Lynne's Mostly-Cycling Blog

Tuv haAretz NE Portland Garden Tour by Bike

2009-06-30T11:16:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday I joined other members of Tuv HaAretz for a tour of extremely edible yards and chicken coops. Friend Beth was ride leader, friend Joel rode sweep. Beth's partner L was the organizer. I knew one other rider; our daughters went to the same preschool (said daughters are now, oh, 26 years old). Most of the riders were from Havurah Shalom, a couple from Kesser Israel, and me, the lone representative from Neveh Shalom.

I tried not to look TOO "lycra-spandex", but I still had the most colorful jersey - my Celestial Seasonings Red Zinger. Covered with flowers, so quite appropriate :-) Little Pink Bear also came along for the ride.

Drove over to Beth's place; we rode the 2 miles over to the ride start. I got my first-ever spoke card.

The first stop was a wonderfully mature urban garden with chickens. Huckleberries in the front, raised beds, fruit trees, raspberries and chickens in the back. The raised beds used the Trex planking. We should consider that; it does not rot. I was surprised how little space the chickens required. Tasty rhubard bread as well.

Next stop was a garden in a rental house, so lots of containers and plantings around the edge. They had a beautiful purple brussels sprout plant. Wonder what color the sprouts are? And if they are purple, do they stay that color when cooked? Minty lemonade and snap peas.

Third stop was Willow Cottage, which seemed to house many people, had a great willow tree in the front yard, as well as a nice raised bed. Serious cabbage moth capture efforts going on here, and we were offered the opportunity to forage in the strawberries (mmmm). Nice little chicken flock in the back. I'm liking the gold-laced Wyandotte. Eggs were harvested; one was sent along for our post-ride spinach salad.

Somewhere in there was the climb up Alameda Ridge - 2 blocks, whacking steep. My bike computer read out 11%, but the post-ride analysis showed a bit of 15%. I went around on the left so I could climb without needing to stop. Regroup at the top. Whew.

House number 4 featured a classy chicken coop on the garage roof, which is ground level in the back yard, and raised bed vegetable plantings in the strip between the sidewalk and the street.

We then wandered around for awhile before ending up at Beth and L's place. They've got a nice garden with spinach, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, onions, arugula, ... No chickens; they have an arrangement with Joel for eggs. We picked the spinach and some arugula; spinach salad was constructed. Nice picnic on the front lawn.

7.6 miles. I got a little crispy because I didn't bother with sunscreen :-)

All the pics here

Proud Parent, Part 2

2009-06-15T11:29:00.000-07:00

Brian graduated from Oregon State University this past Saturday. He elected to participate in the Entire University Graduation Ceremony.

We got up at the crack of dawn and drove to Corvallis to join him for a pre-ceremony bagel.

Then off to Reser Stadium to get some covered seats - it had been raining off and on the entire drive down, and we didn't want to get wet.

Then lots of waiting, until we could see the graduation procession (all 2000+ participants) marching down the street. It was displayed on the stadium Jumbotron, and was completely impressive.

Lots of processing in, then the speeches (good ones!), the PhD presentations, then the mass diploma presentation. Everyone received their very own real diploma.

We hiked through the campus to have a celebratory lunch at McMenamin's.

Brian starts his 6 month intership at Mentor Graphics in a week.

Meet my Uncle Arthur

2009-06-08T12:27:00.001-07:00

In previous posts, I've alluded to my uncle, whose life experiences got me into cycling. He's led a couple of bike tours for AYH, way back in the day, owned a bike shop, and is still riding. Arthur is my mom's younger brother. He's 12 years my senior.

He's currently on a road trip around the country, visiting relatives. He was here this past week, and he brought his bike, so we could go for a ride. First, there was a tire with a slow leak needing fixing, plus some brake adjustment. How many former shop owners and amateur wrenches does it take to fix these things? :-) My job was to provide tools - "do you have an (x)?" I always produced the (x). Arthur was impressed. The only tool I would have wanted to have that I didn't (and he didn't ask for it, but it would have been cool) is the Park Master Link Plier.

That all managed, I had to provide a route. Would we do an inner-Portland coffee-shop ride, or some of my favorite countryside around Forest Grove? Friend Rickey emailed wanting to do a ride as well, so we settled on a 20 mile flat loop out of The Grand Lodge, in Forest Grove.

Rickey: "you don't look old enough to be her uncle!". Art: "I'm not."

So we (Fitz, Art, me, Rickey, Kyle) headed out of Forest Grove on the following planned route:
W on Pacific,
L on Ritchey,
L on Stringtown
R on Dilley
R on Hwy 47
R on Old Hwy 47, go to the Lake Store
continue S to Gaston (forget the road names)
East on Gaston Rd to Spring Hill
R on Fern Hill
return to Grand Lodge.Eat tots.

Stringtown Road did not disappoint - the nursery out there was spectacular.

As we were riding with Rickey, there was a route adjustment - he wanted to climb Carpenter Creek and descend Plumlee. Those not up to the climbage could either take the original route, or walk it. We all went for it. No one walked it.

A pause for pictures and admiring the view, then on through Dilley and Old Hwy 47 to the Lake Store, for snacks.

Through Gaston and heading back north along Spring Hill, again by another favorite nursery where Hardebeck Rd comes in. The wheatfields smell heavenly.

At this point we've probably ridden a bit further than Arthur is used to. But it is flat now, and really, we are just about done. Really. Only a few more miles.

Nice lunch at the Grand Lodge afterward.

Proud Parent, Part 1

2009-06-06T20:34:00.000-07:00

(graduation season. this is one of two.)

Rebecca is now Rebecca, M. Architecture. Thursday night was Thesis Exhibition and Review, and this afternoon was the University of Oregon Portland Center graduation ceremony.

It was a nice, small, informal ceremony. The keynote speaker was excellent (Will Bruder). No academic regalia, no music, no procession. Each professor presented the graduates from their Terminal Project class.

