Ninjas!

I swear there are ninjas in Bend that come out overnight and change the flags along the footbridge in the Old Mill. I ride past there daily and I've never once seen anyone change the flags, but they do change often. I spotted the new flags the other day in all their morning glory and got this great picture.

Mudfest

It rained most of the day and poured most of the night Saturday night while we were in Portland. The race course was a mudfest. The thick, slippery, steep mud chutes were comical. You would start down on a "line" and slip and slide around pretty much out of control the entire time. I think everyone crashed at least once. I figured I'd give it a go and ride in the race since it was so short. I started out great and settled comfortably into a pace. At the creek crossing my first lap I noticed when I hopped down from the bridge that my newly pushed fork was completely out of air and broken. So basically, my front end was 3 inches lower than it should be. NOT ideal for racing on. I continued on but after 2 laps my entire drivetrain was so gunked with mud that as I shifted going up a short hill, my front derailleur got jammed and my chain got stuck. Stuck is actually an understatement. I hopped off to have a look and realized how damming it was. A spectator actually tried to help me, but I ended up having to carry my bike out of the woods it was so crapped up. Nevertheless, I had a great time out there. Derek did great finishing 9th out of 17 so I'm very proud of him.

My stomach hurts

Derek and I were over in Portland this weekend for Hornings Hustle bike race. Saturday I went shopping for some new clothes and then we went to dinner at our favorite soup and salad place - Sweet Tomatoes. When I was in high school I worked there and it was a great job. We STUFFED ourselves (Derek more than I did). Here is round one for him.



Round two was a baked potato fully loaded, some muffins, another bowl of soup, a cookie, some chocolate mousse, and ice cream.

Leaving the restaraunt he told me we needed to get back the hotel befor here puked. He made some seriously constricted faces in the car, and then fell on the bed in pain when we got there.



No puke though!

In honor of spring:



Wednesday I rode home from work to drop off my backpack and then headed right out for a ride. Sometimes I like to head east on the less traveled roads where big parcels of land stretch out across the fields. I rode out past the dump, around to Rickards and out that road past where it turns to gravel and hits the 20. I hadn't seen another rider all evening until I got way out there where I met up with another guy going the same way. As I turned West to head back into town the sun was getting lower and lower in the sky and the temps started to drop. I actually laughed to myself because it was probably high 30's maybe low 40's but I'd gotten chilled to the bone and when that happens there is no fast recovery. Hehehehehe - I wasn't cold enough out that I had to follow this guy's advice, "If it appears that you can't go on, stop and build some sort of shelter or dig a hole in the snow before you run totally out of gas." It was still kind of sunny for crying out loud! It ended up being a little over a 2 hour ride but was about 20 minutes longer than I wanted to be out there. I stood in the hot shower for quite some time afterwards trying to thaw my hands out.

What did people do before mp3 players?

Happy Spring

Where did my sunshine go? This morning the weather for my ride to work is 16 degrees feels like 9. That's a total shock to the system after riding under sunny skies for the past few weeks. Sure it's been cool a couple times, but not cold! Happy Spring.

I finally got the fork on my cross country mountain bike "pushed". It's a great fork, just has been through a lot of wear and tear. Basically, these people make it new, and then improve it beyond. If my knee is feeling ok I might give it a go at a little race in Portland this weekend. I'm just not sure about it though - 2.5 to 3 hours of "racing" might bother it. We'll see. Nothing serious, but since Derek is racing and we are over there, I'll ride in the race.

Sorry, no pics today.

Wet-N-Windy...NOT

Sunday was the Hutch's Wet-n-Windy 50 ride. We rode over to the eastside Hutch's for the 9:00 start and were surprised to see at least 100 cyclists gathered for it! We chatted it up with some friends and shortly we were off. It was probably the biggest group ride I've ever been. We headed out at a nice pace for about the first hour and a half and then the surges started. I made the first "break" and we soon reached the feed zone at mile 36 or so. After a short snack people started hopping back on their bikes and straggling back onto the road. This is when the pace really turned on and as we pushed back towards Bend, the group got smaller and smaller until soon there were about 10 of us.

I had a lot of fun, I miss riding hard like that. I had to pay for it later by icing my knee a few times.

Sorry, no pictures, though I saw a few people snapping shots along the way so maybe some will surface soon.

Sunshine and dirt

Sunshine and dirt just go together. Saturday we were the only first to ride out at Horse Ridge and were shocked that the lot was empty. Sunshine and about 65 degree temps greeted us as we pedaled up the ridge, through grasses and sagebrush, around rocks and past trees. The meadows are coming to life and the smell of pine is everywhere. It was a great day of riding followed by a Saint Patrick's day celebration.

Finders Keepers Losers Weepers

Found along the parkway on my ride at lunch the other day:



After work yesterday I met some friends for a good ride around the Phil's trail complex. The trails are nice and hard pack right now - completely dust free. It was brisk out towards the end of the ride as the sun got really low. A couple hours of dirt after work is ALWAYS a good thing.

Today I start my new job and I'm excited.

