Posted 7:40 AM by John Henry

Jack Frost Time Trial Results

The results are in and happily, we did not finish last, but only by 8 seconds.

Pl	Number	Last Names	First Name	Team	Time
1	603T	Kline/Kraft	Joseph/Allen	North River Racing	28:02.63
2	588	Ripp/Ripp	David/Sue	Specialized River City Bicycles	28:39.32
3	2152	Petersen/Petersen	Mike/Carol	Capital Velo/Lulay's Car Connection	29:38.14
4	232	McCanna/McCanna	Scott/Angela	Pacific Power Blue Sky	30:36.00
5	17T	Winestorfer/Winestorfer	Tim/Georgia	It Takes Two Baby!	30:37.08
6	2597	Demaret/Demaret	Rick/Aimee	Cycology Mobile Bike Repair	31:07.39
7	2947	Cartwright/CartCartwright	John/Sharon	Beaverton Bicycle Club	31:42.26
8	19	Maurice/Heilinger	John Henry/Joanne		32:05.18
9	476	Godfrey/Hughes-Godfrey	Mark/Lynn	Bike Central	32:13.81

From orba.org

Posted 8:15 PM by John Henry

Jack Frost Time Trial Report

"Five...Four...Three...Two...One...GO!"

Joanne powered us off of the starting line while I clipped in my right foot. I then stood for three pedal strokes and we were now racing in the 2009 Jack Frost Time Trial.

We had a rabbit, the tandem that left 30 seconds before us. We were quickly up to speed pushing my heart rate up to 160 bpm. We kept our eyes focused on our rabbit as they made the first right hand turn. We intended to take this turn as fast as we could even if the orange cones marked off a very narrow lane. Half way through the turn, Joanne got spooked by the high speed and the narrow lane and stopped pedaling for just one moment. Without thinking, I yelled out the standard tandem caption's question "What are you doing?". I immediately felt bad, but it was too late to bring back the words.

After the corner, we could see that our rabbit was approaching the second turn, a harder right-hander. I glanced at my clock and noted the time. I wanted to see if we were gaining on them, or they were dropping us. It was neither, we were exactly 30 seconds behind. As we passed through the apex of the turn, I yelled "Hard" and we powered out of the turn. Now we had five miles of straight, flat road and a rabbit to catch.

But, suddenly, Joanne yelled "Move to the right!". This could only mean one thing, we were being caught buy the tandem that left 30 seconds behind us; they were catching their rabbit. I move to the right, but we also redoubled our efforts to hold them off as long as we could. Perhaps we did delay the pass for a few seconds, but it did not matter as Scott and Angela McCanna passed us looking strong.

Now that we had a bike right in front of us, I moved off to the side so we would not be in their draft but also tried to keep pace with them. We were able to hang on for a while, but soon they slowly pulled away. We tried not to let them go, but they were stronger than us. Soon, they came up behind our rabbit and passed them, but it seemed we were closer to our rabbit then before. Perhaps we could catch them.

Then, I heard those words again, "Move over to the right!". We were being caught by another tandem! Again, we tried to hold off the enviable, but soon another tandem passed us. Now, there were four tandems within sight. With so many, it is easy to motivate your legs to keep in contact and we did all of the way to the turn around point, a 180 degree turn to come back the way we just came.

All four of us made the turn without incident, but I must admit that it seemed to me that we were the slowest negotiating the turn. So I was surprised to see that our rabbit had not pulled away from us. Good, we were half way done, and still in contact with our rabbit. And, there was quite a distance between us and the tandem behind us.

But, we were now racing into a slight head wind, and Joanne and I do not do well in head winds. But, it seemed that we reached down for something extra and put it into the pedals. We were determined not to let the head wind increase the distance between us and our rabbit.

