North River Ride w/ Sunset Falls OB

It was foggy and cold when we got up and we knew it would be sunny later in the day, so we didn't get going until almost 11 a.m. The fog was gone, but it was still pretty cool.

Quick Stats Ride Distance: 88.89 miles   Elevation Gain: 4,699 feet   Average Moving Speed: 15.37 mph

Woodland Tulip Loop

Neither one of us wanted to get moving this morning. Looking out the window at the wet roads didn't help. The sun came out and the roads started to dry, so we finally got out the door and rolling at about 10:30 a.m. Once we started riding we both felt great.

Quick Stats Ride Distance: 65.43 miles   Elevation Gain: 3,647 feet   Average Moving Speed: 15.47 mph

Madras Fall Weekend

We compared the Vancouver forecast to the Madras forecast and decided it was time to head to Sunny Central Oregon for the weekend.

TTT + 389th/Spencer

Normally during the week we don't do longer rides. But since Amy has to work Saturday and what with the impending rainy season we decided we better ride while we can. So we did basically a metric century on a Thursday morning.

Quick Stats Ride Distance: 61.88 miles   Elevation Gain: 5110 feet   Average Moving Speed: 14.6 mph

North River Ride

After getting rained out on Saturday and Sunday, when we had planned to ride out to Sauvie Island with friends on Saturday and then do most of the Monster Cookie route (unsupported) in Salem on Sunday, we were happy to get any ride in on Monday at all.

Quick Stats Ride Distance: 74.06 miles   Elevation Gain: 3,500 feet   Average Moving Speed: 15.93 mph

Several Local Rides

After The Tandem Experiment we were both happy to be back on our own bicycles. Not so much because they are not tandem bicycles, per se, but really because they are dialed in for comfort. Home sweet home, in a sense.

The Tandem Experiment

Okay, so we've seriously considered riding a tandem. Before actually riding one there were a few things we figured would be nice on a tandem.

1. We liked the idea of going at the same pace. We actually already ride very similar paces on separate bikes, but of course on one bike the pace is... exactly equal.
2. We also figured that already having a similar overall pace we wouldn't have too much trouble acclimating to the world of riding a tandem.
3. And finally, we hoped that perfect drafting on a tandem would significantly boost our overall speed since we don't draft at all (for various reasons) when riding together on separate bikes.

Those were our pre-conceived ideas. What happened when those ideas were hit by the reality of actually riding a tandem together?

Eagle Crest 2011

We spent the last week at Eagle Crest in Redmond, Oregon and did several rides, just like we did last year and the year before.

Summary Stats (3 big rides) Ride Distance: 284 miles   Elevation Gain: 13,000 feet   Average Moving Speed: 15.50 mph

Bachelor Sunriver OB

Today we started our ride with good friend Janette. The plan was to ride from Eagle Crest to Sunriver, and if Janette felt up to it we would do the 4-mile side excursion to get the rest of the way up to Mt. Bachelor on the way there.

Quick Stats Ride Distance: 111.76 miles   Elevation Gain: 6474 feet   Average Moving Speed: 15.39 mph

McKenzie Pass OB

Our legs are feeling it from the prior two centuries in 3 days. So we decided to keep today's ride well under the century mark.

Quick Stats Ride Distance: 67.16 miles   Elevation Gain: 3271 feet   Average Moving Speed: 15.57 mph

Prineville Bend Loop

Our first ride at Eagle Crest, on the first full day there, Monday. Started out with a beautiful sunrise. No better way to start a vacation or a bike ride.

Quick Stats Ride Distance: 104.91 miles   Elevation Gain: 3275 feet   Average Moving Speed: 15.56 mph

Lewis County

Our goal for today was to go faster than we did last year on this ride. Today we did this ride unsupported. They hold the supported ride in May, and we've ridden it twice, until this year because of the cruddy weather we were having back in May (and June and April and...).

Quick Stats Ride Distance: 99 miles   Elevation Gain: 3,232 feet   Average Moving Speed: 16.5 mph

Covered Bridge Bicycle Tour

Today's ride was about as opposite as you can get from last weekend's ride.

Quick Stats Ride Distance: 99.36 miles   Elevation Gain: 3,149 feet   Average Moving Speed: 16.68 mph

Mount Shasta Super Century

It was a hot day. The weather reported it as 86 degrees in the City of Mt. Shasta.

Amy's Quick Stats   Ride Distance: 138 miles   Elevation Gain: 16,100 feet   Average Moving Speed: 12.0 mph

John's Quick Stats   Ride Distance: 107.27 miles   Elevation Gain: 10,830 feet   Average Moving Speed: 12.6 mph

Climbing Half a Cherry

We weren't sure how much to tackle today as we need to taper down our training before the big ride next weekend. And we also just did a substantial ride of three Larch Mountain repeats on Friday. But we both felt good so we went with a fairly solid ride, the last of such until the doozy on Sunday.

Quick Stats Ride Distance: 61.42 miles   Elevation Gain: 5,508 feet   Average Moving Speed: 13.6 mph

Larch Mountain 3x

We had planned to do this ride Monday, but Monday started out wet so we ended up cutting it short. This is our last big training ride before we tackle the huge Shasta ride of 140 miles and over 16,000 feet of climbing.

Quick Stats Ride Distance: 106 miles   Elevation Gain: 10,276 feet   Average Moving Speed: 13.48 mph

Old Man Pass

Big Plans vs. Reality. The original plan was an out-and-back ride starting from Carson and heading north up over Old Man Pass, a quick jaunt to the east end of the Swift Reservoir to get some water at the General Store, and then follow the Lewis River eastward on Forest Road 90 all the way to Mt. Adams, or as close as possible on a road bike anyway. It would have been almost 140 miles, just like last week's ride.