Cross it up

Even after all the riding in nice weather Saturday, we couldn't pass up another day of riding on Sunday since it was nice. We rode our cross bikes through Bend, out past Shevlin Park to Tumalo Reservoir road and then hit the gravel road that goes out to the 20 by Sisters. We didn't pass many cyclists on the way out because it was relatively early and still a bit cool but it was a nice ride and we were treated to some excellent views.

Sisters Mtn's viewed from Tyler Road



Same mts from the end of Tumalo Reservoir



They were comically packed in a tight little group staring at us. Usually they run when they see you but these guys let us come back by and take their picture! We saw A LOT of deer on that ride.



Yet another view of pretty mountains.



Derek by the "reservoir".



Coming back into Bend we started seeing the throngs of cyclists battling the headwind. Perfect ride to end a great weekend.

Funky Old Shack

"Well it's set way back in the middle of a field,
Just a funky old shack and I gotta get back

Glitter on the mattress
Glitter on the highway
Glitter on the front porch
Glitter on the hallway"

For one, there was no glitter anywhere NEAR this place.



What front porch?



At least it comes furnished. And who doesn't need a lawn mower inside their house. I'm just not sure what it was for. I doubt there was EVER a lawn outside this place!





Saturday was nice enough weather so we spent about 4 hours riding out at Horse Ridge and the surrounding area, oh, and checking out the shack. The singletrack at Horse Ridge was recently featured in Adventure Magazine with props to Cogwild!

Anyway, we took a different route than normal and had fun. We hadn't taken the descent down Sandy Canyon before but I was told it was a more primitive, sketchy steep pitch. It wasn't really any of those things by my standards...but it was fun still.







On a side note, I see that there is no detour or road closures like I had previously mentioned...project must be pushed back because I was told the start date was today. There are a couple guys out in the field but there is definitely no temporary road yet. Ooooh, the suspense!

Upcoming Road Closures & Detour

FYI for all the Bendites. This detour starts Monday March 12th so they can build a roundabout at Wilson and Bond. Good luck, it looks interesting. I ride this way every day a few times on my trips.



The red line is a temporary road that will take you from Wilson across what is now a field, and dump you over by the new Selco Credit Union because the actual Bond/Wilson intersection will be completely closed. Then, they are using Upper Terrace as the "main road" through the Old Mill business. Parking along that road will not be allowed .

To the Butte!

Another spring day yesterday - at least 60 for my lunch ride. I rode over to Pilot Butte and then up and down it a couple times. It felt odd to feel the wind on my arms and legs after having spent most of my rides bundled up for the past few months. For those that aren't local, it's a short steep climb - a bit over 1 mile and 518 feet of elevation gain. One of the stages of the Cascade Cycling Classic finishes atop it. The road spirals around and up the butte and I like to stick far to the right and check out the views from all sides. The road is still closed to cars (it is all winter) so I don't have to look out for much traffic - just walkers and joggers really.

One scenery shot from the top looking west.

Xtreme Cooking

Eye protection is important when cutting onions.



White wine, onions, garlic, salt, pepper, butter and potatoes...Tartiflette in the making with the cheese about to be added. I fell in love with this dish this past summer when in Chamonix mountain biking.



Yesterday was spring! I rode out Skyliners for lunch and there must have been at least 6 other riders out there with me. Shorts and short sleeves once again. This seems wrong.

I don't think I've ever really had a bad weekend. Friday night we had dinner and drinks at Deschutes Brewery with some friends. I hadn't eaten there in awhile and was pleased to see that they now serve a black bean burger. For those who don't know, I'm an incredibly picky eater and on my list of things I don't eat is red meat or pork. Veggie burgers get old, so black bean burgers are a treat. I had a few Alititude Ambers, and a cross tap cherry bitter. Good times.

Saturday we woke to glorious sunshine and temps rose into the 50's and possibly 60's so we went riding up by Cline Butte for about 3 hours. We got lost, but didn't mind and explored an area we hadn't been to before.

Some of the rock formations were really neat looking out there. There is singletrack everwhere and it winds around in concentric circles I swear.



Derek right before a little rock drop.




YES that's right folks, I'm in shorts and short sleeves!






After spending the day in the sunshine, we watched Little Miss Sunshine. It is such a great story.

Sunday we went skate skiing up at Bachelor. Wooo Boy, was it warm up there! Later in the afternoon we drove down to the Sunriver Library to attend the artist's reception for my friend Chandra. She has jewelry on display for sale at the library for the next two months. She has some really awesome pieces and you should definitely check them out if you're local.

It was so nice out Sunday afternoon that we decided to ride our bikes down to Deschutes Brewery to drink a couple beers and hang out.

Here's hoping this week goes as nicely as the weekend did!



Overall, a VERY nice weekend.

Distraught

What am I to do now? The Taco Stand, where I eat lunch every Friday, is closed for two weeks while the owners go on vacation. I am literally at a loss for what to do now. I can't function without my black bean, rice and cheese burrito. What will happen to me? I'd say TGIF but I feel empty inside.