2015 and On

03 Sunday Jan 2016

Tags

cycling, goals, Oregon Outback, randonneur, ride stats

I took the year off randonneuring in 2015. Not one timed ride. No real reason other than I was not feeling “scheduled in” for most of the big rides. That said, most of my training was for the Oregon Outback ride. May also happened to be my all time mileage month.

Out back

Mileage is gradually becoming meaningless for me, and if it weren’t for a natural interest in stats, and smartphones making it easy to record rides, I would be perfectly happy guessing, or better yet not worrying about it. That said, I still lead a team at work for our local Ride Months in May and November. I guess it’s tough to give up old habits, and I like to encourage folks to get out and ride.

Stats for 2015:

Total Distance: ~2592 miles
- Best Month: May – 605 miles
- Least: December – 55 miles
Total Elevation Climbed: ~108,837 feet
Total Riding Time: ~8 days and 9 hrs (over 200 hrs)
Number of Rides: 201
Ave Speed: ~12.9 mph
Ave Ride Distance: 12.9 miles
Ave/Max Heart Rate: 145/184 bpm

The prior two years:

Total Distance: over 3000 miles
Total Riding Time: ~220 hrs

All in all, a bit of a down turn, but I plan to put in some rando time this year with a goal of eventually doing some of the longer distances, and at least hit a total of over 1000 miles of rando distance.

Posted by Stonehog | Filed under Cycling, Northwest, Randonneuring

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Soft Shoes on the Hardpack

05 Saturday Dec 2015

Tags

bikepacking, cruzer, offroad, Oregon Outback, sneaker pedals, sneakers, vp-001

Evolv

One of the biggest dilemmas for me this year was the choice of shoes/pedals for the Oregon Outback. I have had great luck with clip-less pedals and Sidi cycling shoes, so going with flats felt like a big risk. I knew that we wouldn’t go more than 100 miles in any one day, but we would be doing it for 4-6 days straight.

On the other hand, I didn’t relish the thought of running around in cleats on rough ground for the better part of a week. They add a certain amount discomfort: slippery footing in some situations, and “duck walking” on the ground. They also introduce unnecessary complexity and technical failure risk if a cleat gets damaged, or a shoe gets lost.

On flat pedals, at least I could comfortably use sandals or bare feet (in a pinch).

I rode on flats for the most part all winter and spring before the ride, with a max distance of about 50 miles. No problems. I have had occasional knee pain that has developed in the past over longer miles, but I was not as worried about it in this case. Both my clip-less setup (SpeedPlay Frogs, Sidi Spider SRS) and flats give my knees plenty of float. I seem to have had the most pain on a relatively locked in SPD setup.

Long story short – flat pedals were great, thin approach shoes were comfy as hell.

About the setup I used:

Pedals: Watch your shins on these pedals – they are grabby and have sharp edges, but after a few nicks, you figure out how to stay away from them. They lock your foot in really well – there were quite a few “holy crap” bumpy, loose, fast downhills we had to traverse, and I never lost my foot on the pedal – something that has happened to me on other pedal/shoe combos, and scary when you are rocketing downhill on single track or loose fire roads. These guys just work, and have a large platform to find purchase on.

Shoes: I’ve got 3 pairs of these – they are the most comfy shoes out-of-the-box I’ve yet encountered. They are a minimalist approach shoe, but are runnable. They wear well – I still use all three pairs, and two pairs have gone on several off-road adventures. Oh yeah – they are fairly inexpensive, too…

I also used some Echo sandals for part of the day when we were in the hotter, more exposed sections of the trail, but I mainly went this route because I had gotten the Cruzers wet, and wanted to dry them out on the back of my bag. This is an added benefit of flats – spare footwear just works.

After several days on the dusty trails, my feet felt great – no pains or aches, and my knees were fine for the distance. I hope other folks try out this sort of combo – the cycling community still really pushes clip-less combos for “comfort”. While some may need an extra stiff sole, I think this may have evolved due to the tiny surface area on most clip-less pedals. Try some big, flat pedals – you may be surprised…

That’s it for now. Let me know if you have found similar flat pedal/shoe combos you like.

