Thoughts about some readings

The November/December issue of Ultra Cycling has an article entitled "A Maui double" by Janice Tower is well worth reading. Janice rode 230 miles in 23:30 hours including over 20,000 feet of climbing. After climbing Haleakala (timing it so she arrives at sunrise), she rides the perimeter of Maui. Along the way, she faces head winds, dirt roads and heat. She weaves a very inspiring account, one that makes me want to follow in her pedal strokes.

In VeloNews, The Best of 2005 issue (Vol 34 #20), reports on the Red Bull's Road Rage, a different kind of time trial. The Tuna Canyon Course near Malibu is just 2.5 miles long, but it drops nearly 2000 feet in elevation in that short distance and tests a rider's descending skills. Myles Rockwell won in 4:24.7. David McCook was second - 1.2 seconds behind Rockwell. No, I do not plan on entering next year. I would rather wait for a hot day and climb up the course at 4 miles per hour.

Posted 8:28 AM by John Henry

New Bike Leads to More Riding!

Yes it is true.

I had Tuesday off, and the weather was drippy. There were showers in the morning, so I worked on my web site (I'm designing an online bike log using MySQL and PHP). But, by midday, my mind was jelly. It was time for a ride.

Looking out the window, I was that the showers had stopped so I took the Redline out for a ride. And, just for fun, I headed for the West Salem hills. I rode Gibson and the back side of Orchard Heights twice for a total of 38 miles and 4000 feet of elevation gain. Trust me, a 1 mile to 100 feet of elevation gain ratio is one fun ride!

Dogs

I do not like dogs. I never owned dogs as a boy and then I was a paperboy. Enough said. So, I had just turned around at the near the intersection of Oak Grove Rd and Farmer Rd and was heading back uphill toward Orchard Heights. On my right, a large green field ran up a hill to a home over 150 yards away. I saw three dogs were running down toward me barking. The owner was running after them attempting to call them back. I checked the edge of the field and notice that there was no fence. Sigh.

Two of the dogs, perhaps the elder of the three, stopped and returned to the running woman but the third kept coming toward me, ignoring it's owner. I adding my voice to the yelling. "Go home! Go home!" I shouted. It stopped at the edge of the filed but continued to bark. I experience a moment in time where you know you have lost control of your environment. Will the dog come onto the road and attack me, or will I get out of here alive?

Then, the dog must have heard it's owner as it turned to look at the shouting, running woman who was still very far away. The dog stopped barking and started wandering around, no longer harassing me, but not obeying it's owner either. I continued up the hill until I was pass the field. I survived another dog encoutner.

Wednesday Night

I worked out with Martin and then went for an easy ride with my wife. Martin has been in California for the holidays so we had good "makeup" workout. In other words, we worked hard.

After the workout, I rushed home and got into my cycling gear and Joanne and I rode 20 miles north of Salem. We took it easy and my average heart rate was just 99 bpm. But, my legs were reminding me of the 500 lb leg presses I had done earlier in the evening.

Posted 8:15 AM by John Henry

It was a good day to ride the Rain Bike

We met at the Red Lot for the 10:00 am Salem Bicycle Club under theatening clouds. Just before the ride started, the threat came true and it started to rain. It was not hard, but it was quite wet. My Redline handled it like champ. I really like the disk brakes. When I applied the brake lever, there was no grating sound of brake pads contacting the rim of the wheels. Just a nice, quite stop.

After a few miles, the rain stopped and stayed away for the rest of the ride. Of course, we did just 28 miles, but to give us credit, there were some hills - 70th, MacLeay and Joesph to name a few.

One the down side, due to the rain, my Redline is no longer clean.

	Actual	Average	Record
Temperature
Mean Temperature	50 °F / 10 °C	39 °F / 3 °C
Max Temperature	54 °F / 12 °C	45 °F / 7 °C	60 °F / 15 °C (1980)
Min Temperature	46 °F / 7 °C	33 °F / 0 °C	5 °F / -15 °C (1924)
Moisture
Dew Point	46 °F / 8 °C
Average Humidity	86
Maximum Humidity	100
Minimum Humidity	66
Precipitation
Precipitation	0.12 in / 0.3 cm	0.20 in / 0.51 cm	1.46 in / 3.71 cm (1917)
Month to date Precipitation	5.94	5.48
Year to date precipitation	32.88	39.02

Posted 9:11 PM by John Henry

A New Rain Bike

I have purchased a new bicycle - a Redline Conquest Ti.




You will note that this is a cyclecross frame and it is compatible with disk brakes. The purpose of this bike is to become my rain bike, the bicycle I ride in the rain, which it does a lot of here in Oregon.

Components

Wheels: Velomax Sagitta
Shifters: Shimano Ultrega
Crank: Shimano Duraace Triple
Cassette: Shimano Ultrega 12x27
Front Derailleur: Shimano 105
Rear Derailleur: Shimano Ultrega
Brakes: Avid Ball Bearing Road
Saddle: Stella Italia Flight
Handlebar: Bontrager Race
Seatpost: Bontrager Race
Tires: continental 4-Season

I took it out for it's first ride today, and as per my history, I headed toward one of the toughest hills around - Gibson Rd. I needed to know how it climbed and descended. So, Gibson Rd here we come.

On the flats the bike felt very good. It is 3 3/4 lbs heavier (21 pounds even) than my LeMond Victoire, so it is somewhat more slugglish which is to be expected. I was afraid that it would be a slug on the hills, but my fears turned out to be unfounded. Climbing on the Redline was fun! The extra weight did not seem to slow me down. The Redline replaces my Cannondale CAAD3 R600 as my rain bike and the Cannondale is much heavier. The only issue I found was as I got up out of the saddle to stand, the front end is a bit more twichy than the LeMond.

Descending was fast and stable. The wheels felt stable on the curves and fast on the straight descents. I was up to my normal descending speed without worries.

Overall, the Redline performed well. I am very pleased with my first impressions.

Posted 3:51 PM by John Henry

The Weather is Getting Worst

Posted 3:45 PM by John Henry

A Severe Weather Sunday Ride

Just got in from a 43 mile ride. Instead of the clear, cold blue sky we have been riding in the last week or so, the clouds started coming in from the south, which was the direction the Salem Bicycle Club ride went. For the most part, we were OK. The wind as strong coming from the northwest, but we were OK.

Then, just a few miles from town, the sleet started to fall. Joanne and I make it back to our house without too much damage, but sleet falling on your face is not a good thing.

Posted 12:59 PM by John Henry

The two way tandem

No, Joanne and I are not having a fight, but the tandem color is very close to our own!

Posted 9:09 AM by John Henry

Quote of the day, week, month?

I came upon a quote that I like:

"As bad as I feel right now, I'm still not gonna take up golf."
Richie Kondzielaski, RAAM 2000 finisher.

Posted 9:49 AM by John Henry

A new bicyle?

I am looking to purchase a new bike. This will be a "rain" bike and could also be used for loaded touring.

To understand where I am headed, perhaps some history will be helpful.

In 1995, I purchased a Cannondale R600 that came with the 2.8 (pre-CAAD) frame. Is was stiff and much lighter than my steel bike. These factors helped me in climbing and sprinting. You step on the pedal and it goes! But, the ride was very harsh! In '02, the frame cracked and I received a CAAD3 as a warrenty replacement. I purchased one of Cannondales carbon fiber forkes and swaped out all of the parts. This was my "fast" bike until I purchased a '04 LeMond Victoire Classic (the all Ti frame). Now, the Cannondale is my rain bike. I got fenders on it, but it was a challenge.

Comparing the ride between the two frames, well the LeMond glides over chipseal while the Cannondale rumbles!

So, I have just begun looking for a frame to buildup. This would be my new "rain" bike and I would be putting many miles on it this seanson. (The Cannondale would become my "roller" bike.) My goals are...

1) Lightness is must.
2) Disk brakes are a must.
3) Being able to mount fenders is a must.
4) A non-harsh ride is a must (the LeMond has spoiled me).
5) Loading touring would be nice (I would swap the front fork).

Based upon the above, I have narrowed my frame material choices down to Ti. Steel is heavy and it rusts. Al is light but my history with it makes me want to advoid it. I love the ride on my LeMond Victoire!

As to frame style, I am looking at a cyclecross frame with disk brakes. While a bit heavier, I would be able to mount fenders and tour on it. The disk brakes would address rim damage/noise due to riding in the rain.

Just this weekend, I made the rounds of the bike shops in Salem (where I live) and I am looking at a Redline (http://www.redlinebicycles.com/) or a Desalvo (http://www.desalvocycles.com/). However, I am open to others; I have not made a choice as of yet.

Posted 8:58 AM by John Henry

Keizer Christmas Lights Ride

The annual Salem Bicycle Club Keizer Christmas Lights Ride was last night. We met at Steamed Heat (a coffee shop) in Keizer and rode out to the show. The temperature was very low - the actual low was 35° F., but my fingers told me it felt much colder than that!

I hope to put up some pictures soon.

