Crater Lake 2009

Another awesome ride. Just like in 2007, it was back-to-back weekends of long rides with tough climbs. Aug. 16 century, Aug. 23 70 miles with some ridiculous amount of climbing, and Aug. 29 Crater Lake, which is 61 miles roundtrip to & from Diamond Lake. I know it doesn't sound like much, but believe me, it's a challenging route.

On Saturday we woke up to VERY cold temps, after driving part of the way to Diamond Lake on Friday in pouring rain. The rain stopped fortunately when we arrived at the campground! Man, it was cold though. Got rolling about 9am, a bit late, and I think we were the last to leave camp. The climb is just relentless. With each turn you try to avoid looking up and when you do, thinking you are just about there, no, there is another turn and the road continues to point upward. It's just an endless grind. Then you arrive at the first viewpoint for some photo ops, quick rest, and continue to climb after that! Miles of climbs. Miles of fun screaming downhill on smooth pavement, then more climbs! Wow. Much more fun than when I rode it in 2007 because of my Tsunami! On the way down there were some brutal crosswinds, combined with a somewhat slick-newly chipsealed (but not loose gravel) road surface. We felt better hearing that everyone felt a bit uneasy on that stretch of road, but we all made it! EPIC. And the high temp of the day was probably 72. Perfect.

Sunday was MUCH hotter. Rode around Diamond Lake after packing up the campsite, but most people took off for other destinations. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. They really missed out! It's a flat ride through campgrounds on a bike path around the lake, but offers some gorgeous views. I was surprised not many people were there. This is really the ideal time to go camping there, as the crowds seem to be gone, and the weather is still good (though cold at night). I'd much rather go for a short, easy ride before sitting in the car for 4 hours to drive home than just packing up and leaving!

I'm so glad I went and did this ride again, and very glad that so many Portland people went along too! It was an awesome weekend with lots of laughs, great rides, and some great food!

A summer of climbs

The Tour is over, but there is still plenty of perfect summer weather left which should last the next few months. While I haven't done all that I planned to do this summer, one thing I have done plenty of is climb. It never seems like I ride enough days or miles, and the more I ride, the more I want to ride, so that's a good thing. But there is always some climb I long to do, some obstacle to overcome. What a summer of climbing it's been so far, but there are still more climbs to do. I haven't even ridden home over the zoo (on a path I call the Zoobaix) once this summer. That seems so lame while the weather is dry and warm, and it stays light so late, to drive to & from work. But there is always some reason why it seems more convenient - some appointment, errand or whatever. Still, lame. But the Thursday night SE rides have been great, taking me on some roads I never would have known existed, bike paths, and other assorted "urban assault" type shortcuts.

But the climbs. Every other Saturday, the routes take us up some new climb I haven't done before, and we ride up Clapshaw, or Rocky Point, or Old Cornelius Pass, or Skyline. Even doing familiar routes in reverse brings a whole new feel to the ride. I figure any day on the bike is a good day, time well spent. Climbs are easier than they were in the past, and descents are not so intimidating. The Portland Century was a tough one, seeming more like 200 miles than 100, but I managed to get through it with plenty of rest stops for food, and good company.

This weekend: Crater Lake. One of my favorites! I will have photos of that to post soon.

Is it time for Le Tour 2010?

Well, the 2009 Tour de France is now over, and I'm left with wrap-up articles, speculation on who will ride for which teams next year, and rumors about the 2010 route. It was really a very exciting Tour this year - it had it all, including soap-opera-like drama, crashes, unexpected stage wins, expected sprint finishes, brutal climbs, hot weather, rain, and wind.

I would have liked to see George in yellow, and come to think of it I would have liked to see Lance in yellow as well. To see him on the podium after his comeback was an amazing thing, and I am sure he was pleased with how well he rode. But to see him not on the #1 spot on the podium was a bit.. strange. This business about Contador going around trashing him and his team is unacceptable to me. I was just as supportive of Contador leading Astana as everyone else was after his unplanned attacks, and it's common knowledge that he is the world's best climber. But to win, and then turn around and whine about how there were "two Tours - one on the road and one in the hotels"? Come on. He's got many years of wins ahead of him, why not accept the pretty trophy and go enjoy the adulation of his fans in Spain? I could go on, but I'll be nice.

Speaking of nice, I think Lance was the gracious and sportsmanlike gentleman, refusing to comment on many of Frankie Andreu's questions to try and pry some of the controversy and drama that everyone was dying to hear. Lance even today has good things to say about Alberto Contador. I saw a video where Phil Liggett points out the obvious, that Contador is not a team player. Lance just posted on Twitter: "Seeing these comments from AC. If I were him I'd drop this drivel and start thanking his team. w/o them, he doesn't win." I have to agree. He should be thanking his team, not acting like a petulant and indignant teenager. He got his win. The team supported him. What more could he want? Lance didn't attack him on the mountains. Lance didn't drop his teammates.

Just think - if Levi & Horner had been there supporting Lance, things might have been different. Which brings me to next year's Tour. Wow, a whole year for the rumors to fly, the analysis to begin, the speculation on who will ride for which team. This to me is WAY better than the NFL draft. New teams, new kits, new sponsors. Such fun! And what if Lance decides to form the very first ever ProTour cycling team made up entirely of Americans? I don't know that he will, being as he has mentioned Andreas Kloden as one of the riders on his list, and I've also heard rumors of Cadel Evans riding for Radio Shack. But I still think it would be a pretty historic Tour to have a whole U.S. team - it just goes to show how far American cycling has become, because there are actually enough Tour-caliber pro cyclists to make up such a team.

