Deschutes Dash 2008

This weekend...back to Bend. This time so I could do anther Triathlon, and Sean could do a Duathlon.

Big differences?

1st -it was only about 86 degrees this time compared to 102 3 weeks ago.

2nd - the swim was down current. At Pacific Crest, it took me 40 minutes to swim .9 miles. This time, a mere 19 minutes.

3rd - 95% of all the other participants were true tri- or duathletes. These folks were fast, ripped and had all the right gear.

But we had a blast. The bike portion started with a grueling 12.5 mile climb. It was long and steady. Not too steep, but enough that everyone was crawling up the mountain at a very slow pace. Since it was an out-and-back bike ride...eventually we got to turn around and come back down. Sean topped out at 40.8 mph on the descent. I hit 41.8 mph :) Now that was fun! Especially since I was now passing people left and right.

By the time I got back to the bike transition, Sean had just finished his run. He finished the 25 mile bike ride and 6.2 mile run in 2 hours, 13 minutes. A fantastic time for his first event.

Running is the hardest thing for me and the elevation is also tough at 4500 ft. I had hoped to complete the entire race in 3 hours, 10 minutes...but on the run, I had to stop and walk a few times so the whole event took me 3 hours and 15 minutes. Not bad considering my last endeavor was 3 hours and 53 minutes. Even if the swim had taken 40 minutes this time, I still would have had a better time than last time.

I am so excited that Sean is doing these events with me now. It makes the day more fun.

Not sure what's next for us...but we'll let you know.

Seattle to Portland 2008...Conquered

Seattle to Portland 2008 is done.

Mile 1 - 25

We set off at 4:55 Saturday morning with thousands of other riders. The first 25 miles went by quickly and easily. There were a bunch of small hills to climb getting out of Seattle, but there were police at almost every intersection letting us pass through without stopping. There were a few crashes behind our group in the beginning, but it seemed to be due to people not paying attention and trying too hard to pass.

Mt. Rainier at Sunrise

Our first stop was at mile 25 and we were a solid group riding strong.

Mile 26 - 50

The ride started levelling out and although there were a lot of people on the road, we started getting into some good pacelines and our speed started to increase. Then we hit "The Hill" at mile 43 and that slowed everyone down, but we regrouped at the top and continued on to our next rest stop at mile 50.

Paceline (from back: Christa, Sally, Sean, Kurt)

Mile 50-100

WOW! This was the best ride I have ever been on. We decided that except to refill our water bottles, we were going to ride straight through to the lunch stop in Centralia, WA. The roads were flat and fast. Several times, our group met up with other groups and we formed an awesome paceline. We were riding at about 24 mph and flying down the road. We had a quick stop at mile 75 for water and found out that Myron's bottom bracket was coming off. He stayed behind to get it fixed and since he is such a strong rider, we said we'd meet him at lunch. And we were off a few minutes later.

We made it to Centralia in a total of 2 hrs and 30 minutes including breaks.


Sean and Christa at Lunch

Total time riding - 5 hours 39 minutes.
Total time on the road including breaks - 7 1/2 hours.

Mile 100 - 146

After lunch, we set off again. We decided to slow things down a bit since some of us couldn't really sustain those speeds over the long haul. But, as luck would have it, the roads were still too great to slow down and we continued at about 21 mph for the next 46 miles. But the road was starting to undulate and some pretty good sized-rollers were breaking up our group. The day was getting hot and we were getting tired. Sean was doing great...as always, but I was starting to feel the effects of the day. Dry peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, watermelon, lukewarm water, GU, shot blocks, sports drink...none of it was tasting good. We rolled into Longview, WA, I choked down what I could stomach and after a 30 minute break, we took off again.

