This was the test, and we passed. We rode 100 miles today from Portland to Pacific City.
The weather was supposed to be cool and rainy, we got the cool part, about 55-60 degrees, but the rainy never happened. We started at 7:30 in the morning with a group of 5 and quickly Don and Sally were gone...trying to catch up to the group that left from Salem doing the 77 mile ride.
The first 20 miles of the route were very hilly, with one sustained climb that just kept going and going and going...then, the road levelled out and the wind started blowing. We rode against a head wind for 30 miles.
Around 55 miles we passed the first of the group that started in Salem. About 5 miles later we passed 2 more and then caught up with 2 others at the lunch stop at the 73 mile mark.
Lunch was in Grande Ronde - a tiny little town with a big Native American cultural center and school. When we got there, I had to have my bike looked at. It was making a strange clicking sound. Sure enough, I had a broken spoke (for non-bikers, this could be a big problem as a broken spoke causes a weak spot in your wheel rim and could completely mess up the rim which means a new one to the tune of $130+), they couldn't fix it and I had the choice of carefully going on or quitting...you can guess that I couldn't quit.
I was careful to not ride over any potholes and was doing really well until someone ran into me on a hill at about mile 86. He couldn't downshift his gears quick enough and just ran right into me. I tipped over but was able to catch myself before I fell completely. Another guy ran into us and when he put his foot down,m luckily for me, he went between my bike tubes, not right on them. We dusted ourselves off and kep going. That little hill was the last one...it was all down hill the rest of the way.
The end was a big party with food, beer, vendors, secure bike parking, and the best thing? Mel's wife Colleen was there with her car to take Mel, Sean and I home so we didn't have to ride the bus :)
To end the day? When we arrived back in Portland and transferred our bikes from Mel's car to ours, my front tire was completely flat.
Thankfully that didn't happen on the ride.
The first 20 miles of the route were very hilly, with one sustained climb that just kept going and going and going...then, the road levelled out and the wind started blowing. We rode against a head wind for 30 miles.
Around 55 miles we passed the first of the group that started in Salem. About 5 miles later we passed 2 more and then caught up with 2 others at the lunch stop at the 73 mile mark.
Lunch was in Grande Ronde - a tiny little town with a big Native American cultural center and school. When we got there, I had to have my bike looked at. It was making a strange clicking sound. Sure enough, I had a broken spoke (for non-bikers, this could be a big problem as a broken spoke causes a weak spot in your wheel rim and could completely mess up the rim which means a new one to the tune of $130+), they couldn't fix it and I had the choice of carefully going on or quitting...you can guess that I couldn't quit.
I was careful to not ride over any potholes and was doing really well until someone ran into me on a hill at about mile 86. He couldn't downshift his gears quick enough and just ran right into me. I tipped over but was able to catch myself before I fell completely. Another guy ran into us and when he put his foot down,m luckily for me, he went between my bike tubes, not right on them. We dusted ourselves off and kep going. That little hill was the last one...it was all down hill the rest of the way.
The end was a big party with food, beer, vendors, secure bike parking, and the best thing? Mel's wife Colleen was there with her car to take Mel, Sean and I home so we didn't have to ride the bus :)
To end the day? When we arrived back in Portland and transferred our bikes from Mel's car to ours, my front tire was completely flat.
Thankfully that didn't happen on the ride.
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1 comment:
I am so proud!!!
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