We then enjoyed the reception, where, not only did I renew my acquaintance with Rebecca's fellow student whose mother I went to high school with (in TEXAS), but his grandmother was there. She and my mom were fellow Girl Scout leaders... They had a nice visit.

Then adjourned to The Noble Rot, for a celebratory dinner.

Jessica is looking forward to seeing Rebecca again. Wedding plans are up next.

Steeking Away

2009-06-05T16:20:00.000-07:00

The Flora vest body is now complete, and I've grafted the shoulder seams together. Time to knit the front/neck band. But before I do that, it needs to be cut open.

Looking at the body, you'll see a checked knit area down the middle - that's called the steek, and that is what is cut apart. There is an edge stitch between it and the pattern area, where I'll pick up the stitches for the band.

The yarn is "sticky" - it won't unravel (I can attest to this, having had to do some un-knitting :-) ), so it can be cut right between the 4th and 5th stitches of the 8-stitch steek.

And here it is:

Now I need to buy a longer 3mm circular needle to pick up all 379 of those band stitches...

Rider Identification Guide

2009-05-26T13:48:00.000-07:00

On many rando rides, I have been mistaken for Peg. This was before I even met Peg. Cecil is also mistaken for Peg. I am not sure either of us has been mistaken for Lesli, but I will include her as well. Hence, here is a handy field identification guide:

Lesli, Lynne, Cecil. Peg is in front.

(L-R) Peg, Lynne, Cecil, Lesli

Peg:

rides a shiny new red Pereira with smooth silver-colored metal fenders
has a slightly orangish Showers Pass jacket
does not have a stuffed animal companion
about in the middle, height-wise

Cecil:

rides a dark purple Sweetpea with shiny brass fenders
has a yellow or orange Showers Pass jacket
often in an Orange/Silver Bell Metro Helmet
has a stuffed animal (Formerly Floyd), who wears either a purple sweater or a teeny little Showers Pass jacket
tallest one of the bunch
takes lots of pictures
wears glasses

Lynne:

rides a minty-blue Rivendell Bleriot with hammered Honjo fenders, Carradice Barley and Acorn Boxy Rando bag
Often in an Orange/Silver Bell Metro Helmet
has a stuffed animal (Little Pink Bear)
shorter than Peg
has a yellow Showers Pass jacket
takes lots of pictures

Lesli:

rides a pencil-blue custom Rivendell with hammered Honjo fenders, and a changing cast of canvas luggage
Has a Bell Metro helmet, color undetermined
shortest one in the group
has a yellow Showers Pass jacket
no stuffed animal
takes lots of pictures
wears glasses

Flora Progress

2009-05-19T16:57:00.000-07:00

on the knitting side...

Flora is moving along. I'm 8 rows into the armhole and v-neck decreases, so I'm about halfway. I look at other Flora and Fair Isle projects on Ravelry, and don't notice many stitch markers. I've been placing a marker at each pattern repeat. It provides a mid-row checkpoint that I've not messed up in the previous 32 stitches, plus, now that I'm doing partial repeats because of the decreases, there is a known point to count backwards from, to pick up the right stitch in the repeat. I think I've got approximately 60 more rows to go, to finish the body.

I took a side detour and knitted up the Brigid socks - needed an airplane project. The CountAble application for the Palm was an excellent row counter for the cabling and heel flap.

Next sock project will be Robyn Gallimore's Latvian Wedding Socks, with Knit Picks Felici Alexandrite and Bare sock yarns.

Bridge of the Gods / Scott's Birthday Ride

2009-05-18T12:12:00.000-07:00

Scott had proposed the BOG for his birthday ride. The weather completely cooperated. Carpooled over with Susan, we all met in the parking lot at Edgefield. Long time since I've started/ended this ride at Edgefield.

Much discussion about which variation of the route was to be followed. While most of it is a given, there are variations from Edgefield to the I-205 Bridge and then through Vancouver/Camas/Washougal.

Richard and Nance had an early flat; Susan and I went ahead, knowing they'd all catch up.

Took the quasi-RACC route through Vancouver. The stretch on 164th down to Evergreen was...interesting. Or at least the driver who wanted to go in front of us and turn right, rather than tucking in behind us and easily turning right, rather than sitting out in the lane waiting for us all to pass, made it interesting.

Pause at the Burgerville, where Andrew shared his fries, and I ate a bar. Then a different route east, following 3rd through Washougal, until it met up with SR-14. I was stopped at a light, and found myself all by my lonesome, wondering when the heck I'd intersect SR-14, so I finally called. Turned out it wasn't much further.

Leisurely climb up to Cape Horn with Susan. A nice motorcyclist (they were out in droves in the nice weather) offered to take our picture. He didn't want to be doing yardwork today, either :-)

Dooooooowwwwwwwnnnnn. If I was less of a chicken descender, I'd like this part a lot more. Once we pass the Prindle School, it gets less steep and more enjoyable.

Rolled along to Beacon Rock, where we refilled our water bottles, and talked with some folks about the ride. "Where'd you start?" Troutdale "Where are you finishing?" Troutdale. "About how far is that?" About 85 miles.

Enjoyed a great tailwind all the way to the Bridge of the Gods, had an uneventful crossing (I looked down the whole time, but no boats going under, darn). Susan got in line to pay toll; I had to convince her that we didn't have to pay anymore. Laura was waiting for us.

Found everyone at the deli. Tuna sandwich, Fritos and orange juice. Then Susan, Laura, Einar and I took off for the ride on the Old Columbia River Highway, which is now a non-motorized trail. Kind of like riding through Middle-Earth - mossy, green, filtered sunlight, at least 15 degrees cooler on a hot day...

The landslide from last summer was cleared away - the fence is still missing a section, but the trail is clear.

Short stretch on I-84, then off onto the Scenic Highway. And into the trees, which made a nice buffer from the headwind, although I just tucked behind Laura and sucked her rear wheel for awhile.

Horsetail Falls was running very high, and doing a nice job as Mister Mistee. Wow, that felt good! More pictures.

