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

Because we figured if we couldn't do 80 tough miles this weekend we had no business doing 100 tough miles next weekend.

Well let me just tell you at about 35 or 40 miles we both decided there's no way we are going to do the 80-mile version. In fact the remaining "easy" miles were intimidating. We are just not nearly in the kind of shape we had hoped to be in by this time of the year.

Of course we're pretty much where one would expect since it is only our 5th ride of the season, and even though it was cut short this ride was still over 50% longer than any ride so far this season. So in hindsight I think our expectations were off. We are "right on time, farming like a pro."

We found a new feisty dog locale. Just as we were leaving Amboy due west on 399th a dog came after me. My instinct was to speed away from him, but then I remembered Amy was behind me and he would just go after her instead. So I actually slowed down, unclipped my right foot, and was ready to give him a swift kick in the jaw (which was getting uncomfortably closer and closer to my foot), all the while trying to maintain forward momentum by pedaling with just my left leg. It might not be the smartest move, but then again, bicycle shoes would be a particularly nasty weapon if I were able to connect. Thankfully Amy saw all this and put on the afterburners to get around me and my new friend. So I eventually clipped back in and high-tailed it out of there. So I was never able to test the effectiveness of a bicycle shoe vs. Rover's teeth. Something tells me that is probably a very good thing.

Not sure where the sun was that was in the forecast. I think we probably experienced around 5 or maybe 10 minutes of sunshine. Otherwise it was a LOT cooler of a ride than I anticipated. I never took off my leg or arm warmers or my jacket.

RIDE DATA:

If you want to see the map of this ride just look at the 2011 Ride Map, it is the one that goes through Battle Ground, Yacolt, and Amboy.