Lisa & Ken - The not-so Candy Ass Llamas

Ken's death, memorial page

2011-07-27T11:16:00.000-07:00

For those who may not be aware, Ken died in late June 2011. Here's a memorial page with more information:
http://dreadpiratekermit.org/

Portland Marathon

2010-10-10T19:19:00.000-07:00

Lisa and her friend Julie completed the Portland Marathon today. Lisa says she can now cross that off her bucket list, but NEVER AGAIN! The weather was typical Portland, that is very wet!

Lisa held down...

2010-10-05T10:10:00.001-07:00

in bed!

Dinky Doo on Fuzzy on Lisa. We are fostering Dinky until she gets a home.

Help! We need a home!

2009-08-06T13:39:00.000-07:00

No, not the Llama's, but Lisa's Mom's kittens. These two boys have been fixed, and are looking for a new home. They are very affectionate and pretty much starving for attention.

If you can help find these sweet guys a home, please e-mail me (frogpirate (at) gmail [dot] com)!

Back From RAW

2009-06-21T17:01:00.000-07:00

Lisa and I crewed for Tom Letsinger & George Thomas on the RAW team RAO/GVH Bikes. Also in our van was Cassie Nobbs, and the 3 of us took care of Tom, while Sandy Whittlesey and Rob Kilburn took care of George.

RAW Website

The boys KICKED ASS, beating everyone into Taos New Mexico. Their average speed - over 1044 miles - was 17.72, with a total elapsed time of 58H 56M.

Cassie, Tom, Ken, Lisa, Sandy, Rob, George

We did have a few issues of course. I cannot recommend the Dolphin Hotel in Oceanside as a "nice" place to stay. It was cheap - a necessity - and the proprietor Lily was great. It was not clean, quiet or "nice".

On the first night we found out that our Auxiliary flashing lights didn't work when the headlights were turned on. I'd wired a always-on plug for them (or so I thought!) at the fuse block, but the connection I'd used wasn't the right one. I ended up abandoning the outside music and using the battery connection I'd wired for it. Georges van paced Tom while we got all that sorted out, so there was no time lost on course.

We had 3 crew in our van, which meant that when our rider was riding, one of the crew could sleep. On the 2nd night, Tom was scheduled for a 2 hour pull so that George could get a little sleep. Lisa and Sandy talked on the phone, and then Sandy might have fallen back asleep. Tom ended up doing an impressive 3 hour pull, and since I was on sleep break, I got a great 3 hour nap. :-)

Both racers did a great job of taking care of the other. Each had their low moment in the race, and the other stepped up and took a longer pull to cover. The team work - racers and crew - was just awesome. We had talked about goals, and primary was to have fun. After that, we wanted to win, and George wanted a sub-60 hour time. We hit all those, and at some point the boys decided being first into Taos would be pretty darn cool, and they did that too!

Tom & Cassie had met the former Governor of New Mexico in Portugal, and he invited us to stay at his place above Taos after the race. Quite a contrast to the hotel in Oceanside! Gary and Kate were wonderful hosts, and had pizza and beer for us when we got in. Gary started RAW solo, but had to pull out with hot foot issues. It rained over night, and we could not get out on the steep gravel mountain road in the loaded crew van. Gary to the rescue pulling us out with his 4x4. It is not every day you get towed by a former Governor!

Short ride report

2009-06-02T19:29:00.000-07:00

I went for a short ride today, just Vancouver to Seattle. I haven't
ridden this particular bike very far, so I decided to break the trip
into two section; Vancouver to Centralia, and Centralia to Seattle. It
was a little drizzly when I left the house, but I decided to stick
with no-liners and tough it out.

I got to Mom's (hence the Centralia stop) about 9AM, a little chilled
but not bad. Mom's flowers are blooming already, so I snapped a
picture:

The bike ran flawlessly, and I didn't get as stiff as I was afraid I
would. I cleaned the carbs last week after the bike had sat in the
garage for ~ year. I'd been starting in now and then, and kept it on
the Battery Tender, but forgot to drain the carbs and it got where it
didn't want to run unless the choke was on. I made a stupid mistake
when draining the tank and dropped it off the fender of the car I had
it propped on (actually it jumped when my back was turned) putting a
big dent in the end of the tank. Gah!

After a nice visit with Mom and Papa Art, and a nice Papa Art fixed
breakfast of pancakes, eggs and sausage, I headed north again. It's
been awhile since I've been north of Tacoma, and I was surprised by
how fast traffic was moving. I was doing an indicated seventy-ish in
the SLOW lane and being passed like I was an old fart on a little
bitty bike. Wait, uh...

I got to my destination near Lake Union right on time (one-ish). I
probably looked a little funny trying to read the e-mailed directions
and negotiate Lake Union traffic whilst keeping the rev's up. I missed
having my GPS!

At destination.

And finally, the new owner came down and took possession of his NBA.

I think he's happy!

Lisa bought this bike from jenner, and I'm glad it went to another W/L
family member. I hopped a bus to King Street station and caught the
2:20 south bound train, getting home around 5:30. The train ride was
fun (first time for that in a long time too!) and a relaxing way to
get back home.

Thanks Glenn for being so understanding about the dent and for a all
around nice deal. Oh, and don't forget to move the petcock from
reserve to on when you fill the tank. :-D

Goin' to Skool

2009-06-01T15:41:00.000-07:00

Well, I registered for classes, so I guess that makes me an almost College student. Here is my class schedule for Summer Quarter:

MATH 095 Intermediate Algebra MTWTh 8:30-9:50 AM
ENGL&101 English Comp MTWTh 11:30 AM -12:50 PM
CHEM 050 Chemistry for Health 06:00 PM - 8:25 PM

Math & Chem are not really 'college level' but I need the refreshers. I need to get a good grade in English Comp as it is one of the classes that count as GPA "points" to get me into the RN program.

http://www.clark.edu/

Career Change?

2009-05-28T14:25:00.000-07:00

I (Ken) Have been laid off since Jan 13th, with no relief on the horizon. I've been working in the wholesale electric field for the past 20+ years, but in this economy it is hurting really bad. At first my hope was to find a position in a part of the country that isn't hurting quite as bad as Portland / Vancouver to ride out the "recession". That hasn't worked out so well.

Yesterday I took the first step to a possible new career. I enrolled at Clark College http://www.clark.edu/ and made an appointment with a career counselor. Today I took the next step, taking the placement exam. I did OK, scoring high enough in English to start at College level English 101, great in reading (almost aced!) OK in pre-Algebra and only fair in Algebra - I'll have to take Intermediate Algebra. I can't say the results surprised me, but I am pleased. Not having to take remedial courses saves us money and time.

So what to do? Well, I have an idea of what I'd like to do, but until I get further in the process I think I'll just keep it between Lisa and I. :-) The testing coordinator thought I would have no problem, which is encouraging!

Ontario - Visiting Sam

2009-05-22T08:10:00.000-07:00

My day Thursday started at 1:23AM. It was supposed to start at 1:00AM, but the cheep a** alarm had yet another internal power blink and reset itself. It's a miracle that I woke up when I did, since I went to bed at 9:00PM. I got dressed, ate a quick banana and drank a little ice tea and was on the road by 1:45.

The trip to Ontario was uneventful other than the cold. It was well below freezing for most of the Eastern portion of the trip, and I could have used another layer or two. I had more with me, but was running behind and did not want to stop and put it on. The sky started lightening about 4 and by 5 or so it was pretty well up. That sure helped.

Self portrait at speed.

I was a little late for the start of the morning visit, but at least I didn't have to wait in line! It was great to actually be able to hug Sam after 2 years. I didn't get on the visitor list before he was sent to DCU (solitary) and all of our visits have been between glass, talking on one of those silly phones. In person is so much better. We sit across a table and can hug before and after. I can buy junk from the vending machines that we can share. Sam looks really good, and has been exercising again.

After lunch we got even more visiting in (the other visits we limited to 2 hours) and finally at 3:45 it was over and time to head home. I'd told Lisa I did not expect to ride all the way home, that I'd just grab a room when I got tired and finish coming home on Friday. I've done I-84 so much lately that I wanted to come home a different way. I decided to take US26 to OR19, then go through Kimberly, Service Creek, Fossil, and turn in Condon and then turn onto 206 to Wasco. From Wasco it's a quick trip down 97 to Biggs Junction and then hop on I-84 once it's dark to home.

Near Vale Oregon

I'd been on 26 from Prairie City west, but had never done the Eastern portion. From Vale to Ironside it's mostly farm land and rolling hills. Across the Blue Mountains the road was fantastic! No traffic to speak of on a Thursday afternoon, and I just had a great ride.

Near Prairie City, OR

I stopped in Prairie City for gas and a quick picture. The attendant confirmed my belief that it'd been freezing the night before; when she came to work at 6am it had been 32 degrees.

OR 19 is in my opinion one of the best motorcycle roads in Oregon, particularly the stretch through the Fossil Beds from the US26 junction to Kimberly and then to Service Creek. By the time I got to Kimberly, the shadows were getting long the sun low, which slowed my down a bit. :-P Nothing like riding fast into a shady corner with the sun in your eyes to slow you down.

Outside of Condon the wind was blowing (who knew? OK, all those windmills should give a clue!) and I had to stop and put more clothes on. Coincidentally, I stopped at the mountain identifier where last Friday I hosted the first SAG stop of the day at the RAO camp.

Mountain Identifier on OR206.

I stopped in Biggs Junction for gas, dinner and to call Lisa to let her know I'd be home by 11. She was happy that I would make it home and said she would save a spot in the bed for me (with 9 cats that is sometimes hard to do!)

Total ride, 839.2 miles, elapsed time including visit: 21 hours, Rear tire is toast.

Yeah, it's a little worn. Out.

In usual LDR fashion I had ignored the rulz and made 2 changes to the bike before leaving; a Suzuki Gel Seat and a set of ROX anti-vibration risers. The seat is harder than I like (but not harder that the stock seat) but fits better and is taller. The ROX risers worked well, but I need to play with the position just a little. I picked up some HERO ear plugs a while back at WallyWorld, and love them. I have 2 boxes (of 500!) of different ear plugs in the garage, but have issues with both - one is too big diameter and the other a little long. I usually use the long ones, and cut some off. I had to have George dig one out of my ear with tweezers the other day which worried me a little. Mostly George and pointy objects worries me. :D

Portable llamas

2009-05-19T09:10:00.000-07:00

White Stag

2009-02-06T19:01:00.000-08:00

Ride report here:

WhiteStagRideReport

6 days of fun and sun on a motorcycle. ;-)

Searching for the Sun

2009-01-28T21:15:00.000-08:00

My friend Dennis and I headed south today in search of elusive blue skies. After almost 400 miles and 2 states, we crossed over Siskiyou Pass in the fog. As we topped the pass, the fog was very bright, like it was back-lit by very strong lights. As soon as we crossed the California border, we had SUN and BLUE skies. Still a little cool, but that I can deal with in exchange for the SUNSHINE!

We are in Redding tonight, headed to Reno, NV by way of Susanville, CA tomorrow, and then on to Beatty, NV Friday. Saturday I plan on riding around in Death Vally, Sunday back to Reno and then back home on Monday. I feel a little guilty taking a trip while unemployed, but I had this planned a long time ago, and frankly I needed it!

Ken

Ooo, pretty bike!

2009-01-26T19:34:00.000-08:00

It was nice outside today, so I decided to roll the V-Strom out and wash it. I know, what was I thinking!

Sam Visit

2009-01-25T17:49:00.000-08:00

Lisa and I drove over to Ontario this weekend to visit Sam. It snowed much of the way over, but the only actual snow on the road was over Immigrant Pass. Once past Baker, we did not have any more snow. We stayed once again at Ontario Inn, but for some reason we both had a lot of trouble getting any sleep; traffic noise seemed really loud. I woke up 3 or 4 times during the night, very unusual for me. We woke up at 7:15 and I panicked as we had a 8:00 AM appointment to see Sam. It all worked out, and we made it to the correction center by just after 8.

Sam looked really good. His 21st birthday was Friday. He has been working out again, and has dropped some of the chubbiness he'd gained. He's also taken to keeping his hair really short. We had a good visit, although Sam and Lisa apparently decided this was a pick on Dad visit. :) It's always good to see him and visit in person, but of course it's always a little emotional for me as well. The drive home had a LOT more snow. Lisa drove to LaGrande and I drove the rest of the way - and boy am I pooped tonight!

Job Interview

2009-01-23T18:21:00.000-08:00

Not sure if this counts, but I 'applied' for Survivor 19 on Wednesday. KOIN 6 TV taped interviews at Standard TV in Beaverton, and I turned out. I was something like #200 in line, and it took me about 4 1/2 hours! The nice thing was I got to know the people in line with me!

http://tinyurl.com/b7lxqn

The lady next to me is Nikki the Stewardess from Madison, WI, and she is 39.

Black Monday

2009-01-12T20:34:00.000-08:00

I was laid off today. Me and 27-million other American's are now on the dole.

Crap.

I can't say I didn't see it coming, but damn. Third time in 7 years.

Cat Bit!

2008-09-12T07:55:00.000-07:00

A little swollen and post surgery.

David in New Mexico

2008-06-11T21:19:00.000-07:00

I talked with Lisa quite a bit this afternoon trying to chase down some Assos Chamios cream and later helping her get in contact with a bike shop in Taos to (hopefully) get some new shorts. I guess David is suffering some pretty bad saddle sores, and they are trying to do what they can to alleviate the situation. Lisa talked with 4 time RAAM finisher George Thomas, and he gave her a number of ideas on how to help David. Lisa sounded tired; not suprising I was talking with her on what was supposed to be her rest period. David is no longer leading the 50-59 group, as Doug Levy passed. Lisa said David was is so much pain that he could barely crank the peddals.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better!

2008-06-09T17:30:00.000-07:00

I talked to Lisa early this morning, and at that time David was about 2 miles from Congress, TS5. He has been having a "race within a race" with 60+ rider David "The Donkey" Jones, and was happy the he had re-passed Jones who had passed him earlier. In his class (50+) David has extended his lead to about 50 minutes through TS6. I'll hear from Lisa this evening and give an update on how the crew is doing.

Ken

RAAM - David Holt

2008-06-08T20:25:00.000-07:00

Lisa Llama is Crew Chief for David Holt's Solo RAAM effort. RAAM started today, and Lisa called me from the road. David's official time at the first time station was 18:48. I think what tham means is that he hit the first time station at 6:48 PM Eastern Time. Lisa didn't get a chance to say much more, other than they flew through tech for the vehicles and crew with NO problems! Way to go Crew!!

Go David, only about 3,000 more mile to go!

Reach The Beach 2008

2008-05-18T18:57:00.000-07:00

Lisa and Ken in Amity before starting their Reach the Beach ride. We did the 'short' 55 mile route.

Our donations were made in the name of my Brother-in-Law Bruce King.

Green Mountain kick's Candy Llama Ass!

2008-04-13T16:22:00.000-07:00

Lisa flew to Sacramento area on Friday to visit with our friends David and Susan Holt. I decided that I would do a long ride on my own Saturday, and then hook up with some of the Team Bag Balm'ers for a ride on Sunday. Well, after Saturday's ride, I bailed on Sunday!

I rode 'Bunny' to work on Friday, and decided to do my pre-ride right after work. Since I'd never been over most of these roads, I wanted to pre-ride on something that did not require me peddling. I know, mighty chicken of me. Green Mountain posed no problems with Bunny's 140 hp, but I could tell that it was an epic climb. With a pretty good idea of what to expect, I set my sites on an early departure on Saturday.

I overdressed Saturday morning, something that was apparent before I got out of the Falida area. At the top of the first climb, I stopped and removed my jacket.

Now I should say here and now that this is by far the longest ride I've done this season. My previous long ride was in the 30 mile range. And last year, well last year was a motorcycle year, not a bicycle year. I think I rode less than 200 miles on the bicycle last year.

My first rest stop came at the top of a little rise just before Ridgefield. I ate a fruit cup and admired Mt. St Helens off in the distance.

On the other side of Ridgefield, I made my first routing blunder. I remembered taking a LEFT at the end of 501 / Pioneer where you have to go left or right, but for some reason I could not find it on my directions. After traveling 1/4 mile or so, I made a U-Turn and went the other way. I ended up riding SOUTH all the way to 179th street before I was really sure of my mistake. I recognized where I was and that I had been heading the wrong direction, so I retraced my route. I stopped at a grocery at 10th and Highway 502 intersection and got my first Corn Dog of the day. While it was cooking, I removed my tights, as it was already warming up.

I asked for directions to LaCenter, and was assured that the road I'd first been on was the right road. Doh! Back north I continued, this time staying on 11th street. Pretty soon I recognized the route from the night before.

Naturally, Lisa and I are all about the Llamas. Don't tell me these are Alpaca's, 'cause I just don't care.

These were in a field between Falida and Ridgefield. These Llama's seemed to think I was one funny looking Llama!

Coming out of Woodland I made the same turn I had last night onto N Goerig St, but getting across the highway on a bicycle proved to be harder than on the motorcycle. The next time I will go up a little further and take the left onto Old Pacific Highway, hopefully it will be a little easier.

I stopped at the baseball fields at the base of Green Mountain Road for a Pepsi and a Salty-Sweet Nut Bar. Due to my little off route excursion, I already had 37 miles in at this point. My legs were feeling it a little, and it was warming up rapidly - I was seeing 79-80 on the bike computer.

I enjoyed watching the Little Leaguer's and sucking down the Pepsi, but Kalama wasn't getting any closer, and Green Montain wasn't getting any flatter. The road starts up as soon as you leave the ball parks, and doesn't let up until you are headed down the other side. I started off slow and steady; the slow stayed, steady took a beating! Part way up the first pitch, the driver of a Jeep headed down gave me a big thumps up out his window. That really made me feel good.

I struggled early, with an open climb and the sun beating down on me. I saw grades of 18-23 percent flashed on my computer display; on this day I was walking when it got that steep! I briefly thought about riding to the top of Green Mountain, and then turning around towards home. I was hurting and could barely turn the pedals. But, when I have a goal I hate to give up on it. Some call it tenacious, some call it bull headed. Either way, I wanted to make it to Kalama!

I had just come from here...

..and I was standing here looking down into the Columbia River Valley. This is more-or-less the top of Green Mountain. The road runs along a ridge at the top, giving a bunch of spectacular views down the valley. But, I had to go up here first..

The ride down the other side was _almost_ worth the climb up.

Even after getting down the hill, getting the rest of the way to Kalama was tough. These were easy rollers, the kind I usually love to power over. But not now, now I could barely pedal over them in my lowest gear. I had lunch at the Burger Barn, a bacon-cheeseburger with fries and root-beer, and the waitress was kind enough to fill a water bottle for me. I called Lisa to let her know I had made Kalama, and see how she and David were doing.

