Tour de Drugs

Wow, Ullrich and Basso are out of the Tour de France - not even allowed to start because they are associated with the Operacion Puerto drug sting. I'm speechless, this is HUGE.

On a lighter note. Oh yah, that’s right. Who won Commute Options week Most Dedicated Year Round Commuter? Yep – yours truly. I have a certificate of merit hanging in my cubicle to prove it.

The afternoon rains cleared up so I took my Yeti 575 out for a ride. I went a little further up to a trail I haven’t hit yet this year. Great conditions!!!

The first part is a climb up to a newly cut trail that is a blast.




It's hard to find at times - you can see why Pacific Northwesterners are good at cyclocross. We're always hopping off to get around stuff like this!



View from the top of Tumalo Ridge - a bit hazy because I'm looking into the sun. All the blooming bushes are very fragrant.



Tumalo creek down there.



My last picture because I was getting eaten alive by mosquitos despite the copious amounts of Deet I applied.

I just had to add another blog entry after reading about this jerk in the paper this morning. The people of Oregon messed up BIGTIME when they approved Measure 37. Some old guy from Portland owns 157 acres of property by East Lake in the Newbery National Volcanic Monument. He wants to drill geothermal energy test wells, expand a mining operation, and build as many as 100 vacation homes on the land. He claims that county land-use regulations and zoning enacted in the last 4 decades have limited his property's potential. So, he filed for $203 million dollars. The state now has to either pay him that amount, or let him do what he want's with his property.

This really ticks me off. If you've never been there, the place is awe inspiring.

The weather forecasters were wrong...once again. Just as I was getting ready to ride home, the sky split open and rain poured down. I decided to wait it out and was rewarded about 12 minutes later with dry skies and a pleasant spin home. Hey, at least it isn't like the east coast where it floods all the time and seems to rain like CRAZY every summer. That would annoy me to no end. Plus, then how would this little guy get his nuts to eat?



Last night we went to a going away party for the President of the cycling club, she's moving to Louisiana for a job. Culture shock!

My road bike has gotten the call up more often than I like it to this time of year. But, that's what I get for hurtin my arm. Last night was a quick ride towards Bachelor because I had another Bend Bella Cyclist Executive Committee meetin. The ride was very quiet, not many cars heading up after work. I kept a nice high cadence and hit Swampy Snowpark after a little over an hour and turned around. Coming back I time trialed it downhill and across the flats. Burn baby burn. Sorry, no pics again. I do have this one from a different ride the other day.


Rockaby baby!


Dry thunderstorms and 50mph winds should make for an exciting ride to the gym and then home this evening!

Another Monday down and can you believe it, July is almost here! Yesterday was little ride day, not much exciting to report. I rode to the gym in some pretty good heat at noon for my abathon workout, then rode to the pool after work in the stifling heat. I really don't mind it at all...especially when it's followed with a nice long swim in the outdoor Olympic pool. They say the water temp is 80-81, it felt just right last night. On my way back through the locker room there was a lady shaving her upper lip in the shower. What the hell? Who does that? Go the hell home and do it in privacy!!! It wasn't quite this bad.



Today is road ride day again (gee, imagine that).

Exploration

It was another hot day here in Bend yesterday - 97 or something like that. I was tired of my road bike so we explored a flatter area we hadn't entirely been to before. Between Bend and Sunriver the forests are a maze of roads and little offshoots. We had a vague idea of what we could do, and we linked some singletrack together with some fireroads to get us off the beaten path.

Here is the river down by Benham Falls



We took a ton of offshoots and explored the area just east of the river. There are so many roads and deadends. Out came the map.



After some negotiating, hiking up a ridge once, slogging through some sand, and getting bit by mosquitos, we found our way again.

Here is one cool way to see the sights. Too bad there isn't a soundbite to go with this. The girls on the raft were screaming.



After three hours in the sun and heat I was ready for some couch time.

Hot Damn!

