Larch Mountain (Oregon) Again

Quick Stats
Distance: 101 miles
Elevation Gain: 4518 feet
Average Moving Speed: 14.12 mph

We really enjoyed this ride earlier in the summer so we decided to do it again while we still could. The ride started out great, and even had a little tailwind on Marine Drive until we got to I-205. From there it switched to a headwind and grew to be rather severe, to the point that we struggled to maintain 10 mph at times. Perhaps 20 to 30 mph gusts? Not sure. But we made it to the Women's Forum (water stop and a picture) and almost decided to turn around and go home.

But we continued on, hoping that the wind direction along the river would hold for our return trip, and also hoping the tree canopy on Larch Mountain road would shelter us from the wind. And it did. We made it to the top, although our legs were already used up a bit from the earlier laboring in the nasty headwind. But it was worth it. It was actually quite cool up there. We had a nice PBJ with V8 lunch on a sunny picnic table. :)

For the return trip we put our jackets back on to keep warm while descending. As we emerged from the trees we discovered that the wind was still quite strong. For the first time on a big ride we had a GLORIOUS tailwind! Pretty much the whole way home we had either descending elevation helping us or a tailwind helping us. It was truly awesome. It was hot (our thermometer says 95 at home) but we were moving so fast it didn't matter.

I also experimented with Hammer Nutrition products as recommended by my good triathlete friend Neil and also the Race Across Oregon folks. I went with 2 Endurolytes per hour (give or take), one Hammer Gel per hour, and I used 3 Perpetuem packets. I was in good shape most of the time. Getting closer to home I slowed down the rate of intake and noticed that I definitely got sluggish. Could've also been the heat.

The raspberry and apple/cinnamon were my favorite gels. The latte flavored Perpetuem was awesome.