I knew there was no way I could pedal back over Green Mountain, and I did not relish walking the whole thing. I was in "get home" mode and trying to find the easiest way. Sure, I could have called someone, but that is 'quiting' to me, and I did not want to quit. I figured I had all day to get home, and I wasn't about to throw in the towel yet. On the other hand, there was the matter of Green Mountain. What I did was follow Cloverdale Road south to the next I-5 on ramp and then I pedaled down I-5 to the Dike Access road exit (1 exit south). That got me around Green Mountain.

But it didn't get me home yet. My hips, knees and shoulders were aching. My hips particularly were causing me a fair amount of pain. I stopped in Woodland and bought a bottle of Ibuprofen (aka Race Candy) and an ice cream bar. The ibu helped, and my hips got tolerable again. I still had no "legs" to speak of, but at least I wasn't in quite so much pain.

I grunted my way through La Center and missed my turn in Ridgefield. It worked out OK, as I needed water in the worst way. At the end of 501, I went into a little store and bought a bottle of water, a Starbucks Mocha Frapachinno and my second Corn Dog of the day. The caffeine, Ibu and Corn Dog did the trick and I actually started to feel a little better. Which is not to say I was racing up any hills, but I knew I would make it home.

One of many motorcycle's I saw. He didn't seem to be struggling at all. Mt St Helens in the background.

I managed to ride the last climb, up Fruit Valley Road from Salmon Creek, a hard climb on any day.

82 miles, 13.2 Avg, 6:13 ride time (about 9 hours total) 5,275' Elevation Gain, 41.7 MPH Max.

This picture is for Beth:

Build Sheet, Ken's new bicycle.

2008-04-08T14:18:00.000-07:00

More information about the picture below that you really wanted to know:


Component       Item

Frame           Co-Motion Nor'wester
Fork            Alpha Q Carbon
Pump            Co-Motion Painted
Headset         Chris King No-Threadset
H.S. Spacers    C.King, 5 x 6
Fenders         Honjo, 35MM
Fender Nutz     Sheldon
Rack            Tubus COSMO
Front Derailer  Campy Chorus CT non-QS
Front Derailer  Clamp On Adapter 28.6mm
Cables          Campy
Crank           Campy Centaur CT
Bottom Bracket  Record Cups
Brifters        Campy Chorus 9sp Silver  E-Bay find!
Rear Derailer   XTR-GS Med Cage High-normal
Cassette        SRAM PG 970 11-32
Chain           Shimano Ultegra
Brakes          Shimano BR650  E-Bay find, now disc.
Pedals          Candy SL Black
Handlebar       Nitto Noodle
Stem            Deda Elemanti Zero 100, Silver not bought
Bar             Tape Fizik Brown - came w/seat
Bar Plug        Wine Bottle Cork
Adapter         J-Tek Shift Mate
Wheels:
Rims            Velocity Aerohead/Aerohead OC
R Hub           White H1 - Silver
F Hub           White H1 - Silver
Build           3 X 32 F 3x 36 R 14/15 & 14/17
QR Skewers      Dura-Ace
Tires           Conti GP 4000 700C x 25 Bk/Chili
Tubes           Conti 700 x 23-25
Seat Post       Ti Cycle 26.2 x really long
Seat            Fizik Alliante Brown
Bar Bag         Ortlieb Ult 5 Plus w/map
Tail Light      Busch & Miller
Tail Bag        Detours

A whole Bike full of parts...

2008-04-06T20:11:00.000-07:00

... all laid out in the spare bedroom:

Wow! It's a new post!

2008-04-02T13:43:00.000-07:00

I realized we have not posted anything since August. Holy cow, that is like, forever!

This year we are trying to spend more time bicycling, although I did ride the motorcycle into work today. Lisa's Ninja Llama (Kawasaki Ninja 250) that is! I sold my Goldwing in December to good friend Dan, and bought myself an Aprillia Tuono as a Christmas present. I rode it home on a nasty rainy day from Federal Way, Washington, up by Seattle. My friend Ted rode up in the Llama box with me and was kind enough to snap this picture.

I am getting a new bike! I sold my Litespeed to one of the Team Bag Balm'ers, and I placed an order for a Co-Motion Nor'Wester through Bike Gallery. I blame the North American Handbuilt Bike Show, although I'd been pining for a new bicycle even before that. I decided to do the build myself, and have been sourcing parts all over the place. I'll post a picture when it's all built.

In other news, we are signed up to do Cycle Oregon this year, along with Beth, Sue, Co-Worker Joe and Sue's friend Patrick. We have been to every Cycle Oregon kick-off party since Lisa and I got together back in 2004, but other that was the last year we did Cycle Oregon. In 2005 we got caught up in the Race Across Oregon - which is how this blog started - and then got married. In '06 we did other things, in '07 I did the Iron Butt Rally and now it's '08 and it seemed time again. Plus, I got very excited about the route this year, and more or less talked Lisa into it.

Ok, that's it for now!

Ken

Ken's finishing place

2007-08-31T18:12:00.000-07:00

Well, the Rally is over. Ken came in 45th, with just over 213k points over 10,271 miles. If he had those extra 24k points he would have been in 29th. That means Ken finished in the Bronze position.

A few words and a picture from Ken

2007-08-31T17:50:00.000-07:00

Ken posted this to a mailing list, comparing himself with another rider. Yes, he was referring to himself in third person.

"Ken ran through a few more thunder storms. Egads I am tired! I did not
have a very good second half, but I do think I have enough points to
be a finisher. I'll know for sure later today."

And the pic- thanks Voni.

Photos from Dennis

2007-08-31T11:01:00.000-07:00

Tired guy!

He's In!

2007-08-31T07:51:00.000-07:00

Ken arrived back at the start with an hour to spare, totally spent. It was a long 36 final hours. He was gathering his paperwork and getting ready to go get scored, so I was expecting a call with his points. Instead I got a call with him fumming mad and frustrated and depressed. On Tuesday, his really bad day that he only got the 24K bonus, it didn't count because his photo didn't have the dome in it - so his whole day - no points. But the kicker part is that he takes two photos at every bonus stop and he didn't bring all his stuff down to the scoring table - sure enough, the other photo had the dome in it, so a simple mistake cost him a huge amount of points.

He is totally exhausted and going down for some sleep. Hopefully some rest will get him to stop kicking himself.

Another call from Ken

2007-08-29T15:31:00.000-07:00

Just got another update from Ken, he's in Wendover, NV and headed to Salt Lake for some points there, THEN back to St. Louis.

He asked that I pass along a story so here it goes, as told by the man himself:

I'm riding along hwy 80 in NV, totally zoning out, in the right hand lane with the crusie control set at an appropriate speed, listening to NPR on the XM and just in a zone. Next thing I know, this state police car comes RACING up in the left hand lane and then is pacing me. I'm thinking "oh shit" then I look over and he's holding up a sign that says "Say HI to Kneebone". I give him the thumbs up that I got the message and he backs off quite a ways, then I see him come racing up to me AGAIN. This time he has a sign that says "Goood Luck!" It totally made my day.

Mine too, as its good to hear him in a better mood. Now just hang on to that mood for a little longer Ken.

Headed for the barn

2007-08-29T10:04:00.001-07:00

Just got a call from Ken - he's got just under 44 hours to make it back to St. Louis. Of course, I'm at work and wasn't at my desk to didn't write down where he was calling from so I'm pretty much full of useless information!

He did say that yesterday was a bad day for him. He got the bonus that you could only get on the 28th, but that was the only bonus he got. He spent over six hours trying to get to another big bonus, but the whole ride up it was pouring rain and the bonus warned that if the road was closed, it didn't count - you HAD to get to the end of the road to count. Well, he got there and sure enough, the road was closed.

Its hard to convince him that he's probably doing better than he thinks he is, just like with the first leg. The human brain is a funny thing when you are exhausted. I'm ready for him to be home, thats for sure.

News From St Louis

2007-08-24T16:53:00.000-07:00

Ken here: I got into St Louis about 4:30-ish this afternoon. After a minor problem with the front desk, I got checked into my room and have gotten my scoring done. Good news, I did not get any penalties on my fuel log. Bad news, I 'lost' one NYC bonus - Carnagie Hall. Even I have to admit it was a horrible photo - I have been having camera problems I'm blaming on old film. I took 2 pictures, and the first one did not develop at all. The second was fuzzy and did not show enough detail for me to get the bonus. Fortunatly it was smallish bonus of about 800 points. My score this leg: 90195.

We get packets for 2nd leg at 4:00 AM and can leave anytime after. I figure it will be light before I have a game plan and get back on the road - hopefully enough time for all the undies I just hadn-washed to dry!

The bike is running great but the Dunlop Elite III's SUCK in the wet! I sure hope we are going west next leg. Oddly the nicest 'day' on this leg was way up in Quebec on the Gulf of St Lawerence. (The 33K Rebecca bonus) I also got the Michigan UP bonus last night, which was over 10K. I'm happy with the leg, hey the bike was never on a roll-back truck, that's an improvement from 2003!

Ken

2:20 AM Update

I slept really well, except my body is just not used to this much sleep! I woke the first time at 11:30, rolled over and went back to sleep. I woke again about 1/2 hour ago, and decided to heck with it and got up. In some ways I think this layover is TOO long.

My route last leg included the Arch of course, and the important Hoagy bonus in WV. I made a mistake in getting a couple other bonuses on the way NE and realized by Jersey that I was not going to make Reynolds Motorsports before the 6PM cut off. I decided to go to plan 'B' and drop down into Manhatten and get some of the bonuses there. That would almost make up for the 5,300 point Reynolds bonus I was missing.

Next was the Giant Salmon bonus, and then Perse rocks. I rode right past a number of other bonuses to make sure I got Perse Rocks - 33,000 points. I was thinking of going to P.E.I and New Foundland for bonuses after Perse, but on the long ride there realized I would not have time. When I talked to Lisa that night, she said Ted and her had already realied that and cancelled the ferry reservation I'd had them make. Thanks guys!

So, I went to the UP instead, ridng north of Toronto and through Montreal. I also rode on the north side of Lake Huron, passing into the US at Sault St Marie. I've always wanted to ride up in this area, and picked up a 'UP' sticker after bagging the Pickle Barrell bonus, which I stuck on the inside of the trunk lid with my Hyder, AK sticker.

The last two bonni I scopped were at the HD plant in Milwaukie and the Buell plant in Troy. I might have had time to try for some Chicago bonuses, but 1) there was only about 2,500 points there (daytime) and 2) I heard the weather & traffic on XM. I decided it was much better to save my self for the 2nd leg and get in a little early.

I've really been 'bonding' with my bike. Some one once said riding a GL1800 in the IBR is cheating - it's that good. Well, unless you are my former room-mate Chip Hyde. :-O I've thought of some things to change, but I'm thinking now I'll be keeping the 'wing; maybe just add an used sport bike to the stable for those times I want to play hooligan.

Problems have been minor and mostly rain or rough road related. The velcro on my Saunders Clipboard gave up as the glue is not waterproof. Unfortunatly in happened in the middle of Manhatten. I dug out a bungee and bungee'd it to the shlef for the rest of the leg. My XM started flaking yesterday. I think the cord that plugs into the cradle has an end that is too heavy and has worn the cradle socket. I stopped at Radio Shack in Beliot and bought a lightweiht in-line volume control to put between the XM and the cord. It worked the rest of the way to St Louis prety well. I've been having camera problems that I blame on old film. I also stopped al Wal Mart in Beliot and bought 4 new 10 packs of film, hopefully that will help. I have 2 camera's and both were having issues,so I really think it's the film (some of which is over 4 years old).

Ken

Cell service has returned

2007-08-22T16:45:00.000-07:00

Just got done chatting with Ken, and he's going down for his rest bonus. Luckily he realized what Ted and I were both thinking ('how is he going to make those bonuses work??') and changed his route. He got the Perce Rock bonus (wahoo! 33K points!) and after his rest bonus (another 7K) he's off to collect more. He also got the Call In bonus.

The weather was absolutly beautiful all thru Canada and he wants to go back on the bicycles. I did warn him about the storms he's going to be riding into but he said even though there was a lot of rain on the ride up, he was ok. All his gear worked well, and the bike had no problems.

Ted and I also did some quick time/mileage calculations and he's looking good to be able to pick up his planned bonus points and make it back to St. Louis by 8am Friday.

Bottom line, he's still in full-on rally mode, kicking ass and taking bonuses.

No news means good news, right?

2007-08-22T10:47:00.000-07:00

We haven't heard from Ken in over 36 hours so all we can do is hope that he's been biking his iron butt off. Reports are coming in from all over about the horrible rain. I know he's got his waterproof gear so this shouldn't be too bad of an obstical to ride thru. One of his last minute struggles was what jacket to pack. Originally he didn't have his winter riding jacket and he thought he'd be fine without because all over there were reports of heat waves. Well, at the last minute, he managed to find a way to pack it - I bet he's smiling about that now!

We know his path north to Perce Rock, and what is intended for the ride back, but HOW he's going to pull that off is deep in his mind. Perhaps its best those plans stay there, otherwise I'll be freaking out even more.

More updates as we get them.

Update about Ken- headed northeast

2007-08-20T18:23:00.000-07:00

Hi, this is Ted. I'm just passing on information about Ken "Hyder Slider" Morton, based on what I know and what I've heard.

I talked to Ken on Sunday evening after he got his rally packet. The IBR writeup indicates he got his packet in position #46- halfway through the field, but actually quite impressive since most of the others are either past winners, riding two-up, or other handicaps.

The rally packet is quite long- one source says 36 pages. It's also printed on red paper, which makes copying, faxing, or even scanning virtually impossible. Devious!

Looking at the 11 riders with transponders, 9 of 11 are headed to the northeast. Most likely they are headed towards Perce Rock, and will probably try to arrive Tuesday midday. It's a pretty safe bet many of the Butt riders are doing the same, including Ken.

T - 18 and counting

2007-08-19T14:02:00.000-07:00

I just got back from the riders meeting, and in a hour is the opening banquet. The most obvious thing from the rider's meeting to me is 1) some people do not read the rules, 2) some people are WAY over thinking things and 3) Lisa Landry is passionate about the safety of her riders. That is certainly not new; there is a reason that Lisa is called "Rally Mom" fondly by anyone who has ridden in one of "her" rallies.

Mike Kneebone could not help but to allude to a couple of "epic" bonuses - one he called the "Dick Fish" bonus. If you do not know Dick, he is very well known for riding really far off the beaten path. Really far, and really well. I have no plans to attempt to follow Mr. Fish anywhere! Mike & Lisa also mentioned that the rally pack is "daunting" causing elevator speculation of phone book size rally listings.

Dale "Warchild" Wilson was his usual charming happy-go-lucky self as he let us know about tomorrow mornings start. He even gave us the option of which way to park the bike. The right way - and leave on time, or the wrong way and leave after everyone else has gone. That Dale, he is so darn sweet I could just hug him.

Oh yeah, we are ready. Nervous, excited, going nuts with anticipation ready.

Down to 17 hours, 52 minutes...

Ken

Saturday Aug 18, Check In

2007-08-18T18:13:00.000-07:00

Today was all about getting checked in - both to the Rally and to the hotel. I spent last night in another riders room, as I did not have a reservation. I really did not expect to get to St. Louis until this morning.

I went through tech and all the other registration with no problems. My sister's in-laws Chuck and Marge showed up while I was still doing check-in stuff with my new rear tire. I visited with them for awhile, and we looked at some of the bikes that are in the field, including Andy Mills Victory Vision - a pre-production unit I guess, since they are still not in show rooms! Andy has an 'in' - he worked for Victory. I was surprised by how BIG the Vision is; Andy parked next to a Goldwing 1800 and made it look small!

We have all been speculating about where we are going based on the T-Shirt and poster. Prominently displayed are the Statue of Liberty, a very large Cow, the Gloucester fisherman, a Route 66 sign, Wall Drug, Mt Rushmore, a Jack-a-lope and a statue of a man with what looks to be a pistol tucked in his waistband, all super imposed on a US flag. What does it all mean? I look at it and see pre-Interstate America. Which tells me nothing, except I'm going to be going to New York and/or South Dakota and/or Maine.

Not really a lot of help is what I'm really thinking. Oh, I'm sure AFTER the rally it will all make sense.

Tomorrow is supposed to be an easy day of rest. We have a mandatory riders meeting at 2:30 and a dinner at 5:00 PM and nothing else. I expect rally packs with bonus listings will be passed out around 7PM and then it's off to the room for route planning.

Notice I said "supposed" to be a day of rest. In actually, it's a day of stress as you pack the bike, and then two hours later move ever thing. I need to work on my helmet as one speaker just touches my ear - not a problem normally but after the ride down, I have a sore spot on my ear. I got the new tire mounted this afternoon, but do need to get gas tomorrow and check air in both tires. Still, I will try to take it easy and get as much packed and ready to go as possible.

24 hours from now I'll be entering bonus locations into this laptop. 10AM Monday morning this madness starts and I'll start finding out how good a job I've done in my routing. As Mike Kneebone told me this afternoon, "Welcome back to the madness."

In St Louis

2007-08-17T21:59:00.000-07:00

Stage one complete - I made it to St Louis. It was a hot and humid ride today. I did meet my brother and step Mom in Kansas city, which was really nice. My brother and I hung around visiting for about 3 hours waiting for his Mom to show up. Once she got there we only visited for a short while, as they had a long ride together.

I've already seen a bunch of the NW contingent. I briefly say Jeff Earls this evening as I was headed out to dinner, visited with Matt Watkins after dinner, saw the Lahmans and the Steven's, and talked with Paul Peloquin, Doug Chapmen and said a quick hi ot Bill Watt.

Tomorrow is tech inspection and getting ready to go.

If it's Thursday, this must be Kansas

2007-08-16T20:37:00.000-07:00

Day 2 on-the-road.

Last nights motel had pretty fast wireless, but that is about all good that can be said for it. Let's just say it was not my first choice. Actually it was my 3rd. Tonight, I called Lisa from about 125 miles from where I wanted to stop and had her make me a reservation on the Internet. This worked much better - I'm in a clean Motel 6 just off the interstate. No wifi, but I can deal with dial-up I suppose.

I did not look at my mileage before I came in, but I did about 875 miles today. You can figure it out; Evanston, WY to Salina, KS via I-15. I took the I-470 toll road around Denver, well worth the $8.00*.

Today seemed to be the day of encounters. First it was Terry Lehman and his wife (Linda? I think) in Wyoming. I was riding along passing a pick-up camper combo pulling a closed trailer. I looked over to wave as I pass - you know me, I wave an everyone - and there is this guy and his wife waving big. It took about 2 seconds for me to recognize Terry and I waved back. They are riding the IBR two-up, and happen to be hauling Jeff Earls's spare wheels in the trailer.

Next was a gentleman from E. Colorado with a Suzuki GS1100 in the bed of his pickup. I passed him, and then he caught me at a gas station. He was amazed at all the "stuff" I have on the Goldwing. He'd been working on Waco County, OR installing wind-generation windmills. I passed him again later in Colorado.