Today was forecasted to be hot and the weather didn't disappoint. We didn't get an early start because we were out late last night. A little bit of McMennamins, a little of The Downtowner, and a little Astro Lounge kept us busy. So, we rolled out of the driveway at about 10:30 I think. My arm is still tender so the plan for the day was to road ride around Mt. Bachelor. That's a heavy meal to put on your plate, let me tell you. It isn't for the meek or timid. There were hordes of riders out, plenty of company on the long hot climbs. Apparently the Pacific Crest Triathlon and Duathlons were today. I passed several riders that were competing and some that looked like they really wished they weren't. The ride itself gives you a view of Bachelor from every angle you could want. The whole ride is close to 100 mile when we leave from our house. And every single mile provides a view of trees, forests, lakes, mountains, rivers, lava rocks, and dead kamikaze butterflies.

Enough words, here are the pics.

I've already posted Mt. Bachelor from the east...on our ride the other night. So, here it is from the Southwest - taken at Lava Lake.



This is Daisy, she like long walks in the forest, having her belly rubbed, and shade.



Here is Mt. Bachelor taken from by Sparks Lake. It's hard to believe that mountain had around 200" of snow this year.



And here is Sparks Lake. The picture doesn't do the water color justice. It is the GREENEST lake I have seen. You could see the fish at the bottom!



The river looked good today, nice and cold!



The ride is almost done! Last shot of Bachelor; this time from the North.



Time to put my feet up.

Friday Finally

Derek and I hit the trails last night but barely 45 minute in as we started to descend, my arm injury flared up. It's an intense stinging, biting pain in the middle of my forearm on top. It is greater than any broken bone pain I have had in the past and makes it impossible to ride over any bump. So, we headed back home. Looks like more road riding for me this weekend. Bummer because I had some good epics lined up.

Lance Armstrong is under fire again. From Cyclingnews.com I read this, "In court statements obtained by Le Monde, Betsy Andreu, the partner of Armstrong's ex-teammate and friend Frankie Andreu, related her version of events that took place in an Indiana hospital on October 28, 1996, while he was being treated for cancer. "[The doctor] started to ask him banal questions, I don't remember," Le Monde quoted an excerpt of Betsy Andreu's testimony. "And all of a sudden, bang, have you ever taken doping products? He replied, yes. [The doctor] asked which ones. And Lance replied: EPO, growth hormones, cortisone, steroids, testosterone."

Betsy Andreu's statement was made on January 17, 2006, and according to Le Monde, backed up what her husband had said to the court on October 25, 2005. "I don't know how the doctor formulated his question, but the response was that he had taken EPO, testosterone, growth hormones and cortisone," said Frankie Andreu."

They sure are doing everything they can to find a way to tarnish his name. I'm sure it's only going to make the other Americans racing in the Tour this year, THAT much more determined to win.

No pictures today, sorry

ps. It's black bean, rice, and cheese burrito day!

Summer Celebration

Today being the first day of summer, I celebrated by swimming during lunch. The pool is set up for the full Olympic 50 meters in the afternoon and I love it. The laps are long and you can really hit a rhythm. I got some more funny looks for my tan line from my riding shorts. I really do look like a clown.

Derek and I attempted to ride to Mt. Bachelor after work. It's a pleasant grunt at around 26 miles up from our house, with elevation gain of 2800. The run in is a pretty gentle slope and the climbing doesn't really start until about mile 12 for us. We had to turn around before we got all the way because my knee started hurting. Still, it was a nice night for a ride and we got some decent climbing in.

My dog is happy summer is here. She likes to lay in the full sun for hours. Often times I've gone out to check on her to make sure she is still alive. She just bakes!

Do you remember?

Who remembers there first big crash as a kid? I do for sure, I still have a small scar from it. I was in Kindergarten. We lived at the bottom of a big hill and the best thing to do was to ride up to the top and then turn around and fly down it. I wasn't too good at turning and timing though. So, up to the top of the hill I went on my pink Powder Puffer. I came screaming down the hill and just turned the bars to go in our driveway (still going pretty fast), and supermaned it over the bars and slid across the street on my face. It knocked me out and the neighbor and my mom had to peal me off the road and get me to the hospital. I remember waking up in the hospital very concerned that my left shoe was missing. Those shoes were my favorite, red, blue, green, and red checkered Vans. I ended up with stitches up under my top lip inside my mouth, some under my nose, and a whole lot of scabs.

What made me think of this all of a sudden? This picture...check out those cool knee pads on the girl on the left!

Summer is here in full effect. I saw people floating the river this weekend and the River Shuttle even started up. Now they have taken ALL exercise out of floating because you don’t have to walk back to your car when you’re done. Just hop on the shuttle!