Posted 9:28 AM by John Henry

Willamette Valley Personal Century

After taking Saturday off, I rode a personal century yesterday. I left the house at 8:30 am and headed east out Sunnyside Rd to Cascade Hwy. There I turned around and headed back to town to join the Salem Bicycle Club for their 10:00 am ride. This ride headed north on the west side of the Willamette River to Amity. I did some extra hill climbing and got behind the main group. I spent most of the day trying to catch them. As such, I found a way to work hard. Then, I joined the Salem Bicycle Club for the 1:30 pm ride so I would end the day with 100 miles.

Here is the analysis for the day...

Posted 9:09 AM by John Henry

St. Paul - Donald Personal Century

It is nice to have a long weekend.

I did not ride on Thursday - Thanksgiving Day.

On Friday, it was raining, but Joanne and I did 40 miles. We did a route to Silverton via Lardon Rd to Cascade Hwy. The traffic was light, perhaps because everyone was shopping. The light rain did not bother us, but the strong south wind did.

We stopped at a coffee shop for espresso, and then rode on back home. The pace was easy and it was a good day to ride.

On Saturday, I did a personal century. I woke up early and joined the folks at Scott's Cycles for there 7:30 am ride. We headed south into the grey of the morning. It was just 37 degrees F, but I was warmly dressed. Since they have to be back at the shop to open at 9:00 am, I broke off and headed up to the east Salem hills where I saw Christmas Tree harvesting (via helicopter). Once I reached Cascade HWY, I headed back via State St and joined the Salem Bicycle Club for their 10:00 am ride to Mission State Park.

Again, the pace was easy and all was well, until we came to the railroad crossing just north of Brooks. This is on the Monster Cookie Metric Century route and we cover the tracks, which are at a very bad angle, with plywood and carpet. I could have used this bridge as I fell at the tracks. My front wheel caught the second rail and I went down on my left side. I suffered no real injuries, only a dime sized scrap on my left knee and a sore right thigh (from hitting the top tube). Luckily, no one ran over me. I picked myself up and continued on.

Once we reach the park, I continued north to St. Paul and then went east to Donald where I was planning to eating at the Donald Cafe. But it was closed! So, I enjoyed a quickie market turkey sandwich and an orange juice on the sidewalk.

The 25 miles back to Salem was a challenge as there was a stiff south wind all of the way. In such a wind, all you can do is put your head down and pedal.

I finished the day with 96 miles and a 14.7 mph average.

Today, I did the Salem Bicycle Club afternoon ride and rode it at a recovery ride pace. But the weather was good and the roads were dry so I rode the LeMond (instead of the Cannondale). Oh, how I love the LeMond! Light, fast and fun! It was 23 miles of pure cycling enjoyment.

Posted 9:47 PM by John Henry

Knox Butte Personal Century

In my first long ride after the Death Valley Double and my week long illness, I chose a flat route to the south of Salem.

The forecast was for 70% chance of rain, but the sky, while cloudy, did not look threatening as I head out at 8:15 am. However, I was dressed for rain. I was wearing my Burley Rain Jacket and my Pearl Izumi AmFIB Tights along with booties and a warm hat beneath my helmet. Let it rain!

But the story of the ride was how weak I felt. I guess that my illness took more out of me than I thought it would. I was slow, climbing was difficult and I suffered. The last few miles of the ride were truly difficult and I was really glad to get home. My legs felt like I had ridden 200 miles, not half that. They ached throughout the night and the back of my tights are sore today.

In addition, just as we sat down at a Mexican restaurant for dinner last night, a migraine headache struck. But, it is not a bad one and today I hardly feel any after effects.

None the less, I did have a good ride. The route took me pass Saitiam Bluff and then into the Dever/Conner area. While in Dever/Conner, I had just taken a swallow from my water bottle, and as I was returning it to the downtube cage, a rat ran out in front of me. Yes, a rat. I think I missed it as I did not feel the wheels hitting it, but none the less, both the rat I and must have felt a rush of adrenalin! I wonder if the snake I almost hit in Death Valley also felt a rush?

Here are the stats for yesterday's ride:

DST: 92.65 miles
AVG: 14.8 mph
ATM: 6 hours 15 minutes

But, my heart rate stats are really telling. As you can see, the vast majority of the time my heart rate was above 85% of my maximum beats per minutes.

Above (150): 36:40 9%
In (135 - 150): 5:07:23 79%
Below (135): 50:36 12%
Average: 141

Posted 11:32 AM by John Henry

Joanne in the local newspaper

Yes, once again, my lovely wife has been interviewed by the Statesman Journal, our local newspaper. This time, the focus of Roy Gault's piece was riding during the winter. While I was not mentioned by name in the article, there are two references to me. The first concerns my fall and injury to my thumb and the other is about the Saturday Centuries.

That brings up the next item. I will be leading beginning in January. Why? Well, lets just say that I need to train for next year. More on this once my plans firm up.

Lastly, I am coming off of an illness. It started with a sore throat last Wednesday. I went to work on Thursday and Friday, but did not feel well. I took it easy last weekend hoping that by resting the illness would pass. I was wrong. I woke up Monday morning feeling so bad I did not go to work. Today I took off also, but I'm feeling better as of this afternoon. As such, I set up DNS and DHCP on my home network. I did this to facilitate using iFolder on my laptop.

Posted 5:29 PM by John Henry

Death Valley Double Ride Report

Joanne and I had successful rides at the Death Valley Century and Double Century. Joanne opted for the century while I finished the double century.

We drove down from Salem beginning on Thursday morning. We took I-5 south to California 89 to US 395. We drove through Reno, NV and spent the night in Gardnerville NV. The next morning, we took a side trip to Bodie State Park. (Some very nice photographs can be viewed here.) Leaving Bodie, we pulled into Furnace Creek just in time for dinner at the 49er Cafe.

The next morning was the ride. I left at 7:10 am on the double route and Joanne left 30 minutes later on the century route. I rode hard for the first 24 miles. I formed up with the lead paceline to Stovepipe Wells but I dropped off on the hill up to Beatty Junction. I did not want to expend the energy in order to stay with the group. I more or less rode by myself for the rest of the ride.

I saw (briefly) Joanne at the Beatty Junction rest stop before I left toward Scotty's Castle. This section of the route climbs 3000 feet in 35 miles or so. There is only a few, short, steep sections; the vast majority is a gentle climb. It it is long. I did a short stop at a water stop 15 miles short of Scotty's Castle. When Joanne arrived, I had already left, but I later learned that she fell there when she was mounting her Colnago to leave. The paramedics took care of her and determined that she would be able to continue.

I reached Scotty's Castle in pretty good shape, but I was only 95 miles into the double. This is the turn around point for the century riders, be the double route continues to climb out of Death Valley into Nevada and Scotty's Junction. This year, the wind was kind to me. I was afraid that I would face the same fierce head winds that tortured me the last time I did this route. Returning toward Scotty's Castle, I began to feel a wind coming up out of the valley as I approached the rim. I must have either bonked or worked way too hard as by the time I reached Scotty's Castle, I was in some serious pain. In addition to my lower back and arms, my left arch was really giving me tough. I could barely walk! I spent nearly 30 minutes resting and massaging my arch before I headed off toward Ubehebe Crater. The rest did me good as I climbed up to it easily. Now, I turned back toward Beatty Junction. The sun set during this section but I had my NiteRider Flamethrower to light the way. I pulled into the rest stop with a young lady who was felling a bit "bonky" as she had run out of water. I offered her my Gateraid/Sustained Energy mixture buy she politely declined my offer.

Again, I took a long rest before starting the hardest portion of the route, the climbed up to Hell's Gate. The first three miles were not that bad, but the last 4 miles were hard. I was in my lowest gear (30x27) and I could barely turn the peddles over. I wanted to stop, but I refused. I obtained the top where I turned back toward the valley and descended into the night. The last ten miles were flat and fast. I was feeling much better and even sprinted for the finishing line!

Stats:

Miles: 196.9 miles
Average: 14.8 miles per hour
Time of the bike: 13 hours 12 minutes
Total time: 14 hours 50 minutes

Photographs...

John at the start
Joanne at the start
John on the road
Joanne on the road
John at the finish
Joanne at the finish

Posted 6:51 PM by John Henry

Don Stahos, a republican that I owe a lot too, passed away yesterday. He is the father of Oregon's Bicycle Bill. Here Gov. Tom McCall (another republican) is signing the bill on the seat of a Schwinn Continetial.

Posted 9:08 AM by John Henry

Yesterday, I worked from home, which allowed me to ride Gibson Hill for the first time since June. I am please to say that I beat my previous best time!

	June 21, 2005	October 18, 2005
Time	23.39.5	21.42.5
Average	9.5	10.4

This is the analysis of the climb from my HAC4:

Posted 4:36 PM by John Henry

Well, the illness that I have been fighting for the last few weeks caught up with me. I did not work out on Thursday, called in sick on Friday and did not ride on Saturday. But, by Sunday I was feeling better, so Joanne and I loaded up the Meridian tandem and rode the Harvest Century.

We rode quite hard, maintaining an average of 16.5 for 110 miles. Near the end, we still felt strong, but a bit slower on the hills. Here is my analysis for the ride...

My next event ride is the Death Valley Double on October 29, 2005. The last time I rode the northern course, I averaged 14.6 mph. I'm hoping to ride faster this time.

Posted 12:04 AM by John Henry

"If bicycle saddles contribute to erectile dysfunction, then The Netherlands would be empty" -Thorsten Schaette of KHS Bicycle Parts

Two rides in the last two days.

