We remember

Memorial Day 2007 will be remembered for visiting three cementeries and two rides.The day started with the intent of taking Bald Peak and the West side of the river. Plans change. We ended taking Cassie on our 10 mile loop in the cold. After being in the 70's on Saturday, 50's on Sunday, this morning was in the mid 40's and there was no way I wanted to climb into freezing temperatures.

We got home and got on the road. Our first stop was Willamette National Cementery to put flowers and flags on the graves of my o'pa and grandfather. It was amazing to see all of the flags out on the graves, some 129,000+. The next stop was across the street at Lincoln Memorial Park to lay a flower and visit the grave of my grandmother and her parents. We found that the head stone has not yet been placed. After a lunch break at Chipotle downtown, our final stop was at the graves of my great grandmother, other grandfather, and my younger sister. At every stop, I was amazed that the kids would stand motionless and listen to me tell stories. Craig said at one point, with tears in his eyes, "I didn't even get to know him." This is one of those times when I am thankful for the plan of happiness and the opportunity to share my testimony with Craig. Great moments!

After the round trip around Portland, we got home, readied the bikes, changed, and hit the road. By this time, it is in the 70's and clear skies. Great riding weather! We hit the road to Bald Peak. This time up the Peak was a stark contrast to our first trip up together. There was no stopping, no pushing, all riding. We beat our previous time up and down the hill. It felt good and we even got to see all five peaks at the top today.

Finally, the Spurs win, going up 3 -1 over Utah. It was an amazing day.

Wheatland 52

The last two weeks have been a blur. After a week in Sacramento for Kaizen training, Reach the Beach last Saturday, busy church filled Sunday, and another full week of work, baseball, three nights at the church for Eagle scout stuff and pack meeting, and a little bit of riding. Wow!

So, the instructions for the day was no riding before 7 AM. It was good to sleep in till 6:30. We got out at 7:30 and rode down to the Wheatland Ferry and Willamette Mission State Park. It was a great day to ride. The weather in the mid 60's, no rain, and no cougar sightings since May 7th. We lifted our pace and rode hard for stretches. We had our fastest combined day of riding yet. All told it was 3 hours 21 minutes for 52 miles of riding. For the week, we hit racked up 80 plus miles. Not bad for not having much time to get on the bike.

C is worried that she will never catch up and carry the pace long term. I am worried that all of her running, riding, and eating right will put her over the top and I will be trying to hold her wheel. Monday is another ride - maybe Bald Peak again. We'll see what the day holds...

Incredible Christine...

Reach the Beach 2007 was a good ride. It was even more inspiring to see Christine fight to get it done. To the story - 2old and I started from Beaverton at about 7:30 AM and took on 2100 feet of climbing (out of the 3200 feet) in the first 25 miles. The climbing was not extremely instense but steady. It helped that I had ridden most of these roads before and knew where to push - flying down the hill at 35 MPH, blowing by other cyclists.

We picked up Christine at the elementary school stop. The original plan was for her to start at Amity, only 55 miles to the beach. Now, it was going to be a 75 mile ride for her, almost double here current max. To put this in perspective for me, I'd have to ride almost 400 miles to double my current maximum one time ride.

At mile 71, after riding into a stiff breeze and on the very busy highway to the coast with little room to pass due to a narrow shoulder, rumble marks, and plenty of cars, we stopped for a break. Christine is now entering no man's land, that time between suffering and knowing what time it is - with 30 miles to go. I call my mom to tell her to meet us at the next rest stop. Christine says something to the effect - I am finishing, not quitting, no matter how long it takes. Wow! Cool! I know this defiance. "Pain is only temporary, quitting lasts forever." I got a front row seat to see her fight all the way to the finish. Inspiring!

What a sight the beach was!

Thanks to 2old and the C for a great ride.

Pain Train Schedule

The Pain Train is scheduled for another run tomorrow. 100 miles to the coast from Portland. There are just currently two passengers - 2OLD and one who does not have a nickname yet - could be Blue Max but I don't know if that fits into any nickname realm that we currently have. We'll have to work on one. Who knows, organized rides seem to have a way to give people nicknames. It might be the case tomorrow.

Although this is a Pain Train run, it will be more like a little pain. The target for the 5 hour century is for my August century. August will be a local event due to all of the craziness this summer with moving again and work related absences. So, anyone out there wanting to get on the bus and do a 5 hour century, give me a call and I will let you know when. The Beecher Hotel currently has vacancies.