Mile 146 - 178

Hell. This was awful. We broke up just after the Longview Bridge (but we were finally in Oregon again). Sean, Myron and Sally were up ahead and feeling great. Sally was pulling them at about 23 mph across long hard flat and false flat sections of Hwy 30. Don and I stuck together and tried to maintain 15 mph. With about 10 miles to go, Don stopped to help a young woman change her tire. I couldn't stop. It was in the sun and I was starting to feel pretty sick. I ate my last GU and almost threw up...but I finally made it to St. Helens. I rode past Sean, Sally, Hanna (our support driver) and Mel (our main cheerleader) and headed straight for the misters. I stayed there for a bit to cool down. Then I went to check out the food tables hoping for something new...and there it was. A whole bit paper bag of salted popcorn. No sugar...no gu. Just salty goodness. That revived me and after another 30 minutes I was ready to tackle the last 30 miles.

Myron, Don, Christa, Sean and Sally in St. Helens

So for the last 30 miles, we kept a steady pace of about 19 miles per hour. We pulled into Portland and crossed the finish line at about 8:30 in the evening. My total time on the bike was 11 hours 56 minutes. Sean's total time riding was 11 hours 18 minutes. After 15.5 hours on the road with breaks, we were done.

I swore I would never do it again. I was hurting and so tired and couldn't imagine ever riding 200 miles in one day again...but after a good nights sleep in my own bed, I woke up stiff, but not sore and decided that with just a little more training I could do even better next year.

Next week...The Deschutes Dash. A Triathlon for me and a Duathlon for Sean.

Unofficial Pickel Duathlon

I signed up for another Olympic triathlon in 2 weeks. I also signed Sean up for an Olympic Duathlon (no swim, just bike/run). We'll be back in Bend, and I am hoping that the weather is a bit better.

It's called the Deschutes Dash and has a fast down stream swim...that should be fun.

Today, in anticipation of that event, we went on a 30 mile bike ride around Kelly Pt. Park and up Marine Drive. We had a big of a tail wind and made AWESOME time. I would have had a 19 mph average if I hadn't gotten a flat just 1.5 miles from home. As it is, I had an 18.9 mph average. That's a record for me. We were cruising along Marine Drive at 23-24 mph. I love a good tailwind. Every bike ride should be slightly downhill with a tailwind :)

When we got home, we changed into our running shoes and took off on a 5.5 mile run from the house, through the Rose Garden, once around the river and home again. Our total time was 2.5 hours for the bike ride and run.

Pac Crest Olympic Triathlon...HOT!

The weekend was hot. Very hot. Apparently summer is finally here and it arrived this weekend with a vengeance. The temperature in Sunriver Sunday the day of my Triathlon was a cool 102 degrees.

We started out at 6:30 Sunday morning by setting up our Bike to Run transition at Three Rivers Elementary School. Then we hopped on a bus to travel 30 miles to Wickiup Resevoir. For weeks we have been fretting over what the water temperature might be. There was still snow around the lake just 3 weeks ago, but as the air temperature started to climb over the last few weeks, so did the water temperature and we were lucky to swim in 64 degree water. Very comfortable with a wet suit.

My heat started at 9:10 am. I stayed toward the back as there were so many people and many of these people are hard-core triathletes. But, I held my own in the water. I was far from first, but I was not last.

40 minutes later, I ran (at least it felt like I was running) up the boat ramp to my bike. I stripped off my wetsuit, dried my feet, put on my socks, shoes, helmet and gloves and was off to the bike ride.

The race guide listed the bike ride this way "The first 12 miles are flat. At mile 12 there is a 3/4 mile climb with a total of 400 ft in elevation gain. The rest of the course is downhill..." NOT! The first 12 miles were rolling hills. Many of the downhills were steep enough that my momentum could carry me up the next hill, but it was still a workout. The 3/4 mile climb was actually 4 miles long, and while not extremely steep...as the temperature crested 90 degrees, it was hot (I found out later that the race book showed the hill as "3/4 mile" instead of "3-4 miles"...that's a slight difference).

But overall, the ride was great, and relatively easy. This is where I started making up some time. I finished the 28 mile bike ride in 1 hour and 38 minutes. As I rode up to the transition from the Bike to Run in Sunriver, there were 2 guys beating on drums and everyone was cheering. I saw Sean and Corbin as soon as I got off my bike and Sean snapped this photo.

