The Process Begins

Things are starting to happen- the riders are beginning to arrive-in fact, I met several of the folks in the hotel lobby and had some fun getting to know them. They are from all over the U.S.- and I think there are some folks from other countries as well. I went through the registration process and had my bike inspected (a slight glitch was pointed out to me in terms of how I routed the brake cable I discussed earlier- OK, so I'm not perfect. Sheesh.), got my ABB jersey, etc.

Earlier in the day I rode around town a bit, concluded that I had the wrong clothes on for the weather (50's and light rain), went back to the hotel and fixed the wardrobe. I then decided to head down the coast and ended up in a little beach community called Seaside (appropriate enough). Had lunch at a spot near the ocean and then came back to Astoria, logging around 40 miles. The total feet climbed was- get this- around 400 feet. Flat as a pancake. Got a real case of the heebie-jeebies crossing a bridge over the river- really narrow with a wicked cross wind and a ton of traffic. Not for the faint of heart.

The weather man was working OT today- we had overcast skies, light rain and then blue skies. Since then we've had wind and more rain- I'm expecting snow, hail and Vulcan lightning balls by morning. Not really, but the weather really keeps you on your toes here. Could make dressing for the ride a challenge.

While riding to Seaside (I was on Highway 101) I met a guy who, together with his female companion, was riding from Seattle to San Francisco- self supported. Looked like an interesting way to go. There are camp sites everywhere and the weather has to be pretty moderate. Talk about scenery- forget about it! This guy annoyed me somewhat- I passed him while he was on the side of the road doing a wardrobe adjustment. Several miles later he pulled along side of me riding a fully loaded touring bike. Hey man, do you have any idea what that did to my ego. Couldn't you at least have appeared to be winded??

I'm in Astoria

Yesterday, I flew from Atlanta to Portland and then drove to Astoria along Highway 30. The drive was beautiful and it ran parallel to the Columbia River for about 100 miles. The area is so lush and green. It clearly gets a lot of rain here- unlike my native Georgia which is languishing under a drought of biblical proportions right now. The hillsides are densely covered with evergreens that appear to be rain forest dense and are that rich green that you only find on brand new plant growth.
The photo above was taken directly behind my room at the Holiday Inn Express. The hotel is literally on the banks of the Columbia River, which at this point has nearly finished its trip to the Pacific and is forming a wide bay here. The hotel sits directly below this bridge which crosses over into Washington. Astoria is a very scenic town, albeit a bit depressed economically. The town seems to be full of 50 year old Victorian homes that look like they need a visit from Norm Abrams and the crew from This Old House-lots of potental, views galore, but teetering on the edge of being saved or "it's time to go".

The crew from America By Bicycle was arriving about the same time as me and I met a couple of them- they were pretty fixated on getting things unloaded and set up. Fortunately I was able to locate my bike box, drag it to my room and assemble it- almost. I had abit of trouble with how Joe got the brake cable out of the brake assembly with the cable end piece still on. Finally figured that he uncrimped it, slid the cable out and then recrimped it. I reversed the process and voila, the bike's assembled. (Did I spell Wah-lah right??)

The picture to the right is also behind my hotel room and is facing the Columbia River upstream. Several times yesterday I spotted huge cargo ships traveling up and down the river. I noticed on the drive yesterday that there are a ton of chemical plants along the river (what a view killer) and a couple of times I caught the whiff of paper plants- yuck!! Memories of my time in Monroe, LA which was blessed with the jobs the paper mill brought, but was cursed with the every day, sour smell that was part of the bargain.

Today, I plan to re-tighten the bolts on my bike and then take a short shakedown cruise out the route that we'll be on Monday morning. Oh yeah- almost forgot- on the drive in yesterday (which I believe we'll be following as we start the ride) I saw several touring cyclists- one guy pulling a trailer and another couple on fully loaded touring bikes- all headed east. One good thing- there was a bike lane, with generous proportions the entire way from Portland to Astoria- never seen anything like it. It even had the bike lane symbol painted on every few miles. Very bike friendly place.

The weather is a real treat- the high today is 65-70 degrees and very low humidity. There does seem to be a constant wind, but I get the feeling that it's coming off the ocean and so that helping hand will be appreciated if it holds 'til Monday. The boys in the bike shop said an 80 degree day is a warm one here, but all that changes when you get 15 miles inland. Reminds me of the Bay Area- big weather changes in very short distances.

It's Africa Hot

One of my favorite movies is "Biloxi Blues", which is a story about a group of World War Two recruits from NYC going through basic training at an army base in Biloxi, MS. As they arrive on the base in mid summer, one of the recruits remarks "Boy it's hot. It's Africa hot."

Today Danny Short and I did a 72 mile ride and by the end it was, by God, Africa hot. My truck said 94 degrees and I'll bet it was more than that on some of those stretches with brand new blacktop. The ride followed a really nice route-very scenic and mostly rollers that trended down hill for the first 65 miles. Then as we got ready to climb for the last 6-7 miles and the temperature was pegging at 90+, an unbelievable headwind started in on us. The flags in Cornelia were blowing horizontal and straight at us as we came through town. Hot, Hilly and Headwind- it just doesn't get any better than this does it Danny?