Yesterday, I rode with the Scott's Cycling group north into and beyond Keizer. We started at 6:00 pm when it was still light, but finished at 7:30 pm in the darkness. This was a quick paced ride and I finished with 17.7 mph average for 25 miles. In the race to the top of Ravena hill, I was fourth, my best ever!

Tonight, I did 30 minutes on the stair step machines and then 28 miles at a more reasonable pace.

I thinking of going back to McKenzie Pass this weekend, but it depends on the weather. Right now, the forecast is for showers. But this was the forecast for last weekend and it was dry until after the ride. We shall see if this weekend is the same.

Posted 10:11 PM by John Henry

From the Ultracycling mailing list...


My Recent Deer Accident/Crash at Columbus Fall Challenge in OHIO
Daniel Chew
Oct 10, 2005 13:40 PDT

Last weekend, I collided with a deer and crashed HARD -
cracking my helmet and breaking my bicycle (the black
Softride which I won the 1999 RAAM on will finally have to
be retired after 100,000 miles - more miles than any other
bicycle I have ever ridden. Caludio gave it his blessing
to be retired.

I recently came close to hitting a deer that stepped our of the forest in front of me while I was descending at 42 mph. As I read Danny's posting, I felt the same chills that I felt when I nearly hit a deer.

Be careful out there.

Posted 5:05 AM by John Henry

Sunday was a nice recovery ride. I did 28 miles at 11.5 mph. And, yes it hurt, but not as much as this man.

This is Jim "Cutthoat Trout" Trout at the finish of the 2005 Furnace Creek 508.

Posted 7:46 PM by John Henry

Today, I will do an easy recovery ride as I am quite sore from yesterday.

Here is the analysis of my yesterday's ride and it should explain why I am taking it easy today.

Posted 10:23 AM by John Henry

Let's play a game.

Who is this? And why is he holding that sign?

Posted 8:17 PM by John Henry

Today's ride was hard and longer than I expected. First of all, here are the stats...

Dst: 97.72 miles
Avg: 14.5 mph
Max: 40.3 mph
ATM: 6:43:56
Alt: 6,610 ft

The ride consisted of five separate parts: the first descent, the long hill, the descent into Sisters, the climb out of Sisters, and lastly, the long descent.

I was on the bike at 7:45 am at an elevation of 3720 ft. The temperature was just 33 ° F. The route first descends down to an elevation 1,700. I do not know what the wind chill was, but I was cold! I was trying to remember my climb on the Central Coast Double - 13% and 90° F.! I was not successful.

Next, I rode McKenzie pass from the west. I gained more than 3,500 feet in 30 miles. I climbed well, and did not stop at the summit, but continued down to Sisters. There, I ate a rather large lunch - a cup of soup and a turkey sandwich. I then reversed my route and rode McKenzie pass from the east. This direction is much easier as the elevation gain is just 2,000 feet. Again, I climbed well and did not stop at the summit.

I now descended for 3,500 feet and this was very hard. My arms and hands grew tired from braking, my feet started to hurt as I was not peddling and my back began to hurt. I found myself wishing I was climbing again.

At the bottom of the descent, I realized that I did not have time to ride the 20 miles back to my car. I promised my wife that I would be home in time to have dinner with her brother who is visiting from Washington, so I hitch-hiked back to my car. A special thanks to Don Mathews and his wife who picked me up and took me back to my car!

So, I did not finish the ride, but I get to have dinner! An even trade I would say.

Posted 5:51 PM by John Henry

It has been a good week for me.

I worked out at the gym with Marin on Monday and Thursday including 30 minutes on the stair climber each day. On Tuesday, I rode with the group from Scott's Cycling, and almost stayed with the attach on MacLeay hill. Wednesday was our first Salem Bicycle Club night ride and we took it easy; it was a recovery ride for me.

Tomorrow, I plan on riding a hard route from Santiam Junction to Sisters via McKenzie pass, returning the way I came.

Posted 8:49 PM by John Henry

It was a good decision to drive SAG on the Peach, rather than ride it.

Here are some (editied) comments from some riders



Well, the weather didn't clear for the Peach. The wind blew, we had rain, it wasn't warm (wasn't too cold either).


The trip south from Chemekete Community College featured fairly strong headwinds, and rain. Not a terribly pleasant way to start. The bike felt as though 50 lbs of water had gotten into the frame. Still, we were better off that those on the single bikes, since we must have overtaken over 100 riders. The headwinds let up for the 5 miles in front of the first rest stop - we managed to get up to our regular cruising speed.

We elected to ride the 62 mile loop. We did 100 miles in the rain on Ring of Fire - didn't have a great desire to repeat that! The middle leg was short, and slow. Crosswinds are very bad for a tandem.

The final leg back to the start was a mixture of slow and fast. There was one point where we got the full benefit of the tail wind, and cursed along for many miles (probably 15) at between 22 and 30MPH. That almost made up for the rain.. Almost! We averaged a feeble 17.8MPH for the day, but I suspect that was better than most.

The Salem Bike club puts on a great ride. The rest stops were well stocked - I bet they had plenty left over today. I also imagine that the 100 mile rest stop didn't see much action today.

Had the obligatory Peach Pie at the end of the ride. Scott, Linda MH, Nance and I then went to a local restaurant, and had soup! Finally got warm, and sort of dry. We had fun today!

************************

Jason and I also elected to do the 62 mile ride. Pretty much the same experience as Richard and Nance. We averaged 15.7 though... And finished just before the sky opened up (1:30?). We felt sorry for the folks still out riding.

After heading through Salem looking for a Starbuck's (no luck), we figured we'd go to the one in Wilsonville. Calling home revealed that Fitz was heading into work (in Wilsonville!), so we met at the Starbuck's. :-) Visited, shared RSVP experiences with the 3 soggy cyclists at the next table (Fitz had already asked if they had done the Peach, and they were asking about RSVP), then went home. And did laundry.

************************

OK, it wasn't that bad. We did more than survive. We actually had quite a bit of fun. But it was definitely not what we'd been looking forward to for months. With a slightly wry smile, the Salem Bike Club people at the finish blamed Lance. After all, the LAF ride usurped the weekend that they'd "pre-ordered" and gummed up the weather works.

We (Linda, Michael G., Nat and I... Laura had put herself on the injured reserve list and didn't show) departed at 7:51, coinciding nicely with the spigot in the clouds being flipped to "full open". There was still a little dry pavement in the parking lot when we rolled out, I think, but that didn't last past the first intersection. Rooster tails became the order of the day. RaceBlade fenders work pretty well for keeping the owner's backside dry, but they have little to no effect on riders following. So, Linda and I got pretty plastered front AND back, while Nat and Michael took all their hits on the front. Nat's collection of grime was especially impressive by the end of the day.

Any thoughts of hitting a 20 mph riding average were jettisoned very early on as the wind from the south bore in on us. After about 15 miles, my computer had become so soaked that it quit. I coaxed it back to life periodically by blowing the water out of the contacts, but it was a losing battle. So, I have no stats for the day, but that was strangely liberating in and of itself.

Sometime after sloshing through Turner, I apparently struck a chord that had been waiting for an outlet: "What do you think about doing 62 instead?" It took about two pedal revolutions to reach a consensus on that one. We were all riding well, feeling strong, but the "vision thing" was becoming a real problem for me. Between water droplets and fog, my view of the ride had been reduced to a bad blend of mpressionism and Jackson Pollock, and cleaning the lenses was a very temporary solution. Other concerns were raised as well (as if we really had to work at talking ourselves out of the century) and we decided to take the shortcut to the barn.

It was a very wet, but very nice ride. There's been a course change after Stayton hat makes an already good ride even better. This might have been in effect last year, but I can't remember for sure. Whatever... it's fun and pretty; even on a sloppy gray day.

As we dialed in our aim on Chemeketa, we realized with relief that the winds were not going to shift appreciably on us and that we would have a TAILWINDfor most of the last leg! How very cool! The rooster tails flew even higher, but we kept speeding up regardless.

Not long before the finish, Linda doused us with a heaping helping of something green and fibrous that had been pulverized into the bike lane (I don't want to know what it was... it's all washed off now!) but that just added a little texture to the fun. At various times on the last leg, we all mentioned that we really were having fun. It WAS fun! Fully saturated fun, but fun in any case.

Michael headed out while the rest of us changed clothes, so I didn't get a chance to thank him for his company and share of the work. Thanks, Michael! That also meant I didn't get a chance to give him the print I'd made of him starting out at the State TT. (Linda has it now... you guys can make arrangements if you want. There's a shot of Laura during one of the RAO test rides, too)

Lunch with Richard and Nancy and Linda was fun, and yes, it was nice to watch the deluge from a warm and dry restaurant.

Ride post-script: As I passed through Manning on my way home, I got caught in one of the very worst showers I'd ever been in while driving. The clouds just tried to purge every bit of water they had in them all in one spot. The roar on the car's roof was like standing beside a turning jet engine. My bike sat placidly on the roof through it all, and when I got home I realized that it had essentially been power-washed from above. Almost all of the road grime and grit is gone. I still need to clean the rims and lube the chain, but the really messy cleanup is pretty much done.