A short while later we stopped and explored the newly-reopened Oneonta Tunnel, and enjoyed the mist coming out from Oneonta Gorge.

On to Multnomah Falls for the obligatory ice cream.

Rollering west, then up at Latourell Falls for possibly my slowest ascent ever to Crown Point, where I found Laura, Susan, and Einar. More pictures.

Then the last little bit of climbing and downhill all the way back to Troutdale, water, Arnold Palmers, snacks, and Scott's birthday celebration.

A great day for a ride with friends!

85+ miles. Rest of pics here

A Long Ride for a Donut...

2009-05-16T16:51:00.000-07:00

not that it was a long ride, as rides go. Fitz's golf buddy C has had a donut stand at the Lake Oswego Farmers' Market for several years. It supports C's favorite cause - his children's college fund. The whole family is there, every Saturday morning.

I should mention that the BEAVERTON Farmer's Market is a mere 2 miles from our house. Lake Oswego is a bit :-) further, with varied roads.

We headed out, following Fitz's former bike commute route down to Tigard, and then tacked on one of his lunchtime loops, which, coincidentally, went through Lake Oswego.

First, headed south, crossing lots of busy streets (Walker, Canyon, Beaverton-Hillsdale, and Allen), finally to turn left onto Denney for a block and hop onto the Fanno Creek Trail. We followed it all the way to Tigard, but had to cross Hall and Dakota. There is a tunnel under Scholls Ferry.

The trail parallels Hwy 217, and it is creek and wetland, with playgrounds and basketball courts every so often. It is really nice. I took most of my pictures there.

We then popped out in Tigard, rode through some neighborhoods, then busier streets into Tigard proper. Busy streets until we turned off on Meadows Rd, just south of Kruse Way, then busy again on Boone's Ferry, Country Club Rd, A Street, until we ducked off onto 4th and Evergreen. (Cecil - we don't have to ride on A Street ANYMORE! Evergreen parallels it all the way to 10th)).

Looked for people with bags of produce; found the market. Wandered around, found C. He was amazed that we'd ridden all the way just for one of his donuts (well, 2 donuts. and 2 lemonades).

Enjoyed the donuts, walked back out of the market, and headed back by way of Evergreen, Chandler, Iron Mt Blvd...

Brief pause here - headed to a 4 way stop in one of the narrow parts of Iron Mt Blvd. A car came up behind us (and it had not been sitting back waiting, it had just come up), went to our left right at the stop sign, fully in the other lane, and took off. Did I mention that the lanes were narrow? I am sure there were several traffic laws broken. ZBT111, or something close to that.

where were we... Bryant, Lakeview, Jean, and Boone's Ferry again, under I-5, right onto 72nd, through Tualatin, Tigard, the FCT, and a brief stop at Uwajimaya to check out the performances. Then home.

Worth a Read...

2009-05-11T15:20:00.001-07:00

http://bikelemming.blogspot.com/2009/05/6-articles-bicycling-or-chris.html

Riding with the Velo

2009-05-10T20:50:00.000-07:00

My local cycling club is Portland Velo. They've got rides every day of the week, and the big one on Saturday mornings, where everyone breaks up into pace groups, so, in theory, you don't find yourself out in the countryside all by your lonesome.

The past few weeks, I've been riding with, or ride leadering with, the 15s. For the record that is TOP SPEED ON THE FLATS, not the AVERAGE!

A couple of weekends ago we had a nice wander out north of Forest Grove, into town, and then back - a new rider hadn't quite gotten the memo of how long the ride would be (husband was vague about details), and she was pretty toasted. We took a shorter route back; all was good.

Then another nice loop in the countryside. The red clover was still not there.

This past weekend I joined LJ as leader for the 15s. I hadn't signed up before, for various reasons, but there I was and the group was 10 riders (wow, that's a lot for the 15s), so I co-led.

The weather was outstanding. By the time we got to the Laurel Store, I had to peel off the remaining extra clothing and apply sunscreen. We then headed up Holly Hill, which has amazing views of the valley. One rider had bike fit issues, so she took the hill slowly - her knees hurt. And she walked some. But she made it, and we took pictures of each other to document ("my husband will never believe me")

Then down to find LJ and the rest waiting at the store, and we proceeded off to McCormick Hill and Vandeschuere. I am pleased to report that the horrible pothole (read the very, very first post in this blog) is now patched. I was riding sweep, as the rider with the fit issues was walking up the rollers. Everyone had gone ahead at that point.

We elected to take River Rd all the way from Scholls Ferry, rather than going to the right and climbing Clark Hill.

Note: don't ride River Rd from Scholls Ferry to Farmington. Heavy, fast traffic, absolutely NO shoulders. While no one was trying to run me off the road, they were passing at a very fast clip, sometimes with less space than I would have preferred.

Then we were back on the route. I had suggested she eat some more back on River Rd, and it started to show some effect right around Davis Rd. We finished the ride in fine style. The red clover should be spectacular in about a week, if not sooner.

Had a very nice visit afterward with LJ, KRhea, Dean, Mrs. Dean, and Angela, outside on the patio.

Cue Sheet Survey Results and Recommendations

2009-05-04T12:45:00.000-07:00

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Cue Sheet Format Survey. 66 of you filled out the survey, more than enough for statistical significance. And so...

Participants

The survey was publicized in the Portland Velo club forums, the Oregon Randonneurs mail list, the Cascade Bike Club forums, and this blog.

Cue Sheet Use Context

Participant ride categories:

Club rides 59.1%
Event rides 80.3%
Randonneuring rides 43.9%
Rides with friends 24.2%

The distribution of results changed markedly as the Event Ride participation number went up. In retrospect, there should have been one more question regarding actual usage of the cue sheet - on event rides the route is usually well marked, there are many cyclists, and generally no actual need to look at the cue sheet!