Quick Stats Ride Distance: 86 miles   Elevation Gain: 6,532 feet   Average Moving Speed: 14.0 mph

Cascade Lakes Super

It really was a perfect day for a long ride. Except for our standard headwind-to-end-a-ride experience. But that seems to be somehow unavoidable, so we are starting to embrace it.

Quick Stats Ride Distance: 138 miles   Elevation Gain: 6,953 feet   Average Moving Speed: 15.26 mph

Elk-Johnston-Elk-Elk Century

What an incredibly awesome day for a ride!

Quick Stats Ride Distance: 100.18 miles   Elevation Gain: 8,911 feet   Average Moving Speed: 13.8 mph

Gorge Falls and Larch Mountain

There is a lot of snow in the mountains. Just like Saturday, today's ride had to be altered due to snow.

Quick Stats Ride Distance: 78.2 miles   Elevation Gain: 5,554 feet   Average Moving Speed: 13.94 mph

Mt. Adams Bike DeTour

We've been meaning to do this ride for three years now. And boy are we glad we finally did. This was one awesome ride. Certainly the best of the year, and among the all-time bests in our three years of riding centuries.

Quick Stats Ride Distance: 105.57 miles   Elevation Gain: 6,484 feet   Average Moving Speed: 14.65 mph

Bear Creek Greenway

The day after our biggest climbing ride of the year (so far) we decided to do a relatively flat ride. The weather in Central Point was 80s and sunny. How can you not go on a ride when it is that nice?

Quick Stats Ride Distance: 41 miles   Elevation Gain: 826 feet   Average Moving Speed: 15.71 mph

Tour de Fronds

The forecasts we looked at (Weatherbug, Weather Channel, local TV, KGW, Fox 12) all were in general agreement: chance of rain in the Glendale area. We had already signed up though, so we went for it and hoped for the best.

Quick Stats Ride Distance: 81 miles   Elevation Gain: 7,267 feet   Average Moving Speed: 12.7 mph

Strawberry Century

We rode this century last year and the year before, and thoroughly enjoyed it both times. So we came back for more Strawberry Century. This time we brought Mike Ward with us, Amy's spin class instructor.

Quick Stats Ride Distance: 101.38 miles   Elevation Gain: 3239 feet   Average Moving Speed: 16.93 mph

Cherry of a Ride

What a day! What a ride! We intended to do this ride back when they put it on in April but chickened out due to the rainy forecast. Based on how much I struggled in June I'm thinking it was probably a good thing we didn't do it in April.

Quick Stats Ride Distance: 99.42 miles   Elevation Gain: 6,154 feet   Average Moving Speed: 13.9 mph

Madras Cove Haystack Gateway

Started out cold. In the 30s. Okay, 39, but still 30s! Thankfully it was sunny. Funny how the sun, so far away, can be so warm. Especially when you start your ride generally climbing. The balance was just about right.

Quick Stats Ride Distance: 72.71 miles   Elevation Gain: 2877 feet   Average Moving Speed: 14.6 mph

Rhody Bike Tour

Couldn't have asked for a better day to ride our bikes. Sunshine! Particularly with the cold wet winter spring we've had and are still having. So we headed north to Port Townsend and made the most of it.

Quick Stats Ride Distance: 61.34 miles Elevation Gain: 3,336 feet Average Moving Speed: 14.99 mph

TTT + River Ride

Our first century of the season! And such a beautiful day for it too. Couldn't have had better weather. Haven't said that this year, until today!

Quick Stats Ride Distance: 100.54 miles Elevation Gain: 3,870 feet Average Moving Speed: 15.2 mph

Kelly and Grantham

We were planning to do an 80-mile version of this ride, basically doing the two big climbs on the ride, and then instead of going straight back home we were going to go over to Ridgefield and finish up by riding the second half of the Throbbing Thigh Thriller. Why were we going to do this?

Quick Stats Ride Distance: 61.7 miles Elevation Gain: 4,251 feet Average Moving Speed: 13.9 mph

Throbbing Thigh Thriller

This ride inspired Amy to coin our 2011 ride motto.

Quick Stats Ride Distance: 40.23 miles Elevation Gain: 3,268 feet Average Moving Speed: 14.21 mph

Last Week's Ride Data:

Last weekend we started the year with a 30-mile ride out past Frenchman's Bar along the Columbia River. It is as flat a ride as you can get around here, save for the climb up Fruit Valley Road to get back up to our house. Just look at the elevation profile: flat as a pancake for the middle out-and-back part of the ride, or about 25 miles.

How To Stealthily Derail Your Exercise Program

Anyone can break their leg. I'm talking about an exercise derailment program that is so smooth you don't even know how it happened.

Musical Seats

Turns out the new Rideout Technologies bike seat referenced in my last post is both ugly and uncomfortable. Who'd a thunk it?

New Bike Seat

I figured out a way to give myself a little extra reason to get on my bike trainer this month.

I bought this bike seat and it just arrived by FedEx.

"We offer a full thirty day comfort guarantee. If for any reason you are not satisfied, please return it to us for a full refund."

There is something about the standard road bike seat design that just seems wrong. It is like they design them to look good and completely forget that they need to actually be comfortable. Well this new one certainly doesn't look good at all so it ought to be extremely comfortable, right?

I know you are sitting on the edge of your seat waiting to find out how my seat likes this new seat.

Not to worry, after some test rides I will report back here in full detail.