Bonus -- for those of you who are fans of the TV show Lost, apparently Dr. Jack Shepard (Matthew Fox) was also there. Why Sean didn't take a picture I don't know...but he was cheering people on as they came into the transition area. Unfortunately, I didn't see him since he was on the left and the transition area was on the right. Although, if I had seen him...I may have fallen off my bike :)

So, into the bike to run transition. Less than 2 minutes and I was off and running...then walking...then running...then walking. Oh, this was a miserable run. It was now over 100 degrees, and there was very little shade on the course. It was so hot, I could hear the race organizers pleading with the volunteers on the course to stick with it and not quit their stations. I was drinking enough water to stay hydrated, but for some reason, my heart rate kept spiking way too high. I ran as much as I could, but I walked more.

Then I turned a corner (literally, not figuratively) and realized that the finish was just ahead. I was running at this point and I kept going. There were so many people cheering us on, calling out our numbers and shouting encouragement. The path curved again and there was the finish line. I made it!

It wasn't pretty. It will probably (hopefully) be the worst time I ever get on an Olympic Distance triathlon as I don't plan to ever do one in 100 degree heat again. But, I do plan to do this again. I am going to do a couple of the short ones this summer and maybe another Olympic distance at the end of the summer and see if I do better.

Triathlons are a huge challenge and the training and physical challenge are only part of the battle. Keeping yourself moving in the water when people are swimming over you and splashing water in your face. Riding that flat stretch of road into a headwind wondering if you have a flat tire, only to realize the road isn't really flat, it's slightly uphill (that's called a false flat...I hate those). Or forcing yourself to keep going even though you are hot and your legs are cramping and you can't run any faster than you can walk. It's a huge mental challenge. But I am so glad I did it. Afterward, other than being a bit sunburned and hot...I actually felt fantastic.

My total time was 3 hours 53 minutes...about 40 minutes slower than I thought I would be...but that just means I have room for improvement.

Blue Lake Triathlon

My number

My Age

Woo Hoo! I did a triathlon. What a great morning. This was a warm up for the Pac Crest coming up in 2 weeks, and Joni and I did great.

We did a Tri-It Sprint Distance. That means we swam a 1/4 mile, biked 12 miles, and ran 3.2 miles. (A regular sprint triathlon has a 1/2 mile swim).

We were the last heat into the water, but ended up passing most of the men in the heat before us :) during the swim...it was great to pass all the orange swim caps of the men in the Tri-it group and realize that I was in front of most of the pink swim caps of the other women in my group. My confidence in swimming definitely increased out on the water today, and I wasn't nearly as freaked out by swimming in the dark pond water as I was on Thursday in our practice swim.

The swim was quick, and then we were out of the water and running through the transition area to get our wetsuits off and our helmets and bike shoes on. Then, we were off again. This time running with our bikes to the start of the bike section. 6 miles out on Marine Drive, it was fast and flat and we average 18.5 miles (AWESOME). We passed A LOT of people on the bike ride.

We hit a bit of a head wind between miles 3 and 6, but then on the way back, we had the tailwind and sailed back to the Park...and back to the transition area.

We took off the bike shoes and helmet, slipped on the sneakers and were off again for the last leg of the event...the run.

Wow! Did our legs feel like they had bricks attached to our shoes! Luckily we have done some "Brick" workouts and were ready for that feeling. Going from the bike to the run is a very hard thing and your body takes some time to adjust. Joni adjusted much quicker than I did, but finally I got into the rhythm of the run and the last 1.5 miles were great.

Our wonderful friend Rebecca rode her bike down to the park. We saw her in between the bike and run section and she was able to get the pictures of us crossing the finish line. (except for the darn guy in front of us)

The Finish Line

I can't wait for the Pacific Crest Triathlon. I am totally prepared and ready to tackle this challenge. We'll see how I feel afterward, but maybe I am up for a Half Ironman next year...

2 Happy Racers

Pioneer Century

Training Continues...

