Happy Humpday

I went for a sweatfest ride up Skyliners around 1:00 today. Wheweee is summer here or what? I'm rockin some sweet tan lines already. Between my swimsuit tan from the outdoor pool, and my short and sock tan from riding, I am a disaster.

Tomorrow is round 3 of the Bend short track series so I'll sign up for more suffering so that I can justify the chocolate chip cookies and root beer floats we enjoy so much.

I'm off to the pool to swim.

Am I back in Switzerland?

I love riding in Oakridge. The trails feel relatively remote, little to no dust this time of year, and it's like being on a mini vacation. Derek and I rode Alpine Trail (though our plans were to do Tire Mtn. and Clover Patch instead). The climb up is almost exactly 8 miles to split after you take the frontage trail along the river out of Westfir for about three miles. So after 11 miles you traverse a bit and then hit the Alpine singletrack. The entrance was a bit muddy in spots and made cool squishy noises but then the rest was all dry. There are some steep little short hills and a couple slightly longer ones but for the most part you are on a downhill descent made for fun. The flowers are out everywhere and the meadows smell so good.

Enough words, how about some pics.


















This tree is funky. The branch to the right is growing it's own mini tree!

Riding Extravaganza!

My cross country bike is in the shop seriously broken - they had to send it back to the manufacturer to warranty. Thanks to DEANfor offering to give me what I needed for free. I raced for them for a couple years when I was Pro. So, I took out my big bike this weekend and rode a big loop out in the forest. The snow level is receding RAPIDLY and I hope to be able to ride North Fork this coming weekend possibly.

Sunday we rode up to Mt. Bachelor. It's weird that just a month ago we were up there skate skiing and now we are riding our bikes up there. The road down to Sunriver is closed for construction and I'm not sure it's even open to bikes. That's too bad because it is such a nice 100 mile ride to go up and around Bachelor and now that isn't possible. Booooooooooo

I'll have pics and a write-up on Monday's ride soon. It was tasty!

Will Ride for Beer

Last night was week two of the Bend mountain bike short track series. The clouds were out but it was still pretty warm.



This week the venue was changed and we raced out in the area next to Summit High. There were more people this week and I love to see this. It's a cool little low key event for an evening after work or school and it needs to be supported to stay around.


I love this paint job!



I raced A again and the women start with all the guys so the pace is high. I didn't know the other two women and wasn't sure how I would feel. So, off the startline I just hung behind one of the other ladies pacing off her. We circled the course for probably 12 minutes or so before I decided to make a move. As we approached a lapped rider I pulled out from behind her and went. I looked back after another half a lap and she wasn't there. I spent the next 30 minutes riding mostly by myself trying to catch back up to the guys and suffering! It was well worth it - here are my winnings...a six pack of beer and a bag of awesome rasperry/cranberry walnut muffins. Not bad for an evening.

Happy Thursday

Not much new to report - been riding and swimming a lot. Tonight is the second week of the Bend short track mountain bike series. The forest service nixed the Shevlin Park location so it's going to be over by Northwest Crossing instead. My cough still isn't gone from last week but I think I'll go add some dust to my lungs and give it another go. I don't have high hopes performance wise, but it's fun to do and support. And now some funnies for the day:

A father was at the beach with his children
when the four-year-old son ran up to him,
grabbed his hand, and led him to the shore
where a seagull lay dead in the sand.
"Daddy, what happened to him?" the son asked.
"He died and went to Heaven," the Dad replied.
The boy thought a moment and then said,
"Did God throw him back down?"

A Sunday school teacher asked her children as they
were on the way to church service,
"And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?"
One bright little girl replied,
"Because people are sleeping."

Have a good day!

Happy Victoria Day

No, I'm not Canadian, but since it's on my calendar I figured I'd celebrate. So I went for a road ride after work. Oddly, I didn't see another rider out there. It was nice enough...just a little windy. I did the old Cascade Cycling Classic TT loop and circuit loop and then rode home. Mondays are swim night so I had to hurry and shovel some food in before heading off to the pool for my swim.

I was thinking of riding McKenzie pass this weekend but then got this from someone...taken yesterday.




Ummmm, no thanks. I'll stick to Bend where it will be warm.

Follow-up

Great turn out of racers and spectators!









Seems like this guy would have had an unfair advantage.



This looks like it takes a lot of coordination



What an extremely economical looking vehicle. Oh look, and it's for sale!

