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.