Fifty-Two

Wednesday

2:23:45
38.3 miles
ascent: 2402 ft

Lap 1. Rode from home to Skyline at Cornell.

44:15
9.1 miles
avg HR 130 bpm
840 ft ascent

Lap 2. Group ride with Ironheads et al: Skyline to Old Cornelius Pass up Rock Creek.

49:14
14.4 miles
avg HR 159 bpm
1260 ft ascent

Lap 3. Rode home alone.

50:15
14.7 miles
avg HR 123 bpm
340 ft ascent

Fifty-One

So little time. So much to do...

Tuesday

5:22 PM
27.0 miles
1:39:39

Lap 2: Logie Trail at Helvetia to Skyline
Time: 0:22:20
HR Avg: 170
Speed Avg: 12.9 mph
Distance: 4.8 miles
Ascent: 1040 ft
Temp: 61 F

Monday

Ironheads team meeting at Portland Brewing Co. from 6-8 PM.

Finished converting my pack cover from Campmor (which I never use) to a speaker cover.

Fifty

Sunday

Went to Radio Shack and got everything I needed to connect the amp, power, speaker, and audio input.

Played with the HR monitor some more and then did a maximal lactate steady state heart rate (MLSShr) test. Warmed up for 20 minutes, then started cycling at 145 bpm, increasing 5 bpm every five minutes:

Lap: 2
Time: 0:55:02.9
Lap Time: 0:35:30.8
HR: 177
Max: 180
Avg: 162
Min: 120
Dist: 12.1
min/mile: 2:56

Total duration: 2:20:35
Total distance: 41.5 miles
Estimated MLSShr: ~170

Saturday

Spent the day with the kids while Julia was in Seattle. Around 3:00 we went to Roy Swart's place up on Bald Peak. Wow! There are some great places to ride out there. Noticed a sign that said 18% grade.

Forty-Nine

Saturday Morning (today)

I used my new HR monitor to measure my "OwnIndex", a value Polar says is comparable to VO2max. I did the test two times in a row at around 5:45 AM, lying on the floor. My OwnIndex value was 66 the first time and 68 the second time. The Polar manual says values greater than 62 are excellent for men age 20-24; greater than 55 is excellent for a 35-year-old male; top athletes typically score values above 70 (men) and 60 (women); and values as high as 95 can be reached by Olympic level athletes.

Today my resting heart rate seems to hover around 47 bpm when I'm perfectly still and relaxed. Earlier I had been trying to take my morning pulse using a finger on the wrist while watching a clock. I was getting values around 54 bpm. Now I think those numbers were a little higher just because of the movement and stress induced by trying to take my pulse manually while I was in bed, straining my neck to see the clock.

Friday (yesterday)

Toys galore: S725 heart rate monitor; Thule stuff: cross bars and rack mounts for the van, V2 bike carrier, wheel carrier, 8 lock cores, wrap-around brackets (from Yakima - to mount the speaker); chain lube and a tube of greese; Castelli shorts (Wow! I've gota start watching my waist line); Craft long sleeve wool base layer.

Workout: Riding a few miles to REI to get the Yakima wrap-arounds.

More gardening.
Called Honda and then Car Toys about installing the amp.

Thursday

Workout: Riding to REI to pick up another bottle of wash-in waterproofing solution.

More work in the garden.
The TOA CA-160 car amplifier/mixer arrived.

Completed my entry for The 508. (Finally!)

Wednesday

Started weeding and turning the soil in the garden.
The Atlas SM82-B speaker arrived.

Tuesday

Measured the Hippie Chick 1/2 marathon course at Champoeg. Rode the course three times. That and the pre- and post-calibrations added up to about 45 miles for the day.

Monday

Had my first phone conversation with Michelle Grainger. So far, it seems like I'm providing her with more information about myself than she's giving me, but hopefully that will change soon. She encouraged me to use a HR monitor. To be fair, she said a cheap one would do, but I (a.k.a. "Spendy") decided to get the S725 (I needed the altimeter). Michelle confirmed that power is somthing I need to work on given the riding I do (fixed gear, lots of hills). She said it's a waste to do strength training during the off-season and then stop going to the gym all together during the summer; you've got to keep doing the strength workouts - at least in some sort of maintenance mode. We also talked about weight and body fat. She said that for ultra-long distances, a little extra body fat isn't a bad thing. (Still, I'm going to be pissed if I can't fit into my Castelli's before they're worn out.)

