATE!

I want to change things up a bit. It's been 16 years. If I were an infant when I started biking for MS, I could drive a car now while biking for MS. Yup. Time to do something different. Not sure what yet, though. More on that to come. You are just going to have to stay tuned to find out what that is. 

BikeMS is this weekend

It's barely a week away, Escape to the Lake, the BikeMS charity fundraiser riding from Pittsburgh to Erie, Pennsylvania. I'll be meeting up with my uncle Lon and Team Roadkill Warriors and riding my bike to raise money for the National MS society. The goal is to support people living with multiple sclerosis. The goal is to end this disease and what it does to people. Will you support me? A little bit goes a long way!

Click here to donate:

Check out my donation letter:

Read more about BikeMS and my mission:

Bike MS

Pedaling for my mother and everyone living with MS.

A word from my mom:

New goals

Back in December of 2015, I made a goal to gain 5 lbs. of muscle (while staying the same weight). My trainer thought I could achieve this in 4 months following his plan. After following his plan 12 out of 16 weeks and not gaining as much as a tenth of a pound of muscle, I began to reconsider this goal. The real goal was to get stronger. I needed a way to measure results, so I picked a “5 pounds muscle” goal arbitrarily. Problem is, I have been getting stronger. My muscles are getting more defined even though they measure the same (exactly!) and I can lift tens of pounds more with every limb. I began to wonder the validity of this “5 pounds of muscle” goal and spent a couple of weeks contemplating what I really wanted to do.
So. I established new goals. 

1. Leg press my body weight in 2 weeks. What a fun goal! Nothing sounds cooler than lifting your own body weight, so this is a motivating one. It is also very attainable. I’m almost there. I remember doing this back in 2007. After I beat this one, I’ll make some new fun goals. Can I leg lift (quadriceps) my body weight? I am 2/3rd of the way there now. 
2. Gain some amount of muscle. I have to gain something here, just for meet a goal for goal’s sake. I am curious to find out what it will take to make this happen. I am within 5 pounds of muscle mass of every body composition test I’ve ever taken, all the way from my first time when I was 18 years old. 
3. Climb the Dexter hill without going below 10 mph. While it took years for me to be able to do this at all, I can now do it every time I try. But it is still really hard and my heart rate redlines. I want to try for it every time I ride the hill now. 
4. Climb the Fremont hill without going below 9 mph. I have no idea what it will take to do this or how long the hill even is. See, for the past 4 years I’ve climbed this hill exclusively in the dark due to my work schedule. When I ride in the dark I use my headlight, which transmits a frequency that interferes with my bike computer. So I have no record of how fast I’ve been climbing this hill at all. I only know that it is longer and harder than the Dexter hill. 

Registered for Bike MS Oregon

I am registered for Bike MS in Oregon! This is the ride of the year. This is what it is all about. I’ll be riding with Team Slug Fish again this year. Since I finished at $1820 last year, my goal for 2016 is to raise over $2000. I am pretty sure I can do it! Especially with the help of people like you! I also hope to ride a full 150 miles, in honor of how a started the ride 15 years ago; riding the "MS 150". I haven't actually ridden the full 150 miles in the last few years. With your support to motivate me, I think I can do it.

I have a whole page devoted to my ride and fundraising here. Check it out! 

Bike MS

Pedaling for my mother and everyone living with MS.

New Year, new plans

I am not a fan of New Year's resolutions. It's not that I am against goal setting and the quest to improve oneself, because I love that stuff (I am American, after all). I'm against what "New Year's Resolutions" specifically mean. For everyone I know, they seem to be a vehicle to induce guilt and self-loathing. That sounds strong, but I have never had anyone say to me, “My New Year’s resolutions worked! I am so proud of myself!” Unless of course, they mean it as a joke and they’ve resolved to drink a case of beer every night or something that they well know is destructive. New Year’s resolutions are an opportunity for people to expose where they think they’ve failed and set a goal to become successful. When it comes to health especially, these goals tend to fall apart by the end of January. The term “resolutions” itself ignore the habitual behavior required to achieve a health-related goal. Mind you, I’ve had friends create attainable goals that require a change in one specific small daily behavior to their great benefit. This is a great idea, and starting at the new year make it easy to measure success by the end of the year.

Needless to say, about a month ago I set some new training and fitness goals for myself. I am going to share them here, because, well,  this is the time of the year to start anew. Overall, I am more satisfied with my health than I have been most of my life, but it still feels good to work toward improvement. I also know that if I continue on the same path, I will begin to see more and more diminished strength, comfort and ability.

