Flogging Pauly
'Twas an exhausting afternoon but with Flogging Molly playing on iTunes the night feels energetic and I think I might watch a movie before passing out.
My original plan for today was to bike out to Sandy and then back again, just like I did last Thursday. With the hard hills on Tuesday and a Reed Sports Center workout yesterday, as well as the brutal weekend in Bend, I was not going to up my mileage yet. Instead, I wanted to do the same mileage again but with no breaks for the entire ride. Of course, then, I woke up this morning with a severe case of the Lazies. Instead of leaving on my ride by 10 a.m. I barely got to breakfast by that point, even after a searing shower to wake me up.
Cue Les Camacho over iChat. Thanks to his prompting, and powerful need to live vicariously through me, I got my non-Irish ass a moving. Pumped up the tires to full pressure. Cleaned the chain and shifters as the last few rides had gotten them fairly dirty and I do love myself a smooth running chain. Of course, about three miles up the Springwater Corridor, I discovered that I had virtually used up one of my back brake pads with all the up and down on Council Crest on Tuesday. Note to self, check all components prior to riding.
Since the Springwater Corridor has very little braking, I just kept on going using the front brakes only. When I got to Sandy, I stopped at a huge bike shop at the East end of town and got some new pads installed. Ah, what a difference. I am a back braker. Just my nature and the way I ride. The lightness of the bike requires it a bit too. While they were being put on for me, I pumped myself full of some energy gel and water. Did not feel too bad, so I decided to keep on going. Maybe go a few more miles and then turn around.
Er, why do I do this to myself? Just a few more miles I tell my body. Pumped full of endorphins and ignoring the few protests from my body, I found myself going and going. And then, around 4:30 p.m. I found myself all the way out at Welches, OR, which is right before Highway 26 begins to climb up Mt. Hood.
Knowing that I was easily over 40 miles from home, I actually considered climbing up Hood and staying the night at Government Camp. Only ten miles more up the road and the elevation would be tiring but not as bad as the mileage home (or so I was trying to convince my body to believe). That argument felt a bit lacking, so I got a Snickers and a bit of pain reliever (oy, my bum!) at Thriftway and turned around. The ride back to Sandy was a slog of mostly uphill into the wind. Nothing really makes you appreciate a bike path until you are biking on a busy highway, with at times only three feet of pavement allocated for you and your bike, where trucks keep on invading your space, all the while you are concentrating on avoiding any glass, rocks, holes, and large sticks in your path.
I started swearing right about when I saw the "Portland - 42 miles" sign.
At Sandy, I got through town and then collapsed in the shade of a Taco Bell, where I swallowed the rest of my gel and took off my shoes to let my feet breathe some fresh air. Gave Les a call on the mobile and promptly told him it was his fault that I was 25 miles from home after already doing 60 miles of biking. I strongly hinted that I wanted him to come pick me up. Is it my fault he lives in Nebraska and not Oregon? I think not...
The break outside Taco Bell made me feel a great deal better. I think giving my bum and feet a serious break relieved a great deal of the exhaustion built up in my system. I am used to hiking or climbing for hours and hours, but my body is not used to being in the saddle for that long. Second wind in hand, I zoomed home in under two hours even with the city traffic and the plethora of pedestrians on the Corridor.
Got home, showered, ate dinner at the Hedge House, and am feeling only a bit tired from my ride. Mapping out the entire route, I did just under 90 miles. Doing the Government Camp and back ride seems tantalizingly close.
My original plan for today was to bike out to Sandy and then back again, just like I did last Thursday. With the hard hills on Tuesday and a Reed Sports Center workout yesterday, as well as the brutal weekend in Bend, I was not going to up my mileage yet. Instead, I wanted to do the same mileage again but with no breaks for the entire ride. Of course, then, I woke up this morning with a severe case of the Lazies. Instead of leaving on my ride by 10 a.m. I barely got to breakfast by that point, even after a searing shower to wake me up.
Cue Les Camacho over iChat. Thanks to his prompting, and powerful need to live vicariously through me, I got my non-Irish ass a moving. Pumped up the tires to full pressure. Cleaned the chain and shifters as the last few rides had gotten them fairly dirty and I do love myself a smooth running chain. Of course, about three miles up the Springwater Corridor, I discovered that I had virtually used up one of my back brake pads with all the up and down on Council Crest on Tuesday. Note to self, check all components prior to riding.
Since the Springwater Corridor has very little braking, I just kept on going using the front brakes only. When I got to Sandy, I stopped at a huge bike shop at the East end of town and got some new pads installed. Ah, what a difference. I am a back braker. Just my nature and the way I ride. The lightness of the bike requires it a bit too. While they were being put on for me, I pumped myself full of some energy gel and water. Did not feel too bad, so I decided to keep on going. Maybe go a few more miles and then turn around.
Er, why do I do this to myself? Just a few more miles I tell my body. Pumped full of endorphins and ignoring the few protests from my body, I found myself going and going. And then, around 4:30 p.m. I found myself all the way out at Welches, OR, which is right before Highway 26 begins to climb up Mt. Hood.
Knowing that I was easily over 40 miles from home, I actually considered climbing up Hood and staying the night at Government Camp. Only ten miles more up the road and the elevation would be tiring but not as bad as the mileage home (or so I was trying to convince my body to believe). That argument felt a bit lacking, so I got a Snickers and a bit of pain reliever (oy, my bum!) at Thriftway and turned around. The ride back to Sandy was a slog of mostly uphill into the wind. Nothing really makes you appreciate a bike path until you are biking on a busy highway, with at times only three feet of pavement allocated for you and your bike, where trucks keep on invading your space, all the while you are concentrating on avoiding any glass, rocks, holes, and large sticks in your path.
I started swearing right about when I saw the "Portland - 42 miles" sign.
At Sandy, I got through town and then collapsed in the shade of a Taco Bell, where I swallowed the rest of my gel and took off my shoes to let my feet breathe some fresh air. Gave Les a call on the mobile and promptly told him it was his fault that I was 25 miles from home after already doing 60 miles of biking. I strongly hinted that I wanted him to come pick me up. Is it my fault he lives in Nebraska and not Oregon? I think not...
The break outside Taco Bell made me feel a great deal better. I think giving my bum and feet a serious break relieved a great deal of the exhaustion built up in my system. I am used to hiking or climbing for hours and hours, but my body is not used to being in the saddle for that long. Second wind in hand, I zoomed home in under two hours even with the city traffic and the plethora of pedestrians on the Corridor.
Got home, showered, ate dinner at the Hedge House, and am feeling only a bit tired from my ride. Mapping out the entire route, I did just under 90 miles. Doing the Government Camp and back ride seems tantalizingly close.
– Posted: July 17, 2008, 11:20 pm