Up to Oly for a BBQ

On Saturday, I rode up to Oly for a Barbeque at Alx's sisters house. This ride was unremarkable except for 2 things.

The Thurston County portion of SR 507 was just chip and sealed. It is amazing how much extra soreness gets transferred to your rear end, riding on this kind of surface.

 

The main the to remark upon is this was STP (Seattle to Portland) weekend and there were 10,000 riders heading south while I was heading north. I grew quite tired of hearing "Your going the wrong way". I was annoyed seeing them ride 4 abreast and block traffic which turns motorists into anti-cyclists. I was vexed to see lots of 'energy' product packets discarded on the roads and paths.

Worst of all though, was riding north on the  Tenino-Yelm bike path upstream of them.

They took over the whole thing, as if being in the STP entitled them to take everyone else's use of the facilities. I vowed to avoid the STP route on the ride weekend next year. Kinda ironic that it is bikes that would keep me off the road and not cars.

Once I turned off onto the Chehalis Western bike path, I was so relieved and the ride enjoyment shot up and my stress started to dissipate. Being around the STP riders was bad enough that I contemplated cancelling my planned ride to Gresham the next day since it was traversing the route of STP most of the way.
 

King Road ride

Monday's ride explored a road that I have been wanting to ride for several months and finally got to it. King Road connects the Boistfort valley with Winlock. In order to get there you have to make it up and over the 1000' Buckhorn Hill. The climb is unpaved, which is good but also bad.
I say it is good because I do not like to see the planet paved. The bad rating is because this section of road is remote enough to make the ride free of human noise where it not for my tire on gravel.

The ride started out at 7AM and was a rather cool morning of 46 degrees with light fog. I wore some pedal pushers and socks. A long sleeve and vest over the sleeveless top rounded out the cold compensation. But upon setting out, I was thinking maybe I should have broke out some of my winter gear. Brrrr

The route plan was to head out on SR 6 to pick up SR 506 at Boistfort Rd. Near the turn, my hamstrings were getting tight and so I pulled off to take a stretch.

Many strange things can be found discarded on the sides of roads but my find here was one of the stranger ones: a pasta machine.

After turning onto SR 506, the road soon crosses over the South Fork Chehalis River. On the bridge, I spotted a beaver or nutria swimming in the water. It noticed me and submurged when I stopped to look.

The turn off to King Rd is shortly after Curtis, but I go lost in the scenery and passed it. On a whim, I decided to see what was down Beaver Creek Rd. The beginning portion passes fields and then a logged over section. A bit beyond, there are some nice homesteads and one new one. The new house was home to 3 loose and rather large dogs who gave me a bit of trouble but I managed to keep them off.


I then backtracked to King Rd and started down. I was not at all dissapointed. It immediately made it in my top 5 beautiful roads to ride. A few miles in the pavement stops. I came upon a deer in the road, when I tried to ride past it, it fled up the road in front. I got tired to scaring it, so I stopped and waited for it to walk off into the woods. Once the climb up Buckhorn Mtn began, the grade was gentle enough to make the climb not ardous. Additionally, the route was mostly heavily forested and shelterd from the sun.
The pavement returns not too far into the descent and the upper part is spectacular. As the elevation drops human blight increases. So far, I felt sluggish and made slow progress. I also started late, so I decided to take Sears Road to shorten the ride. This road begins in a deforested section and goes under power lines but ends back in the forest where it connects to Hale Rd.
I stopped and picked up a deer skull on the side of the road for the kids to see. While doing so, I saw another skull a couple feet away, this one was a gopher, I believe.