Carrying the cue sheet:

folded in a sandwich-sized bag 36.4%
clipped to the handlebar 27.3%
map window in a handlebar bag 13.6%
map holder attached to the handlebar 13.6%
in pocket or under the leg of the shorts 60%
other 15.2%

The sandwich-sized plastic bag (Ziploc TM) is 6.5" wide and 5.5" high. Of the 10 other data points offered, 5" high and either 4" or 8" wide were most common. However, this represents a small percentage of the data. I will tentatively conclude that the most common map carrier size is the sandwich-sized plastic bag, which is often clipped to the handlebar, stuffed in a pocket, bag, or under the leg of one's riding shorts.

Less than 20% of riders use a GPS unit.

68% of the riders ride in the dark. This has further implications for readability of the cue sheet.

Route Information Most Wanted

The following items were rated most important to be included on a cue sheet (in order)

turn 88%
road or location description 83.5%
cumulative distance 40.8%
leg distance 36.4%

The following items were rated as unneeded:

latitude and longitude 83.5%
distances in both miles and km 80.9%
compass degrees 83.9%
compass points 60.8%

Elevations and overall route map were both rated as nice to have.

Presentation of Route Information

An overwhelming 76% prefer the turn information as simple abbreviations: R, L, X, VR, VL, etc. 21% are ok with spelling it out, and 3.1% prefer the additional word "Turn".

For general overall cue sheet formatting the following is preferred:

All components in separate columns 62.9%, 79% if the Preferred and Required responses are combined
Turns in boldface are preferred
Street names in boldface are nice to have
Each cue line clearly delineated 62.5%, 86% if Preferred and Required responses are combined
Easily readable and sufficiently sized font 97% Preferred and Required
Cue sheet can be folded to fit my map holder with no loss of information, 81% Preferred and Required.

Preferences on mixed case vs all caps were inconclusive. Many other studies show that text recognition is faster when the text is in mixed case; I'd recommend that.

Themes from the verbatims

35 participants provided additional comments. Themes that emerged were:

big enough font for those with reading issues. (Lynne: Note that this is ALSO an issue for reading cue sheets at night)
More complete descriptions - landmarks, nice views, "T" intersections, places to eat
Cue sheet should fold to 1/4 size of standard sheet of paper and have all needed info viewable; it's ok to have the text in the description field wrap.
Excel format and editable
Use color or lines to delineate each cue

Recommendations

"Enough information, but not *too much* information." - participant verbatim

Minimum content

cumulative distance, turn information, leg distance, and description.
Overall map and elevations are nice.
Consider providing the map in an editable format for those who have particular formatting preferences

Presentation

Format the content such that the paper can be folded into quarters and put into a sandwich bag with no loss of information
Preferably, format each content component into its own column
Describe the turns as R, L, BR, BL, VR, VL, X, etc. Don't spell them out, unless they are embedded in the description. Don't add extra words. If you want to say "Turn" use it as a column header
Clearly delineate each cue line
Distinctively format Rest Stops and Controls - color, all caps, bold, bigger font. Make sure the additional formatting does not reduce contrast between the text and the background
Note "T" intersections. Less worrying about missing the turn with that bit of info
Arrange content in a logical "sentence" order - At Mile X Turn R, Turn Description, And Go Y

Some prototypes, one with just miles, one additionally with km. Either the miles or km can be folded under, with no loss of information and a logical flow to the presentation.

(CLICK THIS ONE TO SEE THE WHOLE PICTURE!)

Bling bling BLING!

2009-04-29T16:48:00.000-07:00

The RUSA R-12 medal arrived today :-)

Along with a nice letter, and my name engraved on the back

COOKIE!

2009-04-26T20:31:00.000-07:00

Today, it was all about MY ride. I elected to ride the Salem Bike Club Monster Cookie Ride solo, so I could go as fast or as slow as I wanted, and not stress about trying to keep up with the groups from my club. Rode the Lemond - this is a flat and fast course, and the weather promised no rain.

Wore the Team Bag Balm colors today; we haven't been riding as a group much in months, and I hoped I'd see some of the others there. Don was at the start. I saw Ron, but he was too far away. Cecil was in the pre-reg line; she was intending to ride a Double Cookie. She got her packet, said hi, and left :-)

Richard and Nance were also at the start, and Einar showed up somewhere in there.

The PV group was planning a pre-ride photo. I elected to skip that and start riding. Off around 8:30. Getting out of Salem was a big crowded, but once we got into Keizer, the pack thinned out.

I ended up sitting on Dean's wheel from outside Keizer all the way to the first rest stop. Got some cookies, chatted with Don, heard the usual: "Team Bag Balm is here!". Someone always says that - TBB is often a larger presence at Monster Cookie, Reach the Beach and other event rides. We aren't organized, but we do have fun riding together.

Said hi to Jonathan from Nike (he's a product test analyst; I'm a product tester). Visited with John Henry Maurice from Salem Bike Club (the wonderful folks that put this ride on every spring). Whew. Headed on to Champoeg.

The PV Race Team had arrived at the rest stop just before I left. A couple miles later, they blew by. Then a couple more miles later, I saw a few of them rearranging clothing, and a bit further along, I caught up to the rest of that group. They were riding slower so the others could catch up. So I rode along with them for a few miles. It was surreal, hanging in the double paceline with the fast boys. Then the other two showed up and zip... they were gone.

Then I heard "is that Lynne?", so I waved. The other PV group passed, each one of them saying "Hi Lynne!" as they passed :-)

On to Champoeg. It was surely novel, riding this stretch in daylight. I don't think I've done that much in the past few years. Mostly we are headed north finishing a permanent or brevet, and, well, it's DARK by then.

Walking to get lunch, ran into Sal. Ended up eating with a mixed group of Portland Velo and TBB riders. Renata from Team Estrogen stopped by. I saw John O and Edna as I was leaving.

Mike Y rode out with me. He went for the PV Velo Vie frame, and did it up nicely with blue handlebar tape, the matching seat, and blue tires. Very spiffy. He sat on my wheel until something faster came along - one of the PV groups.