After two days of heavy road riding, I took it down a notch and rode to the pool after work. I did an easy mile freestyle, practiced a bit of backstroke that my friend Chandra gave me guidance on, and then rode home. In the evenings they split the Olympic Pool into two 25 meter pools so it can accomodate more people.



It being Monday and all, we had to go to locals night at Deschutes. It’s not my fault, it’s just what you do here on Mondays. After an Inversion IPA and Mirror Pond Pale Ale I was all set for Tuesday

Do you believe in signs?

After a day of climbing on the road bikes, I wanted to treat myself to riding the McKenzie River Trail today...25 or so miles of singletrack that is pure heaven. We made some tentative plans to hook up with some friends and ride. We called around 8 Sat night to get the final details and waited for a return call that didn't come until Sunday morning. The guy organizing the whole thing flaked out and we were left with...still do it as a smaller group, or ride something else. This ride takes a minimum of 4 hours because it is such slow going over all the rocky sections, the river crossings, picture taking... Plus, as Derek went out to get the morning paper he discovered our car had a flat tire. We took that as 2 signs that maybe my arm wasn't ready for a mountain bike ride and instead, hit the road again. Good choice, because still every bump I go over sends jolting pain through my forearm and kills.

Since yesterday was climbing day, we decided on a nice long scenic route up to Terrebonne today. It turned out being almost 76 miles of sunshine, green grassy fields, ranches, backroads, and all kinds of animals.

"Hey there, where are your legs?"



My little pony and me...I can't be the only one who remembers that commercial.


I thought these were Llamas, but they are Alpacas. There is a big farm out somewhere we rode and they were all just so funny looking. I'm not sure why one would want an alpaca, but they sell for $20-$40k I am told. Wow!





This was a giant conglomeration of cowboys/girls practicing lasso techniques. Hey, what do you expect to find in Terrebonne?



I felt very country after that ride, until we came home and feasted on Pad Thai to bring it all together. YUM! Tonight is the first episode of Treasure Hunters and I'm intrigued by the previews, so I'll probably be suckered into watching the season.

Alcohol kills germs, right? Since I don't want to get an infection in my elbow, we rode down to happy hour last night. There is really only one place in town that serves good nachos so we headed there and then to "The Downtowner". It's is my favorite sandwich/soup place in Bend because it's owned by two mountain bikers. We decided that if my arm wasn't any less swollen or painful, we would skip the race and ride McKenzie Pass. It's a nice long road ride that climbs from Sisters up to McKenzie Pass, and then switchbacks down the backside forever! Last time I did this ride was in the Cascade Cycling Classic Stage race, but we were going the opposite way. Photo blog time

The view from Sisters where we started the ride.




Not very far up the climb. this little guy was running around the roadside making all sorts of noise. He was pissed off and when I tried to take his picture he came and gave my shoe a giant peck.



The views don't disappoint the entire ride, there are massive lava flows everywhere once you get a little higher up.



The road gets covered in deep snow during the winter and is used for xc skiing.



Once at the summit you can see the same mountains from the side/back.


More snowmelt


Mt Washington (I think). There are SO MANY peaks around here.


It was a perfect day - mid seventies and so clear that you could see Mt Hood up North


Tomorrow I might try a mountain bike ride, I'm itching for some dirt.

Sometimes you're the dirt

Yesterday was a double ride day, unless you count my commutes and then it was a quadriple ride day! I went for a nice road ride at lunch and even managed to get back onto the Westside before the train came and clogged up traffic. Sometimes I feel like Tom Boonen in the Paris-Roubaeix...stuck at the train crossing. DOH!

Hey check it out.



After work, Derek and I hit the trails for a nice local loop after I swapped out bikes. We aimed for a higher up trail and weren't disappointed. I got in an argument though. It's been awhile since we argued. We rode all the way up COD through all the tricky rock sections and I was in a happy place. Then out of nowhere, on a little turn, my bike wanted to go straight and I wanted to go right. Sometimes you have to just agree to disagree and this was one of those times. It's been awhile since I sampled the soil here in Bend. I know this is blurry, but deal with it.



After my little incident we continued to climb up and up to upper Whoops. The downhill was very difficult for me, every little chatter bump was painful and I couldn't hold on to the bars very well. I'm really bummed, I may not be able to race tomorrow if I can't grip the bars any better. Sucks. (Don't worry mom, I'll be fine soon).