************************

Andrew, Diane, Nanci, and I have a slightly different story. Same start in rain and wind, with rooster tails from two of the four bikes. At the left turn on Turner, we looked at each other and agreed that it wasn't really fun, so we headed straight into Salem, found a hole-in-the-wall cafe named Off Center Cafe, and had a yummy second breakfast, returned to the start for a grand total of 19 miles! No peach pie, as they didn't have a knife to cut it yet, and all the better anyway. When Nance called to arrange lunch, I was already home in my garage cleaning my bikes.
I'll have to work on my birthday miles another day.

************************

Wonders will never cease here in Oregon. The weather wizards were right! They forecasted anywhere from 30% to 80% chance of showers yesterday. Depending when & where you were, you could have been in a downpour. And a very nice, character building south wind for all to enjoy. Who says the Salem Bike Club doesn't provide something for everyone? Many folks also got to practice their flat changing skills. It kept our SAG drivers busy.

I was there, in herdware, at the start handing out the Road Animal Awards to those who were day of ride registrations. Got to meet a fellow Intel employee, Michael Goldsmith, Richard and Nora Seton and a few others I can't remember their names. I heard someone ask for Amy Reams packet but didn't see her.

We had just over 300 folks pre-register and maybe 50 or so didn't show. Then there are those who signed up day of ride. About 100 folks fell into that category.

I remarked to a friend that too bad we moved the ride to this date because we didn't want to compete with Lance and that ride had the better weather. He pointed out that if we had the real good weather we could have had the chance of having more riders than we planned on , there would be more chance of some
folks suffering sun stroke, and everybody would have delayed finding their winter riding clothes. This was also a chance to seperate the men from the boys and women from the girls. Now we know who will ride during the winter and who has hung their bike up until next April. ;o)

A good time was had by all who rode even though we were completely soaked at the end of the day. Thanks to Bob for the great road markings, to Phyllis for the food, to John, Pat, Dick, & Don for SAG support. A great big thanks to Scott for coordinating the ride. Another big thanks to his wife, Angela, for her support too. Thanks go to the many other folks helped with registration setup/teardown along with the Kiwanas Club who manned the rest stops.

I just hope Lance doesn't take our day next year.

************************

Key learnings from the Peach:

When I woke up this AM I found I *still* had grime coming out of me ears!

A GPS falling off the handlebars @ 20 mph bounces about 6 inches vertically and 25 feet horizontally.

Road grit is excellent for removing plaque built up on the teeth.

My feet were cold and purple at the end of the ride. This purple somehow got transferred to my socks.

Riding on the drops in a paceline improves the angle at which your face intersects the roostertail of the rider ahead of you, thereby increasing the efficiency with which filth is transferred to your face.

After the paceline rides though a mud patch, you find yourself hoping that the leader drags you through a deep puddle so as to rinse off your glasses.

Warm fingers are happy fingers. Cold toes are sad toes.

Avoid having *too* much fun when riding in the rain. Smiling tastes
bad.

Posted 8:38 PM by John Henry

I rode the Peach of a Century route today, a day before the event as I am driving a SAG vehicle during the event.

The weather was a bit lousy.

Max Temperature 61 °F
Min Temperature 47 °F
Precipitation 0.10 in
Month to date precipitation 0.10
Year to date precipitation 18.13

Max Wind Speed 20 mph
Max Gust Speed 29 mph

I rode 95 miles at an average of 16.0 mph which is good considering I was riding my heavy rain bicycle.

Posted 8:31 PM by John Henry

I have create some altitude analysis of the Eugene to Florence and back ride from the data captured by my CicloSport HAC4.

Day One - Eugene to Florence:

Day Two - Florence to Eugene




If you notice that they could be mirror images, that is because we did the same route, but backwards on the second day.

Posted 9:58 PM by John Henry

The two day credit card packdown from Eugene to Florence and back with Keith and Pat lippy back was great! The weather was fine, nice on Saturday and again on Sunday after the morning coolness.

We left the Eugene airport at 10:00 am and headed out on the route. But, the first thing we saw was closed road signs. Pat had checked on the web for closed roads, but this was an Army Corp of Engineers project and was not listed on the county road closure list. So, with a slight detour we found our way to the Oregon Coast. Our first stop was a short rest stop at Joe's Cafe. Then, we took on the last major climb up and over the Coast Range to the Triangle Lake Store where we stopped for snacks and fluids. Lunch was in the town of Mapleton, where we came across three other cycle-tourists, also heading to Florence. We arrived at our motel at 4:30, showered and went out to Dinner at the Bidgewater Restaurant. After dinner, bedtime came early and we were asleep by 9:00 pm.

The alarm woke us at 6:00 am and we walked to breakfast and were on our tandems by 8:30 am. It was cool, in the mid-forties, but the sky was clear; there was no fog. The sun warmed us, when we were able to ride in it. Our route back was the same as yesterday. This meant that our descends of yesterday were the climbs of today. Joanne and I were not as fast as yesterday. In fact, we were popped! Joanne is coming off of a cold and I am still recovering from last week's Knoxville Double. However, Keith and Pat were nice and slowed down so we would no be left behind. Again, we had snacks at the Triangle Lake Store. In the afternoon, traffic picked up, but never was a hazard. We returned to our cars at the Eugene airport at 2:30. We then ate an early dinner at steeled Brewery in downtown Eugene. Photographs are here.

Stats:
Day One - Saturday
Avg: 17.5
Dst: 73.28
Alt: 1893

Day Two - Sunday
Avg: 15.8
Dst: 72.28
Alt: 2217

Totals: Distance: 155.56 and Altidue GainL 4110.

Oh, by the way - Flats:
Team Lippy: 3
Team Maurice/Heilinger: Zero!

Posted 6:20 PM by John Henry

We are packing for a short, two-day, credit card packdown starting in Eugene with an overnight in Florence. A map of our route is here.

I have to get moving, or I will be late, but here are some other distractions...

1) An article on Portland Bicycling - Cyclist fatalities shift attention to mean streets -? and how to avoid them.

2) The folks at CampyOnly took my photo while I was at Rest Stop One (I'm on the far left). A highres copy can be viewed here. Yes, it can get foggy in Napa Valley.

3) Lastly, here is a photo of us on the 2005 Northwest Tandemrally.

Posted 6:54 AM by John Henry

I have just returned from the Knoxville Double Century. I did very well this year - total time was 15:35, down from 17 hours last year. I met my goal of getting to rest stop 6 before sunset. It was the first time that I have seen that rest stop in daylight. Stats are:

Dst: 203.68 miles
Avg: 14.8 mph
Time on the bike: 13:42
Time off of the bike: 1:53

I did not forget my Helmet this year, so I was able to start at 4:45 am. I used my NiteRider Flamethrower headlight with a Helmet mount. This is the first light I have owned that provide enough light for me to see hazards, even at descending speed. This is one bright light. On the way to the first rest stop, I had number of cyclists ride with me just because of the light. I used it for the first two hours of the ride and it still had battery life for me to use at the end of the ride.

Napa valley was not as cold this year, but it was foggy in places. As I rode along, water droplets formed on my glasses forcing me to ride without them. Things were fuzzy, but I could see.

After leaving the first rest stop (now paved!), I saw five hot air balloons floating above the vineyards as I rode toward Howell Mountain Rd. Just one problem, I turned too early onto Hwy 128 due to a bad road marking. Someone added a right turn arrow to the Knoxville straight marking, so I turned left and added bonus miles. After two miles I knew I had made a wrong turn as the road was flat.

The Howell Mountain climb was not as difficult as in years past. This is true for all of the climbing. Losing ten pounds has really made climbing easier. I should continue my weight lost for another fifteen pounds.

I rode Knoxville Road with Foster and his wife Janeene. I met Foster on the Devil Mountain Double. I really enjoyed the twenty fives of climbing we did together. They worked me so hard, I had to stop at the water stop while they continued on to the lunch stop.

None the less, I was feeling good when I reached the lunch stop. I quickly ate a small sandwich and then headed toward the next climb. At the top, I met Tom, who at an intersection and was confused which way to take. We rode together to the next rest stop. I knew I was riding well as last year I had to stop and take a break on Big Canyon Rd, and this year I was feeling good. So good in fact, that my stay at rest stop four was short - just a few minutes.

On my way to rest stop 5, I saw just five other riders, and I passed them all. Then, on my way to rest stop 6, I saw just three other riders, of which two passed me.

I saw rest stop 6 in daylight for the first time. Not much to look at, but it was nice not riding in the dark, competing for the road with the boat traffic.

I finished at 8:20 pm, and feeling quick good. No, I did not want to do more miles, but it is nice when you do not limp up the last hills and suffer the last few miles.

The Quackcyclists put on another great ride. They should feel proud.

Posted 9:18 PM by John Henry

Ten common time trial mistakes
By Andy Applegate
UltraFit.com
August 26, 2005

The time trial is often referred to as "the race of truth" and many even consider it to be an art form. The fact is that it takes a lot of hard training and mental fortitude to excel at the discipline. Below is a list of 10 common mistakes riders make when preparing for and racing time trials.