Did a quick pass through the rest stop, where I saw Jack and Kelli (remember them from the BOG ride many years ago?). More cookies (mmmmmmm) and off again.

Came upon Sal and Geri; we rode together for awhile. I had a great 50 miles. Unfortunately, the ride was 62 miles. The last 12 were ridden at a more sedate pace. Dan and Jeff came upon me in Keizer - Jeff wanted to know more about randonneuring. Einar came up just a few miles before the end, and we all finished together.

Posted my fastest average ride pace year-to-date.

Got a really big snickerdoodle, and, eventually a cup of coffee. Visited with Lisa O and her junior escape artists working the Livestrong booth. John O and Mike H finished; more visiting.

I finally took my leave, although it is possible that I could have stayed and visited for much longer. Solo rides clearly aren't, and much more fun because of it!

Polar HRM Receiver Battery Replacement

2009-04-25T18:36:00.000-07:00

DISCLAIMER: THIS VOIDS YOUR WARRANTY. IT MAY COMPROMISE THE WATERPROOFNESS OF YOUR RECEIVER. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.

That all said, my Polar S410 is so far out of warranty. And missing at least two buttons. I sent it off to get everything fixed last time, and they did fix it, but the buttons fell off again. So I give up.

Fitz's Polar S150 also had a battery death.

First Learning: every receiver has a different battery. Open yours up first, to see what it needs, then go buy it. For really obscure batteries, try Batteries Plus. Less obscure, Radio Shack. If your receiver wants a 2032, you can get those anywhere.

Tiny little jeweler's screwdrivers, good lighting, a fuzzy cloth so everything doesn't roll away.

Open the back. Note how the battery is wedged in. Our receivers had different battery retention methods, as well. Mine was easy to figure out. Fitz's was downright weird. The bright thing to do is take a picture before you take it apart, so you'll have a record of the proper orientation of putting it all back together.

Pop out the old battery; put in the new one. Admire that your display again has a readout! Reattach that battery retention thingie.

A tweezer will help you get the infinitesimal screws back into their holes. Screw them down tight, but exercising caution not to strip the screw head!

Now, find your manual or view it online to set your time and date. My receiver actually remembered all my personal settings, which was way cool, since I had only written down my HR zones, but not my VO Max.

And, like I said:
DISCLAIMER: THIS VOIDS YOUR WARRANTY. IT MAY COMPROMISE THE WATERPROOFNESS OF YOUR RECEIVER. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.

Riding with Rickey

2009-04-21T19:15:00.000-07:00

and son. Friend Rickey invited me to join them on a spin around the valley and foothills in western Washington County. The only thing I knew about the projected route is that it included the Jackson Quarry Hill. Of course, that led me to conclude several other things about the route!

Met them at Longbottom's, and after a brief discussion, decided to approach via Shute/Helvetia Rd. Once past the West Union intersection, it is a quiet and scenic ride.

As our pace was leisurely, I had the opportunity to take many pictures of a favorite area, that I can now share with you.

Helvetia was settled by folks from Switzerland.

There's bits of old-growth forest

When I'm not trying to achieve maximum heart rate, I can admire the scenery on Jackson Quarry Hill.

Rickey and son.

I had never explored Dixie Mountain Road - I know that is what Skyline turns into, when the pavement ends. It terminates on Shadybrook Rd, just north of the Jackson School intersection. It is paved for a couple of miles, and very pretty.

Love this old store just outside of North Plains

We then headed back by way of Gordon Rd, right on Zion Church/Cornelius-Shefflin, then back on Wren. Looking at the map, we could have taken Davis to Leisy and cut out a few miles. Kyle would have appreciated that. Don't know if Davis is paved. Must investigate.

Then the autopilot Wren-Leisy-Hornecker-Cory-Glencoe-Lenox-Sunburst-Evergreen return.

It was a fabulous day. Note for the next few weeks - the clover fields on Leisy will be spectacular...

All the pics here

A Survey of Cue Sheet Formats

2009-04-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

I never throw away a cue sheet. I've got stacks of them, dating back to when they were painstakingly typed, or indeed, hand-drawn.

That said, I find that some formats work better for me than others. I'd like to find out which combinations of route components and formatting work for you.

I've got a collection of cue sheet samples for viewing here
Cue Sheet Samples

And a 10 question survey
Click Here to take survey

So, if you resemble the demographic (cyclist who rides with cue sheets), join in!

The Dizzy 300km Worker's Report

2009-04-13T11:24:00.000-07:00

Vertigo. Dizzy. Not able to walk in a straight line. (For the record, I think it is slowly clearing up. I am able to sit and type...)

In retrospect, I can see that it had been threatening for a day and a half before it really hit. Friday, my head was a little swimmy when I turned it.

Saturday I was up at 3:45am to co-organize the Oregon Randonneurs Three Capes 300km ride. We got everyone checked in, and away at 6am, except for the one person who showed up at 6:30 and departed shortly before 7am.

Then Susan F and I had the longest breakfast ever, and, around 11am, thought we'd do a little riding of our own. We settled on me showing her the new, nice way into Forest Grove on David Hill Road (not yet on google maps), then riding out Ritchey, Stringtown, Dilley, and Old Hwy 47 to the Lake Stop Store. Old 47 is, um, rolling tending to hilly. We elected to continue south to Gaston, cross Hwy 47 there, and then head north back to Forest Grove. Stringtown Rd south of Ritchey is one of my favorite stretches of road ever, and in the spring, it is wonderful. Given that I had felt a little wobbly earlier, it was perhaps not the smartest thing to do, but my head did feel clearer afterward. Susan thought my new bike computer was pretty cool.

A delightful soak in the hot pool after, then we opened up the last control. The Rounder Room was occupied for awhile, so we sat in the back of my van, enjoying the nice weather. Cecil returned, and moved stuff into the room, and Susan and I followed with the rest of the stuff.

The fast boys finished in 10:48. I'm beyond delighted if I can ride a 200km that fast! Imagine, finishing in daylight the Very Same Day!

