Three Capes 300 km Report

Three o'clock in the morning comes awfully fast. In times past, this would be bedtime for me, but on Saturday morning it was the time the alarm was set for.

I never heard it. I did not sleep well and actually turned it off ten minutes before it was to ring.

All night I was worrying about what I was attempting to do - ride 300 km (187 miles) on my heavy rain bike in questionable weather. This would be my fourth time riding this Brevet, so I did not have the "new adventure" jazz; instead, it was the "been there, done that, must I do it again" attitude.

I was out the door at 3:30 am and picked up Mark Janeba at 4:00 am. We were at the start at 5:15 am giving up plenty of time to get our bikes ready for the 6:00 am start (in the dark).

Promptly at the appointed time, sixty of us left the Grand Lodge parking lot. I intentionally stayed in the back allowing everyone to drop me. My plan for the day was simple - ride easy and finish. I had no hopes of breaking any personal bests.

The plan worked.

Soon, I was last, but none the less, some who started late passed me. Greg Olson, someone who rode my first Watermelon Double with me a decade ago, caught me. He never starts on time, but always finishes very early. He slowed and we caught up with each other's happenings. But soon, I let him go as I could see the need for speed in his eyes.

After a few miles, I met up with Ray who was not feeling fit today and decided to ride to the Timber control and then head home. He seemed chipper enough to finish, but he was not listening to my encouragement. One he left me for home, I rode the rest of the route alone - 162 miles.

I took it very easy on the the Wilson River Hwy, first climb of day. I did manage to catch two others at the summit, but they stopped while I continued down the other side. Then, as I approached Tillamook, I did manage to reel in a tandem just before the control. But, I always was trying to keep my heart rate down.

After Tillamook, the rode the Three Capes Scenic Loop by myself. This was the wettest portion of the ride, but I never really got wet. I could not call it rain, but more like a heavy, wind driven drizzle. Oh, the wind was out of the south, so I did have to ride into it.

When I arrived in Pacific City, there was no one at the coffeeshop Mark and I always stop at. I ran in, got a great bowl of veggie soup and was on my way in just 15 minutes.

Next cam the Sourgrass climb, and I was happy to experience very light traffic, but I saw no other riders until I reached the Grand Ronde store, where I had to repair a flat tire. There, I met Greg Miller, who knows my RAO Teammate Mark Newsome. But he left before me and I never saw him again. In fact, I never saw anyone again for the rest of the ride.

Usually, I am pretty tired when I reach Grand Ronde, but my strategy of taking it easy seemed to be working as I still had lots of energy for the last metric. I rode to Amity where I got ready to ride in darkness, and then started off for Forest Grove. In the last 37 miles, I had only three very short stops. The first was to put on my Rando vest, the second to fill a water bottle and the last to talk to Susan France who was checking on riders.

I reached the finish at 9:45 pm. My average was 13.4 mph with an average heart rate of 109 bpm. My time off of the bike was almost two hours while time on the bike was nearly fourteen hours.

While I was nearing Forest Grove, I realised how my perceptions change because I was riding in the dark. I use a strong, battery powered headlight which lights up the rode in front of me, but everything else is in darkness. Because of this, I found that I was noticing lights across the valley where in daylight, I do not notice anything on the other side of the valley. Also, smells are much more intense. I passed a home with folks hanging out in a car port. I could hear them long before I could see them. But what I notice the most was the smell of the bar-b-que chicken. It was almost enough for me to turn around and ask for some!

Posted 1:10 PM by John Henry