Biking

Well that was an enjoyable week! 88 geocaches in 6 states (DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, WV) with 375 miles of biking (and some Ubering) over 9 days. Highlights were the guided tours of Gettysburg, PA (by a professional guide) and Washington, DC monuments (local, at night). Pre-trip: This was about as bad shape as I could be in for the ride. In June, shortly after signing up for the ride, I sprained my ankle on a hike. Then in August, I caught some sweet bronchitis for 4 weeks: I was in not-so-great shape for the ride. ...

The excitement of visiting colleges with my daughter, her applying to the short list, and waiting on the results has is over and I’m seriously craving a week unplugged from work. I’ll be taking an organized ride in October from Philadelphia to Washington, DC. Since these trips are as much about seeing different things as the Zen of cycling, I’ll also be stopping for geocaches (and other site seeing) along the way. And maybe butterscotch Tastycakes, Cheeseteaks and those legendary tomatoes I’ve heard about. ...

(Continued from part 1.) Day 5 was a rest day in Jasper. Unlike Day 2, when I really wanted a rest day, I was feeling well enough that I would have preferred continuing. On the other hand, I seriously enjoyed the slow, sit-down meals where I wasn’t swatting mosquitos off my legs. I wandered around town, avoiding the anchovy-loving pizza bears. Anchovies: pizza topping or bear attractant? ...

Lake Louise, AB Cycle Canada – Icefields Parkway trip summary: 9 days, 582 miles, 26k elevation gain, 95 geocaches and a hundred insect bites. Back in the darkest weeks of December, while visiting my parents in the Houston area, I was hunkered down on the couch, enjoying an escape (summer) fantasy with a copy of Adventure Cycling’s smörgåsbord of 2014 rides. While I’d love to do the six week ride down the Pacific Coast (or even a snippet, like the Pacific Coast Central), I couldn’t swing the time away. ...

What I think about when I am having a bad day at work… In the dark world the natives call “January in Seattle,” I was pining for a week-long bike ride as a “carrot” to entice myself to get back to riding. I’ve covered a lot of great spots in Washington, but was looking for something different. That something different – but not too different – was Ride Idaho. For reasons I blame squarely on Ted, I keep mentally thinking of it as Ridaho, and may occasionally lapse into typing it that way, deliberately or otherwise. ...

Over the Memorial Day Weekend, I had an opportunity to head down to Pendleton for the tenth annual Century Ride of the Centuries (aka “CROC”). This was my seventh visit in eight years — having skipped last year’s — and especially anticipated because the Bar M Ranch was reopened as a camping option. What a kick Pendleton is! After checking in at Hamley’s, I headed over to the Wildhorse Casino, CROC’s flagship sponsor, where we could set up tents in the field behind the RV park. Setting up my tent the first time each season is always an adventure, but after some creative pole tricks, It Was Done. While basking in my tent setting-up success, I went through the bag o’ information they offered us and decided that I’d forgo Day 1’s Despain Gulch route for the opportunity to head south and see the John Day Fossil Beds “Sheep Rock” unit. JDFB:SRU is really off the beaten track, but this is as close as I was going to get in the foreseeable future. ...

Day 4: Lake Selmac, OR to Glendale, OR – With the big hills out of the way, they ratcheted up the distance. But by now, I was feeling pretty good. I got to wondering how much better I’d feel if I did a ride like this at the beginning of the season instead of the end… Highlights: The route. This is why you take the roundabout way! By mid-morning, we were following the Rogue River near Galice-Hellgate. During my layover day in Grants Pass, I kayaked just west of here. ...

This year’s route was: Medford, OR to Yreka, CA 66 miles 5,450′ Yreka to Happy Camp 74 miles 2,600′ Happy Camp to Lake Selmac, OR 54 miles 5,200′ Lake Selmac to Glendale 71 miles 4,192′ Glendale to Grants Pass 77 miles 3,900′ Grants Pass loop 43 miles 2,900′ Grants Pass to Medford 42 miles 2,900′ Day 1 – Medford, OR to Yreka, CA: Highlights: The ascent up the Siskiyous. I have come to enjoy these slow, steady grinds uphill: ...

Day 3: Baker City to Halfway – The big epiphany today was that skipping the (now monotonous) breakfast meant I could sleep in. By getting on the road at 7:30, versus 6:30, I didn’t freeze my … um… didn’t need a jacket for the hour it was too cold. Now I just needed a step 3 (“Profit!”). The ride up to the Oregon Trail interpretive center was marred by the cacophony of aid cars zooming past. Rumor was a rider had been grazed by an RV. (RVs scare me. When I rode the coast a few years ago, I was far more worried about RV owners – often leased vehicles being operated by someone with age-induced sensory loss – than logging trucks. Loggers know what they’re doing.) Ahem. I don’t remember much else about the route other than there was one significant climb whose significant descent led us into the town of Halfway. I was surprised how uncomfortable some people were in going downhill, without braking. The landscape of Halfway was pretty: ...

Almost time for the product launch! (image by Scott Meyer) Last year at this time, Cacade’s Ride Around Washington was leaning towards the “Ring of Fire” volcano route. I’ve had good experiences on two of their other events, and was looking forward to riding this year’s. In every other year, the ride has open slots through June, plenty of time to figure out my plans for the summer. This year, it sold out January 3rd, two days after signups opened. Great for Cascade, sucks for Jim. ...