Riders finished, we all visited, they had snacks, I knitted ("ooh! Alice Starmore" said one of the finishing riders.). Then (to make a short story long), the dizziness just kept getting worse and worse. I couldn't walk in a straight line. After awhile, I couldn't even sit up for long periods of time. I decamped to the sofa around 10:30, and didn't leave it much until it was time to close the control. Bill Alsup said I had a conversation with him when he finished, but I don't remember it. The last riders finished at 1:52am, 8 minutes before the last control closed. Thanks to Bill Alsup for driving back along the route to locate them.

Much amused discussion of the Montagnards and the logistics of applying the battery-operated light penalty. Is it for overall time? Or only the hours ridden after statutory sunset and before statutory sunrise? Suppose there is non-riding time at night (some riders are lucky enough to find time to sleep)? How is that accounted for? Are there also penalties for non-steel frames? Skinny tires? Non-canvas bike luggage? Non-wool clothing? Would bikes that "plane" have an unfair advantage? :-)

Nat Beagley was posting Facebook updates the whole ride (noted by Cecil, who had gone home after we got everyone started). This is how we learned he had broken 2 spokes in his rear wheel (I've got Facebook Mobile on my phone, and so alerted, was able to follow along). Fortunately, he had a lot of other spokes and Paul Whitney, so the wheel was rendered somewhat usable, and he finished in plenty of time.

Cecil scraped me up and drove me home. I fell right into bed, and did not get out of it, pretty much until today. Still dizzy, but I think it is slowly going away.

For the record, the advice nurse wasn't too concerned - she asked a lot of questions ("blow to your head? numbness in your extremities?, etc) to which I answered no to every single one. If it doesn't clear up in a few days, I should call again. She recommended Meclizine (Dramamine, AntiVert), so I've taken some. Time for another nap, I think.

all my pics for the day here

I'm sure happy I patched that flat

2009-04-07T15:16:00.000-07:00

After last weekend's futile attempt to ride a 300km, I took myself out today just to remind myself I still knew how to ride a bicycle.

Apparently, not so fast - my rear tire was flatter than a pancake. Picked a lot of little glass bits out of the tire, and patched the tube. Finally, off to Council Crest. Nice, warm, sunny day.

I was playing with my new bike computer, as well, seeing what the waypoint function would do for me. The speedo kept going away, every time I went under power lines. After about a mile of this, I tweaked the sensor position to be closer to the magnet. All good from there on out.

A leisurely climb up to Sylvan (parts of Pointer are 14%. Now you know), then across Hwy 26, onto Hewett, up the last bit of Scholls Ferry, then into the neighborhood, up the hill, and all the way to the top (1086 feet, Google Earth says 1057 feet). Enjoyed my water and Fig Newtons, then headed off for the Fairmount Loop (3.62 miles).

Did I mention it was a really nice day? (temp 75 F)

Then finally back down to home (292 ft). Except, on the bike path, just above West Sylvan Middle School.... BANG!

My rear tire had a bead separation and blowout. You know, the one with the new tube with only one fresh new patch...

Fortunately, (Girl Scout/Randonneuse persona asserts) I still had my spare tire in the rear bag. Walked a bit down the path to the shady pullout for the middle school, and did a complete tube and tire change. It did take some wrestling - those tires that have a kevlar bead and fold flat want to stay that way, rather than go to a nice round cross section.

Two cyclists passed - the one in the most logo-ed clothing asked if I needed assistance. The other just rode by. Aid offering - 50%.

Finished the ride home and played with the data download. I think they are missing some obvious useful functionality, although what is there is certainly good.

Messing with the computer, I note that Bleriot rolled over 7000 miles this past Saturday.

Examining the Record Book (with 4 bicycles, it is worthwhile to note whenever anything of significance occurs), I see that the rear tire has been on the bike for just over 3000 miles. It started out as a front tire (1700 miles), then moved to the rear, when the rear tire was just much too cut up for me to feel confident about riding on it. Perhaps, when I'm so inclined, soon, I'll put the new tire in front and the older tire in the rear.

Snooseville Populaire, continuing the series of wet, windy, cold rides

2009-03-15T11:18:00.001-07:00

Lynne Takes Twee to New Levels
Originally uploaded by cecilanne

The yard finally contributed some flowers for Bleriot's little bud vase :-)

As usual, the weather forecast was not encouraging. I was hoping the excellent spring weather we'd had all week would hold on for one more day, but not.

It wasn't raining when I left the house at 6:20 to meet Cecil at the top of the hill. She and Joshua had just started descending when I met up with them. Pitch dark of course, because of daylight savings time, but we were all prepared for that.

It was warm enough that I ditched the jacket just before the Park and Rec, and enjoyed the rest of the ride over to Cornelius Pass Roadhouse without it. The drizzle started just as we arrived.

Checked in, visited, saw Scott, Linda, Diane, Rickey, David, Susan, Bill A, Bill S...

Received some completed permanent cards and a RUSA volunteer polo from Susan.

Put that jacket back on. Sigh.

And we were off. I'd say I rode 99% of the time solo, knowing there were riders behind me (not many) and in front of me (most of them).

The wind was mostly unfavorable. Saw a group of riders stopped in North Plains, no problem, just doing clothing adjustments. There was a tailwind for a bit heading up Dairy Creek, but the hills did weird things to the wind direction. The rain increased. There were some excellent bright yellow curly willow shrubs at a nursery along the way; still must get one for the yard.

I did not see returning riders until after Meacham Rd, unless there was a PV rider concealed in the peloton from Finnegan's.

Nice control setup at Greener Rd/Fern Flat. Yummy snacks, rando mochas (coffee with a packet of hot chocolate mix stirred in), the delightful company of Susan, Ray, and Barbara, and a place to stand out of the rain. I told Susan I didn't think the weather was quite as bad as last Saturday.

Then back down Dairy Creek (headwind). Watched a couple of riders abandon at the corner of Dairy Creek and Mountaindale. Headed off toward Frogger Junction. With the rain, spray, and some cars not turning on their lights, it was a bit hard to see when a clear crossing gap was available, but eventually I got one.

