Crusty Cassette

Don't forget to join Lance at the ice cream ride Tuesday at 6:30 at Baskin & Robins. We had an outstanding turn out last week.

Hope many of you join Lance. I'll be unable to attend. I'm traveling to Yakima to attend a funeral for my oldest and first friend. We were 12 year seniors together and neighbors. He had a heart attack.

Could happen to anyone. He did have a history. Fitness is no guarantee either--witness Jim Fixx, but fitness is the best thing we know.

Of course, check with your doctor before you begin any strenuous exercise program. Ice cream rides are not strenuous, though, so I think you can safely risk it.

For something really strenuous, check out Bruce Carroll's updated training log and account of the Race Across Oregon. Find it under Ultras.

6/22/2003 3:11:50 PM | Steve Largent] 19 Jun 03 106 miles 8:14 riding time Pierre to Selby, S.D.

I should mention Chris had his first flat in Pierre at the laundromat, so he comes in the air conditioned space with a sink to fix it. The luck of the Irish!

We deviated from the AC (Adventure Cycling) route again today, up the west side of the river, across the dam, and back to the east side (Central Time- the river is the time zone line which is a nuisance local apparently ignore and all use central time). David was feeling especially strong and eager to remove any "weak man" image after hitch-hiking into Pierre. He had in mind all day making this 106 miles into Pierre, but I felt they were both tired after the last century and wasn't going to press for another century so soon. Strong winds from the S.E. kicked in today adding to his desire to get in some extra miles. The campground we'd planned to stay in was a bare knoll in the hot sun with some new saplings that gave no shade in the rural spot, so I was eager to go to the next town giving us about 75 miles. Making that campground less appealing was the fact that we'd arrived there about 1:15 (Central Time) with some 8 hours of daylight left with nothing to do, no stores, no people, etc. Anyway when we rode down to hwy 1804/83 junction David and Chris discussed whether to go to Gettsyburg, SD or Siebly. Complicating the decision was the fact that the road to Siebly was closed for constrution. A guy who claimed to be the construction superintendent talked to David and said it would be no problem to cycle through. David and Chris disagreed and said since I hadn't weighed in on the discussion that I could decided. I voted for Gettsyburg, and the next thing I knew we were cycling toward Siebly and a century. I'd told them earlier I'd never be the one to complain about excessive miles unless they planned centuries multiple days in a row. About 3 miles up the road, the surface was removed. About a mile later, the former road bed had a disk like machine turning over the soil! A construction worker said he'd take us 3 miles to the end; three huge dirt movers going about 45 MPH drove by, and I threw my bike in his pickup with the other 2 surprising David and Chris that I'd take the motorized support. I viewed it like a pilot car! Riding through the nearly crop lands would have been easier than getting through that muddy surface! Chris was pretty tired by the 106 mile ride despite the great tail wind, and David is always in favor of a motel, so they got a motel and I camped as we had all planned for that night.

20 Jun 03 57 miles 4:37 riding time from Selby SD to Stateline ND With Chris tuckered out from the 106 mile ride yesterday, I was well ahead of the motelers this morning. David and then Chris showed up as I finished breakfast with a couple doing the L-C trail on a racing tandem. They weren't packed or ready to go, and I was planning a side to to Pollock, where my mother's grandparents had homesteaded and left in 1901. The strong tail wind of yesterday had turned into a horrible 40 to 50 MPH wind from the south. Great most of the time when I was headed north, but a killer for the 15 miles I had to go west. Chris and David altered course to go only north this day! With help from a local historian in Herreid, SD, I found the site of the old family church and graveyard where two great-aunts were buried as children. However, my good luck seemed to sour here. The 50 MPH gust blew over my bike. My camera would not allow the film to be taken out of it, and a 36 exposure roll is likely ruined. I rode to Pollock's (population 339) newspaper. No one knew anything there about darkrooms, bicycle trips, the Lutheran Church, or anything else I could ask. No, they didn't even interview me for the local paper as a descendant of the original settlers. The Lutheran pastor had taken the day to go shopping in Bismark. However, the janitor at the local school let me into their dark room which I believe leaked some white light, but where I was able to force the film out of the camera. He suggested I visit a couple older Lutheran woman who had lots of info on the old church and Norweigan community my great-grandparents were part of. I tried to catch the pastor that evening, but they had family issues so this also wasn't a good time to see him. The wind was still howling at 30 to 50 MPH, sand blasted me in the face, and I felt like escaping Pollock, so I rode to State Line a small resort. Wind howled all night but was still from the south. Riding just a mile or so south was nearly impossible, but necessary to get out of town and take advantage of the wind for a while longer.

