Cycle Oregon Week Route MapI will be posting full reports for each day of Cycle Oregon later (yes, all 7 days). Why 7 reports? Because my father would kill me if I don't, that's why. }B^)
My special Cycle Oregon page is not up!
Summary
Wow, what a ride! While not as scenic as CO2009, where we climbed 4 mountain passes, it's hard to beat the Oregon Coast. Day 1 was short while Day 2 was long and actually pretty difficult. Days 2-5 were very scenic while Day 6 was a leg-burner. Day 7 was a nice wrap-up through areas around Roseburg where I lived during my High School days. In terms of effort I was surprised at the level of effort required on days that I thought would be quite easy.
Daily Ride Details
Here are the official online maps and my Garmin GPS details for each day:
Rural views along Elkhead Road
Day 1: Route map GPS Track Ride Report
Smith RiverDay 2:
Cape Arago State ParkDay 3:
Capa Blanco LighthouseDay 4:
Wigwam burner, Myrtle Point OR
Day 5:
Stairway to Heaven!Day 6:
Covered Bridge, Riddle, ORDay 7:
Pictures/Videos
As of October 1st all pictures from the ride are on my Flickr website.
Ride Highlights
- No mechanical issues! No flats, no broken spokes, nothing! Can't ask for anything more in that category.
- No health issues or injuries.
- Great scenery: wonderful views of rural Oregon, the Oregon coast, and coastal mountain ranges.
- Great people: can't say enough about the fun, friendly riders and volunteers on this ride. They continue to be one of the best parts of the trip.
- Wonderful weather - only had 1 morning on the coast that was cool with heavy mist (i.e. not quite rain). The rest of the time was warm and sunny, which is unusual for the coast.
Ride Lowlights
- Lack of training - Just as in CO2009 I did not train nearly enough: not enough miles and not enough seat-time. Will I ever learn my lesson?
- My Camera - once again my Sony DSC-S730 camera has fallen below my performance expectations. I plan to make a purchase before my next major tour/ride/campout to avoid these issues. Several key shots that I wanted did not come out as expected.
- Shoe issues - I need new in-soles in my bike shoes. The current ones did not provide enough cushioning on the vast amounts of chip-seal we experienced.
Recovery
I am now Cycle Oregon +15 days and recovery is now complete, even though my bag is still not 100% unpacked. I was hobbling around only for 1 day with most soreness completely gone by day 3. On the Friday after returning I took a ride into Seattle for a work event(aka the annual stress test of the cell towers around Safeco Field) and ended up doing just about 50 miles. Wow, my legs were rebelling. If they could speak they would be saying, "I thought we were done with this?"
Next year?
Will I be doing Cycle Oregon in the future? Absolutely, but perhaps not next year. Taking 8 days away from my family is a hard sell initially and then hard on everyone involved (i.e. my wife).
On the night of Day 6 every year they give a hint about the next year's ride. This is what I wrote down on my phone as Jonathan Nicholas was speaking to the crowd. Accuracy is not 100%, so take that into account-
"Seed of a clue: That hill we climbed yesterday was too short. One day next year we are going to climb higher, longer, without backtracking, than we ever have."
2012 will be the 25th anniversary of the Cycle Oregon week ride. I'm sure they have an EPIC ride planned. I'm just not sure my family is ready for me to do it again.
}B^)