Century #22: Shedd, Waterloo, Lebanon, 2X Decker Loop

The weather was a bit cool this morning (52), gradually warming up to 76F by the afternoon. I couldn't tempt anyone to extend the 60 mile MVBC ride to Waterloo. (I tried to entice them to stop in Brownsville for a sandwich... no takers)

We had a hard time crossing Hwy 34 to bypass the bridge construction on Tangent Road. Seems there was an OSU Beaver game at 1pm -- that explains the steady stream of cars toward Corvallis.

Once I got back home, I made a grilled sandwich (thanks to George Foreman) and went out to do two laps of the Decker loop.

Miles: 121.1
Calories: 4994
High temp: 76F
Average speed: 18.5 mph (19.5+ for the first 70 miles)
Average cadence: 62

Century #21, Brownsville, Crawfordville, Sweet Home, Waterloo, Lebanon, Shedd

I couldn't bring myself to get up for the 7am start of the 200K brevet in Corvallis. I waited until it warmed up a bit, around 9am, and decided to try to intercept the riders in Crawfordville. Instead of going to Coburn and Marcola, I took the shortest route to Crawfordville via Brownsville.

I waited at the Thriftway control in Sweet Home and had a turkey sandwich (great deal at $1.99). I figured I must have been ahead of the group at this point. From there I followed the cuesheet for the remainder of the course.

For this ride I put the HED Alps back on my '95 De Rosa Primato. (These wheels sail in the headwinds coming back on Peoria Road.) I really have to snug down the rear skewer or the wheel will slip in the horizontal dropouts.


102.6 miles
3553 calories

Century #20, Marcola Century

The MVBC ride captain decided to replace the 76 mile to Brownsville with the "Marcola Century". See http://www.mvbc.com for the route.

It started out cool (low 40s), but eventually warmed up. I got by with arm warmers, "kneekers" and a wind breaker. We flew down Peoria Road -- I had a 10+ mile pull with the speed ranging from 22 - 26 (slight tailwind). The group (Lyle, Tim, Henry, Elisa, and me) stopped in Coburg where I had a turkey sandwich and a Gatorade. (It was great riding with these guys!!)

On the rollers to Brownsville (from Crawfordville), I was summoned to the front -- that was a first!! :-) I felt great and had a good pull the rest of the way into Brownsville (even "won" the sprint for the sign by coming off the front. :-)

We later stopped in Brownsville for sour cream and chicken tamales at the restaurant that was formerly an antique store. (We had planned to eat at the eatery up the street, but it was overflowing with members of a motorcycle club).

Great day to ride a century! (We averaged 19.6 for the first 81 miles; 18.4 overall).

107 miles
4900 calories

Century #19, Kings Valley, Monmouth, Decker loop, 101 miles

Rode with the club to Kings Valley (via Wren) and Monmouth. It tried to rain a bit on the way back on Hwy 99 and we faced a stiff headwind. None of the other riders wanted to "extend" so I added on a Decker Loop to get in my 101 miles.

My Polar was a bit fiddly at the start of the ride. The watch started picking up the speed sensor better as it got warmer.

Calories burned: 4200

Post TT report

Went out for the Monday night recovery ride with Capitol Velo. (See http://www.capitolvelo.com). Rode my '93 Colnago equipped with a corn-cob (11-19) cassette. Took some long pulls into the wind and felt pretty good. Had no soreness or problems whatsoever!

Sure wish the season wasn't winding down!

I plan to put in another century with the Mid-Valley Bike Club on Saturday.

187.1 miles (centuries 17-18) 12 hour TT

I came in 5th!!! Missed 4th by 4 miles. The ride started for me at 7:07 am at the Imperial Lodge in Maupin, OR. For a while I was the virtual "lantern rouge" jersey holder.

I always start slow -- not by choice, that's just how the machinery operates. Slowly I start to catch riders. By SR44 I caught a couple and on Hwy 97 I caught a few more on the looong rollers. After 85 miles I felt pretty good and rode hard. After doing the 111 mile long loop, followed by the 26 miles short loop, I was ready to hang it up -- Terri had said earlier that's all you needed to be an official finisher.

Sandy Earl refilled my bottles, one with water and one with Sustained Energy and a couple of Endurolytes (electrolyte replacement tablets). She put me in the shade to cool off "in case I wanted to start up again".

She said to just go out and do a "victory" loop. Well I got started and managed to eek out two loops and 19 miles toward a third one when time ran out. I grabbed a couple wads of beef jerkey and drank some Diet Coke on one of the refueling stops -- it did the trick. At times I felt good and could hammer; other times I soft pedaled until the "lights" came back on.

Sandy Earl and Mark (after 138 miles)

In case you didn't know, Sandy Earl is a champion of RAO and holds several 12 and 24 hour TT records. Her deep experience makes her a crew-chief extraordinaire. Thanks Sandy! (Her rider, John Henry Maurice, took 5th place in the 24 hour TT -- he's training for the Furnace Creek 508.)

Apparently my slow climbing pace that put me at the back of the race early was what helped me advance later in the race. My climbing speed was fairly consistent throughout the race.

The top three finishers were impressive in how fast they could go so late in the game! Chris, a nationally ranked time trialist from the UK, wore booties and a pink skinsuit, along with matching pink hair. Absolutely amazing -- he averaged nearly 18 mph to take the win!! He blew past me on a descent in Tygh valley, but I managed to catch him in the hills. We went back and forth a few times and after we got back to HQ he put the big hammer down in the hills out of Maupin, never to be seen again!

I had a good time and glad I rode the entire 12 hours (minus one break at the HQ).

According to my Polar:
elevation gained: 12,675 feet
average cadence: 59 (usually average between 59 - 61)
calories consumed: 8383 (can I have dessert?)
total distance: 187.1 miles (I rode partway toward the finish after the 12 hours was up)

Also see
ROF website: http://www.raceacrossoregon.com/roftt
Sandy's site: http://echidnadreamingcycling.com/

Century #16, Bellfountain, Harrisburg, Peoria, Philomath

Got off to a late start (2:30pm or so) and managed to get in 91.4 miles before dark. (Rides between 90 and 100 count as a "personal" century, BTW.) Burned about 3500 calories according to my Polar 720i.

Started with Heed in one bottle. Stopped once in Harrisburg for a Diet Pepsi and to fill my bottles with water. Ate a breakfast bar and a trail mix bar along the way. It wasn't very hot on this ride -- it was only 69 when I rolled into the driveway.

I put the HED Alps back on the De Rosa Primato in preparation for the 12hr TT next Saturday. Since the bike has horizontal dropouts, I really have to snug the rear skewer to keep the wheel in place. The Wipperman chain was "clicking" a bit in the 12-tooth cog, meaning that my chain needed some lube. (I use Boeshield T9 exclusively.)

Century #15: Buena Vista,Jefferson, Scio, Albany, Oakville

Rode with a group from the MVBC and we extended the "long" ride to 105.

We crossed the ferry across the Willamette in Buena Vista and rode over to the Mexican bakery in Jefferson. On our ride we crossed two covered bridges and stopped in Scio for a snack. Got a bit hot (93F) later in the day.

I drank a bottle of Sustained Energy, two food bars, an apple pastry (Mexican bakery), a 20 oz Gatorade, and a 32 Diet Pepsi. (Took a couple of endurolytes too.) My Polar 720i says I burned about 4000 calories on this ride. (Not a record -- I burned over 5000 on my century around Crater Lake.

All in all, I felt pretty good at the end of the ride -- plenty of kick left and took a long pull on the way back on Peoria Road.