VP 001 Pedal

Posted by Stonehog | Filed under Cycling, Enduro Offroad

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…vrrrrrp – OK

16 Monday Nov 2015

Tags

a. homer hilsen, commute, Cycles Toussaint, cycling, hilsen, Hunqapillar, Oregon Outback, randonneur

Getting back on the blog. It’s been a long hiatus since my last post on June 11th?? Wow – I feel lazy. What’s been going on since May/June? I guess I’ve been low-key biking, working, and occasionally kayaking. No big bike trips this summer. The closest thing has been a brief bike around Amsterdam in October, but I’ve literally done zero rando events this year. Ironic as it was a PBP year. Well – there will be others. I’ve still got a few stories to get out, such as:

What worked on the Oregon Outback
How is that Velo Routier doing these days?
What about the Homer and the Hunqa??
Food and clothing thoughts
Soma (old brand) single speed conversion (maybe)

OK – got that out of my system.

Posted by Stonehog | Filed under Cycling, Northwest

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Oregon Outback 2015 – Day 5

11 Thursday Jun 2015

Posted by Stonehog in Cycling

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Deschutes River, Gordon Ridge, Hunqapillar, Oregon Outback, Shaniko, Thunder Burts, Windmills

Ghostly towns and grand vistas

The roosters brought us back to life after the long day before, and I got up and took some morning pics of Shaniko. As we arrived in the dark, I didn’t get a good look at the surroundings until I got up. It was a pretty amazing old west town that was fairly well preserved.

The wagon yard we camped under was like a central covered picnic area in the middle of an old west museum.

We got ourselves packed and watered up, and after the usual oatmeal breakfast, we were off. The initial 15 miles went fast as we blasted out along US97 on fast slightly downhill pavement. The tires really showed their zeal – Thunder Burts are fast. We did 20 mph in an easy pace line. That all changed when we reached the first dirt road, however…

– Our day ahead

– Always in view

The roads were slightly less worn on this final day, so there was a lot of loose gravel. Almost zero traffic, however. The terrain was heavily rolling – something lost on the elevation profile of our route which looked flat and dropping. There were many small hills, and the route was totally exposed.

We had planned to find a drop down to the Deschutes somewhere on the route, but I started out tentative towards this plan, and didn’t get more confident as the day wore on. Our lunch stop was not really in a memorable area – merely on the side of a farm road next to a site common to this midwesterner:

– Cow fodder

– Nary a tree in sight

As we approached the Columbia gorge, the land kept a rollin’, and the heat kept a heatin’ us. I found myself wondering how the racers felt doing this stretch after 30 hours of pedaling straight through. Seeing hill after dusty hill and knowing the finish was near must have been exhilarating and frustrating to no end.

– Trusty dusty steed

We started getting into some views of the Deschutes River valley that we had been paralleling for tens of miles, and the flowers came out. The scenery was notching up, again.

Gordon Ridge was the last obstacle in our path to the Columbia.

– We’ve gotta climb that??

It was an imposing beast that only rose 400ft above us, but with some 10% grades, it was arduous.

Once at the top we were treated to some great views north – lots of windmills, and volcanic peaks to the north and south east.

– Clean Power

The next section was thrilling and terrifying at times. The ridge road dropped away riding along the edge of the steep valley walls that fell away 2000 feet to the river below. Several 40 mph runs had us hooting like kids. I was sandblasted by a dust devil, and caught a nasty sidewind that hit me unexpectedly at a turn at the bottom of a fast run, blowing me several feet sideways in loose gravel (luckily I was in the middle of the road). I quickly reminded myself to ride loose and not clench as the loose gravel on these descents didn’t reward a controlling demeanor.

– The sacred Deschutes

At this point, we came to the turnoff we had planned to take down to the Deschutes. It was marked “no trespassing”, and I felt pretty bagged. We made the decision to continue on the normal route so we wouldn’t have to push our bikes up 2000 feet if the route got nasty. I think another trip is in order to explore the area on fresher legs.

– Hidden volcano

By the time we hit OR 206, the final stretch of paved road to the river, I was beginning to feel elation and sadness that our trip was nearing its end. There were still some memorable views, and we fairly flew down the final thousand foot drop, albeit slowed to pedalling speed due to the relentless headwind rushing up the canyon to meet us.

– Almost there

Once at the river, we decided to forego the campground for a meal in nearby Biggs. As we pedaled east, John had the light come on. “They have hotels in Biggs! We can get food, a shower, and a good night’s sleep!” Genius! Our adventure had come to an end, but there will certainly be more of this!

– Post Outback Selfie

Route Map – Day 5 (final)

Oregon Outback 2015 – Day 4

10 Wednesday Jun 2015

Posted by Stonehog in Cycling

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Antelope, Ashwood, bicycle, Big Bend, bike touring, Gosner Rd, Gravel Touring, Hunqapillar, McKay, Oregon Outback, Prineville, thunder burt, Trout Creek

This was a day of big breakfasts, big climbs, big miles, and some of the best riding and views of the trip. My favorite day hands-down.

