Still the best ride ever, 2011’s Reach the Beach did not disappoint. I rode with a group of friends at all different riding levels. A drizzly, cooler ride this year, and still the best.
Ride Time Capsule Tuesday: Reach the Beach 2009 Pacific City, Oregon
I can’t find a previous blog I wrote about this ride, but I’m sure I did somewhere. It was a magical day. I forgot my sunglass and bought a new pair at the start line. How convenient that they were sold there! They turned out to be one of the best pairs of sunglasses I ever had. Zoe and I started out together and quickly picked up the other 2 dudes in the photo. I don’t remember who they were, but we ended up pacelining together almost the entire ride. We all rode at complimentary paces, which is hard to find! There we a few stretches that randoms added to out caboose, making our line 20 people long at one point. Amazing day!
This ride is a fundraiser for The American Lung Association, and remains to this day my favorite route of all time!
Bike MS 2011 Columbia River Gorge Oregon
Reach the Beach 2011 Pacific City, Oregon
Still the best ride ever, 2011’s Reach the Beach did not disappoint. I rode with a group of friends at all different riding levels. A drizzly, cooler ride this year, and still the best.
Bike MS 2010 Las Vegas Nevada
Bike MS 2009 Broomfield Colorado
Reach the Beach 2009 Pacific City, Oregon
I can’t find a previous blog I wrote about this ride, but I’m sure I did somewhere. It was a magical day. I forgot my sunglass and bought a new pair at the start line. How convenient that they were sold there! They turned out to be one of the best pairs of sunglasses I ever had. Zoe and I started out together and quickly picked up the other 2 dudes in the photo. I don’t remember who they were, but we ended up pacelining together almost the entire ride. We all rode at complimentary paces, which is hard to find! There we a few stretches that randoms added to out caboose, making our line 20 people long at one point. Amazing day!
This ride is a fundraiser for The American Lung Association, and remains to this day my favorite route of all time!
Harvest Century 2008 Hillsboro Oregon
Bike MS 2008 Sweet Home Oregon
Tour de Blast 2008 Toutle Washington
Bike MS 2007 Forest Grove Oregon
Bike MS 2007 Broomfield Colorado
Elephant Rock 2007 Castle Rock Colorado
Bike MS 2006 Forest Grove Oregon
Strawberry Century 2006 Lebanon Oregon
The Strawberry Century! June 11, Zoe, baby Elliott and Elliot's Grandma set out for Lebanon (known for it's early strawberry season). We began the ride with Zoe pulling Elliott in a Burley trailer. This proved to be tough, as Elliott couldn't calm down and Zoe slowed by at least 4 mph. I promised to pull Elliott too, but it looked tough, he did kick from side to side making the trailer swerve. I can't imagine the weight myself, with him being nearly 30 pounds and the trailer too. We eventually put the trailer up and let Grandma handle him, where he fell asleep with a little country music and the lullaby of the internal combustion engine. Zoe and I were pretty evenly paced, except she had a steady cadence and when I got tired I sprinted forward in hopes to reach a stop sooner. I missed riding with her, she is a good cycling partner and shares the same health goals I do. The ride itself was fantastic. We went from Lebanon to Sweet Home to Brownsville and back to Lebanon. We passed calming streams, rivers, lakes, and parks. The lush greenery enticed me to hang out in this area more, though I couln't come up with any other justification other than its beauty. We looped around a lake that was dark and lustrious and crossed many bridges with whitewater below. The roads were wet from the rain and the grasses extra green, but we only got dumped on for about 10 minutes. At about 63 degrees all days and lightly drizzly, I could have had warmer clothes on. My legs did struggle with getting warm, not that I felt cold, but I think pedalling would have been easier in a little more warmth. Most of the roads were smooth, roadkill free, and clean. Traffic was at a minimum, and all who passed us were very curteous. Some overly so--almost like we gave them thier one chance to drive European. The riders were a happy bunch, too. We were in the late groups, but even so we were rarely alone. It was a big group, I expected only 100 to register, but a volunteer told me this year's numbers were in the 400s. We saw many varieties of birds, including one so huge we weren't really sure what it was. It didn't look at all like an Eagle, I thought hawk when I saw it. Zoe thought maybe a really big crow. After talking to Nadine, she mentioned she saw vultures so perhaps it was a vulture. Our one curous sighting was a lone mouse, standing on the side of the road. It may have been in shock, but it seemed like it just wanted to hang out, watching the cyclists pass. The finish concluded with a strong headwind that got the better of me. Without that, the ride would have been too easy. Both Zoe and I had to stand on our bikes the last 15 miles from sore bottoms. The padding in my shorts soaked up the rain making the last bit unpleasant down there. Zoe had some considerable neck and back pain, surely from pulling the Burley. I have a new respect from those who tote thier kids on long rides. We changed and enjoyed a generous helping of strawberry shortcake. Yummy! We could not have done the ride without Nadine to be our personal sag and take care of Elliott. I am amazed (and thankful!) she spent the day in a car following bikers and finished with a smile on her face. I guess I'd have to be a Grandma to understand, but she sure is nice! I would do this ride again in a heartbeat! I hope to go again next year and break down and buy the cute little strawberry cycling socks! 9:02AM start, 6.57 elapsed time (5.22 ride time) 73.84 mi, av 13.7 mph (official brochure calculated 71 mi) av HR 131, max 175
approximate accent/decent 1850' start to sag #1: accent 869', decent 550' at 990'/hr sag#1 to finsih: accent 990', decent 1350' at 1090'/hr
