| Quick Stats Ride Distance: 101.38 miles Elevation Gain: 3239 feet Average Moving Speed: 16.93 mph |
The only problem I had was getting about a mile into the ride and wondering why my iBike wasn't displaying anything. No speed, no heart rate, no cadence, no nothing. So I stopped to readjust the magnet on the wheel, figuring it was out of whack, probably not aligned with the speed sensor, which sometimes happens, and when I saw there was no magnet on any spokes it dawned on me: I forgot to put it back on! Doh! On Friday I had been playing with my new wheel truing stand, getting the spokes all to the proper tension so that my wheel was neither wobbly nor thumpy. Which I did, quite successfully I might add, and promptly forgot to put the magnet back on my wheel when I had finished. Leaving the magnet in the garage. Which was a 2 hour drive and approximately a 1 mile bike ride away from where I discovered all this.
Being the techno-gadget junkie that I am (and it is ironic that I was called this very thing on the 2-hour drive to this ride) I seriously considered turning around and riding the mile or so back to the car to install a magnet. But what magnet? If there was a magnet in the car it would be a miracle, let alone one that would install properly on my wheel spoke. The magnet is in Vancouver, Washington, not Lebanon, Oregon. And who wants to turn around and go backwards at the start of a long ride anyway? Certainly not the two people I was with, though to their credit I think one of them suggested the idea. And no, it was not my dear wife, who, dare I say the word, hates delays on her century rides. [She is really wonderful in probably all other ways, but in this one area she and I have a difference of opinions; and of course if I was in the great shape she is in I would probably feel the exact same way.]
So we kept riding. Today would be an "unplugged" day. Sort of. I still had the RunKeeper app on my Android smartphone tracking our ride. But it just isn't the same. Sob, sob. Poor John, and all that. Now, back to the regularly scheduled programming of a ride report...
It was a great ride. We had fun. Here's last year's data if you wanna see the profile and other such things.
LAST YEAR's RIDE DATA: |
We pushed it, but are still not in the form we want to be in. I think we were in better shape last year at this time, though it appears our moving speed is essentially unchanged from year to year on this ride. Who knows, I don't have any data to compare to!
I will say the folks who put this ride on do an excellent job! The pavement markings and signs were easy to follow. The stops had great food choices. The post-ride strawberry shortcake (with ice cream!) was excellent. And of course most of the roads were lacking cars. These are the reasons we keep coming back!
I will also say it was interesting riding without access to all the ride data. Definitely frustrating at times, but also freeing in a way: Just ride! Who cares what your heart rate is... just ride! Does it really matter how far we've gone? Just ride! Okay, how far we've gone might matter when it comes to following cue sheets and knowing where to turn next, but with the already-mentioned excellent signs and pavement markings that was a non-issue.
| RIDE MAP IN GOOGLE EARTH: |
| Maps showing all rides: 2011 Rides • 2010 Rides • 2009 Rides • All Rides |
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