20 miles out of Big Bend campground, Prineville was the only “large” town we went through in our five days. We were drawn to the first diner we came to on Main St. My eyes were only a bit larger than my stomach.

– Yes, had to have the buckwheat pancakes, too!

– Yummm!

– 4 days in and still happy!

After eating our fill, we stopped at the grocery, and realized we still had plenty of food for dinner and lunch. I think we picked up more gorp, string cheese, and some Tylenol. I was starting to get a good picture of how over-packed we were.

The local bike shop was closed, so we couldn’t stop in for the legendary beer we heard about from other riders. Sad face…

Onward. Approaching the first big climb of the day around mile-25, the scenery was really turning out well.

– Green Ranches

This climb was paved, but rose about 2200 feet over 17 miles. Not too taxing – still early in the day, and at the top we rested with a few riders and compared tires and notes.

– The beginning of FUN

The next 10 miles were amazing. We were doing 25+ mph gravel switchbacks down Little McKay Rd. Loads of fun – edge of control with loaded touring bikes. At Trout Creek Rd, the route degraded to jeep road, more or less, and we ran into the creek crossing the road at least 5 times – sometimes 5-10″ deep, but at most 10-15 yds across. The first time was a circus with a large group of 5-10 folks hanging out taking pics and refilling water bottles. We did the same. I did a quick song and dance for Sprockets Podcast (one of the riders had a mic and was doing impromptu interviews of OO riders).

– Made it!

One of the riders in the crew was doing it on a Yuba carrying a hibachi grill. Awesome!

– Long tail bike madness

The next crossing was deeper, and we hit it faster. My panniers managed to put up a blanket of water spray that soaked me thoroughly. In darker news, the rocks managed to kill my cameraman’s front Thunder Burt with enough of a pinch flat cut that the Stan’s sealant was of no use. Tube time.

– Spray!

– Made it!

The next guy through – a solo rider from Seattle – managed to double flat. This was after a single flat in the last crossing. We spent the next 45 minutes putting a tube in John’s front wheel, and helping the other rider out.

– 3 flats in 3 minutes

Needless to say, we were more careful on the last few crossings, walking several. Hey – the shoes were already wet…

– Care must be taken

The rest of the descent was uneventful, if not a bit roller-coastery. I later mused that this was my absolute favorite part of the ride. Remote and scenic.

Nearing the bottom of the valley, we approached Ashwood through Fools Hollow and Slaughterhouse Gulch, (yes – look it up), what looked like a small town turned out to be about 5 houses, a short few hundred yards of pavement, and then a wall of a climb out of the valley on a gravel road just outside of “town”. Gosner road was a 500 foot climb with 8-12% grades, and it was fairly brutal after all that nice downhill progress. At some point, I tried hopping off and walking, but I quickly found that harder with a fully loaded bike than just sucking it up and pedaling in the easy gear.

– John breaches the first rise out of Ashwood

Thus began our quest to get over the latter two 1000-foot climbs of today’s route. I kept thinking we must have done it, but we would just come to another rise. I started to view climbs in a different light. I found myself hoping that the next corner would just reveal more climbing instead of relief, as I wanted to get the vertical I knew we had coming. It turned almost meditative with me concentrating on nose breathing, and just pushing on. Really kind of peaceful.

– Roads to somewhere

Again we rolled through some amazing western scenery. I think we saw 2 cars this whole stretch, and fewer riders. The terrain was continuously rolling and slightly brutal after the long day’s riding, but so pretty that it kept things interesting. We were constantly looking for trees now as it was our normal camp time, but alas, we were not finding much to hang a hammock on that was on the right side of the fences.

As we broke through the long descent into Antelope, I looked longingly at the city park with its big cottonwoods (slightly too big to put a hammock on). We only saw a herd of deer – we could hear music playing in one of the local homes, but no people were out.

– Nobody home?

– More citizens

With about 10 miles to go before our Shaniko camping destination, we at last hit the final 1000-foot climb. It was paved at least, but just as steep as the hills before. We rolled into Shaniko after a final paceline drive into the darkening sky. The kind folks who got there before us had saved some community food donated by a women from the local post office. I had some wheat thins and Spam, and John had a PB&J. We tied our hammocks to the posts sheltered by an old “wagon house” structure, and slept soundly. At nearly 100 miles and 7300 feet of climbing, it was our toughest, but most rewarding day.

Route Map – Day 4