Yesterday, I got up and decided that I needed to ride some hills. The problem was an 8 AM basketball game, a son needing to get to a Merit Badge Clinic by 11 AM and be back home by 12:30 PM in order to get over to the District Swim meet in McMinnville. The soluton was to play ball, get home, load up the car with bike and son, and drive to Dayton to drop him off, get the bike out, and ride Eola hill.
It was a good ride to the hill, about 12 miles to get to the base of the climb and then 3.5 miles to the top to the climb. It probably averages 6% but it ramps up to 12% in spots, most of them in the first 1/2 miles. This is the notable climb in the Vine Ride. It felt good to ride up this hill. On the way up, I look down at the Garmin and it reads 9%. Out of the corner of my eye, I see this dog starting running towards me. All I can think is "I don't need any dog chasing me up a 9% hill!" I am confident I can out ride a dog on the flats but on a 9% hill - advantage dog. So I jumped out of the saddle and started to work, the dog must have figured the effort too great since he shut it down and stopped in the driveway, content to bark a few times. At the top of Eola hill, it was misty and socked in. I took a few pictures that I have posted on my twitter site. At the top, I turned around and headed back down. I realized that I needed to hussle to get back to meet my other deadlines. The pavement was wet so I took it easy most of the way down the hill. On dry pavement, I'd probably been hitting 40+ most of the way down but since it was dry, I maxed out at about 20. Once on the flat, I got into the drops and pushed back to Dayton. I averaged a bit over 20 MPH on the way back in. It felt good to put in a good effort after a nice climb.
I am focused on the Mt. Shasta ride in August. This means to prepare I must ride a lot of hills - all part of the plan. In June or July, I am going to take on Mt. Hood from Newberg. It should be a very challenging ride but a good prep for Mt. Shasta.
Last night, I timed at the District Finals swim meet. Cassie was on the 400 yard relay team and they swam in the lane I was timing on. It is real hard to be unbiased when your daughter and her team are in your lane. It is harder to not cheer. Cassie had the third leg. When see dove into the pool, they were tied for 1st place. Cassie and the other team's racer stayed close through the first 50 yards. Then Cassie put it in another gear and began to pull away, opening up a body and a half length lead for the anchor leg. It was incredible and very fun to watch. The anchor brought home the District Championship in the relay. I am so happy for Cassie - she swam well.
Craig is playing basketball and his quickness and aggressive defense is shining through. He is playing with us on Wednesday nights so he should learn a bit more aggresiveness as well.
