| (Long Distance) Ramblings |
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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." "Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride."
"The important decisions in my life I make while out riding my bike."
"Pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever.” Lance Armstrong
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Sunday, January 08, 2006
Our First Century of the YearYesterday, Joanne and I finished our first century of the year, a ride to Brownsville and back. We left the house at 8:00 am and soon realized that the prediction of a 10 mph south wind was incorrect. It was much stronger that than. Leaving Salem, we could ride flat roads through Marion on the way to Jefferson, or take hilly Parrish Gap Rd. We chose the hills in an attempt to avoid the wind. We did not realized how successful we were until we passed Jefferson and Scravel Hill. Now, in the flats of the Willamette Valley, the south wind forced us to slow to 11-12 mph. It took us four hours to ride the 47 miles to Brownsville, without taking a rest break. The wind was fierce, it was tough, and it was relentless. And, as we approached Brownsville, the wind became stronger. We suffered. Oh, by way, it was also raining. None the less, we made it perhaps only because we knew it would be a tail wind all of the way home. After a nice lunch at The Corner Cafe, we headed north and our hard work was rewarded with a strong tail wind. We flew down the road at 23 mph until we reached Scravel Hill. There, the front must have passed us because the wind died down and we had to pedal the rest of the way back to Salem without the help from the wind. We arrived home at 3:45 pm very tired and a bit sore. A long soak in the spa refreshed us. Map of the route Download from my HAC4
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