The fields on the south side of Hwy 26 were nice and flooded. Then through Banks, and rolling (and I do mean rolling) west along Cedar Canyon Rd. The area before the Killin Wetlands was flooded, as were the wetlands themselves. Birders were wandering across the road with their spotting scopes. A driver of a massive pickup with an oversized sense of entitlement looked right at me as I headed up to the intersection with Killin Road, and then turned left without stopping. Hit the brakes. Yelled. Did not engage him further. Probably mistreats his girlfriend. If he has one.

Got the info control question. I should have looked at it back at Dairy Creek, so I wouldn't have to take off my gloves and open the bag in the rain. Or at least put the control card in the bag inside out. Next time.

East on Hwy 6, up Stafford Rd (no problems on the climb, or any other climb this day), to find Joshua, standing at the top. Does he have a flat? Is something wrong? After a bit of conversation, he asked for my card to put a sticker on it. Secret Control! Stuck in the rain and wind for a few hours there, poor guy. Definitely above and beyond the call!

Now I was headed south for Forest Grove, and the delights of Maggies Buns. Specifically, the sticky buns as big as my head. Saw a couple of women consulting a map. Did I know the way to Maggies? Yes, follow me. I had to slow down some to keep them in sight, so they'd know where to turn - the route I was to follow into Forest Grove was not the one they were given, but it got us off Thatcher Rd sooner. I'd have preferred to get off Thatcher Road even sooner, at David Hill Rd, but that wasn't the route. Not that Thatcher is bad, but it is narrow, and traffic picks up, the closer one gets to Forest Grove.

Still a few randos at Maggies. But no buns! I was profoundly disappointed, and had to console myself with coffee and a lemon bar. I was cold and wet by this point (headwind blasts and very heavy rain on Thatcher Rd will do that). "Hand over the coffee and no one gets hurt", as the sign says over the cash register. Called Fitz and suggested he meet me at the finish with a bag of dry clothing. As Brian was visiting, they thought they'd both show up.

Visited with Bill and the Maggie's control worker (did not get his name), said hi to the PV group that showed up, and then set out for the final 15 miles. Was caught up in the PV group until crossing Hwy 47; visited with Mike S, then they pulled away. Nice tailwind on Porter, finally!

The PV group took the Cornelius-Schefflin (N), Wren, Leisy, Hornecker route; the Rando route called for Cornelius-Schefflin (S), Long, Susbauer, Hornecker. I haven't ridden the southern route much since Tim's death, and not at all since the northern stretch of CS has been repaved. It was kind of creepy (I was riding solo), but there was no traffic to worry about at the left turn onto Long. For the record, I much prefer the northern route - much, much less traffic, and better roads. It is .5 miles longer, but ever so much more pleasant to ride. It isn't just the left turn onto Long that is problematic, but the heavier, high-speed traffic on Susbauer. Since it isn't a shortcut, I might choose to go this way next time.

The rain had let up, and the wind was either cross or tail, so this was a relatively pleasant change. My feet had not been with me since, oh, crossing Hwy 6, and my shoes were full of water. (These are Gore-Tex shoes, with booties over them. Hah.)

At which point, I was on autopilot. There is another 6+ miles to ride, but I do this stretch so often, I don't even think about it.

And there Fitz was, with the car keys. In retrospect, I should have turned in my card first, then put the bike away and put on dry socks and shoes, but there was still plenty of time. Changed, ordered a small beer and lunch, and visited around. We were all enjoying dry clothing.

Introduced Brian to his new co-worker - he's starting an internship at Mentor Graphics in June, where a fellow rando works. :-)

Nice long visit with Susan (there will be a sneaky info control on the Three Capes), where I took back the statement about the weather not being as bad as last weekend. :-)

I'm guessing 72 miles total for the day (bike computer not yet replaced. I completely did not need it on this ride). Heart rate monitor was non-functional as well, so a completely uninstrumented ride.

There will be a fee to pay your bill...

2009-03-13T14:04:00.000-07:00

Context: The other person went on an interview trip, and, somewhere between filling up the rental car and returning it, the credit card went missing. So he cancelled it and that was that.

Except today I realized it was due in a few days and logged in to pay it electronically. And, of course, that account was gone.

Oh. Called the credit card provider, finally punched "0" to talk to a human, and spoke to the very genial Michael. No problem paying it, but.... "it will be plus whatever fees".

Me: "shouldn't be any, it isn't due for a few days"

Michael: "we charge $14.95 to make a phone-authorized transfer payment. But seeing as how your card was lost or stolen, we'll do the right thing and waive that fee."

I SHOULD HOPE SO.

Make them give back their stimulus money, if they are pulling tricks like that!

And no working bike computer, either...

2009-03-09T11:30:00.000-07:00

We managed to complete Saturday's Permanent without a fully functioning bike computer among the three of us.

My venerable (10+ years old) Cateye Astrale finally gave it up. It will reliably pick up cadence, but not speed. It has gotten new batteries, sandpaper on the contacts... There is a nick in the speedo pickup cable, which maybe needs new electrical tape, but I'm thinking it is just dying of old age and too much riding in the rain. So I'd be seeing my speed vary wildly, from 0 to whatever I was really riding. I've got to say, it is really demoralizing grinding up a roller on the Cascade Highway, and seeing a readout of "0".

Lesli's computer was flaky, but at least recording total distance.

Tom didn't have a computer.

New bike computer for me. Good thing there is a gift-giving event in the near future.

Rando Amnesia Needs to Set In

2009-03-08T16:07:00.000-07:00

Up this month, the Scio Covered Bridges Permanent. Lesli and Tom were coming up from Eugene to ride it with me.

The weather was supposed to be, in short, not good. Weather.com was promising clear until 11am, then 50% chance of rain the rest of the day, with 15mph WSW winds. Highs, mid 40's. Maybe. The route headed pretty much due south for the first 44 miles.

