For the last six or seven years, a few members of our Stake have been putting on a "Tour de Stake." In this event, the group rides to all the buildings in the Stake - a total of five buildings over 65 miles. If you read "Tour de Stake" between the lines it reads, "A reason for a group of cycling obsessed men to get together and show who has the highest propensity to inflict pain on the rest of the group."
For a few weeks up to the event, all I heard about was beating Doug - a guy on a tricycle. I had not met Doug or seen his mode of transportation until Saturday morning. He rides a modified recumbant that sits extremely low to the ground and that he can ride extremely fast on the flats. Since I was scheduled to be at a canoe trip, I had not planned on being at that pain fest. When the chaperones fell through and we could not find replacements, I decided to just relax and ride. We got to the McMinville (Mac) chapel at 7:30 AM and Doug was already there, riding circles in the parking lot, warming up. At a little after 8 AM, we said a prayer and the parking lot emptied quickly with Doug leaving first. I came to find out that Doug does not like to lose and lets all know how well he does, especially when he wins. To borrow a phrase from JD, "it was on, like donkey kong."
The C and I were slow out of the parking lot, leaving almost last out of the 50+ riders. We had been riding quite a bit of miles the last few weeks, averaging almost 130 miles a week with a good share of riding in the hills, building leg strength. I felt good Saturday. I knew the route, the hills, and most of the riders. It was 8 miles before I saw the lead group. When I saw them, they waved to me to come along. I crossed the freeway and tried to catch up. Mistake #1, don't tell your partner the plan or discuss the route. Before I knew it, C was dropped and I was in no man's land between help. I put my head down, put it in a big gear and tried to catch up. It was in vain as the time gap continued to grow. Mistake #2, don't wait for your partner who could help out. After a few miles of losing ground, I backed off the pace and decided to make it through the flats and get to the rollers to make up time. I started to pick off riders at about mile 25. One by one they came back to me. On the last climb into Newberg, I caught the leading two, Doug and Ben. I rode into the parking lot at the Newberg chapel first - a little psychological game. I stopped, used the facilities, filled my water bottles, and took a short rest. Mistake #3, see number 2. When Doug, Mark, and Ben got on the bikes and headed out, I followed suit. The rest of the ride was much like the previous weeks ride. Before I knew it, it was just me. This time I slowed slightly and decided to ride into Mac with Ben. We talked and discussed cycling. We finished the slightly shortened course, 62 miles in a little over 3 hours 17 minutes, averaging about 19 MPH. Ben and I waited for a little over five minutes for the next rider to come in, it was Doug and he was obviously annoyed with his third place finish. Mark, was the next one in.
At this time, I realized I had better get on the bike and head out to find C. I pulled out the phone and called her. After letting me know how unhappy she was with my decisions, I told her I would meet her in Carlton, about 8 miles from Mac. After we hooked up, we rode in together and still finished faster than most of the riders. C had done extremely better than I had anticipated. We are ready for the Vine Ride, our next century.
The last few days have been great. It is going to be hard to go back to work tomorrow. I have enjoyed just being at home with the family doing all sorts of things: riding, working on the yard, finding a park route to take the kids on a ride, seeing Christine prepare for the Hood to Coast run, and seeing a few movies (Bourne was awesome).
Final Notes: Don't ever leave your wingman and it is good to be King!