We rode the Pioneer Century yesterday. It's a great ride split into 2 halves. The first 1/2 is 55 miles and 3,000 feet of elevation climbing. Then we all stopped for lunch back at the start and probably 75% of the people called it quits. The rest of us went on to the second half, 45 miles, mostly flat with with some rolling hills. I struggled on the 2ND half. Twice during the ride, my front brake decided to stick. Sean thinks it's because I hit a big piece of wood and now my tire is out of "true." Anyway, a couple of times, I hit a really big wall and struggled to keep going. We had a total ride time of 6 hours and 53 minutes for 102 miles and 4,000 ft of elevation. Not great, but not really bad either.

So, today we are waffling with the idea of going for a run. For my running training, I should go for an 8-mile run. But I think that I will stick with a 5 mile run since I rode yesterday.

Next week I am signed up to do a Sprint Triathlon...just to get the sense of the transitions, etc. Sean will probably go for a long ride with the group and training continues...

One year later

Well, a year later, and we are back at it.

We had a phenomenal ride around Lake Tahoe last year, and while we decided to not do it again this year, we are very busy with other events.

We rode Reach the Beach again this weekend, but went out of Corvallis. There were way fewer hills at the beginning, but the whole ride is 110 miles (actually 108.75 to be exact).

It was a hot day, in the 90s at least. But we kept the sunscreen on and tried to go fast enough that we always felt a breeze. Overall, we did great. 6.5 hours of actual riding time. And that's great considering we are planning to ride 210 miles in 7 weeks - Seattle to Portland.

In addition to that one-day ride, I am training for the Pacific Crest Triathlon on June 29. It's an Olympic Triathlon, .9 mile (1.5Km) swim, 28 mile (40Km) bike ride, and 6.2 mile (10Km) run.

I am feeling really great about and ready for the challenge.

I also signed up for a weekly training group called Portland Fit and if I stick with it through the heat of the summer, I will be trained to run the Portland Marathon...which means I will have run a marathon before I turn 36...there is something appealing to that.

Stay tuned...

We Reached The Beach!!

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.

Want to support us in our challenge? Visit our fund-raising sites at:

http://www.active.com/donate/tntor/tntorCPickel http://www.active.com/donate/tntor/tntorSPickel1

Forest Grove, Yamhill, Carrolton, Hagg Lake - 77 Miles

Today was a personal best for Sean and I. We have never riden over 65 miles, and today our 75 miles ride turned into a 77 mile ride, thanks to a detour.

8 of our teammates started about an hour ahead of us to try and knock this one out. We caught up to 2 of them, but the other group eluded us. This was another gorgeous ride through the country and into wine country. We even added on a couple of hills, just for the hell of it (they say for training, I say for the hell of it). Check out this link and you can see one of the hills, it was short, but it was a 20% grade. Yes, I made it up the hill without stopping. I was going very slow, but I DID NOT HAVE TO WALK. http://www.anneamie.com/

The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful. For the most part we all stayed together as a group and everyone is showing massive improvement.

I am very excited to do the "Reach the Beach" century next Saturday.

Hillsboro to Hagg Lake - 65 miles

Ravi, Sean, Marcia, Nate, Don

Put in another 4 hours on the saddle today. We started in Hillsboro and started winding our way through the countryside, past a couple of wineries on our way to Hagg Lake. We climbed one good sustained 4 mile climb up Bald Peak -- Sean of course finished at the top with the rest of the fast folks, but I held my own.

10 miles later, we were at Hagg Lake ready to tackle 11 miles around the lake, and 11 rolling hills. Some were big, some were not, but it felt great to get around that Lake and heading for the 2nd half of the ride.

The second half of the ride found me playing catch up to the faster riders. I was riding with Marcia and we were so close, but with 6 of them, and only 2 of us, we couldn't quite catch them until they waited for us -- I know a novel idea :)

We felt great at the end of the ride...we are definitely going to be ready for Tahoe in 3 weeks.

Monster Cookie Ride - 65 Mile Success!

Pace Line (from back: Christa, Melvin, Jay, Sean & Sally)

This week's team ride was an organized event by the Salem Bicycle Club, called the Monster Cookie Ride. Salem (for those of you who don't know), is Oregon's capital and smack dab in the heart of the Willamette Valley...translation = VERY FLAT!!