1. Starting too hard: This is probably the most common mistake riders make during time trials. It can also be one that causes a significant amount of time loss. Work into the effort over the first minutes of the event. Avoid building excessive fatigue early in the race that will cause a necessary decrease in speed. You may never recover to hit your goal pace if you start too hard.

2. Not warming up hard enough: Simply spinning lightly before the start of a TT will not activate and properly warm up the energy systems you will call into play for the event. Be sure to do several efforts at Lactate Threshold Heart Rate (or about CP30 power) to ensure you are ready to go. As a general rule: The shorter the event the longer and harder the warm up should be.

3. Changing position or equipment too close to race day: This sounds obvious, but it's amazing how many riders neglect this rule. Train with the position and equipment you intend to race with. Have the final adjustments made at least several training sessions before the event.

4. Too high or too low a cadence during the event: Race with a comfortable cadence that you've been training with. Race day is not the time to experiment with cadences higher or lower than you've been working with in training.

5. Completing warm-up efforts too long before start time: Attempt to finish your last hard warm-up effort as close to start time as possible. Within 10 minutes is optimum. Make all the necessary preparations before so you can go right from your warm up to the start line.

6. Allowing split times to mentally affect your effort: I tend to avoid using split times unless it's a situation where it will really help. Just because you get behind on an estimated split doesn't mean the race is over. Concentrate on the effort. The very best riders will often ride negative splits and not let competitors' fast early split times affect their personal pacing strategies.

7. Not pushing hard enough from far enough out from the finish: The goal is to use every bit of energy you have and leave it all out on the course to get the best possible time. Learn when you can "open up the throttles" and sustain maximum effort to the finish.

8. Being an absolute slave to the numbers: Power meters, heart rate monitors and cycling computers are all amazing tools that give us feedback about our performance. Don't allow the numbers they give to rule your riding completely. Learn what different heart rates and power outputs feel like. Do some of your interval training on perceived effort alone. Cover up the numbers on your monitors, go by feel and then look at the data later to see how close your estimates were. The most important heart rate and power zone to be able to "feel" for time trials is Lactate Threshold Heart Rate and CP30 power.

9. Not enough training time at Lactate Threshold/CP30 power: Training at or near this important point is essential to develop time trial fitness. The exceptions to this are extremely short (less than 5km) and extremely long (more than 100 km) events.

10. Going out too hard: This one is so important I had to list it twice.

Certainly there are many more subtleties that could be listed here, but this list should give you a few things to think about before you head to your next race against the clock.

Posted 1:00 PM by John Henry

It has been a wonderful vacation, it is really too bad that it is over.

I'm at the Gitche Gumee RV Park. Tomorrow at 4:30 am, a taxi will take us to the airport to begin our trip home. We arrive at Portland at 7:02 pm, if everything goes well.

We have seen a lot of Michigan, and been to many special places, some of which I have learned how to pronounce. Favorites include the dinner in Grand Marias, the Grand Sable Dunes and the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

Posted 5:21 PM by John Henry

I'm in Shephard, Michigan. We have just completed day one of Dalmac. We did 73 miles with an 16 mph average. While there were no hills to speak of, we did gain 1500 feet of elevation. Tomorrow, we continue our journey north.

Posted 12:54 PM by John Henry

My server suffered a motherboard failure. I have migrated the site to a new server and a new version of NetWare (OES-NetWare 6.5), but there is still a lot of work to do. All of my cgi scripting is broken!

However, I am leaving on vacation and will be away for two weeks. I will just have to wait until I return before I can attend to the site.

Since the site has been unavailable, I have redden the Torture 10000 (T10k), the ABC Ride and the Yaquina Head Century.

The T10k site is here, but don't go there unless you can deal with truly ugly html.

Quoting form the site (without their formatting):
"Torture 10,000 Century: Here's how to pack in 10,000 fabulous feet of climbing into 100 miles. Starting at MHCC the first 20 miles take you up, way up, to the top of Larch Mountain for your first refueling opportunity. Make sure you bring a jacket for the descent, since even in the heat of summer the 7-mile drop from the top can get quite chilly. The course turns south traveling along the Sandy River, past Roslyn Lake and up into Sandy for your second refueling stop at Meinig Park. The next 11 miles feature fun rollers, beautiful views of Mt. Hood and a 2-mile descent along Eagle Creek into a tunnel of old growth forest. Be sure to stop at Eagle Fern Park for refueling stop number three before heading up to loop around George featuring quiet rural roads, breath taking views, and a descent that brings you back down to Eagle Fern Park for refueling stop number four. Now you get to climb back up through a tunnel of moss covered trees back to Meinig Park for your fifth and final refueling stop."

In my opinion, the Mt. Shasta ride is more difficult. The Mt. Shasta gives you three long steep climbs, while T10k only has one long climb, and it is not very steep at all. The rest of the T10k is mostly rollers, some long though.

But, the T10k did provide me with my first near miss of a deer. As I was descending at over 40 mph, a deer walked into the road in front of me. I lock my rear wheel and missed the deer by less than six feet. But, my rear tire was wasted - all of the rubber was scrapped off by the skidding. But did I abandon? No, like a fool I finished the next 60 miles with a rear tire that could have let go at anymomentt.

Next came the ABC Ride. While the longest distance is 62 miles, I did make it into a century by riding to the start from my home in Salem. I left just before daylight and saw the sun come up in front of me while the full moon was setting behind me. Very nice.

Lastly, Joanne and I rode the Yaquina Head Century on our Meridan Tandem. We will be taking it on ovr vacation, so we converted it to touring mode (removed the carbon fiber fork and low spoke wheels). This ride was a test and it performed well.

Posted 10:25 PM by John Henry

Lat weekend, I drove down to ride the Mt. Shasta Summit Century. This was one of the hardest rides that I have ever done. I completed three of the four major climbs - Parks Creek, Mumbo and Castle Lake. By the time I finished the Castle Lake climb, I was done. I was toast. I was finished.

The Parks Creek climb came first and in the early morning. I felt good on this climb and held myself back as it was going to be a long day. Next came several rollers, but no real climbs. None the less, I gained a lot of elevation getting to the next major climb of the day, Mumbo.

Mumbo was hard, because it is very steep and it was getting hot. But I was still riding well and intended to finishing all four climbs.

That thought came to an end with the Castle Lake climb. While it was the shortest of the three, it was the hardest. It was now very hot and I was truely suffering. In fact, I had to stop four times in the last four miles just to recover so I could get to the top. Once there, I knew my day was done and the Mt. Shasta climb would have to wait for another year.

Here are some stats:

Parks Creek Climb:

Dst: 13.3
Avg: 6.7 mph
Alt: 3579
Avg HR: 135 bpm
Avg Temp: 65° F


Mumbo Climb:

Dst: 11.78
Avg: 6.8 mph
Alt: 3055
Avg HR: 131 bpm
Avg Temp: 92° F


Castle Lake Climb:

Dst: 7.31
Avg: 5.5 mph
Alt: 2057
Avg HR: 137 bpm
Avg Temp: 98° F


Total for the day:

Dst: 107.93
Avg: 11.3 mph
Max Speed: 45.9
Alt: 10948

Posted 10:12 PM by John Henry

Two links today.

The first is a story on the Co-Motion Classic that appeared in the Eugene Register-Gaurd

The second link just makes me want to shake my head.

Posted 7:12 AM by John Henry

We can now say that we are tandem bicycle racers.

That's right, Joanne and I rode in the 2005 Co-Motion Classic.

We were able to do this because of the new "C" division this year. "C" riders are tandem teams that have never raced before. Now I have done some long distance rides before, but none of them are considered a race. So, Joanne and I decided to join in on the fun. The "C" division has just two stages; a 7.5 mile time trial and a 18 mile road race.

Now you would expect that we would train for this race. Nope. I just continued with my long distance training and Joanne kept riding with The Salem Bicycle Club. Well, we did do a little bit of time trial practice on the Wednesday before the race.

On Saturday, we woke up early and drove down to Cottage Grove for the time trial. At the race meeting, we learned that there were just eight teams including us and they ranged from a team who purchased their first tandem just two months before the race to a young team with shaved legs and aero-helmets. But luck of the draw (?), Joanne and I were to be the first out of the gate.

We had an hour before our departure time, so we decided to slowly ride the course to get a feel for it. It started near the edge of town and headed westward up into the foothills. After four miles, the inclined steepened and I shifted into our largest cog. The chain dropped down in between the cassette and the spokes pulling the dérailleur in toward the wheel. This cause the dérailleur hanger to bend 30 degrees or more. In short, we broke the bike.

I can not describe the depth of despair that we felt. There was no way we could fix the bike in time to make our start time in the time trial. We could not ride in the time trial. We could only load up the tandem and head back to Salem and hopefully the local bike shop could fix it.

An hour later, we were standing in The Bike Peddler watching Brian take a hammer to our dérailleur hanger. I could not watch and excused myself to the rest room. Went I came back, Brain was fine tuning the bike. It was fixed! We took it out for a 25 mile ride into the east Salem hills and it ran perfect!

On Sunday, we drove back down to Cottage Grove for the road race. As per the rules, we were given the time of the slowest tandem, plus three minutes. We were now in last place, 18 minutes back. Well, we never thought that we could win.