Next was a couple from Georgia. When I passed I noticed his gas tank, as it was flat-black and looked kind of large. They had traveled to Sand Point, ID to visit their daughter. He had built the custom 9 gallon tank for their Honda Shadow 1100 just for the trip. He liked my aux tank and asked a gazillion questions about the seat.

Next was a couple on a GL1800 from Mississippi. Then had been "to the end of I-84, and then down the coast to Arcata" so I assume they were in Portland at some point. :-) Again, tons of questions about the tank and mostly the seat. He admitted his "private parts" were getting pretty sore on the stock Goldwing seat. While we were talking, a younger lady walking a very pretty lab came by. We all petted the dog, and got to talking. She has been living in NE Portland for the last 2 years and is headed back to Mississippi to go back to school (and live with Mom & Dad). Yes, they were all from the same area of MS, not too far from where I was stationed in '79-80.

Today was also about getting across the 'boring' part of the ride. Well, parts of Wyoming were interesting rock formations, but eastern Colorado and Kansas - well, we know what they are like. The low point was passing through Bob Dole's home town. :-O

I called my half-brother Craig, who has been driving long-haul out of Kansas City for a few years to see if we could get together tomorrow. He was in KC, and will be until tomorrow afternoon when his mom (my step-mom) is coming up from Oklahoma to pick him up. He is quiting long-haul, going back to OK and hoping to find a LTL driving job. After 14 years, he's tired of long-haul. Oh yeah, the reason he can do this now? He just won $50,000 in the lottery! After taxes, he has about $35K to pay off old bills and carry him to find a new job. So. tomorrow I'm meeting him and Mom for lunch in KC.

I'm ahead of schedule for St Louis - I don't need to be there until Saturday morning - so I may run down to my sister's in-laws and mount up my rally rear tire. That will save Chuck a trip to St Louis. I got them tickets for the finishers banquet, so they will be coming up in a couple weeks anyway.

Bed time - Ken

* The toll is $6 to go all the way around Denver, but I stuck the $2 I had in change in my clipboard. About 20 miles later I opened the clipboard to stow my favorite straw (so I can drink A&W with my helmet on don'tcha know) and the two bills flew out faster than I could say "Doh!". YTollMV

Wednesday - On the Road

2007-08-15T20:48:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Evanston Wyoming! I headed out this morning en route to St Louis for the start of the IBR. I had a great first day; I had 759 miles in @ 12 hours on the bike, a BBG pace! I was not really pushing speed today, but I was trying to stay on the bike. I did not use the cell today, except for the very last leg. I'm finding having teh 3+ gallons makes it easy to push the tank. I had NO problems with the bike today, which is a great releif. Maybe that problem was just ground.

Lisa led me out from the house this morning on her Ninja 250. I called her this evening, and she said that it really wanted to follow me instead of going to her work! It was really nice having her see me off.

OK, my Taco Time is getting cold so Bye!

And he's off!

2007-08-15T16:57:00.000-07:00

I escorted Ken to I5 this morning (me on my Ninja). I realized at that point I should have worked in somehow riding to St. Louis with him! OK, so maybe I just didn't want to go to work.

But he's on his way, and was pretty calm this morning. He had everything done so I guess there was no last minute panic - I'm sure that will all be happening on Sunday.

More updates as I hear from him. GO KEN!!

Monday Aug 13th - 7 days to Rally

2007-08-13T21:21:00.000-07:00

Sunday I got the new Avon Venom R mounted on my rear wheel. Muti-time IBR finisher and my un-official mentor Jeff Earls did the mounting with very little help from me. Back home, I got the wheel mounted back on the wing with no problem. Here's how my tires are working out:

I have a Avon Venom R front with about 4K miles on it in the garage here a home.
I have a Dunlop Elite III mounted to the front wheel on the bike.
I have a Avon Venom R rear mounted to the rear wheel on the bike (with about 30 miles on it).
I have a Dunlop Elite III (new) sitting in St Louis mounted to a spare rear wheel.

When I get to St Louis, I'll swap rear wheels so I have the 2 Dunlop Elite III's on the bike. These are very long lasting tires, albeit kind of staid. When the rally is over, depending on how the rear Dunlop looks, I can either ride home on it or the Venom. Then when I get home, I'll swap the front Venom on. By that time the Dunlops will be pretty well used up.

Clear us mud, eh?

I've got everything packed (well, except the lap top I'm typing on right now!) and ready to go. I'm sure there will be a few last minute changes, there always are. I had a massage tonight to work on my piraformis muscle that has caused me problems, he did a bunch of hamstring stretching as well. I've been going for my lunch time walks again, which make me optimistic for any walking bonuses that may come up. I'm not in as good as physical shape as I was say 5 months ago, but I'm not as bad off as I was 3 months ago either.

Saturday Aug 11

2007-08-11T06:33:00.000-07:00

I've been waking up at 5 am for about the last 4 or 5 days, this morning included. I got up and fed the monsters - er, cats so that Lisa could sleep in and took care of paying some bills. I'm trying to get everything paid so Lisa does not have to deal with it.

The bike ran fine to and from work yesterday, so I am cautiously optomistic I've fixed the problem. *fingers crossed* Lisa and I have to take Magma (our new Orange kitten) and Bunny in to the vet this morning for annual check ups, and then are going for a little motorcycle ride. This afternoon I need to remove the rear wheel so that I can take it up to Jeff's to mount the new tire on it on Sunday. Hopefully this will be the LAST wrenching I'll need to do to the bike!

Also today I need to wash up everything I'll be taking with me and start packing things. I feel I should have already done at least one test pack, but time has just slipped away. We will be able to leave things at the Hotel in St Louis, so I can 'over pack' a little and still be OK.

9 days to Rally start, and only 2 work days until I leave!

10 Days to Start: Problems

2007-08-10T08:28:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night I spent adjusting my driving lights against the inside of the garage door. They may need some tweaking on the road, but at least they are even in height and I know they are not pointing out to the sides.

On the ride home last night, the Goldwing up and died on the I-405 Bridge in stop and go traffic. I actually noticed when the oil light came on and I freaked thinking I’d lost my oil. Then I realized the bike wasn’t running. It started right up, but then died again a few minutes later.

Shit, shit. What is the heck is going on. Once I got moving on the I-5 it seemed to run fine. I rode to the east side of Vancouver to pick up a new rear tire that was in. (I realized last weekend my rear was not going to make another 2K miles to St Louis). I thought I felt the bike surge a couple times, but wasn’t sure. Well, on the way home from the bike shop, it dies two or three more times and surged a bunch.

Visions on IBR 2003 started going through my head. The first 2K miles of that event my GL500 wouldn’t run over about 50; it cleared up for ~ 5K miles then came back again in the last 2K miles. It made for a very stressful Rally.

The last thing I did was change the air filter. Maybe I put it in up-side down. I got home, fed the cats, changed clothes and went out to the garage and started tearing the bike down. I’m getting good – in about 30 minutes I had the air filter out. Damn, it’s in correctly, that’s not the problem. I put it back in and reassembled the bike, making sure all wires were connected and tight. With the house still off I started the bike. It started right up and was idling OK, so I started checking wires. I found one that when I moved it the idle would drop and the bike died. It seemed to be repeatable – start the bike, wiggle wire bike dies.

Crap, I do not want to tear this harness apart. Should I ride it like it is to the dealer and see if they can fix it? I follow the wire down the left side to see if I can get to the connector. I can’t but it seems to lead to a ground, the same point where I have the aux lights grounded. Hmm. I cleaned the ground up and removed the Aux light grounds. The bike no longer dies when I move the wire. I try wiggling it all over the place, tugging and moving it around. No change in idle. Could it have just been a bad ground? I moved the aux grounds to a different spot and tried again. It still seems OK, so I start reassembling the bike.

I get the ‘house’ all back on and notice the shield I made to cover the cruise-control is sitting on the floor. Well, I don’t think it did that much anyway…oh crap. The air box snorkels are sitting on the floor as well. 10 minutes to take the house back off. In all, I did pretty well, it was about 6:30 when I got out to the garage, and 2 hours later I had the bike back together again. I rode it in today with no surges, idle drops or apparent problems.

Except one.

My confidence is shattered.

Tuesday, 13 days to IBR start

2007-08-07T11:57:00.000-07:00

Last night I did an oil & filter change, checked the rear-end fluid level (I just changed it) checked the front tire pressure (also just changed) and replaced the air filter. It’s that last thing that is time consuming. The air filter on a GL1800 Goldwing is buried between the frame rails. To get to it, you have to remove the ‘house’ or false-tank, move a whole bunch of wiring and the ECM and cruise control module. Then you can remove the air-box cover and finally, get to the air cleaner. I did not get everything back together last night, so I rode Lisa’s EX250 to work today. Wow, what a difference!

We are also dealing with some new house issues that have never been resolved, and last night I had to call the builder. At this point we both HATE talking to him; he is coming over tonight to look at stuff. I am being a bit hard headed and not accepting easy fixes anymore. I paid for a new house, and dammit that’s what I want.

August 6th - counting down

2007-08-06T11:54:00.001-07:00

14 days to Rally Start

I had a whole slew of things I was going to do to the bike this weekend. None of it happened. Instead, Lisa and I went for a motorcycle ride Saturday, her on her Ninja 250 and me on the Goldwing. We wandered around northwest Vancouver, and in general had a lot of fun. We spent the rest of the day doing errands, and I did draw some cash from the bank to take with me. Lisa laughed at me, telling me I had 10 days before I left. We did stop by Wing-Man and I bought a Super-Visor to add to my tinted helmet shield.

Sunday we went for a bicycle ride. It was the first time I’d been on the bicycle in about 4 months and boy could I tell! I took it easy for the most part, but the last climb up to the house still kicked my a**. I think we did about 22 miles or so, mostly flat. The good news is that I stretched well after and my piriformis muscle did not hurt any more than it has been. Sunday evening I worked on routing the 2005 Leg 3 bonuses; this is still my weakest skill I think. I plan on doing a couple more simulations before the real thing.

I rode the ‘wing in today, but will be tearing it down to change the air filter & oil this evening, so I’ll be commuting on Lisa’s Ninja the next few days.

New Shoe

2007-08-01T10:20:00.001-07:00

14 days until I leave for St. Louis and boy am I getting excited! I’ve started doing the last maintenance before I leave. Sunday after Lisa and I went for a little ride (her on her Ninja and me on the Goldwing) I changed the rear-drive fluid. I’ll check it again in a few days to make sure it’s nice and full. Last night I went over to Jeff Earls house, and he changed the front tire for me. The tire I had on – a Avon Venom – was in good shape, but has a sharp “V” profile that makes it very nice handling in corners, but ‘nervous’ on grooved pavement or gravel. The new tire – a Dunlop Elite III – matches the rear tire that is waiting for me in St. Louis and has a more rounded profile. It is also a long wearing tire, so it should be good for the whole trip.

Tonight I’ll remount the front wheel, and check the rear end fluid level. I need to do an oil change and the biggie – change the air filter – probably this weekend. I want to give the bike a good washing as it’s really dirty. I know it will just get dirty again, but it would be nice to start with a clean bike! I also need to move and adjust the driving lights so I can get them high enough. Oh, and at some point, I need to figure out what I’m taking and start packing!

In-State SS1K (1000 Miles/24 Hours)

2007-07-30T09:33:00.000-07:00

In State SS1K

3 weeks ago I was going to attempt an in-state SS1K in my home state of Washington. I sent out an e-mail to some local LD friends asking if one of them would be willing to witness the ride. Dennis responded that he could witness the beginning; he and his wife Karen were headed out for vacation that morning, but would be willing to meet me and be my start witness. He also mentioned that he’d really like to be able to join me on his new-to-him ’06 FJR.

I decided not to do the ride that weekend for various reasons, and instead rode over to Shaniko, OR with my wife. The next week, we crewed for the Race across Oregon (an Ultra-bicycle event) so that weekend was out. I penciled in the weekend of July 28-29 for the ride, and asked Dennis if he’d like to join me. We talked back and forth through the week, and Dennis suggested reversing my original route. Then I got to thinking it wasn’t long enough (only 1012 miles by Street’s ‘N Trips) so I revised it a little more. Here is the final route we came up with:

Start & Finish: Vancouver (Salmon Creek, near I-5)
I-5 to Burlington (Corner)
WA 20 to Kettle Falls (Corner)
US 395 to Spokane
US 195 to Colfax (Corner)
WA 26 to Dusty
WA 127 to Dodge
US 12 to Walla Walla (Corner)
US 12 to Tri-Cites (Pasco/Richland/Kennewick) (Corner)
I-82 to WA 14
WA 14 to I-5 (Dennis actually took I-205) I-5 to Vancouver (Salmon Creek)

By odometer I think I ended up with about 1030 miles, by GPS 1010, so we still cut it a little close. We had a good ride, although less than an hour into the ride I got the first (and only!) HPDA. It was my own fault: we’d been traveling a little over the limit, moving along briskly but not really fast. I saw the State Trooper pull onto the interstate and checked my speed. I backed down to 1 over and against my normal judgment, passed the trooper. As I pulled alongside, he lit the party lights.

“You came up on me at 77 mph”, he said, “and passed me at 71.”

OK, my GPS is accurate, as is his radar.

“The speed limit dropped to 60 2 miles back.”

“Shit.”

In all honesty, he was nice about it, and only wrote it for 10 over, and let me know that the 60 zone extended for a few more miles. I could have sworn it was 70 all the way to Olympia. Dennis told me at lunch they had changed the speed limit in that area a year or so ago; my bad that I never saw the sign.

Highway 20 was most excellent. I had not been over the North Cascades Highway since my Dad and I went deer hunting when I was 17. (Jimmy Carter was president if that helps!) That was one of the reasons I chose to add this road to the ride. We had a good lunch in Tonasket (Dennis and Karen had stopped there the week before on their way back from Canada and he had the restaurant all scoped out for us.) There was a long section of new pavement between Tonasket and Republic that was just magical.

US 395 was hot, not surprisingly. We followed the GPS through Spokane; I should have checked before hand where it was taking us! We made it through, but not by the most expedient route. I lived in Spokane for a short time (11 months) about 10-11 years ago and finally recognized where we were going.

US 195 was probably the most boring section; well excluding I-5. It was hot, dry and somewhat uninspired. We made a stop in Colfax to get a splash of gas to mark the ‘corner’ and refill our hydration. I have a ½ gallon Coleman jug with a Camelback hose, and Dennis was using an actual Camelback. I got a liter of water and a 44 oz. cup of ice, which filled it just right. I also got a Starbucks Frapachino. I have been not drinking caffeine for about 4 months as part of my IBR prep, and a little now gave me a nice perk.

WA 127 makes up for US 195. The first part particularly is a roller-coaster ride with great linked corners. I’d forgotten how fun that road is, it was before ‘03’s IBR that I was last over here. Riding it on the GL1800 is way more fun that it was on the GL500, and I remember it being fun on the little bike.
We stopped again in Walla-Walla for gas and dinner. Again Dennis pulled through with a restaurant recommendation, and we had decent Mexican food. And lots of water! Even hydrating on the bike, I needed more water. As we left Walla-Walla, the sun was starting to set, so I switched to my clear shield. Coming into Pasco later in the dark, hordes of flying insects made the clear shield almost as dark as my smoke one! We stopped once again in Kennewick to both mark the corner and make sure Dennis had enough gas to return to Vancouver.

I led the last leg since I have extra driving lights. I have not had a chance to use the new driving lights (Hella FF200’s mounted high) and they were not aimed quite right – as a matter of fact they were way too low. I’m going to have to flip them over on the mounts as they hit the mirrors and I can’t get them any higher. Conversely, I think my Hell FF50 fogs are too HIGH, as people kept ‘flashing’ me. We stopped in Stevenson to put on more clothes (I wore Firstgear Mesh-Tek jacket and pants the whole ride) as the temperature had dropped to 66 F.

Dennis lives close to I-205, and I live close to I-5 which I think explains how we got split up. I-205 is the shorter way there, but I had taken I-5 in the morning so that’s what I had in mind. It was all ok except that I stopped for about 5 minutes trying to figure out where Dennis went before it dawned on me he’d taken I-205. Sure enough he was at the gas station when I got there. We filled up with gas and got our ending time receipts, took pictures of the GPS and thanked each other for a great ride. I got home at 1:45 AM, beating the 2 AM estimate I’d given my wife from Kennewick. I felt pretty good all day, with just a little issue from my earlier leg/back problem. Everything on the bike worked OK, although I did find a few minor things to do (like the aux lights). I’m confident that in 15 days I’ll be ready to leave for St. Louis and a few days later I’ll be ready to start the IBR.

Ken

Friday July 27, 07

2007-07-27T09:45:00.000-07:00

Saturday my friend Dennis and I are going to do an in-state SS1K (Saddle Sore 1000 Mile) ride aroud Washington as a warm up. Dennis is not in the rally this year, but will be riding down to St. Louis for the finish.

You can see some of my motorcycle modifications (or farkles as we call them) on our main web page http://www.candyassllamas.com/. I'll be riding a 2006 Honda Goldwing, a far cry from the 1982 Honda GL-500 Silverwing I rode in 2003's IBR. I have it set up pretty comfortable, and have been trying to make it where every thing is relativly easy to get to.

I plan on calling Lisa to have her make motel reservations for me, and hopefully she will be able to update the blog with at least my location. You can also follow along on the IBR webpage at:
http://www.ironbuttrally.com/

Ken

Update - 2007 RAO and Iron Butt Rally

2007-07-25T16:47:00.001-07:00

Quick update - I know, it's been forever! The Llama's - Lisa and I - with Ultra Rider David Holt crewed for Al Smudz in this years Race Across Oregon. Lisa and I crewed for Al last year, and his DNF was hard on all 3 of us. Well, Al vindicated all of us by winning the men's Solo division this year! David was a great addition to the crew, fitting right in with Lisa and I and offereing a lot of insight from a rider point of view. The crew and rider worked so well together that there wasn't a harsh word between the 4 of us all weekend.

My (Ken) next challange is the Iron Butt Rally - a 11 day 11,000 mile motorcycle scavanger hunt. I leave on AUgust 15th for St. Louis where the rally starts on August 20th. I don't even know where I will be riding - and I won't until Sunday night when bonuses sites are handed out and I plan my route! I've been planning and training for this all year, and am very excited.

Lisa Llama was an official for RAAM this year, working at headquarters in Boulder, CO. It was very exciting for her, 'specially talking with Sabertooth Salmon John Spurgeon's crew. John is another RAO vetran - on a FIXED gear no less. He is the first rider to complete RAAM on a single speed bicycle - pretty amazing guy!

Sometimes you get burnt

2006-07-10T07:50:00.000-07:00

Two weeks before the race. We've started the shopping lists and are crossing off tasks. Its all coming together quite nicely and the excitement is just building from here.