But we stayed well hydrated today (I'm getting much better at drinking while I ride) and kept a 15-16 MPH average for most of the ride- not bad for me. We agreed that we could have gone another 30 miles to make it a century, but thought it might seem boastful on our parts. After saying my goodbyes to Danny, I drove straight to the Dairy Queen and dove headfirst into a M&M blizzard- sweet relief.

So, with less than a week to go, I'm as ready as I can be. I know that I could have done more miles- but I'm satisfied with where I am (I've ridden nearly 9,000 miles in the year I've been training) and look forward to getting started. I'll probably ride a few more days this coming week and then get ready to fly to Portland on Friday. Let the games begin!!

Ready to Stop Training

I completed my fourth century in as many weeks yesterday and it was, for God only knows what reason, a chrome plated son of a bitch. Early on I knew I was in for it- the going was slow and my legs were bitchin' the whole time. If I could have quit at 50 miles I probably would have. At 70 miles or so the wind started kicking up- not howling but enough to add a bit of misery to an already unpleasant day. By 85 miles, I could barely manage to keep my arse on the saddle. Man, I sometimes feel like I'm making no progress, particularly where my posterior is concerned. But I got a pretty good massage from Sherry last night and my legs feel almost human-like this morning- maybe there's hope?

Hope or not, I have had a gut full of training for this ride and want to get on with the main event. I am beginning to get concerned that after that ride is done, I may be completely burned out and may want to hang up the cleats. Joe thinks that I should start riding a mountain bike when I get home as a diversion- different muscles, different kind of riding. Hmmm... something to ponder and oh yeah- I'd have to buy a new bike. Very clever Joe.

I have less than two weeks to go before I fly to Portland and I am nearly ready to go physically and completely ready to go emotionally. Joe finished overhauling my Giant and it's riding sweet. Need a fresh set of tires (so I can really "shake and bake") and a few other odds and ends. I take the bike to Joe on Tuesday and it will be packed and shipped by Friday. I'm counting on UPS to do their thing- the bike should be in Astoria by the following Wednesday and I'll be a couple of days behind that. I'll start checking west coast weather soon to get some feel for what to expect- pray for tailwinds wouldja??

BTW, if anyone is reading this drivel, send me a comment. It would just entertain the crap outta me. If you are not reading this, please disregard.

Third Century in Three Weeks (well, almost)

I am pleased to report that I finished my third (almost) century in as many weeks. I qualify this since three weeks ago I was forced to give in at 90 miles, but hey, 90% gets you on the honor roll where I come from. This weeks ride was "The Challenge of the Centuries" out of Hartwell, GA and it was a blast. Very fast (read "flat") course with about 400 riders, including the 20, 50 and metric rides. The Sags were well done and unlike three weeks ago, I hung with some other riders and managed to stay on course the whole ride. I finished the century in around 6:30 which is a PR for me. I felt great on the ride and we had perfect weather conditions- low humidity, 80 degrees tops and not much wind- almost too easy.

The month of May is turning out to be a very good training month for me. I should top 1,200 miles and will have 3 weeks with well over 300 miles. With less than three weeks to go, I'm feeling more confident, especially with three (almost) centuries in the bag this month. I hope to finish my training with two more centuries and probably another 600-800 more miles. This should put me at nearly 9,000 training miles. Man, it seems impossible that I could have ridden that much. If all goes according to plan, I'll have over 12,000 miles in total at the end of the tour- half way around the planet in about 14 months.

Three weeks and counting!!

Wow! Where did the time go? Seems like yesterday that I still had several months to go before my departure and now I'm only three weeks away from leaving for Oregon. My training has ticked upward- I've done a couple of "centuries" (100 mile rides) now and have increased my weekly mileage to 300-325. I feel good, but still am very anxious about doing the ride. I get a knot in my gut when I consider that first 8 days (600-700 miles) without a day off. Will my body be ready? Will my rear end revolt? Will I be so sick of riding I'll puke? These kind of questions nag at me and I really think that the only way to get over it is to start. I'm really ready to quit "training" and start the ride. In fact I am quite sick of the training rides- same routes, same stores, same everything. I'm ready for a change of scenery and ready to get on with it.

My Giant bike is now in the shop (right Joe??) and will be getting an overhaul as needed. New chain and cassette for sure, some grease here and there and a close inspection of the whole bike. Actually, the bike has been working nearly flawlessly, so I don't expect much to be wrong, but it is far better to have a surprise here, than in the middle of Wyoming.

Will do another century ride on Saturday- this one is out of Hartwell, GA and I'm told the route crosses over into South Carolina at times. Actually the Sunday ride (another Century) comes in front of the house. I plan to be watching from a lawn chair when they pass by. Sunday has become my rest day. Ain't that the way it's supposed to be?

An update as April closes shop

Man, where did April go? Between my ankle injury, a business trip and some really snotty (cold and windy) weather, I had the worst training month since last summer. I'd hoped to do over 1,000 miles in April and barely cracked 700. In one two week period I only rode twice. The good news is- the ankle is healed and I'm riding again. Today I decided to crank my "basic training ride" up to 55 miles and plan to increase it to 60 miles in three weeks.

The time is really starting to melt away for me and I am apprehensive about the ride. I still get the heebie-jeebies when I think about the mileage we'll be doing. I am trying to get a longer mileage ride in at least once a week and did 70 miles (solo- which I think makes a big physical and psychological difference) last Saturday.

The weather is finally warming up and I will be riding in more and more high temps. Good time to begin seeing if cramping is going to be a factor- not an issue so far.