Stateline ND to Mandan ND 88.6 miles 7:00 hour riding time The wind continued howling all night and even once picked up the end of my tent raising my feet slightly and awaking me for the few minutes sleep I was enjoying when the noise of the wind didn't have me awake. I enjoyed a good breakfast with the help in the little cafe and rode off into the wind. No towns to pass through, but there was a little road side table about mile 50 where I had a lunch as I tried to hold onto it from the howling wind. This was some hilly country with steep rises as the terrain rises above the Missouri and and the road passes through ravines that feed into the river. Most of the ride was with a tail wind, so not too bad. Bismark sits in the draw, and as I descended to it the wind seem to moderate down to 15 MPH or so. Chris had needed a new cassette, so I knew they were headed to the bike shop. I went there, had my derailer adjusted, and found out they'd gone to a motel/campground just over the river in Mandan, which was closer to town than the one we'd planned to say. Surprise, surprise, when I got there, they'd checked into the motel. The motel also has a campground, but tornado watches were posted north of Bismark and the clerk wasn't going to let me camp. Fortunatley, he eventually relented. The wind continued abating, and I finally had a good night's sleep without 50 MPH gusts!

22 June 2003 Layover, Mandan & Bismark ND Layover days pass much too quickly. We had a leisurely breakfast, discussed the route and the best way through Montana at length. I'll have trouble meeting the planned drill dates in Montana, but they haven't responded to my e mail! David and I visited a museum and the capitol. Back to the bike shop for David as his old old old Brooks saddle is coming apart. Fortunately, they fixed it for him. My crank or BB is making a bit of noise, but they didn't get to the bottom of that noise!

Happy Cycling for Fun, Fitness, and Transportation!

Steve

Riders: Mike Warnock, Bill and Joane Wycoff, Nikki,
Debbie, Corrie, Linda, Chris Though the day threatened
rain, most of us started off without jackets. Some
didn't even bring them. That's confidence.

No rain fell though we did feel cold after eating. We
were pleased that the Wycoff's chose to join us.
Though Bill grumbled a bit about Web Ridge, the tandem
left us all behind on the descent into Sweetwater.

Linda joined us for the Lapwai Loop. I was pleased to
see her do 40 miles the day after nearly 50 at
Whitebird. I'm confident she'll not only be able to do
our tour, but will be able to enjoy it as well.


Because Chris had to hurry home to take GreenBird for a
road trip to Palouse, he was anxious to get back to
town. Still he didn't leave Corrie and Debbie behind
until we got back to Arrow Bridge from Kendrick. Mike
Warnock made a rare appearance but soon grew tired of
our leisurely pace. He left us at Web Ridge.


This turned out to be a wonderful day. Though it could
be chilly, especially after eating, the cool made it
quite pleasant. The winds were mild and surprisingly
with us most of the way. Debbie and I hit some head
wind briefly coming back to Lewiston but it never
lasted long.

Debbie's trying to get her mileage up for the Ukia
Century after Winchster next week. She's doing a great
job and held a strong pace all the way out to and back
from Kendrick. I enjoyed riding with you Debbie.

Sometimes chasing Cruel can make me tired. I was
completely satisfied with my 6:22 century today. Most
especially since I felt strong enough to challenge
Critchfield. It took me just over 8 mins from the
bottom to my garage.