Monster Cookie 2006 Salem Oregon
BikeMS 2005 Forest Grove Oregon
Seattle to Portland (STP) 2005
My STP adventure began Thursday evening when I dropped my bike and luggage off at the Amtrak station. Afterwards I biked over to the Hollywood Theatre to watch first ever MS 150-sponsored movie night. A group of MS 150 Coordinators showed up, promoting the ride and handing out buttons. We watched “Breaking Away” from 1979. It was a subtle and wonderful film. Before the movie the lead coordinator talked and showed us a film from last years ride that brought me to tears! I boarded the TriMet bus bright and early Friday morning and then transferred onto the train. I had a pleasant ride up to Tacoma, with nice overcast views of the area. Many passengers were also going to the STP. They were easy to spot, with their bike jackets and jerseys, ride day tee shirts, and helmets. I felt so incognito, with only my conservative bike fleece to give me away. The rain fell heavily when I got off the bus in Tacoma. A headache started to brew from not drinking enough water. The water I brought to drink had floatie chunks and I dared not to drink it. My aunt Geri picked me up and we drove to her family’s huge house in Puyallup. I rested my headache away at their house while they ran errands. For dinner, the 4 of them treated me at a cute Italian restaurant owed by the family of one of my cousin Emerald’s friends. The food tasted divine and the service was fabulous! I choose my meal based on the waiter’s recommendation. I ate chicken piccata with artichokes, sun dried tomatoes, and an Italian sauce over fettuccini. It hit the spot, but put me directly to sleep. I slept all evening, making myself the unexciting guest. Geri woke up at 4:30 Saturday morning to drive to the start line in Seattle. With all the traffic, I still didn’t get to the start until 6:00. When I tried to air up my tires, the gauge got stuck on my valve and I ended up blowing the tire trying to get it off! It was my first flat with this new bike, but luckily the event did not set the tone for the ride! I met up with Jo and Brian’s friends, Kenny and Michelle, before the ride. We started the ride off with another Denver couple and a friend of theirs from Seattle. It took me a while to get used to the bike traffic, and even longer to realize the group never really would spread out. It is hard to perceive 8000 people on bikes going the same place at the same time. I was pleased to find every rider to be courteous and alert on the ride. Although I expected the STP to be swamped with ‘hot-shot’ riders, it really was a ride just like all the others. There were babies pulled by trailers, tots on tag-a-longs, racing bikes, fat tire mountain bikes, families, tandems, triple tandems, quads, recumbents, tandem recumbents, home-made bikes, tricycles, big wheels, and a unicycle. Yes, someone rode 204 miles on a unicycle! I saw older folks, dressed up folks, chubby folks, and bikes so old I marveled at their functionality! The first day went pretty smoothly. The food was okay. Free handouts consisted mostly of fruit, Cliff Bars, and Ultima Drink. I am not a big Cliff Bar fan and I found the Cotton Candy-tasting Ultima drink repulsive. Luckily I did not need too much sustenance and I was able to buy Gatorade to drown out the Ultima taste. I rode a mph faster than I expected! I didn’t get really tired until mile 75. We rode from Seattle to Renton, then Kent, Auburn, Algona, Pacific City, Sumner, Puyallup, Spanaway, Yelm, Rainier, Tenino, Bucoda, and finally to Centralia. I slept overnight in Centralia. The place was allright, but I was not impressed with the organization. I got the feeling that there were too many people to make the facilities feel special. Several eating places had long waits or simply ran out of food. There were about 1/3 as many massage therapists as there could have been. Still, it was a beautiful night and I felt great! I woke up Sunday morning earlier than I wanted to. The sounds of riders getting ready penetrated my earplugs. I slept terribly. The night consisted mainly of frequent uncomfortable wakings and horrid nightmares. My butt complained agonizingly, but somehow I managed to get back on the bike. The first 10 miles I began to wonder how I would ever finish amongst all the soreness and fatigue. But, by mile 130, I knew I could do it! Sunday brought a light rain for several hours. I cut up a plastic divider sheet and strapped it to my handlebars with twisty ties to hold the ride map. It kept the map dry for the most part. One rest stop was hosted by high school FBLA members, to which I hollered out, “Hey, I used to be in FBLA!” They didn’t seem impressed. At the St. Helens rest stop I really caught my second wind. That one was hosted by band members and boasted popcorn. I blasted through the last 30 or so miles, passing rider after rider as I tireless pushed on. My driving force, knowing the faster I rode the sooner I’d get off the bike, kept me going. On the second day we rode through Chehalis, Napavine, Winlock, Vadar, Castle Rock, Lexington, Kelso, Rainier Oregon, Lindburg, St. Helens, Scapoose and then Portland, at last! I met up with Kenny and Michelle just before the finish and we wheeled into Portland together in a huge group of finishers. The after party yielded lots and lots of freebies, some yaki soba noodles and all things bike. I am now planning my riding goals for next year! Zoe, exhausted from Teething-baby sleeplessness, picked me up at the party and my night ended in delight. I did it, I rode not only farther than ever before, but faster than I ever thought possible. On top of that, my body felt fine! There is an amount of saddle-bottom soreness, but my muscles feel fine, even without a massage! I am now taking requests for people who want to ride with me next year!
DAY 1: start: approx. 7:15AM, 6.41 hrs. ride time, 10hrs. elapsed time distance: 100.2, av 15 mph DAY 2: start: approx. 6:45AM, 7.22 hrs ride time, 9hrs. elapsed time distance: 103.8, av 14 mph
Firecracker Century 2005 Bend Oregon