The weekend was great - lots of balance. After watching the ITT Saturday morning, Ken and I went to Forest Park and did a two hour trail hike, with some sprinting intermixed. Nothing like the first time using a different set of muscles. Ouch. With that out of the way, the rest of the day was spend doing errands.

Sunday our long bike ride turned into a much shorter two hour fast (18.5mph avg) jaunt. It felt really good to not have to pay attention to warm up times, cool down times, heart rate, overall time, etc. just get out and ride. We did some sprints to end points, tackled the hill on the way home, and just had fun. Thats what it should be.

We got done with the ride and then proceeded to tackle staining the deck. This is something that I hadn't expected to get to until after the race, but now that things are different, we are finding that life isn't so rushed. We got the whole deck stained, Ken was on the outside doing the railing and i was on the inside doing the railing. He got to stand straight up, I had to bend over. It was great to stretch the leg muscles, but apparently the sun found its way to my lower back, where my top road up and now I have this massive sunburn across my lower back. OWIE. But the deck looks great!

Ken is moving a bit slow this morning. It just means that next Saturday, we do that run again. He must really love me.

oh, and on another note, don't ever play Hide & Seek with Ben - he will win - every time.

Get Bent!

2006-06-12T13:28:00.000-07:00

Saturday my wife and I went by Coventry Cycles in Portland Or, and I tried out a Bachetta Cafe', with the full knowlidge that this was not the bike I'll end up with. I rode at first with platform pedals (about a 5 mile loop with one small climb). Of course my loving wife dropped me like a rock on the climb, standing up and sprinting off. :-) And gave me heck about wanting one of "those crazy bikes'. We went back to the shop, threw on my Crank Bro's Candy pedals and rode about 2-3 miles with those.

At first the Cafe felt very twitchy - the steering is much faster and different from the DF's I normally ride. Getting started wasn't as hard as I thought it would be and after a couple times I felt pretty confident. The closest I came to falling was at a stop - I was reclined back and when I put my foot down, I almost fell right over! After that, I either sat up or put BOTH feet down or both. I did not like the twist grip shifting, as I kept down-shifting when I wanted to up shift! Actually, I've never been fond of twist-grip and will probably opt for bar-cons (possibly on Paul's Thumbies) when I buy.

The first down hill we did, I was wobbling all over the place. I finally got relaxed enough on the bars to be able to ride a straight line which helped a lot and I felt pretty good down the last couple of hills zooming by my wife. Oh yeah - she may have dropped me uphill, but I was riding a $1k entry level 'bent and she was riding her custom Serotta that cost about 10 times what the Cafe' does, so I didn't feel TOO bad. Well, that and she is a pretty strong rider. :-) I'm going to go back during the week and try out a Giro 26. Ultimatly, I'm looking at a Giro, Strada or Corsa - I think. I want to test ride a LWB bike as well, just for comparison.

Sunday, Lisa and I went out to ride the only part of the RAO route we had not ridden yet; FR 43 & FR 48. The new route leaves highway 25 at FR 43, follows 43 to the FR 48 junction and then follows 48 to highway 35. From there, it down highway 35, reversing an early part of the RAO route, and back up highway 26 to Timberline road same as before. Sunday we parked where FR 48 comes out to highway 35 and rode 35 to 26 to 43 to 48, about a 30 mile loop. I felt really good and paid Lisa back by dropping her on the climb up Wapinita/Blue Box pass. ;-) I like this new route, it's pretty and avoids the left turn at the 26/35 junction which is always just a little scary. We got back to the Llama Box, and Lisa voluntered to drive it to Goverment Camp while I rode my bike. He ya! another pass down the screaming highway 35 down-hill. Overall, I think I had ~ 35 miles and just over 3K feet of climbing for the day. More importantly (to me) I felt GREAT.

Things are coming together with our RAO rider "You can call me Al". We have been trading e-mails back and forth and he has his entry sent in. I think that crewing for him is going to be great fun and it will keep us involved in RAO, which we have really come to love.

Ken

Llamas out, Llamas in

2006-06-07T10:24:00.000-07:00

Well, the three day camp confirmed what the four day camp was telling us. This is hard shit. If you are not 110% into it, its even that much harder. I think this year, thats been our problem - we have not been getting our heads into the race and therefore, not training as much which makes everything fall apart. We decided that rather than plow thru it and end up hating biking, we are pulling from the race. Hence, llamas down.

So whats with the llamas up? Well, on the three day camp, we met a great guy who wants to badly race solo but was lacking crew, support, etc. Well, llama stampede to the rescue! What better way to keep in touch with the ultra community than to crew? Ken and I are so excited to be able to crew AND we can come out of this still loving everything about biking.

*spit*

3-Day Training camp

2006-06-05T08:37:00.000-07:00

I realized I never published this. - Ken

**************************************

I once read that cycling is about pain. Pain in your legs, pain in your butt, pain in your neck, shoulders and back. If that is true, then Ultra Cycling is about ignoring pain and cycling through it. Don't belive me, read any of the accounts; George Thomas's "Going the Distance" tells of his trials during a solo Race Across America. ROA is a cake walk in comparison.

This weekend was really painful for me. I was seriously under-trained, and paid the price. I _am_ stronger than last year - up to about 50 miles. After that point, I start loosing it rapidly. We have not done a lot of distance riding this year; I have yet to do a century. Friday we did the closest, about 99 miles. Sunday, a mere 80-some, and yesterday I hit 90 when I was slogging uphill and Lisa and I both came to the conclusion I was done at the same time. Today, my lower back, neck and of course legs (quads! owwie!) are sore, as well as the part that meets the seat.

Lisa and I had come to the conclusion after the 4 day camp two weeks ago that we were not excited about doing the race this year. For various reasons, the motovation has not been there to train hard or even to do all the other preperation that is so critical to a succesful race. We announced to crew and other riders that we were pulling out. This weekend showed that was the wise descision. The Llama's will not be racing this year, however there is a chance we will be crewing for a solo racer. Watch here to see more.

Ken

Lisa at Camp

2006-05-18T09:43:00.000-07:00

I dropped Lisa off last night at Pony Soldier Inn in Portland to start the 4 day training camp. Kim was already there, and it only took a few minutes for us to get Lisa's stuff to their room. We walked next door to Elmer's and found George and Terri and Mrs. Nicoli (Bill's wife - of Headhunters) in a booth. We took over a table next to them and sat around drinking Orange Smoothies and chit chatting. Lisa is excited/scared about the 4 day camp (average 130 miles/day & 10K climbing/day!) Kim would be scared, but she has never been on course and doesn't know what she is in for yet!

I got woken this morning by a phone call from Lisa. Rexel-Taylor Electric in Portland was burning! I worked there about 5 years ago, and our friend Edna VanGundy still does. I fed cats, got coffee and went upstairs to watch the news. OH MY! that is my old office window with flames coming out of it! The building that burned is a warehouse with some offices; the main buildign next door is undamaged. Edna sent out an e-mail that they are closed today but will be back open on Monday.

Off to see the wizard

2006-05-17T09:31:00.000-07:00

Well, that is if by "wizard" I mean George & Terri, and by "Oz" I mean the RAO course, then yes, I'm off tonight.

Tomorrow starts day one of the four day camp. My good friend Kim is going along with me as she has her own training agenda, but we ride great together. Its difficult to sit at the desk today, knowing that I have piles of clothes and shit all over the house, laundry that needs put in the dryer, nothing is organized, I have errands to do at sometime before arriving at the hotel tonight, etc.

I have the elevation charts printed out, hanging up at my desk, and have been zoning out on them for some time now. Can I do 125+ mile days, for four days? Sure! Will it be easy? Absolutly not! And thats where Kim comes in - I will yell at her for talking me into this maddness and wait for the appropriate amount of stunned silence before she yells back with "This was SO NOT my idea!"and laugh the rest of the way up the hill. Good times.

Timberline Road - too easy (not)!

2006-05-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

Well, the weekend didn’t pan out like I had hoped, but it was better than I expected.

My 2.5 hour endurance ride on Saturday ended up being 0 hours of riding, but instead I fertilized the lawn, weeded, hung curtains and read a book while lounging on the deck. I was going to feel guilty about this but I think I needed to have a day without biking and without this desk job. Today is my scheduled rest day, but I’ll be out on the bike tonight.

Sunday’s plan was to go do timberline road. Never having done this road bottom to top, it was a big mental block for me and with camp this week, I really wanted to do it and know its pitches. Makes things so much easier knowing the road. The weather was perfect – 78 degrees with cold pockets to cool you off. My ‘down’ stats were pretty exciting – 31mph average, 40 max (yeah, I’ve done better max speeds but there was tons of gravel). Hung a u-turn at the bottom and started all the timers. The first part of the road sucks and immediately Ken was dropping me. that’s fine – once he was out of site, I could focus vs try and catch him (which is always a disaster for me). At no point did I feel like stopping, or that it was impossible. Towards the very top (the 13% section) I thought “this truly sucks” but kept going.

My ride time was 57:00 and 5.8 avg. For my first time doing that climb, I’m pretty happy. I had an avg heart rate of 169, which is just ever-so-slightly over what I should be for hill climbing. I did max out at 180 thought! Oh well.

So the next test is next Sunday, doing the climb with 125 miles already in for the day and 406 miles from the previous days under my belt.

Bottom line, I felt pretty good about my time and it gave me a good feeling about where I’m at in training. Oh, and Ken kicked ass and did 49:00 ride time. He could have pushed it harder though!

Lisa

Bridge of the Gods, or How We Missed the Rain Storm

2006-05-08T08:24:00.000-07:00

Saturday we did the Bridge of the Gods route, starting at the Parkrose Park 'N Ride @ Sandy and I-205. Lisa rode to the start, while I drove the Llama Box down and scooped Beth. Our good friend Kim drove her NEW Honda Element (green) to the start, so Lisa and I could Eww! and Ahhhh! over it. I really like the new '06 Green, plus it has the same gray/black interior as my '05 Orange. Kim's even has the color matched fenders, which kind of takes away some of the funkiness of the Element. I like funky. :)

We had a very good ride, with not even enough rain to mention (sprinkles) and almost NO WIND. We always plan on having wind in the Gorge, even this far west, but Saturday was about as calm as it ever gets. Kim's husband Buck rode the R.A.C.C. (Ride Around Clark County) and they got DUMPED on with rain. Heck, I even took my jacket off a couple times, although it never really got _that_ warm.

We took it pretty easy for the most part, with either Lisa or I staying with Beth most of the time. Beth is a very solid rider, but she is not fast. The other one of us would zoom up ahead, and then pull over and wait for the rest to pass us. It worked out really well. We stopped about 5 miles before the bridge at our usual store and had some snacks. Lisa and I shared a pack of Grandmothers Peanut Butter Cookies and each had some cheesy-crackers. My MP3 player battery was going dead, so I went back in and bought a 2-pack of AAA's and a corn dog. Mmmm, corn dog slathered with mustard.

The bridge itself was an easy crossing. The bridge deck is open-steel grid, and can be a little scary for first timers. This was Kim's first time over, and she did great. I rode sweep and stayed right in the middle of our lane so no cars tried to pass us. The bridge is also old and _very_ narrow.

I felt really good on the climb up to Council Crest, but by this time Lisa was starting to feel a little tired. So, she stayed with Beth while Kim and I went on ahead. I planned on staying with Kim, but I just felt too good, so I ended up dropping her. I kept my speed right around 8 MPH, dropping to 7 once or twice, and up to 10 once or twice. I got to the top thinking "man, I remember this as a much harder climb!"

Lisa and I hooked up coming down the other side, flying along at 30-35 MPH. "We do our best riding downhill!" is the Llama motto after all! We all regrouped before the bridge into Troutdale, and I asked Lisa if she wanted to do Buxton as a bonus hill. She rode right on by. :) Once on Marine Drive, I played "shed" and pulled everyone along at 16-17 MPH until we got back to the I-205 bike path. I hammered the last little bit to the car, just because. I had a total of ~ 83 miles for the day. Lisa came in and looped the parking lot to finish with 101 miles. In all it was avery good day, and we missed the nasty 'ol rain.

Sunday, we bought curtains for upstairs, watched the Giro and hung the curtains. We did not bike at all, and it felt kinda nice. :)

Ken

Alpenrose Part Duex

2006-05-04T16:04:00.000-07:00

This week I was able to drag Sam out to Alpenrose with me. Sam has not been training much (at all) this year, but wore his Oregon State Championship jersey anyway. The one he earned at Alpenrose last year. One of our team-mates was there and she and I teased Sam that he was just asking for it by wearing that jersey!

Sure enough, Sam and I got stuck into a "fast" group. We started with an 'easy' pace line, that soon spit me and then Sam off the back. I had an excuse - we caught another group just as I should have rotated off, and I had to pull and extra lap getting by them. Anyway, that was how the night went. Fast group, hang on as long as I could then drop off. I did hook up once with the slower group and stayed with them easily.

We did some sprint drills, and naturaly Sam and I paired up. When it was out turn I kept talking to Sam so we'd come to the line about the same time.."Okay, speed up a little --hold that, almost ready--okay GO, GO, GO!!" It did not matter as I SMOKED him. :) Last year this was his specialty, but he told me he had no jump for me at all, and I just dropped him. Dad's revenge. :)

We did some bump drills on the warm-up track, and Sam and I had fun playing Robbie McEwen. He'd block me, then I'd block him. Then we'd ride around leaning on each other. At the end, I was practicing rubbing tires, and got a little TOO agressive and hit the ground. I have a couple of sore spots this morning - hip, elbow and inside of leg. Oh, and my legs are toast! I'm taking tonight off and will go to Alpenrose tommorow to race sprints. Hopefully I'll find some legs between now and tommorow night!

COOKIES!!

2006-05-01T08:46:00.000-07:00

Lisa and I got in some good training this weekend, and even got to eat some yummy cookies in the process. Saturday was intervals, 3 x 15 mins at TT pace. I have been doing the Vancouver Bicycle Club Time Trial series on Thursday nights. I've been riding my single-speed IRO bike, and have had trouble getting the gearing right; I've been really under-geared for both TT's I've ridden. The first week I rode the 10 mile course in 28 min and change, and last week I'd slowed to 29 and change. Last week I felt better going out (into the head wind) but was seriously under-geared coming back and could only hold around 20.5 mph at probably 125 rpm cadence. Saturday, I rode my fully geared and TT bar equipped Litespeed and it made a huge difference! I was 3-4 mph faster both directions.

The Vancouve Bicycle Club had a ride going on as well Saturday, and I stopped to see what ride it was. The volunteer offered me some cookies, and since I never turn down cookies, I grabbed a couple fruit Newtons. Yum. I felt pretty cocky riding away at 20 mph in the Aero bars munching my cookies and passing the casual riders!

Sunday, we picked up Llama Crew Beth and headed to Salem for the Monster Cookie ride. Beth had not done Monster Cookie since '01 when it was wet and miserable. Monster Cookie was the first organized ride Sam and I did with Lisa in '04 and we had a fantastic time, so when Beth wanted to do it this year, Lisa and I said we'd be happy to ride with her. The weather was OK Sunday; it never rained, but it never really wamed up either. We took it somewhat easy, completing the 62 miles in just a tick over 4 hours. We also ran into two of Team Bag Balm's RAO team at the lunch stop and I had to give a "Llama, llama, llama!" cheer. We had a really good time, and I'm glad we did the ride, despite the few freight train's that zoomed by with nary a "On your left."

We're looking at Bridge of The God's for next weeks distance ride, one of our favorites. We follow highway 14 on the Washington side to the bridge, cross over and follow bike trails to the Old Cascade Highway ride past Multnomah Falls and then climb up to the observitory. None of the climbs are super hard, and the whole route (with a 2-mile section of I-84 exception) is very pretty and fun to ride.

Ken

Alpenrose April 26

2006-04-27T16:27:00.000-07:00

Terry says we are not posting enough, and the last thing I want is Terry mad at me, so I guess we should post some more.

Last night I did something new for me, particpating in the Track Development Class at Alpenrose. Cost is negligable - $5 for the class and $5 to rent a fixed gear track bike. I learned a bunch, and even more impotantly - had BIG FUN! Ohh, I think I'm going to like sprints. :) Wheee, down the hill (43 degrees of banking makes a nice hill to accelerate off of!) and hammer into the turn while trying to keep it in the sprinters lane.

Tonight it's the Vancouver Bicycle Club TT here in the 'Couve. Lisa says she itches. 10 miles, nice and flat and hopefully no wind tonight as I'm putting a 44t chain ring on the IRO single-speed.

Ken

Crispy Llamas

2006-04-24T11:43:00.000-07:00

It happens every year - the first sunny ride we plan on doing big miles and end up coming home burnt to a crisp and dehydrated. You'd think we'd learn, but no.

Other than the crispy arms and face, the riding was great this weekend. Its about time the winter tights stayed in the drawer and the shorts came out. The wind, however, was just brutal. Either you were clipping along at 24mph or slugging into it at 14mph, giving everything you had not to lose the wheel of the guy infront of you, because if you did, you were done for.

We haven't been to active on the blog for a while - tons of stuff going on, and not all of it biking related. Just trying to keep on top of everything as it comes up, so of course blogging gets pushed to the bottom of the list. We will both try and update more - really - we promise!

We be gellin'

2006-03-15T09:05:00.000-08:00

This has been a good week for the Kick Ass Llamas. Our team members have all confirmed they are "in" and we have added our forth crew member. For crew this year we have:

Sue, Crew chief : Sue was Lisa and I's crew chief last year and has agreed to return this year to do the same for the Kick Ass Llamas. Sue did a great job last year and we feel very fortunate to have her back this year.

Beth, Super Crew: Beth is returning this year as well. Last year she was our do-it-all go to crew person, especially during training. I cannot image doing RAO without Beth!

John: John is new to the Llama Crew this year. John is Beth's brother and is flying out special to join us.

Leah: Leah wanted to crew last year, but there was this little problem. The little problem is now a cute little girl named Rose, and this year with no new little problems on the horizon Leah will be joining us. Leah is a fierce cyclist and has been friends with Beth, Gar and Lisa for a very long time.

The Kick Ass Llama team is:

Ken; that's me. 1/2 of last years Candy Ass Llamas, I know we can finish but can we be faster?

Lisa; the fast 1/2 of last years Candy Ass Llamas.

Gar; Gar crewed last year, and had so much fun he decided he wanted to ride this year! He just bought a new-to-him Litespeed and is getting faster all the time.

Sharon; tri-athlete and generally super strong athlete, Lisa and I are really looking forward to meeting and riding with Sharon.

A little information... Mar 13

2006-03-13T10:37:00.000-08:00

...can be a dangerous thing. Lisa and I rode together on Saturday on what is becoming our favorite flats ride - Vancouver Lake. I'm looking forward to North River Racing starting their Thursday night time trials there so we can ride in them. It will be a great way to track our week-to-week fitness level.

