Velograph

Well hello friends. Did you enjoy your weekend? I’m still feeling the lingering effects of long saddle time and epic gravel. So let’s not get muddled with words and hit right into the photos. But first I’ll say that my picture taking took a sharp nosedive around mile 54. Soon after I found Matt Sims who had taken a wrong turn, and the two of us worked together for the last seventy or so miles.

Around this time I stopped taking photos. The climbs kept going, and I remember very little besides the heat. Dropping into the White River Wilderness was a real hoot. Baby/squirrel heads on a rutted multiple mile descent were definitely a highlight of the day. Once finding Matt, we proceeded on and a few miles later we came around a corner to see a man in full camo, with full face paint, and a compound bow on the road. He smiled and we hit the gas. Aside from this fifteen or so mile stretch, the rest of the route was full of sun.

This would be a turning point in the race. Still enjoying the work, but my legs were starting to cramp and we were just around halfway done. After the climb from Sherars Bridge was over, my legs were in a constant state of cramp. Shifting between light spinning, mashing, and standing kept me going for the remainder of the race. Shut up legs!

The last two miles back to camp were met with a fierce headwind. The previous five miles were hands down the fastest descending all day. I clocked a 44.3 headed into the wind as we turned our way down the canyon. It was beautiful and totally invigorating.

127 miles. Something around 70+ of gravel. Around 9,000 feet of climbing. Dozens of bottles of water. Six clif bars. Five gel packs. One Pepsi. One Coke. One pack of orange slice gummy candies.

14th out of 47th.

I’ll be back next year.

p.s. Big ups to Team Beer for sticking together. Poor form on Team Beer for not camping with us. You missed out on cupcakes!

It was 70 degrees last Thursday. The sun was shining behind sparse clouds, and there wasn’t a drop of rain in the air. Nothing too spectacular for an August day, but we were headed to Tillamook where the weather is always up in the air. My brother in law and I were on a last minute three day tour and it had all the right things going for it.

Once off the Max in Hillsboro we pedaled through Cornelius, past the trailer park where I used to read meters, through Forest Grove, onto 6 and up over the summit. We took our time, stopped for beers along the way, and worked our asses off. Once in Tillamook we ran errands. Brie from the Blue Heron French Cheese Company, cognac and whiskey from the liquor store. Oysters from the oyster shop. Bread, wine, and other essentials from the market. Finally we arrived at Cape Lookout State Park. We watched the sun set, ate dinner, and passed out.

Not pictured is the brie and cognac. Take a wheel of brie, stab it with a knife a bunch, pour cognac over it, wrap it in two pieces of foil and put near the coals. In about twenty minutes you have amazing cheese for bread.

Knowing that it would be cold in the mountains, and not knowing what the wood situation was, we decided to carry wood for the night. That’s thirty or so pounds of wood on my bike. The Black Star Bags look great too.

Nothing says light camping more than tyvek. Right? Not for me, I prefer the little domicile in the background.

In the morning we made some coffee, ate donuts, and proceeded to get a move on. We crested the big climb right as the sun was putting out full power. We coasted down the mountain to Carlton.

And as all tours go, this one ended. We rode back through Yamhill, and connected to Hwy 47 through Dilley. The weather was perfect, and I for one would have been happy to keep rolling.