Around 8 PM I had to take Xiang to school. After I dropped her off I went to the gym at work and did the off-season cycling worout (developed by John Howard) described in "Getting Stronger" by Bill Pearl. I tried to be conservative with the weights I used, since I was still a little tired from Saturday's 300K.

Afterword

Story Number Three: The Icky Story

More info. than you need to know, butt hay (pardon the pun), this is my diary; no one said ewe have to read it. The rhoids were really bad early in the week. I'm guessing that all the chili pepper I was eating in those Indian curry dishes irritated the hell out me. As much as I like spicy food, that was a big wake up call to really start watching what I eat. This is NOT a problem I want to be dealing with during a multi-day race. After a week of eating a bland (by my standards), high-fiber diet, I'm feeling much better. Now I've just got to stick with it.

Forty-Eight

Saturday was a day of ups and downs - in more ways than one. The 300K started at Shute Park a little past 7 am. The rain wasn't too bad at first, but it got worse before it got better.

I finally found a way to keep my feet dry: Bob Beckman's "Hot Foots" over my old neoprene booties over a pair of Seal Skinz socks over my shoes. How's that for layering?

I didn't spend much time off the bike. I bought a 64 oz. bottle of gatorade at the first checkpoint (~72 miles). At Pacific City I stopped and ate a mini pizza on the sidewalk (~91 miles) and got more Gatorade. Then I stopped for a while to wolf down a bag of potato chips and Reeses Pieces, and fill up on Powerade at a mini-mart in Amity (~141 miles) a few miles before the third checkpoint. Other than that and a few quick stops to piss, I was riding the whole time.

I handled the climbs pretty well. I rode with the second pack of riders until we started the first big climb on Hwy 6. Then I broke away and eventually caught another rider. I was on my own until we got close to Tillamook, and then a group of three riders caught me and we rode together, picking up a few more along the way, until we reached the Three Capes Scenic Loop. From there, three of us pick up the pace and dropped the rest of the pack. When we reached the next big climb I held my position between one guy who was a little faster and one who was slower. After the decent I was on my own until someone caught up to me near Hwy 18. With the wind behind our backs and a slight downhill, we were going about 20 mph for several miles. I was ready to ease up on the pace when we finally turned off onto a country road. From there we road together until the mini-mart at 141 miles, and then I rode alone to the finish.

I did made a few mistakes. First, I should have punched holes for my zip ties ABOVE the plastic zipper on my zip lock baggies instead of below it. Rain got in through the holes and the ink on my maps started to run. Second, I was fumbling with package of gel while I was riding. I lost a few packs when they fell out of my pocket somewhere along the way. The ones that I did manage to open and eat made a mess when I put the empty wrappers in my other pocket. Also, I think my seat might have been a little too high. At least it was tilted forward just a tad too much. I really noticed this when I tried to give my body a break by resting my forearms on the top of the bars, as if I were using aerobars.

The highlight of my ride came at the finish (8:39 PM) when I was talking with Susan France and I learned that she did RAAM in '91. We chatted for 10-15 minutes until the next riders showed up. That was neat!

Forty-Seven

Wednesday: 33.9 miles in 2:15

Rode from home to Cornell at Skyline. Met group of Ironheads. Rode west on Skyline until my chain jumped. Tried to catch the group at the bottom of Old Germantown. No one there. Realized I left my bottle of Gatorade at the top of the hill. Went back to get it. On the way back, met the Ironheads coming up Germantown. Rode with Scott back to Cornell and then went home. Got pelted by hail (ouch!) on the way home. Stopped for a couple of Krispy Kreme dounuts on the way.

Today: nada.

Got the bike ready for Saturday. Trued both wheels. Blah, blah, blah.

Forty-Six

Yesterday

21.1 miles in 1:28: Stopped at REI and bought a bottle of NIKWAX Tech Wash and TX.Direct wash-in waterproofing solution. Climbed Old Germantown Rd (turned around about 1/4 mile from the top, though). Stopped at Tae Kwon Do practice. Bought a book of stamps and a grapefruit at Fred Meyer on the way home.

Today

5x25 push ups
5x25 sit ups
3x4 pull ups

All my rain gear is in the wash right now with the TX.Direct. (Maximum of 2 items my ass!)

I'm on chapter 5 of The Part-Empty Box. You HAVE to read this book!

