Notes:

Latest blog posts from Ready to Ride

Life balance is not a performance metric
Getting in shape for the spring cycling season is an annual rite of passage for me that begins on Thanksgiving Day. Amidst the preparations for celebrating with family and friends, I wander into the garage, pull the trainer out of the cabinet, and set-up the bike for what I know will be 8 to 12...
Click here to read more at Ready to Ride...
Published 4 weeks ago

The Lure of the Old Toll Road
One of my goals this year has been to ride across the Oregon Coast Range on the Old Toll Road. It was a goal last year, too. Now that I think about it, it was a goal the year before that. I’m not lazy. And I don’t put things off, at least not the things that really inspire me. In its own way,...
Click here to read more at Ready to Ride...
Published 6 months ago

The road ahead
For nearly a year, preparing for Race Across Oregon gave me an important objective. The thought of racing terrified me, but it also motivated me. Speed intervals, hill repeats, endurance training, RAO gave meaning to it all. I reached for RAO knowing it lay well outside my comfort zone....
Click here to read more at Ready to Ride...
Published 6 months ago

Just one mile an hour faster
Memories of RAO: from Maupin to Cooper Spur Ski Resort and the finish. The descent into Dufur on US 197 from the summit of Tygh Ridge is eight miles long and straight as an arrow. It’s a welcome payback for the 7-mile climb up here from Tygh Valley. When I’ve ridden this section before, I...
Click here to read more at Ready to Ride...
Published 7 months ago

He put the hurt on me
Memories of RAO: from Spray to Maupin and Time Station 6. My pace van rolled up along-side me. The passenger window was down. Justin was driving and leaning across to yell. “Do you want the good news or the bad news?” “Give me the good news,” I shouted back. “Eric is right behind us,”...
Click here to read more at Ready to Ride...
Published 7 months ago

The storm on my horizon
Memories of RAO: from Dale to Spray and Time Station 5. The sun was coming up when we reached the summit of Ritter Butte. The plain was golden and treeless. Its southern edge lay 10 miles in the distance, bounded by a mountain range much higher and steeper than the one we’d just come over. The...
Click here to read more at Ready to Ride...
Published 7 months ago

I made my break with randonneuring
Memories of RAO: from Heppner to Dale and Time Station 4 Most of the climbing to this point was on was on major highways, which meant that none of the climbs exceeded six to eight percent. As I approached the foot of Battle Mountain, I could see its ridge silhouetted by the moonlight, almost 2000...
Click here to read more at Ready to Ride...
Published 8 months ago

Who’s that on race radio?
Memories of RAO: from Moro to Heppner and Time Station 3 Windmill farms. I heard the expression for the first time in May of this year, when Eric Ahlvin and I pre-rode the Oregon XTR 600K for our club, the Oregon Randonneurs. “It will be good training for RAO,” wrote John Kramer, in an email...
Click here to read more at Ready to Ride...
Published 8 months ago

Beyond my reflection lies something much deeper
Memories of RAO: from Tygh Valley to Moro and Time Station 2 When a rider thinks about the crew that will support him during a 48-hour race, the most important thing to consider are the roles each member will play. Paramount among them is the crew chief. This person must have experience both as...
Click here to read more at Ready to Ride...
Published 8 months ago

I am the tide
Memories of RAO: from Hood River to Tygh Valley and Time Station 1. Though RAO was my first race, I knew that in the end, my performance would be judged by the numbers. Some riders focus on elapsed time. Others, on how they will place in the general classification or in their divisions. I thought...
Click here to read more at Ready to Ride...
Published 8 months ago