There were really no hills to speak of. There was a lot of wind, so a lot of people formed pacelines to help cut through the wind. Sean rode with the guys at a pace that I could not maintain for the first 30 miles, and I formed a paceline with 2 other riders, one was my mentor, the other was just another guy out on the course.

The second half of the course went even faster. Again, I couldn't sustain the speed, but once the group dropped it from 21 mph to 19 mph, I was able to hang on and take my turns at the front.

The sun was out in full blazing glory. We actually have tans on our arms now. At the end of the ride, they gave everyone a monster cookie. The cookies weren't so good, but the riding was spectacular.

Estacada Illusion - 50 miles

This week's ride was a strange one. We started in Estacada, about 20 miles from Portland in the Foothills of Mt. Hood. We knew that during the first 25 miles we would be climbing about 1100 ft. Not too bad over 25 miles. The first hill started right out of the parking lot. 3.5 miles up a 6% incline. Without a warm up, that was a rough one. The descent was great (as usual) and as we got to the bottom, we settled in for the next 15 miles of steadily climbing.

At times, the road looked like it was downhill. You could swear that you were pointed down, but your legs and your speed were telling a completely different story. I couldn't stay with Sean, and got to the turnaround about 10 minutes after he did.

The trip back was great. All downhill (except for that last climb up a 7% grade for 3 miles).

We made great time, and for a change...it didn't start raining until we got BACK to the car.

Rain, hills ands flats (tires that is)

Today's ride was a 53 mile haul over many rolling hills and up a few long ones and one very short, steep hill that we actually rode about 5 weeks ago...I walked it that time, this time I made it all the way up every hill. Hopefully, and I'm knocking wood here, my days of walking up the hills are over.

It started to pour as soon as we all got ready to leave, and it didn't stop until about 12 miles from the finish. Then the sun came out and dried a few of the great downhill sections. Dry roads on a downhill make for very fast descents.

Sean got a flat about 12 miles out. Our coach was driving Sag for us today (driving his van up and down the ride route to make sure that everyone had enough to eat and drink, if someone needs to quit, they can get in the van, or even just ride for a while to take a break). He was a life-saver with his big floor pump. We had our hand pump, but the bigger pumps make blowing up the tire so much better. We got back on the road and after about 4 miles, Sean had another flat. We checked the tire again, and finally found a very tiny, but persistently sharp piece of glass in Sean tire. As he rode, it just kept popping his tube. So, Andy showed up again with the pump and within a few minutes we were off.

We caught up to a few folks at a bathroom turn around, then we were off on our own again, chasing the leaders who had passed us with the first flat. At about mile 24, we passed under 6 sets of massive power lines feeding power into the city. The rain was still coming down and the lines were humming like a rushing river. It was very cool, but a bit disturbing at the same time. I hit a rough patch at about 26 miles. My legs were not cooperating with me at all. After a few miles, I got my cadence back and we were back to 19-22 miles an hour over the rollers.

We started up another long hill, and Coach Andy stopped to make sure we were still doing all right, then he went up to see how far ahead the lead group was. On his way back, he told us they were at the top of the hill just as we started our climb. Within a few miles, we should catch up.

And we did, on the next hill. Well, Sean caught up, I caught up when they all took a break at the top of the hill. At this point, we were about 12 miles from our cars, and the sun came out. The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful. Except for when the kid in a car in downtown Oregon City yelled, "Go Lance Go" as Sean rode past leading the rest of us home. That was pretty funny.

Overall - a great ride. But I sure will be glad when the rain decides to pick a different morning each week to come down. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays - pretty much any other day would be fine for it to rain - just not Saturdays...

North Plains to NW Portland and back...in the rain

Another rainy day today. The Weather guessers on TV were calling for sunny and warm, low 70s, but at 11PM last night, they all changed their minds and we woke at 6:00AM to a steady rain. It was relatively warm, so we didn't have to layer up, but we were soaked within the first 3 miles...with 43 left to go!

We did a very similar route 5 weeks ago from NW Portland to Beaverton and then back -- this time we reversed it and added 10 miles.