"But, realizing that nothing could be done about it now, he told himself to take things as they were and make the best of it, that he somehow just had to put these things aside and continue riding..." (Chapter 4, page 59)

Forty-Five

Last week I bought "The Art of Wheelbuilding", an assortment of Park tools (TS-2, TM-1, WAG-4, SW-0), a new Velocity dyad rim, 36 DT Alpine III spokes and a box of DT Pro Lock brass nipples. I planned to build a new wheel around my old 32-hole "New" Surly MTB fixed/free hub. I could see that some of the holes were a little worn, especially the one where the spoke broke. But since I was using thicker, triple butted spokes, I wasn't worried about play between the spoke and the hub. If anything, I was concerned that the holes would be too small for the spokes, but that wasn't the case.

Friday I cut out all the old spokes - before I removed the cog. Doh!I tried everything short of a blow torch to get the cog off after that, but it wouldn't budge. Vice grips, liquid wrench, nailing the hub to a block of wood, a strap wrench, even a vice at the bike shop. All I managed to do was scratch my hub. Fortunately, it was a 15 tooth cog and I could just barely spoke the wheel with the cog attached. Saturday I built the wheel. Then I was able to remove the cog with a chain whip and a lot of force. Of course, at that point, the only thing left to do was put lots of grease on the threads and put the cog back on.

Sunday I did a preliminary measurement of the Hippie Chick 1/2 marathon course at Champoeg State Park - about 16 miles on the bike.

"The Part-Empty Box" came in the mail today.

Forty-Four

The hot-foots from Bob Beckman arrived Wednesday. The workmanship is outstanding; however, the fit leaves something to be desired. They seem longer and baggier than necessary, and the cut-outs for the cleats are a little too far back (towards the heal). Oh well. As long as they keep my feet dry, I guess I'll be happy.

I rode for about an hour Wednesday after work. Not too hard. Around the trestle, to West Union/185th, and back home along the Rock Creek trail.

Yesterday I rode kind of hard for about an hour: Helvetia to Jackson Quarry to West Union to 185th and back home. Got more cool stuff in the mail again: "The Art Of Wheelbuilding" and two lenses from Rudy (clear and laser black). The frames haven't arived yet. Maybe today.

Forty-Three

"Saga of the Saber Toothed Salmon" by Ray Troll
http://www.trollart.com

I love this picture. I have one signed by Ray hanging in my bedroom.

Forty-Two

Monday

About 35-40 minutes easy riding while David and Lara were at Tae Kwon Do: 185th from West Union to Germantown, around train trestle and back.

Tuesday

5x25 push ups
5x25 sit ups
3x4 pull ups

Forty-One

Mile Post 80 on Hwy 19 - April 3, 2005

From mile post 80, it's about 11 miles to Spray. I was done, though. I got the 90 miles I needed for my mileage challenge ride, and it was time to go home. As I was strapping the bike to the rack, I noticed a broken spoke on the rear wheel. Icing on the cake.

Forty

Service Creek Cafe - April 3, 2005

I almost didn't make it this far. While we were stopped at the grocery store in Fossil it started raining hard. Then it let up a little and I headed south on 19. About half a mile from Butte Creek pass I was ready to toss the bike on the back of the van and go home. I took a short break, ate some food, and decide to push on a little farther. I couldn't have been happier when I saw the sign at the top of the pass. It was all down-hill from there. I picked up my last receipt of the day at the Service Creek Cafe. Red Bull and a bowl of clam chowder to go.

Thirty-Nine

John Day Fossil Beds - April 3, 2005

The John Day Fossil Beds are pretty cool. Turn and look behind you to catch this view.

Thirty-Eight

John Day River - April 3, 2005

Here's where 218 crosses the John Day River. The good news: It's pretty. The bad news: Get ready for another long climb.

Thirty-Seven

Hwy 218 - April 3, 2005

The RAO Course Description says, "It's 36 miles between Antelope and Fossil. There are no flat sections." Really? You don't say. I figured God was either playing with gravity or someone spiked my frame with lead. I'm trying to remain optimistic and believe that I'll climb better with a lighter bike and a three week taper. For some reason, those hills wiped me out. I'm not sure why it felt so bad today. The up-hills seemed to go on forever. Fortunately, descending wasn't too bad on the fixie. Some braking occationally, but mostly I just kept spinning at 25-30 mph.

Here I am looking out at a long descent to the John Day River.