PPP

This year I rode the cycling leg of the Pole Pedal Paddle for a company team that couldn't find someone to do their cycling leg. It's 22 miles mostly downhill from Mt Bachelor to Bend. But don't let this description mislead you - I wasn't just coasting downhill enjoying the scenery and whistling poppy tunes while I smiled at the birds and chipmunks. My ride "downhill" was an all out effort. I wore my heart rate monitor to capture a true picture of just how hard this ride can be if you make it. My goal was 40 minutes and despite one issue, I beat that by at least a minute! I started the monitor about a minute early when I saw my cross country ski teammate coming up the hill into the transition chute and I didn't stop the time until after I was through the finishline and had already "handed off" to our runner so the time is off, but you'll still get the picture. The line at 40 is where I stopped my watch finally. The stuff after the 40 is my ride home. My max heart rate is supposedly somewhere around 182 and I had an average of above 165 for the race so I was running about 90% of my max for the full race. WHEW!!!

I had a great time and the event is a lot of fun. I would do it again in a heart beat. hahahha - I'm so funny.



I took a couple pictures at the end of the event - I'll have those up later.

50 Year Smokers Cough

Last night was the first Bend short track mountain bike race. Derek and I headed down after work and hung out for about half an hour before our race started. There was only one other female racing the A category so my competition was slim but I tried to race with the guys as long as possible. I yo-yo'd back and forth with a couple of them. We would pass each other back and forth. After 30 minutes I was dead tired and wanted to quit but we had about 5 more minutes. I pretty much was done though. I lapped the other lady and tried to just keep a decent pace to finish. My lungs haven't had to do that heavy of work in years and afterwards I had extreme congestion in them and a disgusting smokers sounding cough!

I had a lot of fun and it was good to get out there and support the event. Webcyclery had something like 6 people racing and two team members cheering us on! Go Webcyclery.

Tomorrow is Pole Pedal Paddle. I'm doing the biking leg for a team. WOOHOO

Have a good weekend.

ps - the mosquitos are out at Shevlin in FULL FORCE. I got bit 3 times last night. GIANT bites.

Silence

Before the ride of silence I went on a ride of my own out past the airport and over east behind the dump and around. It was more of a meander to enjoy the evening. When I arrived at City Hall for the Ride of Silence there were waaay more riders than I thought would turn out. I couldn't really fit them all in a picture.



It just so happens that the City Council was meeting tonight so they all came outside to see us off and Mayor Abernathy said some words before we set off.



The ride was somber with a giant mass of riders cruising along not saying a word. People everwhere stopped what they were doing to stare and point. I think it was a success even if just one driver on the street took note and realized that cyclists share the road and to just be careful.

Enough of the seriousness, check this dog out!

Upside down, sidewise twist

I've been taking a swim class the last couple months and it's winding down. We spent the last two sessions learning how to flip turn. It's hard to get down. Sometimes I'll visualize it in my head, approach, and then all hell breaks loose and I'm coming off the wall all twisted up and askew. I'll get better eventually.

We have had warm weather riding lately! This whole week is nice and today will be a nice afternoon ride. I think I'll race the short track race Thursday after work. It will be really only about my 3rd high intensity ride in a year but it should be fun still (though my heart may disagree once my heart rate hits 170). I don't have high hopes of doing that well, but I'd like to get out there and support the event and hope a lot of people do. We need more events like this in Bend.

I hope anyone reading this in Bend will come out for the Ride of Silence. It's an easy-paced, 5-6 mile ride through downtown and around the Old Mill District. Meet and Bend City Hall across from Library at 7:00 p.m., May 16th. This is an updated location from previous post with the starting point at Drake Park, we have combined efforts and will start at City Hall. Please contact Susanna Julber (skjulber@yahoo.com) or Beth Brady (beth@bendbikecoop.org) for more info. Please wear a helmet and hope to see you there.

The Ride of Silence...
Tonight we number many but ride as one
In honor of those not with us, friends, mothers, fathers, sisters, sons
With helmets on tight and heads down low,
We ride in silence, cautious and slow
The wheels start spinning in the lead pack
But tonight we ride and no one attacks
The dark sunglasses cover our tears
Remembering those we held so dear
Tonight¹s ride is to make others aware
The road is there for all to share
To those not with us or by our side,
May God be your partner on your final ride

- Mugai

Friday after work we stopped by Webcyclery to pick up our new team kits. They look really nice this year. Here is Derek modeling his.



Saturday morning Derek and I went and prerode the Chainbreaker mountain bike race course here in Bend. It was warm out and pretty dusty already. I was scheduled to lead a Bend Bella Cyclist road ride at 1:00 but at about 12:40 it started POURING rain as a fast moving storm passed through. I still headed down to meet anyone who might show up and we decided to ride anyway. We were rewarded with partial clearing off and on for about 3.5 hours with spots of sun and clear skies later.

