Seattle bound

I made my way from Portland up to Seattle on Sunday morning in order to catch a Mariners game at Safeco field. Let's just say $40 at Fenway would not get you anywhere near the experience we got at Safeco. $30 for seats six rows off the field and $10 for a salmon fillet sandwich a drink. Oh, and parking at the stadium was only $20.


Ok, so stepping back from the day it looks kind of expensive. But seriously, figure what a full tank of gas, $30 race entry fee, $10 worth of drinks and food along the way and that baseball game is not looking so expensive anymore. It was fun to do something different on the weekend and to see a really great stadium. The game was actually close too which made it easy to stay until the end.

humble pie in Dutch Canyon

I will preface by saying it was really hot and I was a little too hungover for such conditions. Nonetheless, I had made up my mind last week that I would do the Dutch Canyon route that extends north to Scappoose from Portland. Highlights include 6,000 ft of climbing, most of it during 35 of the 65 miles, dirt roads, and endless views.

I started out feeling descent enough in the saddle and thinking it'd be a nice ride. I had breakfast at the Portland Farmer's Market which was very well attended because it was the first really nice weekend of the spring


Then I headed north on Rt 30 towards NW Germantown Rd. As soon as the road pitched up I realized I had been fooling myself. I quickly entered a pain cave as dark and endless as any I've ever entered. Not wanting to quit after only 10 miles I struggled on towards the top making it after what seemed like hours.

From there I was on the well ridden and well known Skyline Blvd. It is a road that meanders on the mountain ridge for many miles with scenic views of Mt St Helens and Mt Hood


as well as the western valley of Wilkesboro.


A bit of a recovery along Skyline also alerted me to my less than adequate liquid situation. Constant dry mouth and hot temps had drained the two bidons faster than usual so I desperately sought out water.

Salvation came at the intersection of Skyline and Cornelius Pass in the form of a small but properly stocked convenience store. I chugged half of the gallon, filled the two bottles and then had the friendly store manager keep the remaining bit for my imminent return in what I hoped would be 1-1.5 hours. From the store, Skyline pitched back up hill until I reached Rocky Point. From there it was a fast but unfamiliar descent to the southern edge of Scappoose and another water stop. I took full advantage of the air conditioned convenience store while enjoying an ice cold soda and extra salty pretzels.

The ride along Dutch Canyon Rd started out tame enough. It's a nice, mostly flat country road with minimal traffic and farm land views. Soon enough I cam upon the entrance to Otto Miller.


This is the dirt and gravel road that would make me cry UNCLE! I should have known as soon as I turned right and saw the entrance to this hilly road that I would be entering a deeper darker pain cave than even Germantown had offered. On and off the bike as I climbed 3+ miles with insufficient water and inadequate gearing I finally struggled to the summit for some nice views.


The gravel descent had me crossing my fingers that I didn't double flat because I was only carrying one tube. Sure enough, the rear felt soft and in no time I was on the rim. I took my time changing the flat and saying a few prayers because I was about as far from Portland at that point as I could have been and I only had the one tube.

Once I got back to solid pavement I let go of the brakes and quickly boosted the average speed with 3-4 miles of descending. I made my way back to the convenience store at the intersection of Cornelius and Skyline where I finished off my gallon of water and refilled with a smaller bottle. I took off back up Skyline and then decided to rest on the shaded porch of a small church. I closed my eyes, stretched, checked a phone message and mentally prepared for the 25 miles I had left.

Not knowing the area, I stayed on Skyline a bit too long and came back into Portland on a busy but really fun downhill called West Burnside. The screaming downhill at 40mph made my eyes water and my fingers cramp but it also cooled off my over heated body to the point that I almost felt recovered. I rolled all the way over the river on Burnside Rd and ended my epic fight with a visit to an epic shop.


River City has a great variety of gear with knowledgeable, friendly, not pushy staff willing to help you or willing to let you drool unbothered. I'm kicking myself for not getting pictures inside because they had some diverse beauties including carbon tandems, Ferrari Colnago's, NOS classic Colnago's, and a display of clothing to keep a person hip in any crowd (cycling or non).


I met up with great people (the brothers Roth) for dinner after the ride and since Dan had also suffered for too long in the sun we were a group of duds, speaking intermittently as we filled up on delicious lasagna in the Pearl. I finished off the evening with ice cream.