After traveling this week, I have only got in 20 miles and that was going no where - in the hotel exercise room. The legs feel good and after a few miles tonight, the train will be ready to roll.

Editior's Note: To all the Suns fan out there, get over it! Don't blame David Stern and the NBA. Blame the '97 Knicks and Heat for getting the rule instituted - leave the bench area and get suspended. Granted it is instinct to protect your own as Amore and Boris did. I would have left the bench area as well but there are consequences. On another note, what ever happened to hard playoff fouls? No easy shots or fast breaks? Get over it! Have we all forgot about this guy named Newton and three of his laws? I'll give you a hint: f=m*a. How much does Nash weigh in relation to Horry? With Nash's higher than average flop rating, it looked much worse than it was. Game 6 is on...Are you ready to rumble? But don't leave the bench or you'll get suspended.

Go Spurs Go!

Editor's Note

Correction: In a previous post, I stated ambiguity over which team I'd like to see win the NBA championship. I'd like to set the record straight. I have an addiction, to blogging, saying anything to get people to read my posts of streaming thoughts, to view pictures that might not be of me or anyone I know, and to find their favorite haircut. Have no fear, I have checked myself into BA - Bloggers Anonymous. I am committed to the thirteen step process in order to find peace in this world of words and information.

With this being said, please remember, I am and will always be a SPURS fan.

GO Spurs GO!!!

On the bike

Saturday finally came. It has been a long week - a high level of stress due a number of issues. It didn't help that we had three baseball games and an Eagle project to work through after work as well. Even with all this going on, we got in over 90 miles on the bike this week in preparation for the May century which is next Saturday, the 19th.

We set some new records for Christine this week: most miles in a week and most miles in a single ride. We started early Saturday morning with OB12Old to get the later done. It was cold. I have come to believe that the warm mornings that I am used to from Texas and California will not happen here in Oregon. After getting warm, 2OLD flatted but this was the only real incident of the day. We did get chased a few times by dogs but no bites, no kicks, no errors. All told, it was 42 miles around the southern portion of Yamhill county.

I am excited for next Saturday. New records will be set as we ride to the beach together. My challenge for this next week is to get through the week as I will be out, learning Kaizen.

I know JD watched the game tonight. The Suns are playing inspired ball but the Spurs were one step better. This is the series to watch. I just hope that the Eastern Conference does not win it this year. Miami was bad enough last year. Spurs or Suns - I am fine with either but I still say:

Go Spurs Go!!

Bald Peak Part Deaux: The Unforgiven

Friday-

After finding a torque wrench to properly torque the crank on, I took the bike out for a test ride to see if it worked to fix my loose crank. I put it through the ropes for 15 miles and it stayed tight. I had been hearing about this ride up the back side of Bald Peak. During the ride, I am thinking it is time to get on up this hill. I have never seen a hill I did not like or could not get up. Even after the drive up it, I was not intimidated. But it was steep...

Saturday-

It is 36 degrees when I roll out of the garage at 6:30 AM. I must be carrying 10 extra pounds of clothing to keep warm and still feel the chill coming down the hill from the house to start the ride. It is 18 miles to the base of the climb. Before starting, I pause at the Laurelwood school to get myself together and check the crank - all still good.

The sign said curves, next 1 mile. Sure - it should have said "Pain." There is no easing into the climb. It goes from no grade to 14% and then up to 20% for a mile. It was tough. I stopped at the top to regroup for the second half of the climb. My heart was pound at 170+ bpm. After the quick recovery, another sign, curves, next 3/4 mile. It was part two of the climb and equal to the first. In fact, my GPS stopped registering grade. Once at the top, it was still another 1.5 miles to the park and down hill. For this section, 1.5 miles with 1400 feet of climbing - that is an average of 13.3% grade. The hill got me this time - it will not be as lucky the next time we meet. All told, it was 37 miles of riding with a week's worth of pain. Next century is in two weeks for the "Reach the Beach" ride.

Sunday-

Drove to Tacoma after our baseball game and hung out with my family - parents and my two brothers and their families. Matt blessed his new daughter, Cate, today and we got to stand in the circle. Awesome. Thanks to Matt and his family for their hospitality.

Time to relax.