| (Long Distance) Ramblings |
|
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
|
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Oregon Randoneur Scio Covered Bridges 200K BrevetSal, Joanne and I left Willsonville at 8:00 am and returned at 7:30 pm for am 11:30 total time ride. We spent two hours off of the bikes. The weather was cold and damp in the morning. The roads were not wet, but they were not dry either; they were damp at the edges but not enough to have the bicycle tires kick up water. After leaving Willsonville, we had to cross the I-5 Boone Bridge. I do no enjoy riding on the freeway shoulder. Yes, it is ten feet wide, but the traffic is just ten feet away and is moving at 70 mph. Being next to Zoom, Zoom is not fun for me. Two hours after the start of the ride, the wind kicked up. It was with us for the rest of the ride, fighting us in the morning and helping us in the afternoon. The wind was strong. We slowed down to an average speed of just 12 mph. In addition, The National Weather Service had predicted snow in the morning, and they were proven to be good predictors. We saw five minutes of tight, compact flakes, more like pellets than flakes, as we left Silverton. Following the snow, we had a short rain shower as we started the Cascade Highway Hills. Sal's first control was in Scio where we stopped for lunch. The next portion of the ride took us through several wooden bridges in the Scio area, including the damaged Gilkey Covered Bridge. No, it is not open to traffic. Yes, we crossed it none the less. Following the route, we returned to Salem, Sal's next control, and stopped at the Beanery coffee shop. I enjoyed a Bran Muffin while Joanne and Sal enjoyed cookies. Leaving the Beanery, the sky had darken so much, we turned on our lights an hour before sunset. In addition, it started to rain. And the rain was a cold rain. We would ride in the cold rain for the last 35 miles of the ride. Yes, we were riding in the rain in the dark. We worked our way northward toward Willsonville and we finally come to our last test, crossing the freeway bridge, in the dark, in the rain. This is not something I wish to do again anytime soon. But, we survived and rode back Starbucks where the manager was so impressed with us he gave us free cookies!
|