| (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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Monday, June 18, 2007
Ah, Early Summer Evening Rides!Miles: 28.44 Elevation Gain: 203' April Miles: 759.99 Year to Date: 4008.69 After a brief gym workout with Martin, who is recovering from pneumonia, I found my wife working in the front yard on a sprinkler head. Whenever I ask the question "Would you like to go for a bike ride?", the answer she gives is always the same, "Yes!". We took the Meridian out for an early summer evening ride in the flatlands to the north of Keizer. It is so much fun to ride in the cool evening air! Tour de Blast, Barlow Trail or Watermelon? Three rides this weekend. What a dilemma! All three rides are well run and challenging. Tour de Blast can be really nice, if the weather is good. Too many times I have come off the mountain in rain and then "enjoyed" a cold shower. The last time Joanne and I went up north for the ride the weather was fantastic - clear blue skies and warm temperatures. Too bad I left my cycling shoes back home in Salem. I should have duck taped my feet to the pedals. The Barlow Trail is the new kid on the block and Joanne and I rode it last year - in very hot weather. While we intended to do the long 100 mile route, common sense prevailed and shortened the route to 60 miles. On another note, the route uses the Springwater Multipurpose Path. Putting a large number of cyclists on this path, in contention with the usual traffic, cause me some concern last year. I do not have much experience with these multipurpose paths which probably accounted for my tenseness. I much rather ride on the road. I have been coordinating the Watermelon Rides for the last five years, but I have stepped down to due to job pressures and because I wanted to concentrate on my ultacycling. So this is the first year that I will be able to ride the Watermelon Rides and I do plan to do so. I will start at 5:30 am (aka O'dark thirty) and home to finish the 200 mile route within 14 hours. Of the three rides, the Watermelon has the flattest routes. That being said, there are still some good hills (Fishback Hill out of Monmouth). In addition to these hills, late afternoon winds can be challenging.
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