The eight of us started the road race. The leaders were the young couple on the Burley, followed by two tandems captioned by "racer" dad with their children as stokers. A set of nine year old twin girls were the stokers for one team (one rode the time trial and the other rode the road race). A five year old son the stoker of the other parent/child tandem. The other teams were older folks, like Joanne and I.

The course was around Cottage Grove Reservoir, and was mostly flat except for one small hill on the back side followed by shape descent and then a tight, left hand turn (posted at 15 mph). However, the largest hill was just before the finishing line, which was at the top of this hill. After the start, we rode as a group, except for the slowest team which dropped off right away.

This was our first experience of racing and I must admit, it was quite different and it was a lot of fun. Our goal was to finish no slower than fifth place. To achieve this, we intended to ride in the pack, never leading, until the final sprint and then let her rip! The Burley had the same plan. They covered every break and never lead on the first lap.

The first test was the hill on the back side of the course. It broke the pack in two and Joanne and I found ourselves in the lead group! This proved to us that we could climb with the rest of the teams. The second test was the finishing line hill. Again, we stay with the lead group. On the second lap, the groups came together. At the far end of the lake, at a hard left had corner, a tandem attached and we found ourselves dropped off of the lead by several lengths. Joanne and I worked hard to catch up as if we got dropped now, we would be out of contention. We managed to claw our way up to the lead group. Then we came to the back side hill. Again, there was an attack, and we stayed with the lead group, but we went anaerobic to do so. I decided not to race down the hill, but let the 15 mph turn regroup us. This plan worked and we were fifth coming out of the corner, but I blew a shift and we spun our peddles coming out of the turn. This was enough to drop us off of the lead group by 100 feet or more. I decided not to work hard to get back on, but to slowly bridge back in time for the final hill.

To my surprise, the official's car passed us! They must have thought that we would not be able to bridge back. I took this as an insult! At the corner at the foot of the hill, Joanne and I were just a few feet back. We took the corner hard and passed the official's car and then started up the hill proper. We peddled as hard as we could and we caught one team on the lower section of the hill. We continued our efforts to catch the next team which was the father/son team. The son turned around and saw us coming and yelled "Full steam ahead Dad; here they come!" If I was not working so hard, I would have laughed. We caught and passed them to take third! From the depths of despair to the heights of elation!

I would highly recommend the Co-Motion Classic to anyone who every thought about trying out their “racing” legs. It was a real blast.

Posted 9:08 PM by John Henry

The Tour de Chutes was great!

We rode with Keith and Pat Lippy, who lived in Bend while Keith was a custom tandem builder. As such, they saw many of their old friends and shared many memories with us.

The weather was quite warm (it is that way in Bend in the summer) but the distance was not that great and there were no serious hills. We had a very high average on the way out, over 20 miles per hour! We slowed down on the way back in as the day was getting warmer. The route was very similar to the Tandem Ralley two weeks ago, but the roads were quiet and nice.

Dst: 64.06
Avg: 18.8 mpg
Max: 36.9 mpg
Atm: 3:23:55

Posted 9:00 PM by John Henry

It has been a good week. On Monday, I worked out at the gym with Martin. Tuesday was a day off and Wednesday, we rode the tandem on the Salem Bicycle Club evening ride. We did quite well climbing up Gannon. But we lost energy in the latter portion of the ride. Thursday and Friday were rest days.

We are going to Bend on Saturday for the Tour de Chutes benefit ride.

Posted 9:29 PM by John Henry

I did a very long ride yesterday - Forrest Grove to Vernonia to Forrest Grove to Salem. All in all, it was 121 miles long and lasted over eleven hours.
The Banks-Vernonia Liner Trail is one best ridden by mountain bikes with knobby tires. I was riding my touring bicycle, a Trek520, as were the rest of us. So, we left the gravel sections of the trail and traveled on the highway instead. We lunched in Vernonia, where I created the prior post, and headed back to Forrest Grove via Timber. This is a very nice road, one that I would highly recommend.

I retraced the route I took to Forrest Grove and since I was now by myself, I could pick up the pace. The heat was hot, and I drank a lot. None the less, by the time I got home, I was very tired and very dehydrated. I had four duties to accomplish: 1) feed the cats, 2) take the garbage out to the cube, 3) shower and 4) eat. I just managed to do all four before I went to bed.
Stats:

	FG Loop	Fg to Slm	Total
DST	69.70	51.93	121.63
MPH	13.4	16.6	14.3
Elevation			3005

Posted 8:28 PM by John Henry

Comming to you from beautifulm downtown Vernonia. Having lunch at cybercafe.

Posted 11:56 AM by John Henry

A year ago, a friend of mine was involved in a auto/bicycle accident. This is her story in her words...


Well, the trial is now over for the guy who hit me last July. The verdict was guilty of a felony assault 2, so he was given the Measure 11 sentence of 5 yrs/10 months in jail.

It was hard to sit and listen to the whole story, but I learned a lot about what actually happened that evening and it certainly filled in a few blank spots. Basically, this guy was loaded on meth and had been driving fast and passing cars since Hawthorne/Center. After he got stopped by a light at 24th and Center, he continued east on Center, picking up speed, and as traffic began to slow for the 17th Street intersection, he began passing cars on the right, in the bike lane. He continued to increase his speed and by the time he was passing 20th Street, was driving in the bike lane with one side of the car’s wheels actually up on the curb since the lane was too small to fit a vehicle. By the time he was coming up to 18th Street, he was traveling approximately 45 mph or more. That is about when he came up behind me.

According to witnesses and the accident reconstruction, to avoid hitting me, he swerved at the last second back into the lane of traffic, the side of his car just behind the passenger door striking my left handlebar. From what I can figure out from the bike, my injuries and the tan paint on both of my bike tires, is that this threw me into the side of the car where the tires rubbed the side, I hit my left side and head on the car and the bike, since it was leaning inwards, did not sustain any damage to the frame itself, just the headset from the impact. With the injuries that I received from a sideswipe, can you imagine what would have happened if he had hit me directly from behind at that rate of speed? I’m sure I wouldn’t even be here today. The reconstruction showed that he then hit the blue Honda in the rear side panel, swerved back across the road and then sheared off the power pole, crossed the sidewalk and lawn, hitting the tree and then the parked car on 18th Street, where the police had to cut him out of the car.


The medical testimony showed that I had a level 12 brain pattern when I arrived at the emergency room. The scale is 3 -– 15 (15 is normal and a dead person gets a 3, don’t ask me why). During the 3 hours that I was in the emergency room, I had advanced to a level 14, but was still not aware of my surroundings. That finally occurred when I woke up in the cat scan machine. The next day, I still had not returned to “normal", so was kept an additional day for observation. The medical testimony also stated that the wrist that I now have will never return to what it was and will most likely need future medical intervention.

Because of the recklessness of the driver’s behavior and the extent of the injuries I received (severe and long term), the defendant was given the full Measure 11 sentence. Too bad that no one really “won” in this case, neither the driver, me or society, but for bicyclists, this was a victory and helps set a precedent for future cases. That'’s the good we can hope to get from this whole mess…

Stay safe and watch out for the kooks on the road,

Grace

Posted 7:33 AM by John Henry

It has been a difficult week for me.

Monday: worked out by myself at the gym and I worked hard. I am trying to single handedly wear out the stair climber. So far it seems to be winning, but I have not given up yet.

Tuesday: began to feel sick in the early evening and knew at bed time that I would have to call in sick on Wednesday.

Wednesday: called in sick and tried to watch the tour. I was unable to do so as I kept falling asleep.

Thursday: feeling much better and went to work. Then, after work I joined the group from Scott's Cycling. As the group turned left from Mill Creek Rd onto Witzel Rd., I head a female voice from behind me exclaim "Ah shit, I remember that hill!".

Friday: I had a migraine attack at 8:30 am this morning. As I am car pooling to work, I could not leave and had to tough it out. I would rather ride a 14% hill in 93 ° heat (aka the Central Coast Double) than have a migraine.

This weekend, I will join some friends on a credit card packdown to Forest Grove and the Banks-Vernonia Liner Park. It is a three day trip, but I have to work on Monday, so I will have a very long ride on Sunday!

Posted 2:39 PM by John Henry

An easy recovery ride today, just 25 miles.

However, I did something good today. After my ride, I used my touring bicycle and BOB trailer to go to the supermarket and purchase groceries. I must have been a sight walking around the store in lycra!

Posted 5:56 PM by John Henry

Anyone else find it funny that Craig Hill is writing a story about "The Hill" on the Seattle to Portland ride?

Posted 9:36 AM by John Henry

I rode 95 miles yesterday. I joined the Salem Bicycle Club on their ride up to Silver Creek Falls State Park. On the way back toward Silverton, I took a side road I've never been on before, Bridge Creek Road, but it soon turned to gravel. However, after climbing a short 12% grade, I came upon a cemetery. According to this page, it is the Mountain View Cemetery and it dates back to 1884. The name is proper, as the view of the Willamette Valley and the Coast Range beyond is truly fantastic!

After leaving the cemetery, I rejoined the club at a Silverton coffee house. Now, powered up by a latte, I headed out of town. At a four-way stop, the driver of a large pickup truck waved me through the intersection. I headed north up and passed through the small town of Marquam, to Scott's Mills. There, I noticed a gathering in front of the small market. I saw people cooking on bar-b-ques so I stopped to find out what was going on. By chance, I stopped next to the driver who yielded to me back in Silverton! He advised that the store was celebrating its anniversary and offered me a free burger! Sadly, I had to decline as I had 20 more miles to ride and hamburgers are after ride food, not during the ride food.