Sunday we rode with the Fat Tire Farm crew, which means West Hills. Lisa was doing a heart rate based training, and I decided to do something similar. This was to be a endurance ride and I *thought* you were supposed to keep your heart rate within a set band - in my case I was using 145-150 BPM. This meant I had to slow way down going uphill to keep my HR below 150 and had to push pretty hard on flats and/or downhill to keep it above 145 BPM. I did pretty good, averaging a slightly low 143 BPM for the two hour ride, with a max of 158 BPM. Later I learned that I was just suppose to stay BELOW the 150 BPM with no minimum. Ooops! On the other hand, I had a GREAT work out! I think I'll do that again, except maybe with a little larger window (140-150 BPM).

Ken

Winter Training Mar 6

2006-03-06T07:59:00.000-08:00

We rode both days this last weekend; Saturday Lisa and I did flats by Vancouver Lake. She has hired a new trainer and needed to do some baseline time trials, so I went along for the ride. About 30 miles with some good hard intervals (time-trials).

Sunday, our team-mate Gar was down from Seattle and rode with us. He rode the train down, so I loaned him my Litespeed - which I have been training on - and I rode my Giant. We met at Fat Tire Farm for a West hills ride. Again, around 30 miles, this time with lots of hills and a few sprints. Man I love my Giant! I swear I can climb faster and longer on it that the Litepeed. Sure, the Litespeed has a plush ride and is great for big miles, but the Giant just feels faster. It was not a long-mileage weekend, but a pretty good base weekend.

The best news though is that this morning Lisa and I both reversed our recent weight trend. We have both been going up week-by-week, and it's started getting worrisome. This morning Lisa was down 2 lbs and I was down 3! We are still up from our race weights last year, but it is heartening to finally see some results.

Ken

Cross Training

2006-02-20T08:37:00.000-08:00

Lisa and I did a little cross training Saturday - Cross Country Skiing! This was my very first time on skis of any sort, and I had a really good time. Lisa used to do a lot of cross country years ago, and I don't think she lost much. Friday we rented equipment at the Mountain Shop in Portland (highly recommended) and we headed up to Mt. Hood Saturday morning. With a stop in Sandy for a snow park pass, we were at Trillium lake by about 10 AM or so. It was cold (~ 7 deg f?) but the sky was absolutely clear and beautiful!

We geared up and Lisa gave me a quick lesson in cross country skiing. There is about a 1/2 mile downhill section leading to the groomed trail, and I chose to remove my skis and walk down while Lisa skied down. Once we got going, I think I picked up the motion pretty well. I did fall once but did a good job of going to the side. Lisa had shown me how to get back up, which I was able to do just fine.

About 1/2 way around the Lake, we came across two snowshoers feeding some birds. They actually had the birds landing on them and eating out of their hands! Lisa broke apart a Lemon Luna bar and tried to entice the birds over, but either they didn't like Lemon or were already full!

After we tried to feed the birds, we continued on around the lake. There is a big hill you have to go up, and I started to get tired. There was also more ice on this side, which caused me some trouble. I got "stuck" for a minute at one spot where every time I tried to move, I slid backwards! Finally, I was able to scoot sideways and make headway on some packed snow.

I skied all the way back down the hill, albeit about 1/2 out of control! I could never quite get the 'snowplow' position, so I just stayed to the side and tried to get one ski in the loose snow once in a while to slow me down a little. I was a fast and fun ride down the hill!

Once around the lake was enough for our first time out. It took about 2 hours and my hip flexors were letting me know that I was using muscles I don't normally use. We retired back to the Llama Box for some pizza.

After scarfing some Pizza, we headed up to Timberline Lodge for hot chocolate. Driving up Timberline road naturally brought back memories from last summers Race Across Oregon. We spotted where Lisa and I exchanged and I did the rest of the climb. We did running commentary on how each section is; "Ok, this part is not so bad... now it's pitching up." "I hate this part, 'cause you can see how steep it is and how far you have to go." "This is the last nasty pitch, then it's almost flat. I was dead here and when you (Lisa) came out to join me, I had to tell you to slow down!"

At the lodge, we got some hot chocolate and warmed by the fire. Going back to the car, we cut through the Wy'East ski lodge because it was freakin' cold and windy up there! As were descending the stairs, Lisa did a girlie scream and said "That is Terri!" Sure enough, RAO co-director Terri Gooch was working the Ski School counter. She told us that George was giving a lesson and would be in shortly. We visited with them and made arrangements for Lisa to attend the 4 day RAO training camp. Her and I are also doing the 3 day camp together. Terri said they would love to have SuperCrew Beth back at the training camps this year.

George had to show us some super cool Rossignol skies he has. Lisa and I know nothing about downhill skis, so we just smiled and nodded a lot. They did look really cool. :)

All in all, it was a great day. It was not an overly hard workout (although my thighs definitely feel it this morning) but it was a lot of fun. Lisa and I want to try and balance our bicycle racing and riding a little better this year, making room for the other thighs we like to do as well. Last year, we focused just on RAO until after the race in June, and then we were off to France and getting married and Hawaii and buying a house and ..... well, we did not do any of the other activities we like very much.

Sunday we went on a bike ride with Buck & Company, and even got SuperCrew Beth out. It was cold again, but another beautiful blue sky day. I'll take the cold over wet and cloudy any day! We did mostly flats, although I did end with some nice long climbs. I was not very fast on the climbs, which I blamed on the skiing. :O OK, I guess I need more hill training.

Ken

Gentlemen, start your Arks!

2006-01-31T09:37:00.000-08:00

Rain, rain go away. We have had something like 10" of rain in Portland in the month of January, on top of all the rain we got in December. I think at least 3" of that fell on Lisa and I this weekend.

Saturday we did a "2 Bridges" ride, from our house east to teh I-205 Bridge, south to Portland, across our old nemisis Marine Drive to the I-5 Bridge, back north to Vancouver and finally home. Not a particularly challanging route, except when the wind is blowing so strong over the I-205 that you have to pedal _downhill_ to keep moving. Oh, and did I mention RAIN?? A very wet ~ 30 miles.

Sunday we met with Buck & Kim at Fat Tire Farm for hills. Lisa and Kim went off to do their thing, while Buck, myself and 4 other intrepid souls went off to do hills. I think I logged maybe 15 miles, much of it up hill, and was thouroughly soaked. And chilled to the bone, as it was cold in them thar hills. Again, not a long ride, but good hills, and definitly a characture builder!

Drowned Llamas

Happy Birthday Junior Mint Drama Queen!

2006-01-24T12:02:00.000-08:00

That's right, yesterday was Sam's 18th birthday! He's a semi-adult now, and we celebrated by riding out to the Bridge Of the Gods last night and eating at Char Burger in Cascade Locks. Oh, we cheated a _little_: Sam rode my old Honda and Lisa and I were on my Suzuki motorcycle! Good thing too, because it was cold out there last night!

Lets see, last weekend on Saturday we went riding with team mates Jay and Jake. Jake got a new (bigger) bike and is selling his Giant TCR2. It's only about 6 months old, and Sam is interested, so he test rode it. We rode from there place near Dosch road over Skyline to Loggie Trail, where we dropped down to Highway 30. Sam realized he has NOT been riding enough, as he was tired at that point. We climbed back up to Skyline up Newberry RD. Sam bonked really hard about half way up, and to be honest I was struggling, and thankful that I was riding the Litepseed with it's tripple! I sent Jay 7 Jake towards home with instructions to send Lisa back with the Llama Box to rescue us.

Sunday, Lisa and I met with Buck & company at Fat Tire Farm. Skyline looked foggy again, and Lisa _really_ did not want to ride in the fog, so the two of us rode part way up Thompson and then dropped back down to highway 30. We had a nice run out to Sauvie Island, where we stopped at the store for a quick snack. Lisa pulled us around about 1/2 way, I took over for awhile, and finally we just toodled in. By the time we got back to the car, we'd done around 43 miles.

We both need to get more base miles in before tackling the hills too much. I think the next few weeks we'll plan on doing much what we did Sunday, maybe adding a loop or two to Sauvie as we get our "legs" back. Lisa did some great core work with Beth Sunday after our ride, while I went over to the old house to take care of a minor maintenence issue. Monday morning she was sure feeling it too!!

Ken

Happy New Year!

2006-01-04T15:28:00.000-08:00

The new year is here and there is no more putting off biking. Monday was my first time back on the bike since that painful day on August 13th. I asked Beth to come up to the new home so we could do an easy ride around the neighborhood, not going too far in case i just couldn't handle things. It was more of a mental barrier than physical - my shoulder has been thru a week of swimming in the ocean and moving the whole family in 24 hours, so there was no way a short ride would hurt.

I told Ken to go ride with Buck, otherwise he would not get a work out in. So glad he went because my ride was VERY short! We geared up and ohmygod it felt weird to be moving on the bike - I don't remember ever feeling exposed and vulnerable like that before. I kept telling myself to just get over it. So we head out to a bike path, feeling kind of squiggly, then down a long straight hill. I was on the Trek which is a less squirrelly bike (no pun intended) so it felt stable. The bike lane ended and the road turned really rough so I told Beth we were headed back.

The way back included a climb. I've driven this road so I knew it was steeper at the top. We start up and next thing I know I'm in my lowest gear (riding the double) and Beth is dropping me. I'm complaining and her response is "this is the one and only time I will EVER get to do this!" OK, she had a point. But the steep part was yet to come and the only way up is to stand and grind. So I did. And I passed Beth. And I kept going. And at the top, I wanted to puke, I started cramping and everything bad about biking came back.

Once back home, I realized I'm out of shape and can't race up hills like I use to...yet. I'll get there. It was a good test ride and training is going to be tough but if its not, then you're not doing it right.

We're back - and training again.

2006-01-03T15:12:00.000-08:00

Well, it's a new year, and things have been going great for the Llamas. We finally got our '06 training started on Jan 2nd. Lisa and Beth went for a short ride around the new neighborhood, while I went into Portland to ride with Buck & Co. Lisa said Sam and I are in trouble, because she felt good on the bike! Training is going to be starting in earnest very soon!

I managed to ride up every hill Buck took us on, however I was struggling! I took out the Lightspeed with it's nice low tripple (30/27) and I was glad more than once. We did not stay out long as the weather was very wet and Skyline cold to boot. We did climb "Bob's Hill" which goes up to Pittock Mansion. A steep climb no matter how good your feelng, all I could do was put it in low gear and spin along at 4 mph. Reminded me of finishing RAO going up Timberline....

One of our crew from last year, Gar, is wanting to ride RAO this year. He really wants to be on a 4 person team, so Lisa and I told him to find another female and we would ride with them as a 4 person mixed. That way we can give Team Bag Balm a run for their money. :) He has a person who is about 70% commited, so we will see.

Lisa and I are signed up for George & Terri's 3 day camp. We LOVED the camp last year, and are really looking forward to it this year. If you have any interest in Long Distance Bicycle riding, get thee to one of G&T's camps! They take care of you like your a Prince (Princess) and the route is always stunning.

Ken

New House, Old House

2005-12-14T13:31:00.000-08:00

You may already know this, but we are buying a new house!
Click here to see a picture. So, we are trying to sell our house in Portland, which means get it cleaned up, throw some lipstick and rouge on it and hope for the best. Kind of like putting it on the street corner, if you know what I mean. Every morning we pick up and make sure there are no underware on the bathroom floor and the like - our house never looks like this normaly.

The down-side is we rented a storage shed to put some of the 'extra' stuff - like 5 or 6 bikes, 2 motorcylces, an extra futon - and somehow packed my riding shoes in a box. I've been jonesing for a ride, but can't figure out which of the 47 boxes they are in, and I'm not jonesing quite hard enough to open them all to find out!!

We went to the RAO DVD premier party Monday night, which of course made it worse. Lisa's goal has been to start training again after the 1st of January, so I'm going along with her. We should have the new house by then, and will move everything over there. We are planning on doing RAO again in '06, probably as a two-person mixed team again. We figure we have proved we can finish, no we need to see if we can get fast! We were talking to Team Bag Balms' Rochard at the party, and they are going to try and shave 1.5 hours from their time. Sounds like a good goal!

Happy Holidays, Ken, Lisa & Sam

Back From Hawaii

2005-12-01T11:49:00.000-08:00

but still busier than ever!

Hawaii was great. Sam and I even got in a little cycling. We rented full-suspension mountain bikes (Gary Fisher Sugar) and took them to the top of Hakeakala, a 10,023' volcano. While Lisa hiked down into the "crater", Sam and I took the challanging "Skyline" trail. The top part is comprised of very sketcy crushed lava rock and scary uncrushed lava rock, all while hurtling downhill. Sam flew off the front, while I took my time a little bit. This was our first time on full suspension bikes, and boy was I impressed! There were a number of spots that I have no doubt I would have bit it on my old fully rigid Kona, but the Sugar just soaked it up and kept me going.

Eventually, Skyline Trail becomes a 2-track road and conditions improve. It's still scary fast for the road conditions, but I didn't feel quite as out of control. Sam of course, just kept flying faster! We turned off onto Mamane Trail, a fun but challanging single track. What a change! Rock, roots, trees and more downhill. Some parts you could fly along, other parts were all technical and best tip-toed through. There were a few spots I did not manage to ride, but it was me not the bike! I'm OK off-road, I'm just not _that_ good yet!

We made a wrong turn at the bottom of Mamane Trail, turning left when we should have turned right. We ended up in Polipoli State Park - and at a dead end. We finally figured out we need to go back - up hill! OK, full suspension bikes do not climb NEARLY as well as my ultrlight Giant TCR 0! And did I mention it was hot and humid? We survived, but drained our water supply in the process.

We finally came to a one-lane paved road, which we flew down. Finally, I was faster than Sam, pulling up on his rear wheel at will. This was very fun, and riding the mountain bikes reminded me a lot of riding my Suzuki V-Strom motorcycle, more so than riding a road bike down a mountain does. There were a few cattle guards, and more than a few cows to watch for!

Lisa had a good hike, although at 10,000' feet, it was much harder than our normal hikes! She shot some great pictures of the crater. We also snorkled, boogie boarded, swam and just hung out a lot. I BBQ'd chicken for Thanksgiving Dinner, and we ate on the Lanai, watching the ocean. I could get used to spending Thanksgiving like this!

Ken

Update - we are headed to Hawaii!

2005-11-16T13:48:00.000-08:00

Well, we have done almost no riding since we got back from Vegas. We went for a 9 mile hike one Saturday, and I rode 35 miles or so of hills the next day, but mostly Lisa and I have been house shopping. Well, and getting our current house ready to put on the market!

Saturday morning the Llama's are heading to Maui for 9 days of fun in the sun. Sam and I are planning on renting bikes for he Volcano downhill run, but mostly I'm planning on sipping Gin & Tonic and chilin'!

See you after Thanksgiving! Ken

Yeah Baby!

2005-10-11T14:04:00.000-07:00

What happens in Vegas... gets blogged! :)

We're back!

2005-10-10T10:18:00.000-07:00

I think this picture says it all!

I'm off to see the wizard...

2005-10-04T16:27:00.000-07:00

...or Elvis or someone!

I fly to Vegas tomorrow to spend time with my sister and her family. Friends start arriving on Thursday, Ken and Sam on Friday and we get hitched on Saturday!

On the collar bone front, met with the surgeon for the follow up. He said its not building bone as fast as he would expect, so no heavy lifting for another 4-6 weeks, but the good news is that its not going to break if i do lift something heavy and it hurts. It will, however, break if I crash. It will all heal perfectly, but for some reason, I'm just slower than the average when it comes to bone cell regeneration.

Anyway, my last post as a single biker chick! Viva Las Vegas!

Hillsboro Stadium, or Mud Hens in the Field

2005-10-03T10:43:00.000-07:00

(Sunday Oct 2)

One word can summarize Sunday's Cross Crusade Cyclo Cross opener: mud. OK, it was not as bad as last year's race at Alpenrose, or last year's Nationals event at PIR, but it was muddy. Muddy, and cold and rainy - in other words, perfect Cycle Cross weather!

Sam and I were up early and made it to Hillsboro before 8:30. We made a quick stop at Fred Meyer for breakfast (Maple bars & apple fritters) and health food (banana's & Luna bars) and we headed over to the stadium. The first place I parked was about 5 miles from the OBRA tent, so after signing in, I moved the Llama Box (AKA Honda Element) closer to the action.

Warming up was a chore. When packing this morning, I'd tossed in my winter gloves: "I won't need these, but might as well take them". I brought both my warm thermal Hammer Products jacket and my BBC rain shell, just in case. I just got the Hammer jacket, and it's nice and toasty great for loading stuff up in the morning. I have some Nike knickers that are perfect for cross and wore those along with my BBC jersey and an under layer. Up top, I was set.

Unfortunately, I wore summer weight socks and my mountain/cross shoes are nicely vented. My feet were soaked before I even started the race. Did I mention that it was POURING rain while I was trying to warm up? And that it got really chilly? I crawled into the Llama Box more than once and ran the heat to warm up.

While Sam and I were pinning numbers on (I wore the BBC jacket during the race) we heard an announcement. "We have a special prize for Ken Morton if he finishes his race." What the heck?" I wondered. Sam wanted me to go check it out, but I declined. "Wait until I finish."

I raced in the Masters B class, so I was in the second race. Unusually, I did not make a lap before the race. I decided that I'd be better off today to start with fresh legs and a clean bike. Jay did the same thing, although he did bring his spinner to warm up on. Next race I'm bringing my spinner as well! And, I really need an Easy Up (tm) shelter.

On the line, I asked Jay what air pressure he was going to run. Jay has lots of mountain bike experience, so I listen to him about such things. He was running around 50 lbs., so I decided the 60 lbs. I had in my tires might be too much. I opened the valves and bled a little off, I probably was running around 55 lbs. They worked pretty well, except for the first time I went over the curb..... after the first time, I remembered to lift the rear wheel as well!

At the start, Jay and I were in the back of the field. I got a little better line over the madhouse that was the carpet, but then got shut off going into turn one. I watched Jay slip through the middle of the field, and that's the last time I saw him! I did pretty well in the mud, and started passing a few people. The first little climb was mine, and I rocketed around a couple riders. After the climb, there was a little downhill, then an oversize "berm". The first two times, I took the highline around the berm. On my second trip, I heard someone on the side coaching another rider. "Take the low line, it's faster!" I tried it the next lap, and it was, so I used that line the rest of the race.

After the berm, there was a short grass section, then a long gravel section after a hard right turn. I flew down the gravel, feeling good. Around another corner, and the course turns to mud. Paul Simon goes through my head, "Slip sliding away, slip sliding away..." I stayed upright, and eventually got pretty good at this section.

There was a short climb as we went back onto the grass, easily ride able. Then there was perhaps the trickiest part of the whole course, a side hill decent with a turn at the bottom. This was the only place I came close to crashing. A quickly unclipped foot kept me upright and I got back on course quickly. After the turn was the run-up, bark covered to make sure it was not ride able.