Sunday was race day. I arrived early to help out with the race registration for a couple hours, then took some pictures and helped out with various tasks throughout the race. None of my pictures were spectacular but here are some of the better ones.

Semi-pro rider Jeff Dengel.



Tim "Fonzie" Jones workin the singelspeed.



Henri and Amy on the tandem.



Derek crossing the finishline looking for the beer.

Photo blog

I know they are late, but here are my pics from the Ashland race I did last weekend.

Me in the rock garden.






Some random guy jumping the double (I did not - don't really know how to jump!)





I like the way this photo looks.



Lithia Park waterfall




Spring is so pretty and colorful!





Hope you enjoyed! Have a good weekend and if you're in Bend, I hope to see you at the Cascade Chainbreaker Sunday.

Thunder!

Last night was I think the first thunder storm of the season. The skies were dark, darker and darkest heading south when I rode home and I knew something had to be brewing. Sure enough, once I was safe and sound inside it started raining and thundering. I don't know what it is about the deep booming rumbles that fascinate me.

I spent about the first half of my life up in Washington where I was accustomed to rain on about a daily basis. We had a permanent lake-like puddle out in front of our house most of the year. I would hop on my bike, ride through the puddle, then let my tires draw a course on the streets and try to go back through the puddle and retrace the route before it would dry out. Cheap easy entertainment...no nintendo or play station needed.

Animal Planet

Lots of wildlife out this spring so far. I spotted these on my ride to work the other day. The little fuzzy geese are so darn cute and there are tons of them out!









I rode out to Tumalo State Park for lunch yesterday and really didn't want to go back to work. It is just so nice outside! After work I took what I though would be a leisurely ride up towards Mt Bachelor. However, the headwind was so strong that my helmet kept getting buffeted by the wind and I was in granny gear fighting to get anywhere. Still a nice ride though.

Drunk dog?

Guess how we spent 3:15 till about 5:00am this morning? We awoke to one of the dogs making a lot of noise down on the floor. It was the beagle. She kept falling and rustling about. When we turned the light on we found her sitting on the floor unable to stand up and walk. Her head was tilted to one side and her eyes were moving back and forth from side to side quickly and rolling around in her head. Derek thought she was having/had a stroke so we took her to the emergency clinic. Turns out she has Vestibular Disease aka Old Dog Syndrome, which isn’t all that rare apparently. It basically makes them seem drunk, and is kind of like vertigo. She will get better gradually over the next week, but it could hit again any time. Pretty scary.

Spring Thaw

This weekend was a race weekend again. Saturday was the Spring Thaw cross country mountain bike race in Ashland, Oregon, and then Sunday was a DH race in the same place. Saturday while Derek raced cross country, I did a very untypical downhiller thing. I rode my big bike uphill about 8 miles so I could take a practice run down the downhill course. I did a practice run of the 1.7 mile course, then pedaled back uphill to do it again...4 times. It was a grueling workout but left me feeling good about my chances for the race the next day. Downhill is waaaay different than the cross country races I always did. For starters, your race lasts about 5-6 minutes instead of 2-3 hours. So, you have very little room for error. Saturday night was pizza and beer at a place called Creekside Pizza. Ashland is a beautiful city down by the CA border. It is home to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and a beautiful place to visit if you are every in the area.

Sunday I opted to skip doing any practice runs because it would require me to be up at the top from 8:30-10:30 and then not race until after 1. We slept in, went to breakfast and then drove up. I did a small warm up and then lined up for my race. I had an ok race run with two small bobbles, but just didn't feel like I did my best. Luckily, it was good enough to get 1st place! I improved my time from last year by 6 seconds but still have so much room for improvement. Oh well.

I'll post picture hopefully tomorrow.

Heidi Hill

I know the H stands for Helipad, but I like to think of it as "H" for Heidi. So, it's Heidi hill. This is at the top of Phil's trail. I have a good afterwork loop that covers the best of the lower trails.



Next Thursday is the first short track race here in Bend - although I think Forest Service approval is still pending. I did my first ever high intensity workout the other day in preparation. These after work races should be ok for me to do with my knee since they are short. We'll see.

It snowed a bit last night - enough to remind you that summer isn't actually here like it feels sometimes.

Have a good weekend.

Why God made Moms

Why God made Moms -
BRILLIANT answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions.

Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.


How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring
3. God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He Just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you Your mother & not some other mom?
1. We're related
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.

What kind of little girl was your mom?
1. My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used tobe nice.

What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old todo anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What's the difference between moms & dads?
1. Moms work at work and work at home & dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller & stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's.
4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time..
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your mom perfect?
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your Mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my Mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.