My 2016 goal is to:

• Gain 5 lbs of muscle
• Loose 5 lbs of fat
• thereby bringing me from 72% lean mass (28% fat) to 78% lean mass (22% fat))

My daily plan to meet this goal is to:

• track food every day
• eat with awareness/ know that everything I eat is a choice/focus on choosing foods that "healthiest, most successful me" would choose
• pay attention to how hungry I feel when eating
• stop eating when I am 80% full
• meditate for 5 minutes
• focus on consistent time to bed and time to wake
• disregard/not dwell on the times I don't follow my plan, just focus on the next time

My weekly plan to meet this goal is to:

• lift weights at the health club 3 times a week
• ride bike aerobically for 6+ hours a week (already been doing this for years commuting to work)
• one other activity (walk, hike, ski, yoga, Zumba, or other)

As a result I will:

• Be a stronger cyclist!
• Be ready to tackle any adventure!
• Know that I am making the healthiest, most holistic choices possible to combat my existing health issues
• Feel my best to the benefit of those around me and those I influence

Flying Wheels Summer Century 2015

Flying Wheels 2015- that first hill

photo credit: http://www.woodinvillebicycle.com/pictures/

Saturday, May 30th began at 6AM with a begrudging half-asleep body suddenly transforming to the wide-awake excited body, the body that only wakes up when about to embark on a new and adventurous challenge.

Bryant picked me up right on time and off to Marymoor Park we fled. Disaster loomed when Bryant realized he didn't have his helmet, and already being at the start and the time being 7:30AM, there weren't many options to procure one. Luckily, Jessi, another in our group had a spare. I grabbed a packet of Wilcox organic hard-boiled eggs before peddling off at about 7:50AM.

Just ten miles into the Flying Wheels Summer Century, a long and steep hill out of nowhere kicked my butt. My heart surged and pounded out of my chest too early, and by mile eleven, even though these clear skies and mild temperatures beckoned a beautiful day, I felt like I had already ridden 80 or more miles. My limp little legs struggles to keep up. My new mantra propelled me forward: "tiny circles, tiny circles". By mile 40, I was certain I had been pedaling for at least 10 hours and we had already ridden over 100 miles. Well, I knew better, but my body was trying to tell me otherwise.

I filled up with too many snacks at Camp Korey, a rest stop hosted by Boy Scouts (it was actually boy scout moms, as I overheard one tired mom proclaim that her son was the only actual scout who showed up for the event). Hills seemed to crop up everywhere, and my little spindle legs didn't much try to get up them any faster than they wanted to. There was a nice long flat stretch where I was able to find a nice zen among the pedaling. We pedaled through tree filled forestland, thriving farmland and smooth, blessed smooth country roads.

It wasn't until after mile 60 that I started feeling good. I finished the ride at about 3:50 with about 6 and a half hours of ride time feeling far better than I did at mile 11. Overall, the ride felt more hilly than I expected, and certainly more hilly than the less-than-4000 feet elevation change. However, the pristine scenery, great roads, and challenging course make this a ride I look forward to finishing again and again in years ahead.

Flying Wheels

My body fat percentage

I took a body fat test with a trainer at my health club. The club used a clever ploy of trying to ring members into paying top dollar for personal training by handing out free hour-long fitness tests. Much to my shock, I actually scored right smack in the middle of the "ideal" range for females of my age. I scored at 24.8 percent body fat, which is in the "average" category for women overall, but is a bit better for women my age, cause, I guess I'm getting older. I'm pleased to discover that my body fat percentage has largely stayed the same over the years, even though I used to be stronger (and fatter!). Now that I'm older, I am actually scoring "healthier" as I guess most people gain a few pounds of fat here and there just as part of the aging process.I have a body fat scale at home, but am skeptical as to it's accuracy. Somehow I take the measurement at the club more seriously, even though the technology used is pretty much the same. This gave me a clear opportunity to set a goal. If I'd like to qualify as "athlete" I should reduce my body fat to 21.8%. If I excursive at the rate I intend to, I can do this by April 11 of this year. Can I do it? Will I do it?

As an aside, I found photos of women of different body fat percentages online, in trying to figure out what my goal should be. The heavier women appealed to me more. I would like my body to be more defined, but I don't have interest in being skinnier. I told my trainer my goal was to stay the same weight, but increase my lean muscle mass. If I do this, I will get skinnier as a result. I think actually, my goal should be to increase my lean muscle mass while improving my percentage to the point that I am actually at 20%, but weigh more than I do. I could do the exact math to figure out how many pounds of muscle I'd need to not really be much skinnier, but that seems a bit over zealous, considering I haven't actually succeeded in increasing muscle mass in some time. So here goes. I'm putting my goal out there.

Flying Wheels Summer Century

My first century of the year will be the Alaska Airlines Flying Wheels Summer Century | Cascade Bicycle Club. I'll be riding with a social team this year, which should make the miles fly by. The idea is if I can kill this ride, I'll be in good shape to prep for Cycle Oregon at the end of the summer. More about this ride coming soon!