That's a record folks.

Crank


=====

Corrie Rosetti
Share the road and the ride at Crusty Cassette.

crosetti@cableone.net
corrierosetti@yahoo.com



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No, I don't mean the army corps of engineers flattened the old WhiteBird grade just for the ride. Craig, the Mountain (I'm not that tall), dropped me on Wawawaii Canyon a few weeks ago. I held him off on the Lewiston Grade last Saturday. But today was Craig's chance for revenge on his home ground. Sure enough when the ride leader said ride neutral to the bridge, the lead pack went out too fast for me and Craig went with them. I spent the first half of the ride trying to catch the pack and be with them when Craig backed off. I didn't make it of course. But I could see Craig riding just ahead of me with someone else. Every corner, I'd see them turning the next. I couldn't seem to make ground on the Mountain until one corner a couple of miles from the top revealed the Mountain ripping tube from tire. "That's Cruel's job," was the essence of my comment. I didn't let a fellow rider's bad luck stop me though. So, with the help of a flatted Mountain, I once more beat Craig to the top. Now I'm afraid to ride the next century with him. Ah, he's a sweet guy--he won't make me pay, much.

Cyclists Everywhere Linda, Corrie, Debbie, and Nikki drove to Grangeville Friday evening to stay at the Super 8. Nice motel, reasonable rates and a continental breakfast. We had a wonderful Mexican dinner at Palenque's though we couldn't find the room for the delectable Fried Ice Cream deserts we saw coming out of the kitchen. Sad.

At breakfast, a gentleman asked if we were touring. We were in our club jerseys, a dead giveaway that cyclists were about. Turns out he was taking a leisurely 90 days to ride from San Diego, through Utah, Idaho to British Columbia, then back to ride the Columbia River Gorge and the back along the cost to San Diego. He's takin it slow and looked at the dark clougds once before signing up for another night at the Super 8. Now that's a Largent pace.

More riders The four of us fought a head wind up the road from Grangeville and down the old WhiteBird grade to Hammer Creek. We struggled with the appropriate garb but settled for jackets and leggings, if we had them. Debbie, of course, had 'em and more. Dave D. passed us right at the summit. Debbie hailed him down and got a ride to Hammer Creek. She was cold despite the climb. She was also right. I was miserable all the way down the grade. Gold, stressed from watching the pavement for gravel, and generally stressed because I didn't want to be late for the start.

On the way down, we passed probably a dozen touring cyclists well-laden and spinning for all they were worth. I envied them their warmth. Linda reports that they were headed for Boston.

It is great to see so many cyclists on the road. It is good for our sport and for the health of the nation.

Speaking of Health I have to salute Nikki and Maureen for refusing to allow diabetes to keep them off their bikes. The daily hastle of managing that disease seems discouraging to me. Nikki found her calculations to off a bit with the extra mileage and the extra effort she was putting into the climb. She found herself with a hard bonk near the top of the grade. Pop and sucrose wafers got her to the finish line. High tech equipment reported that the blood sugar level was only coming up slowly. So, she opted to ride back to Hammer Creek with Dave D who brought her back Grangeville. She's fine and looking to ride the Lapwai loop with us tomorrow. Any other takers? 9:30 start at Southway.

I won't begin to be able to site all the riders we knew today. But I'll try.

Significantly, Chris did the hill in about 53 minutes. He had no flats but look at this pic of Chris and the newest tech to fight flats: The Green Tyre. Hey, he placed 5th!

Dave D, of course, rode the hill as well as did double duty as a sag wagon. Thanks Dave.

Lance hammered to a 10th place finish in 56 minutes.

Matt W. neglected to break a chain this week and so finished in just over 44 minutes. Took First place.

Wendy, Dave S. and Dave T rode the grade. Wendy is getting strong really quickly. Back must not have bothered you today.

Cliff continues to grow comfortable with his recumbent. Zipped right up that hill feet first. Very strange!

Share the Road and the Ride!