We were now 20 minutes into the race, which I expected to last just over 30 minutes. We could not allow our muscles to feel tired as we would then slow down. We had to keep our minds focused on pedaling and trying to catch our rabbit. Several times I yelled "Harder" to Joanne who always seemed to find some extra leg strength somewhere. But we were not closing, nor were we being dropped. Just a little extra and we can close. "Harder" I yelled again. Joanne responded and we slowly closed.

Then, we passed the One Kilometer sign, the Flamme Rouge. Good I thought, this torture will soon be over.

Soon, we came up to the last turn, a sharp left turn with the finishing line now just 200 meters away. We took the turn as fast as we could and then sprinted for the finishing line.

We never caught our rabbit. They managed to hold us off for the 12.4 miles of the race. But, they did not drop us either. It seems it was a draw.

---

Posted 8:05 PM by John Henry

Jack Frost Time Trial Pre-Race Thoughts

Joanne and I did not attend this years Death Valley Training Camp, we are in town for the Jack Frost Time Trial. Jack Frost is a twelve mile, very flat time trial. Since it is run in February, the weather is usually not perfect. This year will be no except. The weather forecast is for rain and winds from the south.

We will ride this on our Yellow Meridian tandem with our race wheels. I worked all week getting it ready, and it is now fully tuned. The bike will not give us any problems.

Joanne and I are not "racers". We do not train for these short, fast rides. I would rather ride 60 miles on hills. But for some strange reason, I am really looking forward to this race.

Our expectations are low. I only hope not to finish last. But if we do, I won't shed a tear.

Wish us luck!

Posted 9:19 PM by John Henry

Three Prairies Permanent Report

The weather was terrible went we woke up on Sunday. It was raining hard.

We loaded up our gear and our tandem and headed off to Newburg, the rain hitting the windshield the entire way. I was not looking forward to riding 125 miles in the rain, but I knew I could, that I would, do it.

Arriving at the Public Parking lot, friends Cecil, Lynn, Kevin and Bill were all getting ready. Talk was short as no one wanted to stand in the rain visiting. Joanne and I got changed into our riding gear inside of the van, and only got out into the rain when we had to. Finally, we pulled the tandem out of the van, saddled up, and followed Cecil to the local market.

The local market serves several purposes. First of all, we get our brevet cards signed, we pick up some last minute snacks, and we all use the restroom in the back, up the stairs and down the hall past the employee break room.


Ceicl and her beloved Sweetpea



Bill and his new camera



Kevin waiting for the ride to begin


We left shortly after 7:00 am, just as the sun was raising, and surprisingly, just as the rain was ending. We rode as a group through Dundee but the group split on the open roads past Dayton. I do not like to ride in the rain at night, so the goal was to finish in daylight. Kevin was with us as he had the same goal.



We rode through Amity but stopped briefly in Perrydale.


Next came the hills on the way to Dallas. Kevin could out climb us but waited on the summits for us.

We used the Dallas Safeway as the control, but the clerk refused to sign our brevet cards saying it was against company policy. I must admit I stared at her in disbelief, but she would not change her mind. However, a nice woman in line behind us offered to do the signing and the clerk determined that it was not against company policy to loan out her pen. Joanne and I shared a quick sandwich and we were soon joined by Bill who took a very short break and joined us as left left the Safeway behind.

Highway 99 W was our route north back to Newburg. This is not my favortie road, but it has adequate smolders and nice scenery. The alternate roads all go out of the way and up over hills while 99 is relative flat. Too bad our rear tire had a flat. Kevin had gotten a head of us, and just as we catch him, the rear tire decided to be low and we had to stop to repair. Kevin continued on not knowing what had happened. We did not see him for the rest of the day.

Back in Newburg, we wanted to find quick food, so we chose Dairy Queen. As we ate our lunch, we were surprised to find the clouds cleaning and the sun coming out. We picked up our lights and headed out to Mt. Angel, our next control. Too bad we had another flat.


Mt. Hood in the sunshine



Happy cycling nearing the end of their ride


Nearing Mt. Angel, we came upon Bill who had taken another short stop. Mt. Angel is lacking in nice places to rest, we always end up at the small market. Again, we kept our stay short and headed back toward Newburg and the end of our ride.

