"I need to do this more often."
How I did it: I had a good mileage base going into the event, mostly through commuting to work. Doing long rides with in May with Claire and John helped spice things up.
My bike's set up to be comfortable at the expense of raw speed - at least that's my excuse - 28C tires (though I wish I could run larger), double-wrapped bar tape, and a big-honking man purse/handlebar bag (for my camera, snacks, wallet, sunscreen, ...) and well broken-in seat.
Lessons & tips: For the actual ride:
- Take some time to stop, smell and eat the roses. This is not a
race. There were pacelines, but that seemed to anti to my purpose on
being out there. - Pack light. Though they say there will be porters for bags (for donations/tips), I still had to haul my duffel somewhere. I could have done without the hiking shoes (I was too tired to hike), folding chair (I was too tired to sit) and ipod (I was too tired to be kept up by someone else's snoring). One thing I wish I did bring was a portable bucket bag for washing laundry. The queue for the laundry buckets was ridiculously long.
- Hydrate! They did an awesome job of providing water and rest stops along the route, but I still surprised myself by going through nearly three gallons of fluids on the heavy climbing day, yet still feeling slightly dehydrated at the end.
- Sunscreen twice a day. I slathered up when I started out in the morning (including the ever-thinning top of my head - sigh) and again at the lunch stop. I didn't burn, but did get well-tanned in areas.
- The Cycle Oregon Massage Team is very much in-demand during the long climbing days. If you can, book in advance or at the start of the ride.
Resources: The Cycle Oregon web site was pretty useful, almost too overwhelming with information. I didn't read through all of it until a few weeks prior.
I appreciated Claire letting me tag along with her on a couple of rides in May.
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Sep 20, 2008, 09:17PM PDT
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