Rides

Wet ride, but not too cold.

3 days The cold spell finally snapped Back to 40 degree rain

I finally forced my self out into the freezing fog. I headed to Philomath and out 34 on the slim hope that I would get above it. I didn't. It was thicker at the higher elevations. But traffic was light and overall it was a pleasant ride.

Cold, cold, and colder. Did not get much above freezing all week, and then the fog set in. Amazingly no ice. I was able to stay mostly warm enough except for my fingers. Maybe even looking forward to some warmer rain.

Through town, out Oak Creek, up Cradwell Hill about another mile. Up a steep hill to a gate. At this point it turns to a very old gravel road. The map shows it connecting to Kings Valley road but that will have to wait for another day on a different bike. Very cold. 20s over night and just barely got above freezing at the warmest part of the day.

Another cold week. Not much rain though. Days are slowly getting longer.

Up Dan's, down Horse Nice day

Short cold week to start off the new year. Two mornings in the mid 20s but dry so no ice. I can handle the cold (barely) but I fear ice. Warmed back up to upper 30s now.

Last ride of the year. Up Horse Trail and down Dan's Trail. Quite muddy. Cold day but no rain. Looking forward to more great rides next year.

Rolled over 5k miles for the year. Cold day, but dry. Rode the Mt. Trucker even though I stayed on the road. A great all purpose bike.

3 days. No rain. Last commute of the year. It was a good one.

You know the feeling. You're cruising along a 17 mph thinking "man I'm feeling pretty good today". Before you know it you 20 mile out and that's when you realize you've had a strong tailwind the whole time and now you're going to have to slog you're way through it all the way back. Well at least it wasn't raining. Okay I did have a light shower but nothing like I've been riding in. There were even patches of blue sky most of the day.
I'm closing in on 5000 miles for the year. Without that goal I probably would have been mountain biking today.

Looking at my ride stats I saw that only needed 106 miles to make 5,000 for the year. With 9 days to go this is totally doable. Nothing like a goal to get me off my butt. It was cold and drizzling when I left and rained pretty good about half way through. Took the mountain Trucker even though it was a road ride. The Saga needs a break after a week's commuting in snow and rain. Tomorrow I must clean and service both of these bikes as winter is really hard on them.

Snow, wind, rain, and all of the above. A miserably week of riding. Actually I did have one pleasant ride home when it warmed up to about 45 degrees and stopped raining. It is certainly winter.

Seems like I missed most of the rain this week. Some cold fog in the morning but no freezing yet. Got in an extra ride on Friday. Left work early and rode to Philomath. The sun was out the whole time but as soon as I got home it poured.

Up Horse trail, down Dan's trail. Then out to hwy. 20 for a few extra miles. Dark and gray but no rain. Cold but still got quit warm on the climb. Last week I rode up 610 which was pretty steep so this time I tried lower Horse trail. It was also steep and because of the mud, I had to stop and push a few times. The trails are getting muddier. Doesn't bother the downhill but makes the uphill much harder.

Not much rain really. A bit cold, grey, and wet, but didn't have to ride through the rain much.

Jackson Creek Road to 610. Past the first connection to Horse Trail to road gets steep. Up the top part of Horse Trail to 600. Up Dimple Hill and down Dan's trail. Even with all the rain the trails are in great shape.

Cold and rainy,but not every ride. Some fog too

Slow, meandering ride in the rain. Lunch at the bakery. Mostly light rain and fairly warm.

I'm really enjoying the Mountain Trucker on the trails. I guess these are not real MTB trails like those in Ashland. A full suspension bike would be way overkill on these trails. They're mostly smooth with just a few small roots and no rocks. It started raining lightly on the way up, and just kept raining. These trails don't get too muddy though. Chip Ross park, at the bottom of the trails, is terrible though.

Cold but dry. Took Palestine Road to Scenic. Bryant was closed due to flooding, but I got through fine.

3 days. Some heavy rain, and some flooding. Water up to my pedals on Higland after a day of heavy rain.

Mostly avoided the rain this week. No extra miles.

2nd ride on the mountain trucker. Up Oak creek and over on road 600 and up Dimple Hill. Was going to just ride across to Sulphur Springs road but Horse trail looked too inviting. What a great trail! Perfect for my bike. Road all the way down to Chip Ross park.

The miles will drop off sharply now that its dark when I leave work. A little dryer this week. Added my Seca light for extra light when I need it. The dynamo light is good, but I'm spoiled by the brightness of the Seca.