We were now riding in full sun, and we were getting warm. We had dressed for cold rain, not warm sun!

Since the route back was on the same roads we used to get to Mt. Angel, we came upon Cecil and Lynn who were looking strong. They told us that Bill was just in front of us but they had not seen Kevin.

Again, we catch up to Bill and we rode together for a short while. However, without trying, we left him behind and we rode back to Newburg by ourselves. Except, we found Kevin in his pickup. He was looking for his cell phone which he dropped somewhere along the route.

We arrived back in Newburg right at sunset. We pulled up to the Coffee Cottage and ordered some food as we were quite hungry after our ride.

Out time was a bit longer than last month, but we had more hills and two flats so I am please with our time.

---

Posted 8:38 PM by John Henry

Scotts Mills Hills Ride Report

In addition to hills, I tested my will power.

I did not want to ride that last climb, but I forced myself on the bike and did it. If I am every going to get into shape for the Furnace Creek 508, I can't short cut; I must start now and work hard.

I arrived at Scotts Mills late as I did not sleep well last night (fear?).

Leaving Scotts Mills, I saw another rider who had just descended Maple Grove. I worked hard to catch up with him and when I did he told me he was riding the old Portland Wheelman Pioneer Century. Soon, we reached Marquam and parted, me to the east and hills, him to the west and flats.

Wildcat Road is as I remembered, many small climbs with none of them terrible. But then cam Leabo Rd. At the beginning, the incline was very steep, well into the double digits, perhaps as much as 16%. Then it calms down and I worked my way up to Sawtell and finally Kokel Corner.




I took it easy descending Maple Grove as I do not remember it well enough to be aggressive. None the less, I was soon back at Scotts Mills.

My orginal route planning had me retracing my route back up to Kokel Corner, but instead, I climbed Crooked Finger Rd. I must thank Jonathan Wolf for showing me this road. For nine miles you climb without relief. A very worthy climb.

I did have one scarce. Near the top, I came upon a pack of three roaming dogs.
But they did not seem too interested in me and let me pass without challenge.

After the descent back to Scotts Mills, I was tired and was not enthusiastic about climbing Maple Grove. But, knowing that quiting early would not assist me in preparing for the 508, I got back on the bike and started up the hill. My legs hurt and it was steep, but I pressed on. After seven miles I obtained my goal.

Now, I forced myself to head toward Bird Rd. I wish I hadn't. The road is just pure evil. I was in my lowest gear (26x25) and was still hurting. What was really bad is it was much longer than I remembered. Finally, after several false summits, it came to an end.

I ended the day with over 6,000 feet of elevation gain in just over 60 miles. Yes, I guess I did bite off more then I chew, but I chewed and chewed and finally shallowed.

One good thing was that I did not feel any pain in my right foot - no Morton's Neuroma pain. I guess the power cranks are helping!

Posted 9:10 PM by John Henry

Saturday's Hill Training Ride

Since I managed to ride the Amity Hills course last Saturday without too much pain, I think I will try something a bit harder this Saturday. As such, I came up the
Scotts Mills Hills Course. The distance is 61 miles with 5,764 feet of elevation gain.

Starting from Scotts Mills, the route heads north over some minor hills to Monitor. There the route turns eastward climbing some stronger hills until a very steep hill known as Leabo Rd. But the climbing is not over as you turn southward on Sawtell Rd to Kolel Corner. You now descend westward back to Scotts Mills on Maple Grove Rd.

Once at Scotts Mills, you reverse your course and climb back up Maple Grove to Kolel Corner. Continuing retracing your steps, to descend Leabo Rd to Wilholt Rd. Turning southward, you climb slowly until you turn onto Bird Rd, a very steep but short climb. Then you cross several rollers until you descend back to Scotts Mills.