So, suitably fortified against the expected weather, we headed south. The first thing one does on this route is cross the Willamette River. The only way across the river for miles in any direction is I-5.

Tom: "are you sure this is legal?"

A long run south, mostly on Meridian Rd (strong head/cross winds) until we got to Silverton, where we had a brief stop, then another long run south to Stayton on the Cascade Highway (much strong head/cross winds, enhanced by rain).

Long conversations going on in my head, along the lines of "this isn't any fun. Wonder if Fitz would pick me up in Scio (not very likely). I could turn around and go back." Found Tom and Lesli in Sublimity; they were eating corndogs. I changed my gloves for dry ones, ate a hard-boiled egg, and pressed on. I'd consumed a Payday bar in Silverton, and a banana at the start (for the record, I had a major breakfast at home).

Off though Sublimity and Stayton; Lesli and Tom caught me at the initial turn onto Cole School Road. I made the first roller (ow). Started at the second roller, and, well, it wasn't going to happen today. I walked up it, and we proceeded into Scio, passing through the Shimanek Covered Bridge.

Now, the last time we did this, we faffed around in Silverton, and got to the control at the Very Last Minute. No faffing this time, just very strong headwinds. I looked at my watch and promptly bought a candy bar :-) Seven minutes to spare. Ate the candy bar, and half a pbj. This was the slowest, hardest 48.7 miles ever.

The checkers in the store were nice, wishing us a good ride. The patrons were similarly polite: "bit of a day for a bike ride, isn't it?"

I pushed off again; Lesli and Tom found me by the Hungry Hill Drive turnoff. Lots of pretty farms there. The rain had let up a bit. Another covered bridge (Huffman), then into Crabtree for the info control.

The wind was not entirely unfavorable at this point, and the rain had let up. We wandered around and found the Gilkey Covered Bridge (construction entirely finished), then rode almost to Jefferson and up and over Parrish Gap Rd. I had to stop three times on the steep bit, which was worrisome.

Then, heading over the rollers to Turner, I was buzzed twice at very high speed. Silver/taupe sedan Oregon plates YBU-something and a dark SUV-type thing Oregon plates 601 CTG. Neither of them needed to do that; there was no oncoming traffic. Bullies. They probably torture small animals, too.

Lesli and Tom were long gone. Rode through Turner, then onto Salem, and (I'm proud of myself here) followed the cue sheet exactly. Found Lesli and Tom at the corner of Liberty St, in the Starbucks. We all ate, drank, and the very kind barista also filled my water bottle with cold water, and my thermal jug with hot water, so I could make up another batch of Gatorade tea. Ate the other half of my sandwich, and the banana. The barista offered up wishes for a good ride back to Wilsonville.

Lesli took many pictures of my Acorn bag at this point. A bystander asked if our hubs were generators. Not many folks would have gotten that, and he'd never seen any before today, and didn't even know such things existed.

Some young male college students worked themselves into the pictures, then, as they were walking off, one proudly informed us that he was majoring in dickology. Tom: "did he say what I thought he said?" Me: "I'm pretty sure he's an honor student in that department". I thought Willamette had a better class of students (the other two I know are wonderful kids), but I suppose there are always a few.

And, wow! That tailwind we were owed? It showed up, blowing us north. We were on (for me) very familiar roads now. There were even brief bits of sunshine. We didn't pull on the reflective gear until somewhere just south of Donald. The last 15 miles were uneventful. Dark, but uneventful, until the last bit on the freeway to cross the river again. I will say that my Petzl E+Lite was great. I could read the cue sheet AND street signs; just had to tweak the angle - easy to do, even with many pairs of gloves on.

Someone had to honk at us on the on-ramp (what? there are cars here? going fast? I never would have known, thank you for alerting me!), but other than that, no issues. We found the spot to jump off the freeway before the offramp. Tom: "are you sure this is it?" Me: "follow the tire tracks" :-)

So, back to the Starbucks, where beverages were consumed. I had orange juice (sugar. give me sugar). Came back out to find that I really had gotten a flat tire, but just took the bike to the car, and I'll get around to fixing it this week sometime.

Lesli assured me that she was having similar conversations in her head, during the first part of the ride :-)

And we did it in 12:34; faster than our outing a year ago January.

I heart Yehuda Moon and the Kickstand Cyclery

2009-03-05T17:54:00.000-08:00

Yehuda Moon is on online comic strip about Yehuda, Joe and the other characters that inhabit the Kickstand Cyclery in Cleveland, Ohio. Yehuda is a cyclist after my own heart - he rides a total retrogrouch bike, and does it in non-lycra.

Today's comic had me rolling on the floor:

http://www.yehudamoon.com/index.php?date=2009-03-05

Compare with Bleriot's latest incarnation:

Knitting Flora

2009-03-03T21:17:00.000-08:00

Way back when, when Threads magazine was new, one of the early issues had an article about Alice Starmore and Fair Isle Knitting. I didn't knit much then. I mean, I knew HOW, but I hadn't done anything complex. I drooled over the pictures and figured I'd never, ever be able to knit anything as complex as that.

Four years ago, I got back into knitting (thank the ladies on the beach in Michigan). My first project once I remembered how to knit - a Fair Isle sweater. Worsted weight, only 4 colors, reasonably sized needles, not really all that hard, once I taught myself how to carry a color in each hand.

Then I saw the Flora waistcoat. Oh my. Dither, dither, dither. I finally ordered the kit from Virtual Yarns (Isle of Lewis, Scotland). Finished up another sweater, some socks, some lace...

Looked at the pretty yarn (13 colors, I might add!). Wound the yarn. Knitted the swatch. Those would be 3mm needles, if you are wondering. This will take awhile :-)

Ok, can't put it off any more. Cast on 299 stitches (ack. you try that sometime.) and started out. The first row was torture (first rows always are if one casts on too tightly). I'm up to row 7 of the bottom ribbing. Assuming I don't screw it up, it will be spectacular.

And the yarn feels wonderful.