After the run up, there was a flat section and then a downhill, covered in bark. Next a flat grass/mud section and then gravel again. I found I could pedal down the hill and just float through the mud, gaining some time here. One of the great things for me this race is that I always had someone around me that I could race with. It's hard to keep motivated when you're all alone off the back.

Both sections in the back (south bound?) were into a head wind. The first lap the head wind did not seem that bad, but it got worse later. At the end of the first section, there was a hard turn and a dip. The course took a narrow sidewalk, so you had to hit the corner right, as there was a curb on the outside. A quick straight stretch lead to a hard right and a transit across the grass, parallel to the road. I rocked this section. My IRO is at it's best on bumpy grass. The steel frame and fork combined with the curved seat stays and plush tires give me a great ride over the grass. I'm able to mash the pedals and just hover over the seat. I blew by a couple riders on this section by staying close to the road in the grass.

The second run-up might have been ride able with less mud. It was a short, off camber climb with a sharp turn. The first two times, I rode as far as I could. When the tires slipped out, I hopped off the bike and ran. The only problem was, I was on the wrong side of the bike! I swapped sides with the bike while running through the second corner, but I'm sure it slowed me. On my final laps, I dismounted while still in control so I'd be on the right side of the bike.

Another bumpy grass and mud section, then a fast part of the course, with gravel leading to pavement. The gravel section was into the headwind, and every lap I looked for a wheel to suck. For the most part, if I found one they were going too slow and I ended up passing them, or I had to work to catch them, and then we'd hit the 180 degree turn onto the pavement. The pavement was my Achilles heel, as I did not have the gearing I needed there. Saturday, I changed the gearing to 38/18 (from last week's 38/20). I could really have used a 39 or 40 chain ring, but I don't have one yet. On the first lap, I was able to spin up to about 21 mph on the backstretch, but on the rest of the laps 17 mph was about the best I could hold.

After the straight, all my road skills came into play making the fast corners on the pavement. I barely slowed, in fact pedaling out of both corners. Then there was the hard right back to the front stretch and the only barriers, a six pack just before the finish line. I did 'ok' for the most part through the six pack, but my technique could use some work!

I had people cheering for me all over the course. Sam was at the last turn, and yelled every time I came through. Lisa Graham was helping with scoring and cheered me on and yelled at me to "go faster!" There was someone else out back in the grass, but I never saw who it was. Either that, or there was another "Ken" racing close to me!

I felt great, except for the 3rd lap. That lap, I ran the barriers really well, but I was just a little TOO aggressive. After I remounted, I couldn't catch my breath. I pedaled slowly past the pit entrance. It was everything I could do to turn the pedals over, as I gasped and my chest heaved. I settled into a slow cadence and consciously worked on breathing out. Slow the legs, slow the breathing, and push out. I kept moving as one rider passing me. Finally, I made it to the hill. OK, have to push now and spin the legs up to get over. That's better, I'm back! After that I felt OK again, which I always think is weird!

I got lapped by the 'C's on my 4th lap, making it my last. I think only 3 or 4 of them passed me, and I was passing other 'C' riders towards the end of my lap. My last trip through the six-pack was classic - ride up too fast, just barely clear the first barrier with the bike as I'm slinging it through the air. Finally, get it shouldered and run through the barriers and all the way to the finish.

As I was approaching the finish, again I heard the announcement about the special prize for me if I finished. After finishing and turning in my timing chip, I stood around for a few moments getting my breath. Then I approached the announcer. "OK, I finished, what's my prize?" I asked.

It was my checkbook, which I'd left at registration! Doh!

According to the chip computer, I got 41st. There are lots of problems however, so I don't know how accurate that is. I hope I did better, but even if I didn't, it's better that the 50-something I averaged last year in the beginner class. And I did it with one speed!

Sam had a hard race. He got a bad start, and had to work his way through the field. By the end of the 1st lap, he was in 3rd and looked like he was closing. I went to change and get cleaned up and the next time I saw him, he was 4th and sliding. Among other things, he had too much air in his tires, and the wrong tires for mud. He crashed a bunch and as he said, just did not have the legs to keep up. He finished 4th I'm pretty sure, and Jake finished 3rd, so it was not all that bad! Sam also lost one of his brand new Voler knee warmers.

Sam and I will miss next week's race, as we'll be in Vegas. Lisa and I are getting married Saturday. We will be back the week after though, where hopefully we'll both do a little better.

Ken

Hood River Cycle Cross

2005-09-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

Hood River

The good: weather, organization - VeloShop did an awesome job, my start.

The bad: the gravel pit, both run ups, the double hairpin-downhill turn.

The ugly: my back. It about gave out by lap 4.

Once again we car-pooled to the race, this time I drove. My teammates Jay, Jake and mom Mel rode with me. Sam had to work, so he did not come. Good for the juniors, but bad for Sam. We got to the course by 11-ish, so we had plenty of time to pre-ride the course and get warmed up. I made two laps, taking it easy on the run ups and riding around some of the barriers. I know my strengths, and my weaknesses. My back is one of my weaknesses, and I did not want to strain it before the race!

I watched the start of the 45+ race (Jay), the juniors (Jake and lots of other teammates!) and the C's. The C's jammed up really bad at the gate to the ball field, and I decided I'd like to be towards the front going through the gate. I practiced some dismounts and remounts (need more practice!) and then grabbed the camera to get some shots. Jake had a great race, taking second. Jay did well, getting 12th, which is not too shabby.

I hit the "blue room" for one last time and then lined up. At the start, I pushed a little and was 5th or 6th going through the gate. We were strung out single file going through, which was very good. Hitting the grass I slowed a little and allowed some people to slip by.

I did OK the first 3 laps making no major mistakes. OK, some of my dismounts (off the sand in particular) were less than stellar, but I got off the bike every time! The run ups were killing me. I was very happy that I was able to ride all the ride-able parts. The sand, up the hill after the bridge, the gravel no problem. Pretty much, were I could ride I did ok. It was the off-the-bike stuff that I'm not so hot on.

I played tag with Steve from Half Fast Velo for a bunch of laps. I passed him on the grass; he passed me on the barriers. Next lap, I passed him back. Finally, he passed me again and I just couldn't quite catch him. It was fun to have someone to race with though!

The first two laps, I was grunting and huffing like the old man I am. "What the heck am I doing out here? This is fun??!" I thought. There were a couple corner marshals at the corner before the double-switch-back. "What was I thinking riding a single speed?" I asked them rhetorically. Finally, on the third lap, I remembered what I'd told myself when I built this bike. "I can be in back of the single speeds as easily as I can be in back of the geared bikes." OK, back to MY game plan - finish the race and take positions by others DNF'ing. Hey, it may not be very sportsman like, but it's worked for me all year.

By lap 4, my back was hurting pretty badly. It's _hard_ to convince yourself to run up a hill when your lower back is screaming at you, so I ended up walking. I was getting passed regularly by the 'B" geared riders, and mostly tried to stay out of their way. My last trip through the gravel I almost did not make it, as a 'B' went down in front of me, but he hustled through and I stayed on the pedals. I tried to catch my rabbit (Steve) on the last climb, but it was not to be.

My bike gearing was good (38/20) as I was able to ride all the ride-able parts of the course. I could have used something steeper on the pavement and grass, but this was a good compromise for me. Everything else on the bike worked flawlessly. Sunday, my right arm hurt like hell. I guess it's not used to throwing 20 pounds around, and I slammed my top tube into to it more than once. Yeah, my "technique" needs work. I finished 14th (of 18 starters) besting last years best 'cross finish of 19th. I was a lap down (5 laps), but I did not go a lap down until towards the end, which is better than I did last year. Plus, I was racing with 'B's, and my 'cross category is "Beginner", so I don't feel too bad about being lapped. My plan worked once again, as I beat everyone who DNF'd!

Next week, there won't be a "B Single Speed" class, so I'll probably race with Jay in the 45+ class. I'm sure I'll get my butt kicked there as well, but at least I'll have the excuse that I only have one gear. See ya all there!

Ken

Skull Hollow Robaiux the Hard Way

2005-09-22T13:40:00.000-07:00

As if this race wasn't hard enough already, I chose to ride my single speed IRO 'cross bike. Why? No one is quite sure. Sunday morning Sam and I are getting ready, and Lisa sits me down on the couch.

"Honey", she asks in her most concerned voice, "do you need a psychiatrist?"

"Huh? No, I don't think so", I respond. "Why?"

With a serious tone, "Well, you are going to ride your single speed."

It's nice to have support of loved ones. Anyway, teammate and friend Jay showed up and we loaded bikes and gear into his car for the drive to Madras. We had a good drive over, making quicker time than we expected. After borrowing tools from the rider parked next to us (Jay and I both decided to leave our toolboxes at home for some reason) Jay, Sam and I headed out to warm up a little. We rode out of the parking lot, took a right up the paved road and a left down the gravel road.

After maybe a half mile, Sam noted he had a soft tire, so turned around to take care of it. Jay and I rode to the other end of the road, getting a nice pre-view of what the gravel would be like. We then turned around and rode in the actual race direction, flying down the hill at 25+ MPH.

Saturday I'd changed the gearing on my IRO to 38/20, which I now thought, was too low. On the paved portions, I was going to be spinning like crazy and/or going pretty slow. 100 RPM was about 15 mph, and frankly 15mph was too slow for a good portion of the course. Some people were standing around the map pre-race and I heard a comment that there was much more than 50% paved roads. I hoped they were wrong! (Turns out I think they were.)

We placed a cooler by the gravel-road stop sign with extra water bottles so we could switch after the 1st lap. I fiddled a little more, Sam adjusted his seat and we ate turkey-cheese sandwiches. We watched the 'A's and 'B's get going and finally it was our turn. I saw there was at least one other person crazy enough to ride a single speed and that made me feel better. He was running a 42/17 gear though! He and I both lined up in back, figuring we were going to end up there anyway.

I stayed with the pack out of the parking lot, actually passing a few people. We took off down the road, and I drafted as best I could. Sam jumped off the front coming out of the parking lot, and the last time I saw him, he had a good 15-bike length lead. "Save your legs Sam!" I thought. Silly me, he had plenty of legs this day.

I did pretty well staying with the stragglers at first, but eventually the pavement worked against me. On the first dirt section, I started passing a few people, until a big climb; they passed me back. I chased on group of 3 riders, one guy and two women, almost all the way to the highway. I caught and passed them just maybe 1/4 mile before the pavement. Once on the pavement, I sped up to 16 mph and held there. The three came flying by. "You can grab a wheel if you'd like!" I sped up to the 21mph they were doing and took one rotation through their pace line. I dropped off after that; I can't keep up at 140 rpm pace!

I dropped back a little, and about the same time the pavement pitched up. Then an interesting thing happened. I was able to maintain about 16mph on the flats, and about 15mph on these shallow climbs. Slowly, I reeled the three of them back in and then lost them again as the pavement pitched down. My usual downhill method was to spin up to 20 MPH or so, then just tuck in as best I could and coast.

We turned off the highway, and soon I overtook the group again. "Hey, we waited for you!" one of the women said as I peddled by. 'Can't...slow.... down..." I huffed. One thing I have learned on the single speed - keep whatever momentum you have! I never saw the three again as I slowly increased my lead.

As I rode over the last dirt road on the first lap, I almost had my race ended. I had crested the hill, and was flying down the other side on my way to the stop sign. Coming around a blind left, there was a huge Suburban coming my way. I was all the way left, and headed right towards him. We both jammed brakes and I managed to steer right around him, my heart in my throat. "Shit!"

At the stop sign, I hopped off the bike and laid it down, knocking a handlebar plug out in the process. I yelled out my number, and the corner worker said, "Oh, you're quitting." "NO!!", I yelled, "Just getting water!" I grabbed one of the water bottles out of the cooler and tossed in my empty. A guy in shorts and a jersey had picked up my bike and replaced my bar end plug. He handed me my bike. "Thank you!" I said, hopping on and taking off like I had a chance of placing.

I'd brought two bottles of Perpetum and one of HEED. I started the race with a bottle of Perpetum and watered down HEED; I had drunk about 3/4 of the HEED before the race, and just filled the bottle with plain water. I thought I'd grabbed the other Perpetum from the cooler. As I now grabbed a swig, I realized it was ICE WATER. Man, it tasted good. It turned out Sam had grabbed my Perpetum. I drank half the bottle before I hit the gravel again.

I don't think I saw anyone again until I was back on the highway. There was a nasty headwind going down the highway, and I just got on the hoods and plowed down the road. I don't like headwinds (does anyone?) but it seems I've ridden in a lot this year, so I'm getting better at them. I'd been seeing a rider up ahead on and off, and now started closing in. Finally, on the long uphill grade I caught her. "I'm just going to sit here on your wheel for a minute and catch my breath" I told her. She was not having fun on the highway, and I think was happy to have the company. She said the cars and trucks flying by were really scaring her. I sat on her wheel for a bit, until she motioned me around. We switched back and forth for awhile, until the hill before the turn for the first lap.

"Do we turn in the same place?" I asked her, noticing I was pulling away a little. "I think so," she said, so I sped up. I got to the road, and it was obvious we did not turn, so I slowed and waited for her. She stayed on my wheel for a little ways, but we were climbing again and soon I was dropping her. I turned around and waved, thanking her for her help.

I turned off the highway and the road was still paved for a long ways. I kept expecting someone to catch me on the long paved section, but no one did. I just kept spinning along at my 16 mph. It was getting hot, but as long as there was a breeze it wasn't too bad. Occasionally, there would be a tailwind, and I'd suddenly feel the heat. I'd killed the ice water, and only had a little in the other water bottle. I kept hoping to see a course worker or someone I could get some water from. Of course, I didn't see anyone.

I turned onto Skull Hollow road. Man this thing is rough! I thought I had a flat as I could not seem to push the bike over 10 mph. "Am I climbing?" I wondered. It didn't look like a grade, but it could be. I passed the rock that I assumed was the Hollow Skull (very cool) and wondered where Robaiux was. Belgium or France? Isn't that too far to ride? I think I was hallucinating.

After a really nasty cattle guard, there was a wide grassy area to the right. There were two mountain bikers there, who had obviously just finished a ride. I rode up to them and asked if they had any extra water. One of them filled one water bottle from his Camelback; the other filled my other bottle from a Nagalene bottle. "Thank you guys! Your lifesavers!" They told me I had about 3 miles more of UP to do.

I rode away, albeit not very fast. By now my legs were feeling leaden. I thought I was just tired; it was all I could do to pedal up the hill. 6 mph, now down to 5, then to 4. Finally, I got off and walked a little. My computer showed I was walking at 2.8 mph. I kept looking back to see if someone was catching me, but I did not see anyone. For the first time, I thought I might not be able to finish. "This is ridiculous, " I thought. "I should be able to ride this!" I got back on the bike, and rode standing for 100 yards before dismounting and resuming walking.

I'm guessing I walked a mile to a mile and a half. Towards the top, the hill finally got shallower and I started riding again. I surprised myself; I did have legs left! I took it super easy at the two "SLOW" signs, not wanting to wreck now. The downhill went on forever. I passed 3 people walking their bikes or just sitting with flat tires. I was tired, and finding a good line on some of the faster sections was hard. I remember one area where the center was scoured of loose rocks, but was so rough you could barely ride there. Towards the sides it was smoother, but the gravel was loose and sketchy. Once you'd chosen a line, you almost had to stick with it until you got to the bottom of that hill, as trying to switch at speed wasn't going to happen.

Finally, I made it to the last turn. There was a bunch of people just before the turn, doing what I don't know. Around the turn and "Yippee!" that's the 1K to go sign! There were still two hard hills to get up; I walked yet again. I made it about 2/3rd's the way up the last hill did my best Cycle Cross dismount and walked to the top. There was a little flat before the finish and I got back on to ride over the line. I finished in just a tick under 4 hours total.

I slowly made my way back to the cars. Sam told me I was a rock star, but it turned out he was. He WON the Class C event, bringing home an awesome trophy. The ride home took longer than the ride there, but we all had fun talking about the race. Jay finished 13th, and I took home 19th. The other single speed rider, Wade came in an astounding 5th place!

We had a good time, and I hope we get more of this kind of races here. The big hill was TOO much for me, but there is a sense of pride in finishing, even if I did walk most of it. Sam admitted he walked some too. Jay, mountain biker he is, managed to ride the whole thing. Do it again next year, and I'll show up. Maybe even on a single speed again. :)

Ken

Back in the saddle

2005-09-19T07:29:00.000-07:00

Well, not really, but this weekend my friend Kim and I went for an eight mile hike. Nothing like starting out small. It felt good to be moving again, but I made a poor choice in a jog-bra which put waaay to much pressure on the collar bone and I was hurting before even starting. I didn't realize this, and just thought I was being a baby so I toughed it out. The pain was pretty bad by time I got home, but the minute I stripped for the shower, I could feel relief. 800mg of Ibu later, I was back to normal. Now I know.

Later this week, the trainer goes up for evening spinning. Boring, but at least it keeps the legs moving.

Lisa

And even more ROF pictures.

2005-09-15T07:47:00.000-07:00

Sam waits for Ken at the night loop exchange. Ken did the first loop and a total of 3, while Sam got in 2 3/4's loops before our 12 hours ran out.

Hey! watch where your going! We did not colide, but it was a little close for a second there.

Breakfast. George Thomas, Terri Gooch, Susan Otcenas, Laura Recko, Tom Jacobson, Tom's Dad, Nance Seton, not sure, Greg Geser. Just behind them you can see the back of James Trout's head and Ken & Lisa.

More ROF Pictures

2005-09-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

Susan Otcenas riding hard.

Sam and Ken bright eyed and bushy tailed at the start.

Sam waiting for Ken at the top of Santiam pass.

And Sam's off!

Ken on McKenzie pass. I'm getting ready to take off my jacket, as I'm a little warm.

Ken cresting McKenzie pass.

Lisa made a new friend. After the squirrel incident, I was suprised. She explained that this is a chipmonk, not a squirrel!

Ring of Fire Pictures: Page 1

2005-09-13T15:55:00.000-07:00

Ring Of Fire Photos.

Richard & Nance Seton get ready to start, while Sam & Ken watch.

And their off!

Ring of Fire Report

2005-09-12T08:03:00.000-07:00

Sam and I completed the 12 hour Ring of Fire TT in fine style. We met our goals, and had a good time, despite a nasty chilly rain early in the day. Our goals were to 1) hopefully finish the first 106.8 mile day loop in 6 hours or less and 2) do 200 miles in 12 hours. Well, we finished the day loop in under 6 hours, and did a total of 221.8 miles! Sam rocked, considering this was the most miles he'd ever ridden in 12 hours; he did about 112 miles.

Thanks to George and Terri for putting this on. A very special thanks to Greg Geser and the fantastic volunteers he lined up. With out exception, they were cheerful, friendly and very helpful. My partner and soon-to-be wife Lisa crewed for us and did a great job, despite her still healing clavicle. This was the first time we used our Honda Element, the "Llama Box", for support duties, and it worked out very well. We were able to just toss the off riders bike in the back, which made for quick and easy exchanges. It's pretty dirty inside right now, but it is all washable, which is why we got it.