I have kept the highest and longest climb of the day for the last climb. From Scotts Mills, you take Crooked Finger Rd to the end of the pavement. Reaching gravel, you are rewarded with a nine mile descent back to Scotts Mills.

Posted 6:48 PM by John Henry

Words you don't want to hear on a ride

"Dog, dog, dog!" Jim yelled.

The four of us were riding westward on Brooklake Rd in the dark. The pace was brisk, mainly because Jim was in the lead. I was following with Don behind me and then Roland in the rear.

All of a sudden, Jim was yelling and braking. I stared in disbelief as I raced toward his slowing bike. I manage to brake hard and move slightly to the right but missing the ditch on the side of the road. Realizing that I would miss Jim, I was then worried that Don would ride into me. Just then, I saw a black and white shadow dodge into the driveway on my right. Don managed to miss me apparently dodging to his left. Roland was far enough back that he too missed Don.

Then the adrenalin kicks in. With my heart beating at several thousand beats per minutes, I realized that we had avoided disaster.

Later, Jim relayed that the black and white beagle was sitting in the road facing away from us. As there are no street lights along this section of the road, Jim did not see the dog until his headlight shown on the dog. It was then that he began yelling, and it was then that the dog realized that four fast paced cyclists were about to run over him. Jim said the dog's eyes got very wide and he ran toward the driveway.

I think we all took it a bit easier for the rest of the ride.

Posted 9:29 PM by John Henry

January Rides Recap

January is not a friendly month here in Salem. It rains, and snows, and freezes. It can be quite ugly.

This year, it was no exception. We had lots of snow, and lots of cold temperatures, but we also has lots of nice days.



In terms of precipitation, the total for the month was 3.56 inches, which is below the normal total of 5.84 inches, so it was dryer than average.

I rode ten days in January, five on days that it rained (but not on me!), three days with just clouds, one day in the sun and one day when it snowed! I rode every Saturday, every Wednesday night and just one Sunday. My total mileage was 548.84 and my altitude gain was 16,473 feet. In addition, I did three sessions on the trainer. Two of my rides were in excess of 100 miles.

So, I did not break my January record (660 miles in January of 2006, but my altitude gain was just 12,726 feet.) but I am very happy with my results.

I think I am well on my way to being ready for the Furnace Creek 508 in October.

In February, I plan on concentrating on three things...

1) Riding my RUSA Permanent on February 15
2) Racing the Jack Frost Time Trial - Tandem division on February 22
3) Riding hills whenever I can.

My mileage will slip a bit, but I hope to obtain at least 450 miles with 25,000 feet of elevation gain - all if the weather cooperates!

Posted 8:33 PM by John Henry

Posted 8:50 PM by John Henry

Oak Grove Road Reconnaissance

I am assisting some folks in route planning. They asked about Oak Grove Road being a north/south alternative to Highway 99 West. I have decided to use my blog as a way to share what I have found.

The route in questions consists of two different roads - Greenwood Road and Oak Grove Road. Greenwood Road crosses Highway 22 to the east of Highway 99 and continues on to the (now defunct) community of Oak Grove where it ends. Oak Grove Road continues north and ends at Zena Road. About one half of this route is paved, but the second, and more hilly portion, is a gravel road (the section between the yellow informational icons on the map below). The gravel portion is 3.2 miles long.

When I drove it today, there was a layer of 1/2 inch sized gravel that must have been laid down last summer. For most of the way, the gravel had been forced off leaving dirt sections where vehicle tires travel.


The Route in questions - Greenwood Road and Oak Grove Road.


Elevation graph of the route. Hwy 22 is to the left; Zena Rd is to the right.



Look north on Oak Grove Road where the pavement ends.



This photograph shows the topical road conditions.



This photograph shows the topical road conditions.



Looking south at the intersection of Zena and Oak Grove Roads.



An interesting cemetery that sits above the intersection of Zena and oak Grove Roads.

Posted 8:09 PM by John Henry