Cascade Lakes Century

QUICK STATS	This Ride	2010 Cumulative
Distance	97.25 miles	3068 miles
Elevation Gain	5424 feet	32.69 miles
Average Moving Speed	14.92 mph	14.94 mph
Dog Bites	0	1

We rode a route very similar to the Cascade Lakes Road Race stage of the Cascade Cycling Classic. Starting spot was a little different, but otherwise road from Bend up toward Bachelor and turned left toward Sunriver. Ours included a 5-mile spur to Sunriver for water. Theirs went around Crane Prairie Reservoir but we cut that section out. They finished at Mt. Bachelor but we rode back to Bend.

Maps showing all rides: 2010 Rides • 2009 Rides • All Rides

The route seemed close to perfect at first. Awesome downhill just after the big starting climb and turning off Century Drive toward Sunriver. The beautifully smooth road with ample shoulders changed to something considerably less than ideal a couple miles before Sunriver. So after doing a water check and figuring we still had enough water to reach the top we decided to just turn around there and not actually go all the way into Sunriver.

The next road (NFD 40 between Sunriver and Crane Prairie Reservoir) was kinda cruddy but tolerable. Cascade Lakes Hwy was incredibly nice in several regards: scenery (riding along Deschutes River), smoothness of pavement, a small shoulder and relatively low traffic. That is, until traffic picked up as we approached Bachelor from back side. Steep (and HOT) climb combined with heavy traffic in our lane, relatively curvy road (i.e. limited visibility) with only about a 1-foot shoulder was no fun. Of course my state at the time was such that nothing would have been fun, so hard to tell how bad it really was.

It was a day lacking in oxygen for this sea level boy. That and the heat made for a fairly miserable stretch. In retrospect I'm convinced the heat was the biggest problem. My heart rate was not cooperating while riding, exceeding 160 even while climbing as slow as I possibly could. My Lactate Threshold is 166, so while it isn't a huge deal to go above it for stretches, I was frustrated that it was popping up there at seemingly just the thought of it. It was the first time I had to walk my bike. It only dropped to 145 while walking though so I decided to get back on. For reference, 145 for me is right in the middle of my climbing zone. Walking! The sad thing was that while riding that stretch I hardly noticed any cyclists. Just lots of cars. As soon as I am walking my bike I see cyclist after cyclist after cyclist. And I am sure every one of them thought "what a goober - can’t even ride his bike up a hill!" Oh well. I guess I survived even if my ego took a solid hit.

Speaking of which, my dear wife had no trouble with the heat or the altitude.

At the top, or actually the Mt. Bachelor Ski Lodge, I rewarded myself with a bottle of Pepsi and Aim got a rasperry-strawberry-banana-orange smoothie. You decide who got the trophy and who got the proverbial ribbon for participating.

The ride back down was fairly fast, although a several mile stretch of freeze-thaw cracks was tough on tired wrists at times.

The wrong turn at mile 93-ish turned our 95 mile ride into a 97 mile ride. Amy jokingly suggested I did it intentionally so it would be a full century. I may do a lot of things intentionally but that was certainly not one of them! I was fairly wiped out, but mostly just hot, and desperately wanted to get off the bike...

Oh, we saw a weasel. No, I did not throw a rock at it, presume it was dead, put it in a ziploc on my lap, and proceed to get bit by it after it woke up. That would have been STUPID! In fact I didn’t even know it was a weasel until Amy told me. Probably for the best.

I am now not so excited about riding Mt. Shasta next weekend. Particularly if it is going to be hot. Our plans may change. Or not. Time will tell.