Hale descends to Tennessee Rd at Evaline, I decided to continue to SR 603 then take Jordan to Mill through Napavine and down Rush to Neuwaukum Valley Rd. I am trying to ride all of the rural though roads in western Lewis County and this route would finish off Hale and 603 and pick up Mill Road. On 603, I saved a snake from getting killed on the road. It was a very healthy youngster and it quickly fled to the bushes.
Mill Road was interesting, the outer portion is isolated feeling even close into Napavine, but then you come around a corner and are at a lumber mill (hence the name of the road). The rest of the ride was unevent and into strong headwind.
Total miles :40

July 4th ride toTacoma

We made our annual trip to Alx brothers house for the 4th. I rode it.
This time the route that I created was way better and safer. The weather was near perfect too.
Temperatures hung around 61 until getting into Tacoma and I had a light drizzle/rain for about an hour and half while riding through Tenino up past Yelm.
Some notable events on the ride:
I was passed on Reservation Rd by a large group of Harley bikers and they all gave me a salute while passing me.
On Old Pacific Highway a bird and butterfly flew right in front of me in a swirling, twisting struggle.
While I watched the butterfly managed to avoid getting eaten.
I also got to see a dragonfly grab a ladybug out of the air in Tacoma.

Here is the cue sheet

Cumulative	Distance	Where	Notes	Direction		Elevation
0mi	0mi		Head towards Centralia on Market	E	77°	216.5ft
5.43mi	5.43mi		Continue on SR 507 to Tenino	NNW	360°	183.7ft
16.77mi	11.33mi		R on Old 99	E	82°	269ft
16.9mi	0.13mi		R on Park Ave	NE	38°	269ft
17.22mi	0.32mi		At the Park get on Bike Path	ESE	90°	278.9ft
31.35mi	14.14mi		At end of bike path cross parking lot and L on Yelm Hwy	NW	309°	354.3ft
37.95mi	6.59mi		R on Reservation Rd	NE	34°	292ft
40.86mi	2.91mi		R on Old Pacific Hwy	NE	28°	52.5ft
44.38mi	3.52mi		Get on I-5 N and go past weigh station to Exit 118	NE	41°	229.7ft
45.99mi	1.62mi		Center Drive	NNW	340°	252.6ft
49.16mi	3.16mi		L on Dupont Steilacoom Hwy	NNE	0°	236.2ft
53.78mi	4.62mi		R on Rainier	E	85°	72.2ft
54.2mi	0.42mi		L on Balch	NNW	326°	108.3ft
54.26mi	0.06mi		R on Lafayette continue as Chambers Creek	ENE	54°	62.3ft
57.03mi	2.77mi		L on 64th	W	270°	252.6ft
57.41mi	0.39mi		R on GrandView	N	0°	226.4ft
60.25mi	2.84mi		R on 27th	S	161°	193.6ft
60.51mi	0.26mi		L on Sunset	NNW	359°	255.9ft
61.7mi	1.18mi		R on 6th	ESE	108°	137.8ft
62.31mi	0.62mi		Cross Park & Ride lot and right on Trail	NNE	3°	334.6ft
62.49mi	0.18mi		R on Scott Pierson Trail	ESE	95°	298.6ft
62.63mi	0.14mi		L on Skyline cross Ped bridge and continue	N	0°	328.1ft
63.14mi	0.52mi		R on 17th	ESE	105°	364.2ft
64.08mi	0.93mi		L on Shirley	NNW	359°	397ft
64.54mi	0.46mi		R on 30th	E	82°	426.5ft
66.17mi	1.63mi		L on Cedar enter Alley on right	NNW	332°	275.6ft

Chehalis to Portland

On Sunday I did the ride I have been contemplating for months. The day was forecast to be quite hot (90's) so I set out at 5:50 AM.

It was 62 degrees and the roads were empty. I felt strong and prepared. I stated my ride in shorts and a sleeveless top and was well coated in sunscreen. The plan was to cover as much ground without overdoing it.

I chose a route that would cover some roads that I have wanted to ride for quite some time. Plus I would pick up some more roads in SW Lewis County. To start, I would head south on Jackson Hwy and then pick up Coulson Rd off of SR 508. Coulson is a nice road and soon I was crossing over SR 12. The neighborhood degrades in this area and I passed a lot of unkempt homes. At Park Rd there is an overpass on I-5, it was so infrequently used that there were weeds growing in the seams of the road here. The route continued on Mienkler and Nevil roads into Winlock.

At Winlock I made a bathroom stop and filled my water bottles. The ride headed south on Winlock-Vader Rd and the sun was starting to feel a little warm. Halfway down the road, 2 dogs came after me, one from the front and one behind. My Halt spray took care of the trailing dog and a firm command solved the other one.