The best part about today's ride was how well we did...despite the rain. On both of our climbs, I didn't have to stop and get off the bike, not once. My average pace on the climb us Springville Rd. was between 1 and 1.5 MPH faster than it was last time we climbed this hill. I was ecstatic.

As we got to NW Portland, about halfway through out ride, I got a flat. As we pulled over to fix it, Sean's tire was also leaking, so, after 2 tire changes, we were off. Back up through the Rose Garden, past the Oregon Zoo and the Arboretum and back up to Skyline. Again, 5 weeks ago, I struggled up these hills. I wouldn't say it was easy today, but I didn't have to stop and rest.

The downhill section would have been fantastic, but the driving rain made it a bit treacherous, so we didn't reach the speeds we generally do.

All in all, even though we were completely soaked and covered with road grime and dirt from head to toe, we did better today than on any past ride.

I'm not sore (anywhere) and though I will sleep very soundly tonight, I didn't need to take a nap today. I'm starting to get very excited about our ride, and love getting on my bike a couple times a week. I'm even starting to think I may look good in spandex...is that wrong?

There's a reason they call it HILLSBORO!

We are starting to get into parts of Oregon where we have never ridden before. This week we rode 45-miles starting in Hillsboro. Most of the ride was relatively flat with nice rolling hills...up and down...up and down...then we arrived at the bottom of Clapshaw Hill Rd. 1-mile up and up and up. There was a big group of us together at that point still, but as we got to the bottom of that hill, we started to spread out for the rest of the ride. With about 10 miles to go, we found ourselves at the bottom of our next big climb, Blooming Fern Hill Rd. That one was a 16% grade climb...I didn't make it on my bike. But walking up that, in bike shoes, pushing your bike is still an achievement, so I don't feel too bad.

This has been a good biking week for us outside of our regular training. I rode my bike out to work on Monday, 14 miles each way--over the west hills. Sean went on a ride after work on Tuesday and on Thursday, we decided to ride out to Clackamas (a suburb to the East of Portland) and we climbed Mt. Scott. The ride was about 30 miles, and we felt great afterward. Hungry...but not sore.

I think we'll be ready for our ride in 2 months...

Viva La Center...Viva La Rain...48 miles

Today's ride was a lot like doing the first 2 legs of a triathlon...swimming and biking. My view was hindered on the entire route by the fog and water droplets clinging to my riding glasses (I am SO glad I had those today). It absolutely poured rain on us for hours. The only saving grace? It was a warm rain.

The ride leader said that there were 2 real climbs, and the rest of the route consisted of rollers...I think our definitions are different, there were many, many climbs. I define a "roller" as a section where you roll down one hill and your momentum can take you much of the way up the other side, and you continue that pattern for a while. These were climbs...

We were out in La Center, Washington, which is right at the edge of Cascade Mountains and the route to Mt. St. Helens. We rode for about 10 miles next to the Yacolt River (I think that's what it was).

We were also joined by a member of the Vancouver Bicycle Club, he came along to act as a guide since only one person had ever ridden this route. We also found out that he is a Lymphoma survivor. Since our honored teammate, Mary, wasn't with us today, Bill was a stand in. Ultimately, today's ride was a great test of our endurance, and our ability to persevere in the Rain.

Edgefield to Crown Point to Multnomah Falls...and back...

View from the Portland Women's Forum (today!)

Just got back from this week's ride. This was a great one. Being St. Patty's Day and all, we started off by all putting on Green wristbands. Each on said either "Kiss me, I'm Irish" or "Irish for a day" Sean and I got the right ones...he's Irish, and I married one :)

The ride started at the Edgefield McMennamins at 8:00 AM. We rode out along the Columbia River Hwy for a few miles and then started our climb up to the Portland Women's Forum lookout. The climb was about 4 miles, and not extremely steep, but a hill is a hill...I was glad to get to the top. We stopped for a break and most of the team was not far behind. We actually got a team photo up there today. Then we started our descent...as you know by now, I love to go down hill. The real downhill was about 5 miles, as we started to get to the waterfall area of the Scenic Columbia River Hwy, the road started to give us some rolling hills until we got to the turn around at Multnomah Falls.