Early in the morning Sam decided he and I are not the best of team-mates. Two days before the race I was stressed, trying to make sure we had everything ready, while Sam had a very laid back attitude. Saturday morning I was calm, while he was a bundle of nerves. I knew that I'd done what I could, and now my job was just to ride. Lisa would deal with any problems that came up (none really did).Sam was bouncing off the proverbial walls.

Sam - "Why isn't he on his aero bars? This is flat, he should be on his aero bars!"

Lisa - "That bike doesn't have aero bars."

Sam - "Oh. Well he should be in the drops. I'd be in the drops..."

Lisa - "It's a long race, he's pacing himself."

After Sam finally got on the bike and rode a pull, he settled down. He was still blazing fast, a little too fast on McKenzie pass at one point. He took off up the hill like we were doing a 20K TT, and soon was in obvious distress. Lisa did her crew chief thing and I relieved him a couple miles early. It all worked out well, except somehow he got the super sweet descent from the top of McKenzie into Sisters. Hmm, I wonder if he planned that....

The night loop was fast, and I managed to stay pretty consistent, turning times in the 1:02 to 1:05 ballpark. Sam's first lap was a agonizingly long 1:15-ish, as he took a wrong turn. He wasn't the only one, I hollered at a couple of riders that blew past turns. Sam made up for it on his second lap, with a sub-1 hour time for the 20 mile loop. He third lap was our last, and he made 15 miles in the 45 or so minutes he had on course, right on target for a 1 hour lap.

We had fun, and plan on being back next year. Hopefully, I'll be riding 2 person mixed with Lisa and Sam can do 12 hour solo. ;)

Ken

Thursday September 8th: Ring of Fire

2005-09-08T09:29:00.000-07:00

Sam and I are getting geared up for this weekend. He's pretty excited; I'm trying to get myself psyched. Sam has been super strong of late; Tuesday he finished 8th in a combined Category 1,2,3,4 handicap race. He would have finished higher were it not for a flat tire with 4 laps to go. We put the rear wheel off my Giant on his bike, and he finished the last 4 laps on his own. He had essentially one gear in back as my 10 speed cog's didn't line up with his 9 speed shifters. I on the other hand sucked Tuesday. I started the 5-4 handicap as a Cat 4 chasing the Cat 5's. We could not get a pace line going, despite some if us trying. As I was drifting back on the inside, the line accelerated and popped me and another guy off the back, with no chance of regaining. I dropped and joined the 4-3-1/2 handicap race as a Cat 4 with the handicap lead. I stayed with the 4's for a couple laps, but got popped off the back as I just couldn't seem to keep up. I sat up and waited for the 3's and did 2 laps with them. I realized I was tired and not riding smart - head down trying to catch up - and as we came past the OBRA truck, I peeled off and pulled in. The last thing I needed to do was fry my legs or cause a crash.

I got the Llama box ready yesterday with signs front and left side. I mounted our RAO "Caution Bicycles Ahead" sign to the roof rack after drilling a couple new mounting holes. The Yakima bars are a little further apart on the Llama box than they were on the Subaru. I cleaned my Litespeed, lubed the chain and put my Aero bars back on. Sam got his Redline cleaned up, reinstalled road tires and put Lisa's Aero bars on. Tonight I need to do a thorough clean on my primary bike, the Giant, and pack clothes. We leave around 1 tomorrow for Sisters. Lisa has got route sheets printed, pulls figured out and is working on a food shopping list this morning. I'm really glad she is Crew Chief, as I don't seem to be near focused enough.

I just hope I can keep going for 12 hours. I'm sure glad Sam has been so strong.....

Ken

Wednesday Aug 31

2005-08-31T12:06:00.000-07:00

Not a lot going on, but still I seem very busy. Sam kicked butt at the State Junior Track Championships, not only taking the gold medal, but taking it by brute force. He won EVERY race he was in Saturday! He raced 4 sprints, 2 Time Trials (1K and 3K) and a 25 lap points race. The only minor annoyance was he did not win the last lap in the points sprint as he allowed himself to get boxed in. Didn't matter, he already had enough points by that time to win the race. I took him to work right after the races and he worked for 5 hours, then went to the indoor BMX track in Milwaukie. He won that too, brining home a big trophy for 1st place!

Sunday he and I loaded up the 'cross bikes and went out on Lief Erickson (gravel road). We rode "up" Leif for about 45 minutes, and then turned around. I was riding my IRO single speed, and we set a pretty good pace. The IRO is great on this kind of surface, fast but rough. With the cross tires on (Maxis) and the steel frame, the ride is "plush". Sam and I switched bikes and shoes about 8 miles before getting back, and the differences were obvious. His Redline Conquest Pro is aluminum and the ride is much rougher. On the other hand, it is snappy on acceleration, and I thought steers a bit quicker (it's also a 50cm vs the IRO at 58cm). I let Sam head on down the hill to Fat Tire Farm while I tossed his bike in the back of the Llama Box and met him down there.

Last night (Tuesday) we raced at PIR. Sam rode to work (about 10 miles) then up to PIR (10 more miles) then did the cat 3-4 race, finishing 3rd in the final sprint, good for 6th overall. I drove to PIR, but raced both the cat 4-5 and cat 3-4 races, for about 41 miles total at an average (including my 7 mile warmup) of 22 MPH!

This weekend Sam and I are going to try to get a ride or two in. I'm not sure what to do; I've been struggling on long rides lately, and last night in the first race felt like I had no sprint; my legs felt like lead. At then end of the second race though I was able to keep up and even pass some people at the end. 10 days before the race am I better off trying to ease off a little, or should I try to do one more big weekend? Good thing we are 'only' doing the 12 hour!

Senor Llama

Friday Aug 26th

2005-08-26T13:20:00.000-07:00

We had a bit of a scare this week. Lisa had an appointment to see her Dr. this week, to check out the shoulder. Her Dr. was sick, so it got rescheduled to a Nurse Practioner on Wednesday. The N.P. got all freaked and told Lisa they were going to have to reset her shoulder, put her in a brace and inject bone tissue. The N.P. insisted Lisa go see a bone Dr. on Thursday, which we did. He said the shoulder is doing fine, she can wear a figure-of-8 brace if she wants and feels it helps. Whew.

Sam and I signed up to do the Ring of Fire this week, as a two-person team. I named the team "Senor Llama & Son" off a post that Kenneth did on his blog (although he misspelled Senor as Senior). I notice that George has the name wrong on the website though.... I'm not sure how well we will do, neither of us are training, other than PIR Crit races and weekend rides. Well, Sam's killing them at track; he's won the Omnium by a ton the last two weeks.

I don't know if I'll get a ride in this weekend. Saturday AM is the Jr. Track State Championships that Sam is racing in, and Sunday Lisa's Mom is coming over. Oh well, I'll just have Sam do all the hills.

:)

Sat Aug 20: NWTT

2005-08-22T07:40:00.000-07:00

Saturday, Beth, Sam, Lisa and I headed over to Trout Lake for the NWTT. Sam and I were signed up to ride the TT while Lisa and Beth were helping out on the course. Beth brought her bike along so she could go for a ride afterwards.

The Trout Lake venue is absolutely beautiful! Set in the shadow of Mt. Adams, this is farm country and is just peaceful and pretty. We got to Trout Lake school about an hour and fifteen minutes before Sam's start time so we drove the course. There is one major 'hill' that you climb from both directions. I was going to ride my IRO single speed, and after driving the hill left the 42/18 gearing on it.

Sam and I warmed up, me on a spinner and him by riding around. His start time was about 20 minutes before mine. Finally it was my turn. I started off trying to keep my cadence around 100-105 or about 19-19.5 MPH. Over the flats this was an easy spin, and I was thinking I could have used a 17t freewheel. Beth, Lisa and Georges' daughter Meredith were at the 'T' intersection. Beth and Lisa cheered me on as I went through, making me feel good. Just after the intersection the climb starts. Suddenly the 18t freewheel was plenty and why the heck didn't I put on my 20t?? On the steep parts of the hill I was sitting as far back on the seat as I could just mashing the pedals for all I was worth to crank out maybe 5 mph.

Of course I was being passed by people who started after me, but that was OK. One guy came up from behind; "I was going to tell you to shift down, but I see that's not an option!" he said. I smiled and kept mashing. Finally, I saw the first false summit as the grade eased. I sped over the top, my heart hammering a little. Tuck, and zoom down the hill. Breath deep, relax and recover. Thankfully the next hill was not nearly as hard.

Just before the turn around, I passed a junior. I cheered her on and felt good that I was passing someone. :) I made the turn in fine form, and stood up to accelerate away. I could see that I was closing in on a rider in a blue jersey. Oh boy someone else to pass! It was another Junior, my team-mate Fiona. I passed her at the begining of the long uphill and cheered her on. Her Mom was out on the course and drove by as I was grunting up the last steepest part of the hill. She was urging me to speed up just giving me heck when she finally realized I was on the single speed.

Yes! I'm over the top; it's almost all downhill from here! I tucked in and sped down the hill, hitting a max of 41.8 mph. I railed the corners barley touching the brakes. I really like the way the IRO handles it's very stable in fast corners and gives me a lot of confidence. Towards the bottom there was a traffic jam with Fiona's Mom caught behind a pick up and a tractor all of them doing maybe 12 mph. I came up at around 24 mph and just flew past them all on the left, not willing to give up any mommentem. Back at the 'T' intersection Lisa and Beth were yelling encouragment as I zoomed through.

The rest was just spinning a cadence I could maintain. I found I was able to spin a little faster now, closer to 115 or almost 21 mph. There were a few rollers just before the highway, and then one last little grunt just before you turned for the home stretch. I stood up and hammered up the little hill. Our friend Shari was working the corner and yelled for me to "Go, Ken Go!" as I wnet through. Go I did, keeping my cadence up and my head down.

The last stretch was really fun. I got into this almost "Zen" state, just me and the bike, all my focus on my legs and my breathing. "One, two, three, four..breath out. One, two, three, four..breath out." Over and over. Don't have to worry about shifting up or down for the rollers, just keep the legs going. Four pedal strokes and push the used air out. There are the school signs and here is the last hill. OK, I'm on the last flat stretch, lets see how fast I can turn these pedals. Legs flying gotta finish strong!

I helped out at the last NWTT, so I had an idea of what a fast time here was. The really quick guys would finish in just over an hour (todays was actually under an hour!). The slowest ones last time had been 2 hours +. My goal was to finish on the IRO SS in 1.5 hours or less. My time was 1:23:41, so I met my goal. Next year I'll be faster. All I have to do is get a little better at climbing with a 'big' gear, and I could shave a bunch of time....

Sam did well, finishing in 1:09:38, good for second place. Our friend Ken Philbrick of RAO fame finished 2nd in his category and won the overall series. All the series winners were put into a drawing for a Co-Motion frameset, and Ken won! Whoo-hoo!

Afterwards, Sam, Beth and I headed around the course. We made it to the first false summit and turned around. My computer was showing temps over 100 degrees, which is a little too much. We got back to the school, loaded up and headed home.

Ken

Tuesdays Crit Race

2005-08-17T09:03:00.000-07:00

Sam had to work until 5 in Milwaukie, so I went by the house, grabbed bikes, gear and Broken Llama Lisa and we headed south to scoop him up. There was a fire at the really sleezy apartment/hotel across the street from the Bomber as we went by southbound. After scooping Sam, we headed back north, and McLaughlin was closed down. I fumed as we crawled through traffic to River Road, and finally back down to McLaughlin. Of course, my low-gas light came on at the same time. Did I mention I HATE stop & go traffic? I figured we had enough gas, and headed for PIR. Sam put his race number on his jersey, and I stripped mine off at a traffic light so he could do mine.

We got to PIR in time for Sam and I each to do one warm up lap, and the starter was blowing the whistle for us to line up. Usually, I do 2-3 warm up laps and then spin around the parking lot until the start whistle blows. The peloton started off reasonably slow, so it wasn't really a problem. I stayed relatively towards the back the first lap, just warming up. Coming onto the front straight, there was a crash right in front of me! I actually locked my rear brakes while veering right and managed to clear the wreckage as I smelled my rear tire burning. I knew Sam was behind me, and looked over my shoulder to see him, but couldn't spot him. After a seconds hesitation, I hammered to catch back up to the peloton.

Sam later told me that the kid that crashed lapped wheels, and went down. Sam had told him TWICE already on this our first lap not to lap wheels. Unfortunately, the kid learned a hard lesson, as he has quite a bit of road rash. Sam bunny-hopped OVER the downed bike, clearing it. He landed with his front and rear wheels about a foot out of line. As he said "20 mph, 1" wide tires and a foot out of line didn't work." Sam went down and got a little road rash of his own. He Cyclo-Cross started back on his bike and tried to catch the pack. Seeing it wasn't going to happen, he dropped and changed his registration to the Cat 3-4 race.

I just cruised around with the Peloton. At the hotspot, I stayed in contact with the front riders, but did not contest the points. I'd found a couple spots where I could move up when needed, and saved them for the last lap. As we hit the front stretch, I made sure I was far to the right. The wind was blowing from our left-to-right and being on the right side was much easier and faster, since the wind was blocked by the other riders. Again, I kept in contact as the speed built up, saving my sprint. Finally it was time, as the early sprinters started slowing and I stood up and hammered. I ran out of steam 1 stroke from the line and pushed the bike over, taking 7th, my highest placing so far.

After cooling down a bit, I was riding with one of the other cat 4-5 riders. "Wanna go join the 3-4's", he asked. "Sure, can we do that?" I guess so. We tooled around waiting for them on the front stretch, and finally I started accelerating to move into the peloton. I rode with them until the bell lap, when I peeled off; I think I rode about 7 or 8 laps with the 3-4's, having no problem keeping up.

There was a crash on the 2nd to last lap, that happened behind me. After I peeled off, I rode around to the crash with a couple of others. The poor guy looked bad - he landed face-first and there was a lot of blood. I guess someone slowed in front of him, and he hit there wheel. A car came around and picked him up, and I cooled down as I finished riding the lap. Sam finished 17th in the 3-4's, not bad for his first outing with them. I think I'm going to race both cat's next week so I can hang on for the 3-4 finish.

Next stop, NWTT.

Ken

Lisa's X-Ray

2005-08-17T08:56:00.000-07:00

Yeah, it's broken. Ouch.

Beth's Torture 10K (lite) Report

2005-08-16T08:07:00.000-07:00

I signed up to do the 70-mile, 6500 feet of climbing, Torture 10k lite. I
didn't mention it here last week because I was dreading it and didn't want
to hear any horror stories :) For the record, it was hard but doable, and
I'm no climber. I've been doing hilly weekend rides and I think that was
excellent preparation for this event - there are lots of climbs, but
there's only one long one of about 3.5 miles. It goes to the middle of
NOWHERE, Oregon (see if you can find George, Oregon on your map!). The
70-miler has FOUR rest stops, so basically every 12-15 miles there's a
break, giving us many opportunities to eat and get more water.

I was riding with Lisa (of Candy-Ass Llamas fame) and another woman named
Kim. We were one mile from the 3rd rest stop, 55 miles into the ride, and
only 1000 feet left of climbing - I knew I was going to make it! ...until
I heard a scream, and a crash, and looked up the road to see Lisa lying in
the middle of the road. It was a scary and confusing moment - there were
no cars or bikers near her, and the road was smooth, so I couldn't figure
out what happened. Long story short, a squirrel ran out and got gummed up
in her works. She crashed head over handlbars, broke her left collarbone,
and cracked her helmet clear through. (The squirrel didn't make it.) Her
riding season is over, but she'll be healed before her wedding in October.

I know she's ridden thousands of miles this year, and even more thousands
since she started biking, so I suppose it was inevitable that something
happen. I'm just glad she got out of it relatively unscathed! Watch out
for squirrels - they're crazy!

Beth

Torture Ten-Thousand...

2005-08-15T09:49:00.000-07:00

...or SQUIRREL!!

Dateline Saturday August 13th, Mount Hood Community College, Greasham, Oregon. I had all my excuses pre-lined up. Last week, we rode with Terry the Terror (2 time RAAM finisher and RAO solo finisher) to Lost Lake. "Oh it'll be fun! A route you haven't ridden yet!" she gushed. And in fact, it was a nice route, very pretty and not very much traffic. The only problem was that I was riding my IRO single speed, and it's 42-18 gearing was a little much for the over 10% grades up to Lost Lake. I made it there and back, but I was struggling towards the end. Terry even offered to go and get George and his van to sag me back to the car.

Tuesday it was PIR and the Crit race. Sam and I strategized, and on the 5th lap I picked him up on the back straight. Going down the front straight, I started positioning myself, moving up through the pack. Through the 'S' curves at the West end I attacked, taking Sam with me. I hammered to the top of the back stretch, pushing a big gear. "I'm done, you go!" I yelled at him. He went, dragging 5 competitors with him, the rest of the field dropped. He finished 2nd in the sprint, and second overall (he won the hot-spot). My job done, I died and rolled in almost last, with a nasty cramp in my right hamstring. It seems that Saturday's climb and then pushing a big gear on Tuesday I'd pulled something. All week Lisa helped me stretch, and by Saturday morning at least the knot was gone, but I was not feeling strong by any means.

And, the heat. I've always known that heat is my enemy. I melt in the heat. More specifically lately I seem to have some breathing difficulty when it gets really hot. The Torture 10,000 ride is put on by the Portland Wheelman Touring Club, and is advertised as 100 miles and 10,000 feet; in reality this years route was 104 miles and almost 14,000 feet of climbing!

Lisa, Beth, Jennifer and Kim were slated to do the 72 mile route, and I really wanted to go with them. I thought that the 72 miles and it's 7+ thousand feet just seemed much more reasonable for me to ride considering how I felt. But, Buck was expecting me to be at the MHCC parking lot, and I really do like riding with him. So, as the girls headed off, I did slow laps around the lot waiting for Buck. We left the lot as a group of 7 or 8 around 7:40 or so, about 40 minutes after the girls left.

The first big climb of the day was Larch Mountain. The group set a fairly fast pace, but that was OK. At the Corbett School I started my stop watch to time the Larch Climb. I think I was about 12 minutes off my last TT time. About 4 miles from the top I started to really feel the climb and slowed, letting the faster riders go on.

At the top rest-stop I grabbed a couple cookies and a piece of watermelon, then hopped back on the bike and as the faster crowd left. All was well going down the hill. I caught Buck and he and I chatted. We all regrouped at the turn, then started off on rollers, and steep relatively short climbs. Right away, I started dropping off the back. I remember looking at my ODO once, around 45 miles or so into the ride and my legs felt like lead. Standing was not an option, at least not long as it took forever to recover. In a word, I was bonking, and bonking bad. Eventually, Buck rode back to me to see how I was doing. I told him I was bonking, but other than that was OK, and he should go on ahead. He rode with me for a while, helping to raise my speed, but also causing me to huff and puff more. Eventually we both realized I'd be better if he just rode off and left me to set my own pace. I assured him I would be OK.

