Fun Summer Rides

The riding has been good.  Good to be alive and enjoying the peddling.  I had a couple of terrific days out with the Seattle Randonneurs.

Seattle Randonneurs Summer 200k Brevet. I rode in a 200 km brevet in a very familiar area but on new roads and trails, along a very interesting route. It was a beautiful day out in the sunshine, riding fairly slowly, enjoying the group and the day.

Seattle Randonneurs Four Volcanoes 300k Brevet. I also rode a truly stunning 300 km brevet where I had the good fortune to see four volcanoes: Mount Rainer, Mount Adams, Mount Hood, and Mount Saint Helens. From the Hotel Packwood, Packwood, WA, my day began at 3:55 AM! The official  "start" was at 5:00 AM, about 10 miles and 1,500 feet up a gravel road (route). Ride or drive? Seemed like riding would be the better option. The Seattle Randonneurs don't fool around on their beautiful bikes!

Getting ready at the start, around 5:15 AM. We started at 5:30 AM.

From the start, we rode gravel on great roads for almost 35 miles, passing Takhlakh Lake with an amazing view of Mount Adams, and then riding south, basically for 50 miles downhill to the mighty Columbia. We then turned right and rode west along the Columbia river into a stiff  leg-sapping wind.  I had no idea how best to control the bike and was terrified that seeking to avoid the ditch a gust of wind would cause me to over-correct and I would find myself in traffic; therefore, the ditch became my friend. Notably, I had the pleasure of experiencing a nice "draft" from a train running west between me and the river - how odd and interesting. The four or five tunnels were unpleasant, not least because an already intense wind became even more intense as it funneled its way through. At about mile 90, at Carson, we turned north and all was excellent as we rode on truly beautiful roads back to Packwood, eventually passing near Spirit Lake, on roads that are used in the Cascades High Pass Challenge. Riding fast down through the woods on rough roads I focussed on being controlled and smooth, trying to give myself a good deal of room to react to bumps and cracks that appear in the road at the last second.  I'm glad it was still daylight - I turned my front light on anyways, aiming to be visible.  I got out onto the valley, which was golden dry, perhaps with wheat or barley, and with long shadows - the sun that was just above the mountain ridges - and I time-trailed for ten miles, trying for smooth and fast pending. At the finish, back at Hotel Packwood, I happily handed over my completed Randonnepuring card.

Mount Adams viewed from Takhlakh Lake, about kilometer 50.

I had ridden almost 150 miles alone. After 7 hours on a bike, I'm generally done - I don't much like it. But, on this outing, I enjoyed the day - the landscapes, the sensations of seeking to be efficient and fast.  I would have to say that this outing was among the best five rides that I've ever done - the route. I think that perhaps next year I will try some longer rides and explore the mindset that's needed to enjoy the very long outings (400k and 600k). Special thanks to Bill Gobie for designing this adventure and for the volunteers at the controls that made the day awesome.

Lion Gravel Challenge. Photo by Phal Lim.

The Lion Gravel Challenge. Wow. Beautiful country to the east of Roslyn. Amazing views. Intricate route. Some very hard climbing and descending. Big rocks and loose dust. Saw a massive elk and a couple of wild turkeys. Windy, too, on the way back.  Just wow. Looking forward to doing this one again next year! Special thanks to the organizers for this tough, awesome challenge. Beautiful  photographs by Phal Lim.

This looks like a great ride: Washington Backcountry Discovery Route!!  Perhaps, a goal for the future!!!

Vicious Cycle Gran Fondo Winthrop

Five weeks until Vicious Cycle Gran Fondo Winthrop. I see that there are over 120 people registered!

As with last summer, my training has not been so structured. For lots of good reasons, I've missed three weeks of training in the last ten weeks, so the time/effort on the bike has been quite choppy, in hours: 15.5  - 0 - 12.0 - 12.0 - 16.0 - 18.0 - 0 - 1 - 8.5 - 8.0. And, I've not been doing my weekly core routine so, predictably, I am starting to feel it in my back and left leg and knee.

With five weeks to go to GFW, here's the plan: This week, I'll try to get in 12-14 hours, mostly in zone-1 and zone-2. No hard efforts. Then, for week #2 and week #3, I'll try for two hard weeks, aiming for about 16-18 hour each week, with two interval workouts, lots of controlled climbing in zone-2 and low zone-3 and sustained zone-2 riding, and easy recovery zone-1 rides. It will be interesting to see how I respond to this training load. These two weeks, if all goes well, will be hardest of the entire year. After the first week off back in late June, when I came back to training I felt very good.  I've found the rest to be so valuable. So, perhaps, the choppy training over the last ten weeks will have kept me rested and ready for some hard work. Then, for week #4, I'll take 3 days off and recover, aiming for about 10 hours, with one hard, sustained Zone-3 effort, a Fartlek session on some technical gravel trails, leg speed work on the rollers, and easy recovery rides. Finally, for week #5, I'll do 4 hours of almost nothing during week with some easy riding and short leg speed intervals, with the key goal of being as rested as possible for GFW.  I'm looking forward to the structure and seeing how it goes. I think its going to be fun!!

This year will be my third GFW outing. So long as the weather is good, I'll try to follow the same basic plan as last year in 2016. Ride reports for 2016 and 2015.

Tires?  Hmmm.  I think I'll go with a 38mm Trigger on the front and 35mm Compass Bon Jon Pass on the back. (38mm tires are generally too wide for the back of my Super Course frame.) I'll ride both in tubeless mode. Some of the gravel, especially in the middle part, was absolutely brutal last year. I think the volume of the 38 mm will be very helpful, although it will be a little slowish on the road. Hmmm. So hard to know what is optimal.  Perhaps, going with the Bon Jon Pass tires would be just fine - I like their efficiency on the climbs and flats and can manage the downhills ...

After every curve I sprint, until I have to break again. I'm not having any trouble with these curves, I'm much too tired now to worry about matters of life and health (The Rider, by Tim Krabbe, 1979, p. 132). I like the spirit of these curves, but I'd rather ride with élan and be alive.