I like to ride my bicycle - for long distances. I have earned the California Triple Crown and finished the Furnace Creek 508. My goals include qualifying for RAAM and ...(read the blog to find out).
"The bicycle has a soul. If you are able to love it as it deserves, it will give you emotions you will never forget."
Mario Cipolini
"Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride."
John F. Kennedy
"The important decisions in my life I make while out riding my bike."
Former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi
"Pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever.” Lance Armstrong
Monday, July 25, 2005
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
Friday, July 22, 2005
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.
Monday, July 18, 2005
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 |
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Comming to you from beautifulm downtown Vernonia. Having lunch at cybercafe.
Saturday, July 16, 2005
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
Friday, July 15, 2005
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!
Sunday, July 10, 2005
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!
Anyone else find it funny that Craig Hill is writing a story about "The Hill" on the Seattle to Portland ride?
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
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
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.