I made it to the rest stop in Sandy eventually. I had to stop twice on Ten Eck road. My granny was getting a workout, but the good news was my hamstring was not really hurting. I just had nothing in my legs. Buck and the gang were still at the rest area when I rolled in, and I think he was relieved to see me. I assured him I'd take a good long rest and get something to eat, and he and the group left.

I got more water, took some Enduralytes and ate a bunch. I sat and rested for awhile, then headed out. I could not get up the hill leaving the rest area! OK, I probably could have, but it was so damn hard I could not see going on. I turned around and headed back to the rest area. I ate a little more, rested a bit and tried again. I made it further up the hill, but the prospect of going to the next rest stop was totally disheartening and I turned back around. This time, I emptied my jersey pockets, laid my jacket out and laid down and closed my eyes for awhile.

I semi-slept for 15 or 20 minutes and then got restless. I really wanted a Coke. I decided that my idea of going to the next rest stop was not realistic and at this point getting back to the car was my goal. I loaded up and headed back out, this time turning for the end of the ride. I stopped at a store in Sandy and got a Coke and a corn-dog. They helped I think, and I headed out again. Shortly I met up with a father-daughter on a tandem and we chatted all the way back to MHCC. It was great having the company and I think I helped them as much as they helped me.

If the story ended there it would all be good. But it doesn't. Buck ran into Lisa, Beth & Kim (we think Jennifer missed a turn..) and told Lisa I was struggling and they had left me at the Sandy rest stop. Lisa in turn started hammering hoping to catch me at the stop. She flatted after hitting a pot-hole at speed, which caused her to slow a little. They got the flat fixed (eventually, the first tube had a leak!) and headed back out Lisa in the lead. On a set of rollers, Lisa zoomed down the hill and then started back up at something over 20mph. A squirrel crossed the road in front of her and then stopped. At the last minute he reversed course right into her path. We're not sure exactly what happened next, but fur and squirrel blood were everywhere and Lisa went down hard.

When I pulled up to the car, I immediately saw Lisa's bike on the roof. There was a van with flashing lights parked behind my Honda, and I first I wasn't sure what was going on. Beth caught me, "Lisa broke her collarbone," she told me. Holy cow! She was in the front seat and in a lot of pain. As quickly as possible I got the bikes and gear loaded and we zoomed to Providence, where x-rays confirmed that the bone was broken. She also got some road-rash but it's really relatively light. There was blood on her legs and we kept looking for a cut when we realized it was squirrel blood. Beth confirmed the squirrel did not make it, as he was lying on the road when they drove away.

Lisa is off the bike for 4-6 weeks. It's a good thing we decided to get married instead of doing the FC 508 this year! She is still in a lot of pain, despite the pain meds. Sleeping is really hard for her as she can't get comfortable.

Be careful out there, and do not trust small furry animals!

Ken

I wanna be a racer-boy

2005-08-02T13:57:00.000-07:00

Saturday the 29th Lisa and I rode the Summit-to-Surf ride. We started in Welches, and rode up the back way to Timberline. I like the back way! For some reason, it did not seem as steep, although you come out just before the hard right-hand turn and the 10% climb! Lisa did great, that was her first time doing the entire climb. At the lodge parking lot, we got a Polaroid taken, ate a few snacks and visited with some of the HeadHunters and Kevin. Kevin is a past RAO solo rider who is planning on going after the 60+ record next year! Coming down the main road off Timberline was a BLAST, as it'd warmed up enough we didn't really need extra clothes. Well, except for cold pockets here and there!

After Timberline, it was the usual Barlow & Bennett pass route. It was nice riding PAST FR44 and not turning. :) We took a right just before Hood River and visited the Mosier tunnels, and then down into the town of Mosier. There was a stiff wind blowing, it was 92+ degrees out and we decided there was nothing in Rowena we really wanted to see. So we got a Coke and rode back to hood river, for just a smidge over 80 miles.

Sunday, I stayed home while Lisa took Llama Crew extroidinare Beth on a west hill ride. Sam and I puttered, I changed seats on the IRO (to a Fizik Pave) and rode it around a bit. I'm really liking it so far! In the after-noon we headed up to Vancouver for the Courthouse Crit. It was hot - damn hot. Sam did OK, coming in 7th overall in his race, 4th in his category. I sucked! I was in the 40 minute Cat 4-5 race, and got pulled after just over 19 minutes as I was about to get lapped. Man, these guys were fast! The course was almost flat, with fairly wide turns, and only about 1/2 mile long.

I stopped way to quick, causing my temp to spike really bad. A nice vendor brought me a cup of ice. "When your ready for it." he told me. I later learned he used to race flat-track motorcycles (in full leather!) and knows what it's like to exert your self in the heat.

Sam and I sat around watching some of the other races, and I chatted with Larry from North River Racing. He and I got pulled at the same time, and had drafted each other back and forth. I've seen him at PIR a couple times as well, and Sam's chatted with him before. He was thinking of trying the Masters race. "Your crazy!" I told him.

But it is cooling off a little. Maybe I could keep up with the Masters better. I did have a really shitty start in the Cat 4-5, with the guy in front of me missing his pedal and I had to darn near stop for him. The promoter told me my second race would only cost $8 - half price. What the heck, I signed up and hit the track for warm up.

"This is a mistake," I though as soon as I hit the first barely uphill section. My quads were sore from Sunday and the first race. Oh well, I'm here. I got a little better start, despite the guy in front of me not getting clipped in. I was ready this time, and just dodged around him. I stayed with the pack maybe 2 1/2 laps, and started inexorably slipping back. For awhile I was in no man land, just off the pack, but ahead of any other bikers. I sat up and waited for a wheel, huffing already. Larry and I got pulled again, this time a bare 10 minutes into the race. I guess there was a 2-man break baring down on us. "I was just getting my legs under me," Larry lamented. "Yeah, me too," I gasped.

Monday Sam drug my Kona Explosif out for me to race Short Track. He mounted the 'Cross tires back on his Redline Conquest Pro. We tossed the bikes and gear into the Llama box and headed out. With a semi-quick stop at Washington Mutual to deposit Sam's first paycheck (he's working at Bike 'N Hike in Milwaukie, how cool is that?!) we got to PIR nice and early. We were on course at the same time; me in beginner, him in Jr's starting 30 seconds later. We pre-rode the course, and Sam thought it was awesome, doing jumps with his 'Cross bike! The course was about 1/2 on the motorcross course, and about 1/2 on the grass through the woods. There were a couple small trees that were easily bunny-hopped and lots of little hills to climb. I found I could ride everything except for between two close-spaced trees. No matter what I did, I could not find a line through the trees that kept me on the pedals.

I got an OK start and went flying off with the group. There was a big pile of sand we had to skirt, which really choked things off and put some of us behind. Not that it really mattered! I passed some people, got passed (twice by the race leader, Jr. Jake Rathe, a BBC team-member) and even lapped some of the slower beginners and younger kids. Mostly, I had fun and no major crashes! I even jumped over one little motorcross jump for the camera lady. I hope she got that shot, she did comment it was a nice Jump. Sam finished 2nd in the Jr's, in the process helping to secure Jake's lead in the series. I have no clue where I finished, but I DID finish!

Sam decided he wanted to race Sport too. We talked to the promoter - it would cost $12. She sent him on course, while I went and got cash. He did not do as well, but he finished again, and had a great time. He looked like a raccoon at the end, with just his eyes behind his sunglasses clean!

Tonight (Tuesday) it's back to PIR crits. I haven't raced there in a while, so it'll be interesting. It was cool this morning, and I'm hoping for a cooler evening.

Ken

New CycloCross Bike

2005-07-29T10:03:00.000-07:00

Here is my IRO Rob Roy:

This is the first bike I've built from the frame up. I did all the work myself, with the exception of installing the headset cups, which I had a local shop (Cycle Path) do for me. I even cut the steerer tube myself, using an old stem as a cut guide!

The build is a mix of new parts and old. I tried to keep the cost "reasonable" but still managed to spend close to $1K. Oh well, it's only money and if I don't spend it, my son will! :D

Build:
Frame & Fork: IRO Rob Roy (New)
Wheels: Front hub: Shimano XTR, Rear hub: IRO
........Rims: Velocity AeroHead Blue, Spokes: Wheelsmith
........Rim Tape - Ritchy, build by Mike Garcia @ Oddsandendos.com (All New)
Tires: Specialized 25cm for training, Tubes by Giant (Tires I had, new tubes. I bought some 'cross tires off e-Bay that's included in the $1K)
Crank: FSA Cyclocross 130BCD, with 42 tooth Shimano Ring
BB: Shimano BB-5500 118.5

I actually bought a FSA Gossamer Compact crank with MegaExo BB for this bike, but they ended up on Sam's Redline, and I got his hand-me-downs. The BB I stole off my Litespeed, as his BB was too short. The Lightspeed is getting treated to a new BB-6503.

Freewheel: ACS 18t (New; I bought a 16T as well)
Chain: SRAM PC-58 (New)
Chain Tensioner: Spot Rocket (New)
Handle Bar: ICON 42 CM, Tape - Cinelli & ? in blue & white

The handle bar originally came on Lisa's Trek 5500 and was gathering dust in the garage. I had half roll of blue tape left over from my Litespeed (it has blue/yellow tape) and the white I picked up off a close-out table for $5.)

Stem: Bontrager 10 CM (had, off the Trek)
Brake Levers: Shimano R400 (New)
Bar Top Levers: Cane Creek (New)
Brakes: Tektro RPB CNC with Kool-stop pads (bought used locally)
Seat Post: American Classic (Off my Litespeed, which now has the Trek's original post)
Seat: Brooks (had, I'll change this for 'Cross season)
Pedals: Crank Brothers Candy C (had, off my Kona)

Last year I rode a old Kona Explosif in the beginner class, and finished all the races, albiet towards the back. I may race my age (45) this year on the Kona and the IRO in SS class. Or I may just stick to the beginner class on the IRO. Or, heck I might just race the IRO in the SS class. So many options, one of the great things about living in Portland OR!

Ken

Still riding...

2005-07-06T09:16:00.000-07:00

Just in case you got the idea that Lisa and I are taking it easy now that RAO is over - we're not! Thursday the 30th, I rode into work, then we met Kim & Jennifer at Sauvie Island after work. The 4 of us rode up Loggie Trail, and did Rock Creek the easy way. Saturday, Lisa, Sam, Beth, Kim, Buck and I all did a 60 mile loop including Lolo Pass (which rumor has it MAY be included in RAO '06). I logged 5,196' of climbing. Sunday, it was almost the same group (Sam stayed in bed) in the west hills, where I logged 54 miles and another 4,996' of climbing. Not content, Monday we headed back to the West Hills with Kim & Buck. Lisa and Kim did Loggie Trail again, while Buck drug me up Rocky Point. I only did about 26 miles and 2,595' on Monday.

Of course, we have been getting up real early to go down to Bike Gallery and watch the Tour every day. So by Monday afternoon, I was pooped. Lisa and Sam took advantage of my tired state to beat me at Dominos, but I redeemed myself last night. :) I did take about an hours nap Monday, and a good thing since we went to a 4th of July party that lasted until way past my bedtime!

Sam has been whoopin' up on the Cat 4-5's. He had a great week last week, winning both the sprint and overall at Tuesday's PIR Crit race, then winning Thursday at Alpenrose and finally taking 3rd in 'B' sprinters at Alpenrose on Friday. He's started off hot this week as well, winning the overall PIR Crit last night (2 in a row!). He's going to try his luck at the last Mt. Tabor race tonight (not his forte`) and then Alpenrose Thursday before he heads north for 10 days while Lisa and I head off to FRANCE!! We're going to the TOUR BABY! We are both very excited. This is my first trip (1st time to Europe) and Lisa's 4th.

Ken

For Auction: Wheels!

2005-06-30T08:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, this is a blatent commercial post. Cleaning out the garage a little. :)

wheels

For anyone who has not figured it out, my new car is a Honda Element. Known affectionalty as either "porp-ster" (Porpoise nose - toaster back) or simply "Llama Box" I'm really digging it so far!

Ken

Llama Box

2005-06-29T10:01:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I traded in our Subaru on a new vehicle. We wanted something that would be a little better as a support vehicle, and still be a great day-to-day driver. I've wanted one of these since they came out, but Lisa and Sam always thought they were ugly. Sam relented, as the other choice was a mini-van and this is way cooler. Lisa said "Whatever make you happy!" so I got what I wanted.

Vegas Baby!

2005-06-28T08:10:00.000-07:00

Wow, it seems like it's been weeks since I've posted something to the blog. Oh, wait, it HAS been weeks. ;-)

The week after RAO, Lisa and I were on cloud nine. We had so much fun doing RAO, that we seriously considered doing the Furnace Creek 508 in October. There were some major issues; all my vacation time is already scheduled is on of the biggies. Money would also be an issue, as in the last weeks leading up to RAO we seemed to go through it like a Hummer goes through gas. Anyway, we talked about it, poured over the route, worked on logistics. Finally, Sunday night we realized that it just wasn't going to happen this year. So, I asked Lisa if she wanted to go to Vegas in October instead. She said "Sure!"

A week before RAO, we went to my niece's wedding. She had a nice traditional church wedding, and it was all Lisa and I could do to sit through it. We are not nice traditional church people. We decided then and there that IF we ever got married, it would be in Vegas and I was going to wear an Elvis suit and Lisa was going to wear a mini skirt and go-go boots.

Monday June 13th I asked Lisa to marry me, and she accepted. While a bunch of crazed bike riders are sweating it out in the California desert, Lisa and I (and assorted friends and relatives) will be over in Nevada, listening to an Elvis impersonater crooning and slot machines ringing. I'm very lucky to have met Lisa, and I'm just crazy about her. I'm glad she feels the same way and has consented to spend the rest of her life with me. She is the best!

Ken

Still working...

2005-06-10T16:10:00.000-07:00

on our race report. I'm up to Prineville, I'm not sure how far Lisa is.

It's funny how in the hours and days after the race things have changed. My legs hurt pretty bad through Wednesday - I should really have gotten out for a ride, but, well you know. I think today is the first day that I've not felt tired.

Despite that, Lisa and I have been talking about next year. We could go faster. Break our own 2 person mixed record. Or, have Sam join us with another female and go after the 4 person mixed title. We're already discussing strategy. How many vehicles should we use? How long of pulls? We both feel a couple of the pulls this year were too long, causing the 'on' rider to tire and slow.

Our goal was to finish. We did that. Our second goal was maybe to finish in under 40 hours. We did that. Our third goal was to still be friends, and still be friends with the crew. We did that, if anything we are all closer. So why do we keep picking it apart, thinking "If I hadn't forgot my fender in Mt. Vernon we'd have saved 5 minutes." Or "Why did we take time to snap a picture in Prineville? That took at least 3 minutes."

Lisa IM'd me a little while ago. She wants to be doing RAO this weekend. Instead, we are doing a little (belated) birthday ride Saturday, and meeting the Fat Tire crew on Sunday. I'm looking forward to going out and climbing some hills.

It's a sickness. I still think we have time to train for Furnace Creek. Hmm, wonder if we could scare up a crew in California.

Ken

short and sweet version

2005-06-09T16:13:00.000-07:00

Its been a few days now and it still feels like a huge buzz of excitement all around, except no one around me at work can relate to what the llamas went through. It's not until I’m at home with Ken and Sam, or chatting on line with Sue and the others that I get all giddy again. My first day back I wanted to do a big thank you post and I realized I was sounding like some “b” actress accepting a People’s Choice award, where they stand up and stutter, and can’t figure out who to thank first, and act like they are all surprised they won – well, that was me, so I will no longer slam those people for giving such bad acceptance speeches!

The original goal was to do a write up about the whole weekend, but then I realized that its taking a long time, because I keep remembering things that were important. But I also don’t want to forget anything, so I decided I would do a summarized post (like what Beth did) and that should also ease the withdrawals some of you may be having when it comes to reading our blog, so here it goes.

What worked/what I liked (and they are by no means in any ranking order):
• My crew – they knew exactly how to take care of me. They never had any disagreements in front of me. They catered to my every need.
• The fuel – I went on a liquid diet for the race, and other than a few pieces of cantaloupe to calm the stomach, I never had any digestive problems.
• Knowing the route – we’ve must have done this route three times before with all the training. Knowing what mile markers were the summits really helped.
• Night riding – I had a borrowed helmet with a kick-ass lamp on it for night riding but I ended up never using it because my pace car was always right there with the high beams and fog lights. My light bubble moved with me. Also, I think with riding in the dark, you don’t have any horizon to base the climbing off of, so the hills seemed really easy.
• My crew – I never had to think of anything but biking, on and off the bike.
• Gar’s kilt – changing biking shorts has never been easier.
• Being able to tell Sue that I needed shorter pulls and her working it all out.
• Leap frogging Tom all the way up the last 30 miles.

What didn’t work/ what I would change next time:
• I started to feel hungry at about Prineville – I should have just increased the amount of Perpeteum in each bottle.
• Underestimating the arriving rider – I kept thinking I didn’t have enough time to rest, so I would try and stay awake, when I really had a lot more time and could have used the time sleeping.
• Riding into dusk – this is usually the latest time (in training) that I would ever ride, so when I wasn’t able to stop and go get a hot shower and meal, it was very hard mentally. I should have trained more during that time of the day.
• Music – we had about three cd’s on one mini disk (and about 10 mini disks), and I kept hearing the same one over and over. Finally, on my last pull, Beth (who I’m sure was also getting tired of Lady Marmalade), asked me over the P.A. what disk I wanted. For next time, a chart with the riders name and the disk number would work for noting which disks each rider has heard. What’s that? Is that ‘Baby Got Back’ again? Sheesh.
• We should have broken up a couple more of the pulls. Ken had the whole climb of Ochocho, and I had the summit into Prineville. He struggled towards the top, and I fought headwinds all the way down. If we broke both of those two pulls up into four pulls, it would have been so much easier on the bikers (I think).
• I didn’t push hard enough. I kept trying to pace myself to save energy and once I turned the corner to Timberline and then almost immediately saw the exchange set up, I stood up and hammered. I didn’t know that I had that much extra in me – why didn’t I use that more often?
• Vaseline for the nose – barreling along the route, farmer blowing is a messy business and the nose tends to get chapped. At one point, my sacrificing crew got out their chap stick and applied it to my red nose. I think when I wasn’t looking, they threw it away.

Overall, it was an amazing experience. We exceeded our personal goals by leaps and bounds. The personal changes we all went through are incredible. To the world, we are all the same. To those of us who lived RAO 05, we know.

“I’d like to thank my crew, my partner in life, love and biking, Ken, the race directors and oh, I’m sure I’m forgetting everyone else…. I’m just so happy…. I never expected to win….. I’m so honored to accept this award”