I headed back toward Salem from Scott's Mills, but realized I needed to take a detour to get the miles I wanted. So, just for fun, I climbed up to Macleay before turning toward home.

Currently listening to

Posted 8:32 AM by John Henry

We have returned from the Northwest Tandem Rally. This year, the rally was held in Bend, Oregon. We have cycled in and around Bend for many years, so the routes were not new to us, but it was nice to ride them again.

On Saturday, we took the long option and headed north to Smith Rocks State Park. On Sunday, we again took the long option and headed east toward, but not quite, to Primeville. And on Monday, the Fourth of July, we rode up Mt. Bachelor. The three day total mileage added up to 195 miles.

We took our Aerolite Trailer and parked it at Summit High School. We enjoyed the company of many new, old and current friends.

One quick story...

The ride on Saturday began with a mass start at Summit High School. We then headed toward the countryside to the north of Bend. While the mass to tandems had broken up, the 'traffic' was still quite heavy when came upon a stuffed moose lying on the road. Yes, there was a moose on the loose!

I could not stand the thought of the poor lost moose being run over my tandems till it's stuffing was spread about the Oregon dessert, so we stopped and rescued it from that horrible fate. No one was coming back looking for the moose, so we took it with us to the next rest stop.

Imagine if you will, a parking lot full of cyclists, when one yells out "Anyone loose a moose?". Well, I guess you just have to have been there. I got empty looks and no former moose owners.

At the following rest stop, I told the story of the lost moose to a friend, Joan Cullin. She remember following the moose, but could not identify the owners. She did say that the tandem team was wearing matching jerseys. It was beginning to look like the moose may become an orphan, when Joan returned with the distraught owner. At the reunion, both the owner, Maria Monteleone, and the moose were very happy.

Posted 11:43 PM by John Henry

The weather has finally become nice. After rain on Monday and clouds on Tuesday, today was warm and clear. Finally, summer has come (at least for today).

As the Northwest Tandem Rally is this weekend, Joanne and I decided to ride the Meridan tonight. We rode well and the tandem performed well. We could climb with authority and had fun doing it!

Stats:

Distance - 32 miles
Average - 16.1 mph
Altitude - 900 gain

Yesterday was the Salem Bicycle Club meeting, so it was a rest day for me. And I needed one, I was sooo tired.

Monday Martin and I worked out at the gym.

Posted 10:01 PM by John Henry

This is why you wear a helmet...

Lance Armstrong has suffered several small injuries in a crash during a training ride around Nice, France. News agency AP reported the six time-Tour de France winner to have a black eye, a cut over his right eyebrow and abrasions on his hands and knees, after the fall, which happened at low speed during the start of a training ride last week. Apparently, he lost control on his time-trial bike after trying to hit a wasp, and sailed over the handlebars, his helmet splitting in two on impact.

From cyclingnews.com.

Posted 7:53 AM by John Henry

Joanne and I finished the Mountain Lake Challenge and it was one tough ride.

After a short seven mile warm up, you climb for eleven miles the climbing begins. All in all, you gain 7000 feet in 97 miles! My average was just 13.9 mph.

Afterward, John and Karen Poole invited Pete, Joanne and me up to their cabin at Lake of the Woods. They are great hosts!

This week, I plan on going to the gym on Monday, attending the Salem Bicycle Club meeting on Tuesday, leading our Wednesday night ride and finally back to the gym on Thursday. Friday will be a rest day before the Northwest Tandem Rally.

Posted 8:50 PM by John Henry

Something I should have posted back in February.

Posted 9:37 PM by John Henry

From beautiful Ashland, Or...

I have to make some changes to my riding plans. Out is the Pedal the Pinchot but in is
a benefit ride in Bend, the Tour de Chutes. The Port to Port ride is being replace by the Co-Motion Tandem Stage Race (more on that later). Also, Joanne has advised me that back to back centuries the first weekend in August is no a good thing. A revised listing is below:

June 28 Mountain Lakes Challenge
July 1-5 Northwest Tandem rally
July 16-17 A Salem Bicycle Club sponsored overnight pack down to Forrest Grove.
July 23 Tour de Chutes
July 30 Co-Motion Tandem Stage Race
August 7 Mt. Shasta Summit Century
August 13 Torture 10,000
August 21 Yaquina Lighthouse Century

Posted 9:15 PM by John Henry

Tomorrow, I will be riding the Mountain Lake Challenge. A review of the ride elevation profile reveals that of the 7,080 feel of elevation gain, over 3,000 feet is gained in the first 20 miles. Then there are roller and minor climbs that make up the balance of the climbing. The last 20 miles is downhill back to Ashland.

Goals: undefined. This is a training ride for me and the first time I have done this ride. So, I guess my goals are (1) finish, (2) have more miles left in my legs at the finish, and (3) to work hard.

I am traveling down with me with by my wife, Joanne Heilinger who had done this ride before, and Peter Richards. While Pete is in the over 70 age bracket, I really don't think I can ride with him. Not because I would have to slow down, but because he would not slow down for me. See the results section of Mt. Washington Hill Climb.

I have taken Wednesday and Thursday as rest days. On Wednesday, my legs were sore from my lifting on Monday and my hill climb on Tuesday. They were better on Thursday and they feel find today. So, in terms of conditioning, I feel that I am ready to tomorrow's ride.

Posted 10:09 AM by John Henry

Sometimes, I just don't want to read the news...

Today, Ultracyclist Bob Breedlove was killed while competing in the Race Across America (RAAM).

Posted 1:53 PM by John Henry

I rode hard tonight.

First, I went out by myself and climbed Gibson Hill. I rode as hard as I could and finished two minutes faster than my last attmept and just ten seconds slower than my fastest time. Then I joined the group from Scott's Cycles and did even more hills. I hung with them till we reach the top of Waldo Hills and then dropped. I finished the evening with 52 miles.

My next goal is the fall Death Valley Double. Joanne and I have signed up; she will be riding the century and I will do the double. I have ridden the northern course just once before. It has winds and hills, everything to make me happy.

Meanwhile for the next two months I will ride some centuries and such.

June 28 Mountain Lakes Challenge
July 1-5 Northwest Tandem Ralley
July 16 Pedal the Pinchot
July 30 Port to Port
August 6 TBD - Something in Klamath Falls
August 7 Mt. Shasta Summit Century
August 13 Torture 10,000
August 21 Yaquina Lighthouse Century

Posted 10:53 PM by John Henry

WooHoo! Another ride is done!

I'm sitting here in my house completely exhausted. It is the morning after the 2005 Salem Bicycle Club's Watermelon Rides and I had to call in sick today. No, I did not ride the two hundred mile ride, not the 125 mile ride, or even the 100 or 50 mile options. Instead, I was the coordinator and I was at the start/finish line from 4:00 am to 9:00 pm yesterday. Yes, the work was hard, but the fun made it all worth while.

I would like to congratulate the finishers of the 200 mile double.

Rand Milan
Del Scharffenberg
Tonya Jeffries and Jonathan Wolf
Joe Durkee
Richard Chinn
Gregory Olsen
Ray Ogilvie

Also, our local newspaper, the Statesman Journal, wrote a story about the ride. I should mention that local news articles are available online for 7 days only.

The story mentions that Michael Carris was on the 200 mile route. However, he is not listed above as a finisher. Michael suffered several mechanical problems again this year and switched to his mountain bike. Due to the delays, he was unable to make the 7:00 pm cutoff time to start the last 20 mile loop. None the less, he continued on homeward bound with his wife and family following. He was going to ride two hundred miles one way or another. As such, I declare Michael an un-official official finisher!

Posted 8:40 AM by John Henry

I worked on preparations for the Watermelon Rides all day today. No riding for me.

Things are going pretty well.
The food has been ordered.
The routes have been decided and the maps are being made.
But, I need more volunteers!

Posted 9:33 PM by John Henry

No riding today. Instead, I attended my step-son's graduation from Western Oregon University. Yes, it rained as the photos document.

Kavin Everett Blanton is now a college graduate!

Currently listening to:

Posted 9:07 PM by John Henry

I had a searies of migraines on beginning on Monday afternoon and continuing on Tuesday and Wednesday. But by Thursday, I was feeling much better and left work early and did a hilly 55 mile ride. First I headed to the West Salem hills (yes, I rode Gibson) and then joined the group at Scott's Cycles. There must have been 60 of us. This ride is getting just too big!

I have now uploaded my photos from Race Across Oregon - see them here.

Posted 9:48 PM by John Henry

Graham pull out due to fatigue at 350 miles into the race. He led the race at the first three checkpoints, but during the very early morning, he was falling asleep on the bike, and weaving from one side of the lane to the other. He did not want to, but he was unable to continue.

I'll post my photos as soon as I am able.

Posted 4:29 PM by John Henry

I am going to crew for Graham Pollock on Race Across Oregon this weekend, so I do not expect to post til Monday.

Some ROA links...

