Oregon Ultimate Road Ride Report - Part One

I finished!

Joanne, Mark, his wife Mary Lou and I towed our travel trailer to Sisters, Or last Friday night where we stay at the Sisters Inn and RV Park.

Saturday morning, Mark and I were standing with 35 other cyclists awaiting the start of the 2006 Oregon Ultimate Road Ride. It was dark and cool - just below 50°. I felt good, but somewhat intimated by what I was about to do - 215 miles and four major climbs.

For breakfast, I consumed two bottles of Ensure and two Paley Bars. I was ready to ride.

Promptly at 5:00 am, we headed west toward the first climb of the day - McKenzie Pass at 5355 ft. We stayed together, with the exception of a few dropping back early. The pace was not great, but we did move along quickly. Once the incline steepened, I dropped off of the back as I did not want to expend the energy needed for me to stay with the group. Marked stayed with the group longer than I but he also dropped off. I obtained the summit with two other riders and I stopped to put on my heavy jacket as last year's finisher Jonathon Wolf warned me about how cold the first descent of the day would be.

On the descent, I caught Mark and we stayed in contact down to the first rest stop of the day.

DST: 41.31
AVG: 18.2
Food: One bottle of liquid food (2 scoops of Sustanined Energy and 1 scoop of Heed), one banana and one energy bar.


I took a quick rest stop, even if I dropped off my heavy jacket, long fingered gloves and tights. Mark and I left to do the next climb of the day - the Aufderheidie to Box Canyon.

When we reached the short climb up to Cougar Reservoir Dam, Mark rode away from me. He can always climb better then me, when he is feeling well. After the short climb, and while I was riding along the lake, I was caught by five cyclists, all from Spokane Wa. They were riding in a rotating echelon. I asked to join them and my pace picked up as a result. Soon, we caught Mark who joined us. Only the steeping incline broke us up as we climbed up toward Box Canyon. We came upon Gabe and I rode to the top of the hill with him. He seemed to be suffering, but was still climbing well.

DST: 72.45
AVG: 16.5
Food: One bottle of liquid food and one banana.

This was another quick rest stop, except for Mark. He began to suffer from an upset stomach and was resting in a chair. We had previouls agreed to ride our own rides, so I headed down the hill toward Westfir. The descent is steep and the road is rough. None the less, I let my speed get up to 42.5 before I began to brake. After the steep descent, the road was generally downward all of the way to the next rest stop at Westfir.

DST: 104.19
AVG: 17.8
Food: One bottle of liquid food, 2 oz of Hammer Gel, two small bagel turkey sandwiches.

Westfir was the lunch stop and I ate two small sandwiches. I was hungrey and they were easy to eat.

The first hundred miles went well for me. I did a less than six hour century and still had energy in my legs. Of course, the fact that I had lost over 2000 feet in elevation may have had something to do with my speed. None the less, I was feeling well and was eighth into Westfir.

Just as I was leaving Westfir, Mark came in.

Next come the toughest climb of the day - Willamette Pass. Thirty miles of pure suffering in the heat. To begin with is a tough short climb over the ridge to Oakridge. Then, I turned east onto Hwy 58 and the climbing soon began. I was riding alone. I could not see anyone in front of me, nor behind me. But that soon changed. Looking in my rear view mirror, I saw a cyclist coming up behind me and I thought I could hold him off. But it soon became apparent that he would catch me, and he did at the un-manned water stop half way up the climb. There I refilled my water bottles (one of liquid food and one of just plain water) and continued up the climb.

It was now the middle of the afternoon, and the heat of the day had arrived. In addition, my left food began to burn from a "hot spot". As I climb the hill, the pain increased, and I was being passed by other riders. In all, I was passed by seven others, the last one looked like he was suffering as bad as I was.

Just short of the summit, I could not stand the pain any longer and I stopped to masauge my foot. The eased the pain and I continued up to the rest stop at the top of Willamette Pass.

DST: 133.25
AVG: 15.3
Food: Two bottle of liquid food, 4 oz of Hammer Gel and one piece of jerky (for the salt). The jerky was the only solid food that now appealed to me.

To be continued....

Posted 9:28 PM by John Henry