On the way back, it was just a reverse of the ride out. We rode with another teammate, Susan back up the hill. She has said every week that she wanted to some day finish with us...and today she did. She rode great.

Once back at Edgefield, we all stayed for lunch and beer...it is St. Patrick's Day after all!

I love going fast...

Mt. Hood

This week's ride was night and day from last week. The weather was a better, the hills, while very steep, were short and manageable (well, almost manageable for me, Sean just powered up them as usual).

We started out at the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in Oregon City and rode along the river for a few miles before veering off into some pretty farms lands and absolutely gorgeous views of Mt. Hood. WOW!! The rode was full of fast rolling hills and it was easy to keep your speed on the uphills because they weren't long, and you had enough from the downhill you had just finished.

About 14 miles in we hit the hill at Eadon Rd. It was not very long, but it just went straight up. Once we got to the top, we hit another great area with rolling hills. We looped back around to Springwater Rd. and those pretty little farms, and took a different right on Harding Rd. Within a mile, we found the same hill from Eadon Rd, just on a different street. Again - a hard, short climb up.

Coach Andy invited one of his friends to ride with the team yesterday and he spent a lot of time working with Sean and I and helping us with our form. For me, he concentrated on giving me tips on climbing hills, and he tried to enlighten Sean on the value of using a lower gear and higher RPMs rather than a high gear and "grinding it out." After the last hill, he came back and helped me catch up with Sean again (since he always beats me up the hills). Once we caught up - he rode with us for a while and then must have gone back to the rest of the group since we never saw him again.

It was a great ride, only 2 hours and 9 minutes to ride 33.5 miles. Very different from last weeks ride.

Up & over the west hills...ouch!

View from International Rose Test Garden (not today)

Today was a tough ride. You gotta love the weather people, they never seem to get it right. It was on the colder side and misting. Not really raining, but far from dry. Our ride today started at 25th and Raleigh in NW Portland. Within the first mile, we were across Burnside and heading up through Washington Park. For those of you not familiar with Washington Park, it is a beautiful part Portland which houses the International Rose Test Garden, The Oregon Zoo, The Japanese Gardens, Pittock Mansion and the Arboretum. The views of the city and the mountains can be breathtaking - so think elevation... When it snows in Portland, we don't usually get it at our house, but the west hills do.

We rode up for 7 miles, eventually turning on Cornell and Thompson and making a great 4 mile descent into Beaverton. Then, it was a few rolling hills on 185th and Germantown road before starting a brutal climb up Springville Rd. My legs were screaming at me...in fact, they still are. Sean was riding great and only about 10 minutes ahead of me. Once I got to the top of Springville, I took a quick break and then headed out, fully expecting the guys who caught up with me at the end of the Springville climb, to pass me a short while later. They never did, and I never saw another of my teammates until I finished the ride about 15 miles later.

It took me 3 hours and 40 minutes (Sean's time was 3 hours 30 minutes) to finish our ride - but taking out breaks, it was actually 3 hours of riding. I am ecstatic with our ride.

30 miles out near Scholls - Cold and Wet

I didn't make it on this week's ride. I was back in Virginia visiting the family, but Sean went. It sounds like it was a doozy... (Christa wrote)

Christa assumed correctly, let me set the scene, it was a warm, clear sunny day no cars were on the road and I was feeling on top of my game! No wait a minute, sorry that was what I was dreaming the entire wet, windy and gray 30 mile ride. I found it quite strange the only ride Christa has missed was the most miserable. You know they say misery loves company! I really missed Christa's company on this ride. Although the ride had all of its drawbacks I was able to "test" out all of my winter bike gear. The fenders worked great and my booties kept my feet almost completely dry. Had I been in the saddle for another hour or so I would not have been a happy camper. All in all it was a good ride, can't wait for next week. Hills hills hills. Welcome back Christa!!

Donald/St. Paul Loop - 25 miles

We had a great ride today. It was foggy and damp, but there roads were pretty traffic free, and we had a lot of rolling hills to work on. There were about 20 of us riding today and every one did a great job.