2004 RAO Photos
RAO course anaylsis

Posted 11:02 AM by John Henry

From a articale in Cyclingnews.com that exposes Lance Armstrong's training philosophy.



"In last year's Dauphiné, it was clear he was holding back - particularly on the fourth stage TT to Le Mont Ventoux, where he finished almost two minutes behind eventual winner Iban Mayo from Euskaltel-Euskadi. Mayo went on to a very lacklustre performance in July, eventually quitting the race, while Armstrong crushed his rivals in yet another flawless demonstration of measured strength, cunning and teamwork."

Posted 8:53 AM by John Henry

I joined some friends and did a three-day packdown tour of the Columbia Gorge (and more). Some pictures are here.

The first day we started in Bigen, Wa and headed east to Lyle. From there, we took the Centerville Hwy north to the small town of Centerville (no services). We ended the day at Maryhill State Park. Day Two saw us cross the bridge over the Columbia River and head toward The Dalles. It was windy! We we reached The Dalles, we turned to the south and headed to Dufer. We spent the night in the Dufer City Park. Day Three was long. First we climbed up toward Mt. Hood before turning north towards Hood River.

Posted 10:17 PM by John Henry

When morning came, most of the ice was gone. Our vehicles were still ice laden, but the roads was just wet, not frozen.

I did 40 miles today in the hills south of Salem. Total elevation gain was near 2000 feet. It was a good day to ride, but I did not have a good day. I was weak and slow. I know I'm having a bad day when Joanne drops me on the hills. The details can be seen here. Oh well, let's see what tomorrow brings.

Not everyone stayed inside yesterday. Rob did fifty miles west of Salem. He said the weather was not bad, that is until the ice formed around his heart rate monitor.

Posted 9:20 PM by John Henry

It never warmed up today. There is still ice on my car.

So, I rode the rollers today and this gave me an opportunity to use my new HAC4.

From this graph, you can see that I stopped at 33 minutes for just one minute, recovered, and then started again, but at a slower pace.

Posted 9:09 PM by John Henry

Bicyclist in hit-and-run greases wheels of justice
Henry Bosak, grateful to be alive after being rear-ended near North Plains, offers a $500 reward in the case
Tuesday, January 11, 2005

HILLSBORO -- Five hundred dollars is a small price for Henry Bosak to pay to teach his children about justice.

He might have paid with his life.

Bosak, 45, was rear-ended and knocked off his bicycle by a hit-and-run driver on New Year's Eve south of North Plains in rural Washington County.

He suffered a broken back and numerous scrapes and bruises. An avid cyclist who regularly rode 3,000 to 4,000 miles a year, Bosak now hurts just shuffling around his Hillsboro home or sitting for any length of time. He can sleep for only about four hours before pain forces him out of bed.

Bosak says he is offering a $500 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case because he wants the driver held accountable.

Sandy James, spokeswoman for the Washington County Sheriff's Office, said investigators had no leads in the case other than Bosak's general description of the vehicle. Authorities hope Bosak's reward brings someone forward.

Bosak describes the vehicle that hit him along Susbauer Road near Wren Road as a dark pickup, possibly a black or dark-blue Ford. He didn't see the driver or the license plate.

"We don't want sympathy. We don't want revenge," said Bosak, who advocated street safety when he was president of the Jackson School neighborhood association.

Bosak's wife, Donna, said the incident has taken an emotional toll on their family, especially their children, Andrew, 12, and Denise, 9. Bosak rode Cycle Oregon on a tandem bicycle with his son last summer and planned to ride the statewide tour with his daughter this year.

"The kids talk about it a lot; they keep wanting to know how are we going to catch this guy," Donna Bosak said. "We need to try and teach our kids there is justice."

Jim Vulysteke, 49, of Cornelius called 9-1-1 when he came upon Bosak in a ditch Dec. 31.

"It's not right at all," Vulysteke said of the behavior of the driver who struck Bosak.

Vulysteke frequently travels the area because his parents' farm is nearby.

"He's probably lucky he's alive," Vulysteke said of Bosak. "The road is so narrow there."

Doctors and Washington County sheriff's deputies told Bosak the same thing. When he went to look at his mangled turquoise-green Bianchi road bike a few days later in the sheriff's property room, an evidence technician told him, "When the bike is this bad, we usually don't see the victim."

Bosak was traveling north on Susbauer Road about 3:45 p.m. Dec. 31, stretching his legs on his 17-mile "winter standard route" to and from Roy.

"That's the route he takes with the kids all the time," Donna Bosak said. "I think we will have to reassess."

It was raining lightly but was still light out. Bosak was planning to cut the ride short to get home before sunset.

"I was thinking about coming home for a nice, hot shower," he said. "Little did I know that would be the least of my worries."

Bosak remembers two cars safely passing him in the same direction. He didn't hear the truck coming.

"It hit me from behind, and I thought, 'Oh, my God.' The front end of my bike kind of exploded."

Hit with such downward force that the bike crumpled at both ends, Bosak catapulted into the air. He doesn't remember whether he hit the pickup's hood or windshield, but he ended up in a ditch on his back. His helmet wasn't damaged.

"I lifted my head and saw the truck and thought they were going to stop and help me, but they never did," Bosak said.

"I could wiggle my fingers and toes; that was good. But I knew my back was hurting really bad. I heard a car coming and I was able to raise my arm."

He lost consciousness after deputies arrived. He was flown to Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center.

He spent the next two days in the hospital.

Deputies couldn't find his bike's back wheel when they searched the scene.

Bosak thinks the wheel may have lodged on the truck. At the least, the truck would have damage to its bumper and possibly to its hood or windshield.

"We are just thankful it wasn't worse," Bosak said. "We feel pretty lucky."

Posted 10:05 AM by John Henry

Saturday morning. The current weather conditions:

The good news is that the weather will improve for the rest of the weekend. Also, this will give me some time to learn about the HAC4.

Posted 9:37 AM by John Henry

What can I really expect for weather in Oregon in January? The National Weather Service says:

Saturday
Rain at times...as freezing rain in the morning. Highs near 40. Northeast wind 5 to 15 mph...becoming southeast in the afternoon.

I was hoping to ride 100 miles tomorrow, but I am going to wait and see how the weather shapes up. I have a three day weekend, so I am think I will be able to get a century in sometime in the next three days, maybe two centuries.

Meanwhile...

I have purchased a new computer - a Ciclosport HAC4. Now I have to learn how to use it.

Posted 10:00 PM by John Henry

Yesterday, Monday, I worked out with Martin at the gym. Maritn does not ride that much any more, bicycles that is. He likes to build motercycles and then attempt to break speed records. He did 118.590 on that bike. By the way, he turns 65 this week.

Today was a rest day. In other words, no lifting and no riding.

Posted 11:03 PM by John Henry

Another cloudy day here in Salem. I did 32 miles with the Salem Bicycle Club to Silverton and back. There, I met a young couple from San Diego. They were moving to Oregon and looking for a small town to live in. Silverton would be the perfect place.

As we neared home, the rain began to fall. But it was not heavy and we did not get that wet.

My wife bought me a B.O.B for Christmas. I use it to go to the grocery store. Today, it carried $137 worth of food for the week. Hey, we cycle and it takes a lot of food to keep us going! I do not know how much the food weighed, but the ride home was somewhat unstable.

Posted 8:27 PM by John Henry

It rained thourghout the night accompanied with a strong wind. The weather was still ugly when I woke up. It was not any better when we left for the ride.

Joanne and I arrived at the red log, the starting location for the Salem Bicycle Club. Just two others joined us in the rain as we headed south out of Salem. However, the rain soon stopped and left just the wind to challege us.

We rode over forty miles today, the first half into the wind. But the second half was with the wind. WooHoo!

Posted 9:35 PM by John Henry

Well, the weather was very nice last weekend, nice enough to ride the fast bike, but I had a cold. I did not ride on Saturday or Sunday. Instead, I was on the couch with a stuffy nose, a cough and wishing I was outside on my bike.

I did make it to work on Monday, but left early and took a long nap till dinner time.

Tuesday, I was feeling better and rode with the folks at Scott's Cycling. It was clear and cold - 33 degrees.

Wednesday, I had told Martin I would work out with him, but my wife wanted to go for a night ride. What to do? Well, both! I did a quick session with Martin at the gym, and then a quick twenty mile ride north of Keizer. The weather was still clear and cold.

Thursday I met Martin for another session at the gym. But, we found out that the gym has been sold. Uncertainty abounds!

Now, I looking forward to the weekend. I am feeling OK, but still have some of the cold left. So, I will ride with the Salem Bicycle Club tomorrow on a 40 mile somewhat hilly route and then if I feeling up to it, attempt my first century of the year on Sunday.

One small problem, the weather. From the National Weather Service.

Saturday:

Rain showers. Probability of measurable precipitation 60 percent. South wind 10 mph. High 43.

Saturday Night:

Cloudy. Chance of rain. Probability of measurable precipitation 50 percent. South wind 3 mph. Low 33.

Sunday:

Cloudy. Chance of rain. Probability of measurable precipitation 40 percent. South wind 10 mph. High 43.

Sunday Night:

Cloudy. Chance of rain showers. Probability of measurable precipitation 40 percent. Northeast wind 8 mph. Low 31.

Posted 9:33 PM by John Henry