The Disc Trucker has been reincarnated as an off road tourer. Yes, this was the bike that was wrecked in the crash on July 31, but even getting hit by a car cannot keep a good Surly down. The frame has been hanging in the garage waiting until I got around to rebuilding it. Since I now have the Soma Saga which is my ideal road tourer, I figured with it's 26 inch wheels the DT should be consigned to off road duty. So I got some new hoops and fitted them with some mountain bike tires and off I went. Although the gearing is not as low as a mountain bike I was able to climb some moderate hills no problem. The first one I tried was really muddy and I kept slipping. I had to get back a little farther on the seat. Downhill was another question. I'm not quite ready for any real downhill. Without a quick release seat collar I couldn't lower the seat, and without a front shock every little bump wanted to launch me over the bars. I had to slide way back and keep low. I think I'll get the hang of it but downhill is not really what this bike is about.
All in all it really handles great. It would be the perfect bike for a trip like the one we did in Colorado a few years ago. I'm looking forward to some fun in the Coast Range next summer.

The first 10 days of October were dry, but the next 20 were very wet. I still managed to not get rained on every ride. I would really like to find some waterproof rain pants.

The rain is upon us, but Thurs and Fri afternoons were nice. Mornings have been cold but not too dark yet.

Started out in light rain but it let up. Almost got sunny a few times. Windy from the south though. Lost my gloves. Went back later in the car and found one of them.

Some rain but still got in some good rides. Still have light on both ends but not for long. May need better rain pants if such things exist.

The rainy season has begun. The endless summer lasted through Thursday. Actually Thursday morning was cold and foggy, but then the sun came out. Friday morning was warmer and cloudy, and then the rain started. Did a long ride on the way home to get used to it. Got pretty wet. I need better rain pants. One ride to Philomath on Tuesday. The mileage will start dropping off now.

Took the ferry and then the WVSB. Beautiful day. Got out early and it was quite cool, but it warmed up fast. Stopped and talked to the guy who has Belgians on Scravel Hill Road. Very impressive. Made my day. He enters them in pulling competition at state fairs. His team won at the Calgary Stampede. Great looking horses.

Endless summer. Mornings are cooler and darker but days are still warm and sunny. 2 rides to Philomath and one just around town. Seems like I'm getting to work much faster on the Saga then I did on the Trucker.

Gorgeous day. The air was clean, warm but not hot. Not quite fall but perfect late summer.

Was about to take the ferry but changed my mind. Crossed over from Independence through Monmouth and Monmouth Highway to Kings Valley road. Then left on Airlie back to 99. Lots of traffic on Airline, even log trucks.
The road bike felt nimble after 10 days on the Saga. I may have to raise the handlebars one of these days.

After a morning on the road bike the bars on the Saga sure seem high. Definitely more comfortable though. I may have to try lowering them on the Saga and raising them on the road bike so they are not so radically different like they are now.
It got quite hot this afternoon.

Decision day. I could have stayed out a couple more days, but really had no destination. I stopped at the Forest Service office in Waldport to get a map, but then proceeded on to highway 34.

Once got out on Alsea highway I could smell the barn and there was nothing stopping me. I was a gorgeous day and there was very little traffic. I stopped the Blackberry campground, but it was far to early to camp. I stopped again at the Salmonberry campground but this is a county park that charges too much for one cyclist. So I kept going.

The climb up Alsea mountain was a killer coming so late in the ride. Definitely steeper than anything on the coast. Got home before dark and had a nice long day to show for it.

So Stage One of my Coast Tour is complete. Don't know when I'll do the south coast. Probably not next year. Riding the coast is wonderful, but I've spent lots of time on the coast and there are a lot of other places I have never been. So maybe something new next year, and then the south coast.

Hung out with Linda and JJ at the motel until almost 11:00. It was a cooler, hazy day. The sun was shining but couln't generate much heat.

Otter Crest Loop was today's highlight. A too short section of road where only south bound traffic and bikes were allowed. Great views.

The ride through Newport was pleasant, but then I had to walk over the Yaquina Bay bridge. The surf was much bigger today. Looked to be st least 6-8 feet at most beaches. Didn't see any surfers though.

Met up with Linda and JJ again in Waldport. While we were talking Craig, whom I met at Cape Lookout came riding by. I had a spaghetti dinner in Waldport and then proceeded the remaining 3 miles to the campground. Another great spot nestled in the shore pine just off the beach. Camped with Craig and Garth, a Candian who has toured all over the world, and is currently on his way to South America.

(I followed Garth online as he completed his ride all the way to the tip of South America. Made me wish I could have just kept riding.)

Not much riding today which allowed me to relax and spend the moring visiting with Scott and Terri. They've been living there in the woods near the Salmon river since 1980. Probably the most stable people I know.

I headed back via North Bank road to Three Rocks Road to 101. On the approach to Lincoln City the nice 4 foot shoulder I had enjoyed on the last few legs of 101 disappeared, which was not pleasant. Soon up ahead I saw a familiar site and caught up with Beau as he stopped to pickup a penny. We chatted a few minutes and I headed on to meet Linda and JJ at Captain Cook motel. We went to the beach where JJ had a great time, and then went out for dinner.