As we started out, miles 2-5 were though a great park on a pretty crazy bike path. It was all moss covered and slick (it probably is all year long, but even worse in the damp NW winter), but pretty peaceful and provided good practice at watching the road ahead and finding the best "line" to ride and not hit all the bumps and holes.

Once we got through the park, we headed out onto the back roads. We rode past a few Christmas Tree farms, a few nursery's and unfortunately, a few dairy farms (Wow, they really do stink).

We finished the ride in 1 hour, 40 minutes and my bike computer said it was exactly 25 miles.
The rides are getting longer, but the team is getting stronger.

26 Miles on the East Side

Today's ride was on the east side of Portland. Sean and I were able to ride down to OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) from our house and meet the group. We started with a quick clinic about how to change a tire, then we were off...down the Springwater corridor along the Willamette River. We were cruising, averaging about 20 mph and having a great time.

Then we travelled off the bike path for about a mile until we found the new section of the trail...at the same time, the wind found us. It slowed us waaaaay down. We struggled for about 7 miles until our turnaround point.

Funny, with the wind at your back, everything seems easier.

16-miles on Sauvie Island

We did a longer ride this week. 16 miles out at Sauvie Island. For those who don't know, Sauvie Island is a great little oasis just west of the city. Huge farms and boating access on the Columbia and Willamette Rivers. The Island was full of bikers and birders today. It was another cold ride, 28 degrees when we left the house. The ride was just about an hour and the distance gave us an opportunity to work up a sweat and really get used to our bikes again.

I really do enjoy riding. It's such a peaceful activity. Even when you are riding with 5, 10 even 15 other people. You have to rely on yourself and be able to anticipate the actions of others.

Hmm...skills that also help in the real world.

First Official Team Ride!

First official team training ride this week. It was a bit warmer this week, but the wind was howling. It was so hard to get up the hills. Everyone did a great job and got the feel for riding as a big group.


Thanks for your support!

Kick Off Party

Tonight we went to our kick-off party for the Summer 2007 Team in Training season. We met Mary Foley, our honored teammate for America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride and the rest of our team members.
What a great night! It was very inspiring to hear the stories of all the honored teammates, our coaches, mentors and the Team in Training staff.

Mary Foley

Honored Teammate

America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride

Pre-Training Ride

WOW! 35 degrees is just waaaay too cold to be riding a bike. We showed up at our first, unofficial training ride today. We had our leggings on, and we had ear covers, but we were completely unprepared for the cold. As we left our house in NE Portland, the sun was out and the wind was low. We figured we were in for a nice, if chilly, ride.

Not so much...as we drove west out of town toward the suburbs and our starting point, the fog settled in, thicker and denser than ever. Did I also mention it was cold?

We were just doing a short, 8-mile ride, nothing too hard, with a couple of short, steep hills. It was so cold, and so foggy that the fog was freezing on our eyebrows and eyelashes. That was pretty funny to see. I warmed up pretty well during our ride, but our feet and Sean's fingers were so cold...we went to the bike store that afternoon and bought some shoe covers and gloves with full fingers (our regular gloves are only half-fingers).

We're committed...

Sean and I signed up today to participate in a 100-mile bike ride. Big challenge, right? How about raising $3,600 each in order to do so? Even bigger challenge, right? Well, it;s all for a good cause. We are raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Each year we seem to sign up for one challenging ride and raise money for a cancer charity.

My Aunt Dolores is currently in remission. She has 2 kinds of Leukemia. It's pretty crazy, you don't really think about it, or even know much about it until it happens to someone you know. But now I know that the type of Leukemia my aunt has tends to strike in the 1st decade of life, or in the 6th - 9th decade of life. My aunt is 65. Even stranger is that when my grandmother was in the holspital last January, dying from Pneumonia, they diagnosed her with Leukemia. One of the same strains that my aunt, her daughter, is now fighting.

Sean and I are pretty lucky. We have a good life. We are healthy. We enjoy riding our bikes. Why not combine these things into an event that can change the course of cancer research and get us one step closer to a cure.