Thirty-Six

Hwy 218 - April 3, 2005

I finally picked up some speed as I headed into Shaniko. Julia put gas in the van while I bought a bottle of Gatorade and a box of Fiddle Faddle.

Here are some of those "awesome hairpin descents" a few miles past Shaniko on 218.

Thirty-Five

Bob on Bakeoven - April 3, 2005

For a few miles, I followed the switch backs up Bakeoven. The climb didn't seem that bad, but I doubt I'd feel the same way if I already had 120 miles under my belt. At the "top" I found myself riding into a stiff headwind. Still, it wasn't bad. I felt fresh and the scenery was great. At one point I saw a heard of deer with very big ears and white tails. Later I found a skeleton on the side of the road and couldn't resist taking a picture. How fitting that turned out to be.

Thirty-Four

197 at Bakeoven - April 3, 2005

It was about 8:30 AM (er, 9:30 after the time change) when I finally hit the road. I started at the intersection of 197 and Bakeoven Road. After crossing the bridge, you make a hairpin turn onto Bakeoven. The Imperial River Co. is just off to the left. You can just barely see their sign in the picture. Bakeoven heads up the hills in the background. My plan at the beginning of the day was to ride 100 miles to Spray, and if I had enough time, backtrack to Fossil for some bonus mileage. Things didn't exactly go as planned.

Thirty-Three

Deschutes River - April 3, 2005

Saturday we left the house around 4 PM. I wanted to be on the road earlier than that, but I burned a couple of hours figuring out how to securly fasten the Yakima bike rack to the back of the van. I used two tricks. First, I ran the belts underneath the air foil so the top clips could grab the door frame instead of plastic. Second, I cut out two sections of hose from a broken bicycle pump, slit them, and attached them to the bottom corners of the hatch door. That way the clips that grasp the door in the corner wouldn't slide around.

At the Flying J truck stop, we started following the RAO course. I think there might be a misleading mistake in the Route Book. At mile 18.6, the book says to "Turn left at flashing yellow onto Rt. 212." Well, there is a flashing yellow, but I think you go through it and then turn left onto Rt. 212 at the next traffic light. That's also where the Exxon gas station is.

I wasn't sure what the roads would be like around Mt. Hood, so I had chains in the car just in case. There were patches of snow on Forest Service Road 44. There were good tracks to drive in, but in a few places the snow was deep enough that it scraped the bottom of the van. I was glad I wasn't on the bike.

It was dark by the time we reached Maupin. I reserved a room at the Iperial River Co. My timing was pretty good. Summer rates went into effect on April 1st, but the cafe doesn't open until May. Oh well. We stayed in the Wildlife room. David and Lara were not happy about the mountain lion skin on the wall. I used my jacket to hide the head, but they were still spooked.

Sunday morning, we got a better view of the place. David and Lara found a boat and thought it would be fun to run the rapids on the Deschutes.

Thirty-Two

Van - April 2, 2005

Busy day. This morning I took David and Lara to Orenco Elementary School for breakfast and an egg "hunt". Meanwhile, Julia was buying tickets for Lara's dance performance. Now she and Lara are at dance practice. I've got to get David home and feed him somthing before Tae Kwon Do; otherwise, I'll be in the dog house. I'm meeting Raj at noon to do some shoping at an Indian store. Then we're leaving for Maupin, OR. (Xiang's staying home to work on a big presentation that's due Monday.) I'll try to get in a ride before it gets dark.

Yesterday I reserved a room at the Imperial River Co. lodge. This seemed like a good weekend to start exploring the RAO course. The forecast has been calling for rain this weekend. Of course, today's been beautiful - mostly sunny so far. Farther east, Sunday's weather looked better, so I plan to do my long ride tomorrow.

Thursday I took David to school on the bike and then road to work. PT in the evening; I added the word "BICYCLE" to the sign; and took my first picture with the digital camera. Friday was a rest day. I finished the "CAUTION BICYCLE AHEAD" sign while Julia and the kids watched JAG. I caught the tail end. Very violent if you ask me. I think David was a little scared, but he was also captivated by the shooting. The lock boxes are working great. We hardly watch TV anymore. Now if I can just start weaning the kids off sugar. I admit, I'm an adict myself.

We got the BB gun out Friday after work. David, Lara and I took turns shooting a pop can at 15 feet. David hit it once. Lara's still learning to aim. My accuracy was about 50%.