Well, that was a little more complex than it was last year…
… but I’ve finally finished (on what will be my last brevet of the year, unless more are magically organized in Portland) a series of 200-300-400-600km brevets. Normally they’re done in a series starting at 200k, then working up to 600k, but in my case I started with 200k, did 300k and 400k, then did another 200k, then another 400k, and finally convinced a friend to ride with me on this 600k.
So, a series. This is mixed in with the ~25 permanents I’ve ridden so far (distances from 100km to 400km) to make up a bucketload of rando miles (something on the order of 7000km so far, but 1200km of that is various checkrides that I did before the offending route was approved.) In some ways it was harder than last year’s series, but in other ways it was easier. And I finally discovered that when you’re tired, wrapping yourself in a space blanket and getting 45 minutes of nap can be as comfortable and refreshing (I could have spent $130 on a hotel room that I might not get any use out of – a 38 hour 400 is slow enough so that I’d be spending $60/hour for sleep in a hotel) as sleeping in a hotel room, and, of course, it’s a bucketload cheaper.
Next year I may not do an “official” 2346 series, because there’s a chance that there won’t be a Portland-based series offered and I’ve gotten fairly tired of travelling long distances at 0dark:30 in the morning just so I can ride my bike in a large circle, but there are now enough Portland-based permanents so I can do that series all with permanents and not be forced to get up at 0dark:30 to ride them, and do it several times without spending a small fortune travelling to adjacent states to fill a dance card.
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Where in Oregon City? My house is about 8 miles from Clackamette Park, but there’s a lot more to Oregon City than just that – if you start it at the southern end of the city it’s about as far as the St Johns bridge is from my house (plus it’s got that wonderful climb up to the top of the Boring Lava.)
I haven’t decided yet, but it probably will start near clackamette park. There’re some suitable motels on 99e in that area. I’m going to try to keep the cost as low as possible, but you’re of course welcome to volunteer and do the workers ride for free (and indeed get your expenses comped.)
My goals are to hit as many nice roads new to orrando a possible, and to keep it in the valley (because even in may/early june, the weather isn’t reliable enough to go into the mountains.) I expect that people who know my reputation for ridiculous climbs will be very surprised by the route - one climb between loraine and cottage grove, and victor point towards the end, ‘ cause I like it) and that’s it, really.
I’d be happy to volunteer for it. If you start the ride at 6am, I could probably even make it down to help man the opening control and be coherent when I’m there – if you started it at 5am, I’d be better off taking a shift at the closing control or staffing a close-in secret control.
I’d love to see the new roads you’d pick for a flatland loop. Ed Groth and I checked out Needy/Farm when we rode Silver Falls last week, and it’s really nice (I’m using it in a couple of perms under development, which is a change from my now-traditional behavior of riding one of your routes, then skimming off points of scenic interest and linking them together with my own transit segments :-)
One of the routes I’m working on is a more-or-less flatland 600 along the western side of the Willamette Valley, only I can’t resist putting in Nestucca River/Bald Mountain/Bible Creek for a loop out to the coast (have you ridden any of the secondary roads just inland of Lincoln City? It looks like Schooner Creek/Anderson Creek/Drift Creek would make a nice diversion at, possibly, the cost of it being a /long/ ways between services at Neskowin and Siletz) and a jump down to Alsea Falls with a return to the valley along S Fork Road (assuming it’s passable; I’m thinking of putting the overnight in Philomath, which means that riders would be fresher and better able to handle the worst case of it going to gravel) past the Hull-Oakes sawmill. This one doesn’t use Needy, yet, because I’d need to cross the Willamette at Independence and work around Salem to Silverton before striking north on 213 to Wagon Road to get it, but the preliminary route is 680k and I might be able to pull some slack out by routing it that way.
So, anyway, I’d be happy to volunteer and preride your 600. Theo Roffe reminded me that I’d volunteered to organize a 200, but without a summer 400 or 600 I’ve got nothing longer to work on except setting up my pseudo-series for next summer, and that’s all going to be self-supported, so it’s not going to take much more work than figuring out when I’m going to ride it and putting that onto my ride calendar.
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The spring 600 will be an oregon city start, just 8 miles from sellwood. That’s closer than a couple of the starts in this year’s portland series.