If you find yourself in Portland with time to ride, check out the Dutch Canyon loop. Avoid Germantown and West Burnside because there are better alternatives and be sure to carry two tubes and a reliable pump because I think I was lucky not to flat twice on Otto Miller. Now it is on to Seattle where I get to ride with my favorite bike studio owner and watch a Mariner's baseball game.

Finally a chance to do some riding

I spent last week in Salisbury, MD and the week before that in Vicksburg, MS. While both offer potentially enjoyable cycling, my travel plans and client meetings did not allow me to bring the Ritchey.

This week I start a 9 day journey through the northwest, including Portland, Seattle, and Spokane. I brought the bike and have at least two days set aside for some riding.

Daniel says this is a worthy epic in the Portland area so I'll have stats that look something like this on Saturday. Hopefully I'll get some pedaling in before then as well. I'll post some pictures and results after my adventure(s).

F* YOU DELTA!

Sitting in a Podunk town in the south waiting for my Delta flight to take me home. Thanks for calling me at 3:30am with a criptic message about my flight being delayed. Thanks for letting the 7:30am flight leave on time while my 6:00am flight is still not boarding at 7:50.

I am glad this business travel routine will be over soon. Too bad it wasn't over last week so I could enjoy the weekend at my own home with my family and friends.

This is how I ride...in FL

I've never seen anything like this place. The Villages, a "community" in Florida is overrun by golf carts. And we're not talking boring old white golf carts that do 10 mph. We're talking tricked out, $10,000 fashion statements with their own dedicated road network and bridges.



When I went for a run I could barely breath between all of the laughter. I saw people whipping through the area using arms extended out to indicate turns. I saw golf carts decorated with Florida Gators stickers and Auburn Tigers stickers. And for those who can't afford to pimp their rides, they take the vanity plate to a whole notha level with their auto vanity plates affixed to their un-pimped golf carts.

Other interesting facts about The Villages:
- must be 55 or older to be a resident
- no public schools or mayor
- highest concentration of STD's in Florida (I heard this one from my client who is a medical professional, but hopefully not part of the statistic...)

Now I wonder, does the guy with the most pimped out ride also carry the highest number of STD's??? Is there a linear relationship between the value of a man's golf cart and the number of STD's he is likely to carry?

staying planted but seeing stars

I haven't been on the business travel routine for almost 4 weeks. I am starting to get spoiled by the luxuries of my own home. Today, instead of going to the office I ran some errands around town. Perhaps it was the sun in the sky or perhaps it is just what you see in the middle of the day when most people are in their office, but I saw all kinds of stars and stripes.

this kind


and this kind




but my favorite was this kind




Next week I head to Orlando for a quick two day trip. No biking, just running since it is a short trip.

getting closer, getting serious

Months of planning are getting closer to becoming reality. There are still so many things to do before I leave though. Connecting the route all the way to Boston is one of those things.

Been a long time

Last time I got any real road miles my bike looked like this.



I'm experimenting with the trailer and with panniers in anticipation of a loaded tour I'll be doing this summer. I'm still undecided at this point.

I've done some traveling lately and find myself in Colorado Springs this week. I came a few days early so I could go up to the mountains and get in some skiing. Arapahoe Basin is a great destination if you find yourself in the Denver area. The skiing was challenging, the mountain was big enough to require a full day of skiing and the prices were more reasonable than all of its neighbors. There are no high speed lifts and the lodges are not high frills, but that doesn't really matter for me. The apre-ski parking lot scene is where it's at. People pull right up to the slopes, fire up the grill, open the cooler, and the dogs and kids run wild while the music blasts. A Basin is full of folks who know how to make their own good time at the mountain.

While in Colorado Springs, I paid a visit to Colorado Cyclist. I actually had a gift certificate to spend so it was nice to save the shipping costs and pick up the items. The retail space is not that big but it is full of all the high dollar products you see in their catalog or website. I've never seen so many carbon bikes with integrated seatposts in one place! They even stock some Scott mountain bikes with integrated seatposts. Sram Red is old news in this place and I am pretty sure they clean dirty bikes with last year's Assos jerseys. Needless to say, $50 doesn't get you much at a place like Colorado Cyclist. I picked up a couple of Tacx cages and a Salsa seat collar to replace the crappy one that came with my race bike.

I'll be back home on Thursday and hope to get in some miles, finally. Maybe I'll go mountain biking. Haven't done that in 4 months.