So. Let's talk about me. I went for a ride on Saturday, a typical, perfect, cloudless hot day in Bend. Since seeing Chris Horner's "taxi" ride of another rider & bike up to the CCC stage finish at Mt. Bachelor last July, it has been my goal to ride up there and find out just how hard it is. I started out from SE Bend and made my way to the sign on Century Drive announcing that it was 20 miles to Mt. Bachelor. Twenty miles? I thought. That's not a problem. No big deal. I have driven this road. I know what it looks like. So I plugged along. I got passed by a few people who said hello and there was the usual cycling small talk about what a nice day it was. Cyclists on their way down buzzed past with slight waves or head nods. I envied them as I began to climb. The words ran through my head that Heidi wrote about Bruce: "when the road turned up, he grinned. When the rain came down, he laughed". I thought about how much Bruce loved to climb, and pedaled harder. I thought of how hot it was and wished I hadn't frozen my water bottles, as they were still too slushy to drink from, and I was thirsty.

The road turned up. I kept my head down to avoid thinking that the climb would never end. Was I out of gears? No, not yet, still got a few left. Good. Lungs felt okay despite the altitude. Overall, not bad. 20 mile climb? Psh. No problem. But it was getting quite warm. I scoured the road ahead for some shade but there was none to be found. I shook & squeezed my water bottles to get some cool liquid, ate some Clif bloks. Better. Rounded a corner, and there it was. My very own, personal, Le Petit Mont Ventoux.

So, long story short - I made it, and it was hot. Planned to ride up to the parking lot but the plan was to stow the bike in the car & head to Sparks Lake to kayak, which we did. I wanted to ride down afterwards but it was late, and hotter, and really, it's not 100% downhill all the way. Next time.

Le Tour

Tour Widget!

July = TDF

My favorite time of year is here! Some people love summer for BBQs, camping, and family vacations. Me? I spend a great amount of time in front of the TV - watching Live telecast in the mornings and then I watch the extended coverage in the evenings. Needless to say, I don't get much sleep. But for the excitement, the beautiful scenery, and the greatest sporting event of all time, it's well worth it. Wow - average of 7% gradient on the climb in today's stage with some portions up to 15%. Yikes.

I have been looking forward to this for weeks. Reading the predictions, the endless analysis, the drama and speculation over who will lead Team Astana, poring over start lists to form my Tour fantasy team. Studying the stage routes. Following all the news. And last Saturday, which I decided to call the Tour-th of July, it finally arrived. A beautiful time trial in the principality of Monaco, then 3 days later an amazing team time trial after some flat stages brilliantly won by the unbeatable, unstoppable sprinter Mark Cavendish.

Today, they are in the Pyrenees for the first mountain stage, the longest of the Tour. It will supposedly establish who will lead Astana and be the true test of Lance's fitness after his years of absence from the Tour. I'm ready.

I'd continue, but there is only about 10k left in the stage so I must glue my eyes to the TV.

Two families suffer a great loss.

I don't know Bruce Giunta's family, but have heard many wonderful things about them over the past few weeks. From emails I've read and from hearing from those who visited Bruce in the hospital, it sounds like they are a strong, close-knit and loving family. Bruce passed away on Friday from the injuries he suffered in his June 2 bicycle accident. The more I hear about what an amazing man he was, the more I sense the enormity of this loss, not only to his own family, but to the Portland Velo family, and the cycling community as a whole. I am so sad for their loss.

We had our new Ride Leader kits delivered on Saturday and wore them in a fitting tribute to Bruce, pedaling harder on the difficult climbs as we were asked to do. Resplendent in our visible green, orange and white, with the same design as the regular black, blue and white club kit design, we ascended the west hills with grim determination. During the ride i paused to look around at the beauty of the view, soak in the warm sunshine, feel the wind on my face, and can only begin to understand the effect this one man has had on the local community. I recall only a few conversations with Bruce, but will never forget the last one. I commented on his bike, and could see the pride in his eyes when he replied. That day was exactly like Saturday - a bright, clear, cloudless warm day. I think it was Matt D'Elia who said that Bruce will always have a tailwind, and will climb like an angel. A memorial is set for July 11 at the Mountain Park Rec Center in Lake Oswego. This should be a wonderful celebration of Bruce's life.

I am so glad I forced myself to do all the difficult climbing and ride the entire route on Saturday. Recently it has seemed too easy and tempting to cut the route short or skip the hills, when I know I need to do them. I need every mile. However, after getting up very early yesterday (and arriving at Stoller Vineyard an hour earlier than I needed to) then riding a 30-mile route, I was really feeling it. My legs ached on the climbs, especially when I stood up out of the saddle. Lunch was good and it was fun to ride behind Carlo & Monique on their tandem or take turns pulling with Maggie. After a long drive home, I could barely keep my eyes open and ended up napping away most of the afternoon. Here's to hard rides and long naps to recover from them.

Yesterday's ride

We assembled at Longbottom's for a quiet gathering, Mary O'Donnell and family in attendance for a silent ride to remember Tim O'Donnell. Mary spoke briefly about her efforts working on the Vehicular Homicide bill, letting everyone know that the next legislative session is 2 years away, but she'd be happy to inform people who their legislators are, if they aren't sure. This bill is very important, because as Mary reminded us, the woman driving the car that killed Tim on his bike was fined $1,100 even though she shouldn't have been behind the wheel at all. So unfair, so wrong.

After a mostly silent rollout, the ride was smooth and fast, at least for me. My legs felt heavy, the muscles tight, my heart rate stayed high. Some of us chose not to do the Dairy Creek portion of the ride, which was fine with me, though I could have used the miles. Everyone took care to ride ultra-safe, pointing out debris on the road, potholes, and being especially vocal about communicating when turning, slowing and stopping. This is how we should always ride.

No update on Bruce Giunta's condition today. I spent some time assembling a few photos into a collage for the website. Here's a preview: