Memorial Weekend Training 5/25

 

DATE: Friday May 25, 2007
ROUTE: Home - Dee Wright Observatory - Home
DISTANCE: 50 miles
TIME: 4 hours
CEG: 3000’
WEATHER: 60s perfect!

I leave school promptly at noon in order to get home in time to play ball with Banjo and get ready to ride. I have new tires on my bike --- heavy but hearty. They are Schwalbe Marathons and are reputed to be flat-proof. We’ll see …. The stout tread sends up a light vibration and a soft hum reminiscent of Grandpa Young. Carol joins me 2 miles down the road (it’s great to have a riding buddy live so close!) and we push pretty hard on the next 8 miles in order to be on time to meet Sue at the High School. The road is smooth and the warm air pleasant. Sue is on time, as always, and we start up the Mackenzie Highway. We will climb 2500’ to the pass where stands the Dee Wright Observatory. It is a stone memorial to the famed architect Dee Wright and is located in the middle of a massive lava flow. You are standing in the middle of the Cascade Mountain Range with views from Bachelor to Mt. Hood. Because the road is not plowed, it remains closed until the snow melts. The 25 miles between the west and east snow gates are a cyclist’s paradise for 8 months of the year.

Riding with Sue and Carol is always fun --- but often not much of a group activity. The terrain determines if we can cycle together. Because of the differences between a recumbent and an upright bicycle, I am pokey on the ascents, fast on the flats, and lightning on the descents. Today we leave the high school together but before long they pull ahead. They wait for me at Windy Point where I find them trying to train the squirrels with a protein bar. The next three miles to the summit are comprised of ascending rollers and increasing snow. The road, however, is clear with only occasional puddles of run-off. At the top Jon meets us with chocolate and Diet Coke. He was able to squeeze past the snow gate on his motorcycle. On the descent Sue and Carol stay with me by drafting. We say goodbye to Sue in Sisters and Carol and I endure 10 miles of head wind home.

Banjo is glad to see me. Jon has dinner waiting. Life is good!

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