On the bright side, today is black bean, rice, and cheese buritto day!

After a winter of commuting in the snow and sometimes rain, freezing temps, and crushed lava rock, the headset on my Titus is shot. It takes a bit of force to turn the handlebars past about 45 degrees either way. 90 degrees and it sticks! Nevertheless, I commuted on it yesterday. It needs some major love now and I think I'll take my road bike today; I feel like going fast.

This was me in action during the race, sorry for the bad quality, I was going too fast for the photographer! hahaha



Gosh, I hope I can find a spot. I really should have left earlier so I didn't have to squueze in somewhere.




Not sure what I'll ride after work. Decisions, decisions. Road or mtn? Ok, which mountain bike then?

When it rains, swim!

Yesterday looked like this for most of the day.



About lunchtime it started looking decent so I rushed off for a ride. I got drizzled on, but it wasn't bad at all. The weather is weird this year. I've decided that one thing any cyclist must do, is ride on a warm day after a rainstorm. I wish I had brought my camera because the water on the roads was evaporating so fast and the steam was rising so thickly, that it was really creepy looking.

I met my friend Chandra for swimmiing after work so I did a mini duathlon; rode to the pool and then swam! I'm not the world's fastest swimmer, but I can go the distance. I left feeling pretty tired and got rained on during my ride home. I figured it didn't matter since I has just spent the last hour in the pool wet anyway!

On the agenda for this weekend is Willamette Pass Super D. Apparently they are going to run it in heats. I'm a bit nervous, my Super D last weekend was individual starts...like a DH race. This sounds sketchy though...send riders all together down a 3-4 mile downhill like course? Wish me luck. My elbows are sharpened

Yesterday was HEAVY rain and hail in the afternoon. It was cool to watch, just glad I wasn't out riding in it. There were reports of broken windows, dented cars, damamged livestock, and flooding. I was safe indoors though. Thank goodness it was a recovery day. I did hit the gym to do some ab and leg work though. My hamstrings got a good workout. If I'm not careful, this is gonna happen to MY bike!



More rain is predicted for this afternoon, but I am tempting the rain gods since I rode to work. Keep your fingers crossed.

Super D Photo Blog!!!!

Today is going to be more of a photo blog.

Saturday morning we drove to Ashland and did a preride of the 12 mile Super D course. The drive down is spectacular, takes you by Crater Lake and Mt Thielson.



Here I am all dressed up. Check out the Big Bear 100 jersey...so fitting for a Super D race!



The course starts out with a big snow section. In my practice run I used the very solid and popular scooter method. In the race, all that went out the window and I came in at mach speed, slid out and had to jump off and run with my bike the whole way. Not too smooth.



Further down, after the looooooong climb, you start to descent. Here we are with the starting point in the background.



Climbing done with, let's play!



Stu on the double.


My race was faar from error free. After the snow disaster I had a handful of other problems, but I had fun and got second overall! Oregon racing being as awesome as it is, I won $75. Oh, and do you believe in signs? Cause check out what I won at the raffle - a Giro Mad Max II helmet.

Bikes, Burritos, and Beers

Fridays are great, aren't they? I have a tradition here in Bend, actually, it started back in San Diego. Every Friday for lunch I have a black bean, rice, and cheese burrito. I rode my cruiser bike down to the Taco Stand and feasted. It was ANOTHER nice day and I captured some beauty.






A Friday wouldn't be complete without some sort of cold beer so Derek and I headed to Deschutes with some friends. We're all heading down to Ashland this morning for the 12 Mile Super D. I'll be sure to snap some pics to share on Monday.

Yesterday's ride up to Bachelor was mellow, Derek wasn't feeling well so we took it slightly easy. We beat the rush outta town. On our way back down into Bend we passed at least 12 riders heading up. I love that ride, very little traffic, great views of the area, good shoulder for the most part, and good climbing. I only sucked down one bug this time too!



I told him to look happy here.


This is actually from a different day, I didn't get a good pic of the mtn. yesterday unfortunately. This will do though, it's the same view.


I'm sure busy at work. Here is the clean side of my desk.


We leave for the Ashland 12 Mile Super D race tomorrow. This will be my second non XC race, should be exciting.