The road ends at a store, I borrowed some of their shade and ate an egg salad sandwich that I had got at Winlock Egg Days on Saturday. SR 506 climbs out of Vader and connects with SR 411 (Westside Hwy) here. This was one road that I was excited to ride. It did not disappoint. Lots of good scenery and nice riding. Most of the road was in shade so I comfortably cruised along thinking that I was going to have a fairly easy day.

Halfway down this road I needed to make a pit stop and there was a pull off area with some paths to the river that looked like a place to stop. I pulled off and rode to the back side of some trees. As I was stopping a branch laying on the ground, popped up and wedged through my spokes. If I had been going any speed, it would have done some damage. Whew!

Toward then end of the road, I cam upon a rooster scratching on the side of the road. He was beautiful and would have probably won a prize at the fair. He will probably end up a road pancake or in a coyote's stomach.

I reached my first planned rest at Riverside County Park at 9:30. This stop is at 47 miles which put me close to half-way. My mood was great, energy was great and the weather was still mild. I ate a banana, a hash brown and drank a bunch. Then refilled my water bottles with Gatorade mix in one. Now was also good time to reapply sunblock.

 

Riding into Kelso was not as bad as I had figured it would be. Yes there were not really much bike infrastructure, but on a Sunday morning, traffic was light. I decided to continue up the main road to cross I-5. Once on S Kelso Drive, the shoulder was covered in debris but the pavement was smooth and the shoulder wide. This route continues as Old WA-99 and the shoulder goes away but so does most of the traffic as well. The heat was quickly mounting now and any shade was a real relief. The sad part is just as the shade was most needed it was becoming less and less. This ride would be much better as a South to North in high temperatures.

After passing through Carrols, the road follows along the cliff that overlooks the Columbia and required a couple of stops for pictures. There was a lot of Cicada noise from the trees here, which was my first time hearing them and knowing what it was. I can see why the Mid-Westerners comment on the sound, it gets in your head. It is somewhat like the sound from a bike rear wheel when coasting but in a higher register.

After the descent into Kalama, I stopped at the little park at the south end of town and ate 2 bean and cheese burritos and filled my water bottles again. I also packed my helmet (too hot now) and tied a wet handkerchief on my head.

The roads south of Kalama seemed to confuse me and I spent a lot of time stopping to recheck my route. At one stop, I had pulled over into a gravel area. Out of laziness, I tried to ride to the pavement and my front wheel washed out and I re sprained my wrist a little.

The heat was starting to get punishing now and the big climb up Lane Rd was waiting for me.

When I finally got there, it was much more than I anticipated in difficulty. The steepness and length of the climb was pretty decent but coupled with the heat and the lack of trees to provide shade made this a grueling push of my bike up the hill in 100 ft sections.

It took me probably an hour to make it to the summit. I was very grateful for the downhill section into Woodland.

The temperature in Woodland was 91 and I was feeling it fully. I stopped at a gas station to fill water bottles and get some rest and a chocolate milk. There were worries at this point about completing the ride. I still had 30 miles to go, I was so tired that the easiest thing was to keep going since I did not have to make any decisions that way.

After dragging along and getting to La Center the clouds had started forming and the sun went behind a cloud. This was such a huge spirit lifting! The clouds felt like a sign that I was going to make it. On Timman Rd, I laid down on the shoulder and rested and ate a PowerGel packet and some candy.

The ride through north Clark County was once again the worst part of my ride. The roads have no shoulder and several vehicles passed very close and fast. My emotional state was very poor at this point and the rush of fear from the dangerous passes got me very angry. To top it off, a truck passed and the passenger of the truck sprayed me with what I hoped was just water but sent me over the edge. I stopped and raged on the shoulder and vowed never to ride in Clark County again before continuing the ride.

Once on 72nd, I had my climbing and scary road situation behind me and started to make good time again. But then a different pickup passed me and I felt water on my face and my first thought was that I got sprayed again. But then I realized that it started raining, I laughed and reveled in the wash of cool rain. This was a great pick me up.

I limped through Vancouver and over the I-205 bridge. Once on Marine Drive the lightning started and the rain grew more intense. I was so tired that I longed to be done. The last few miles felt like forever but after 11:50 I had arrived! What a feeling of accomplishment.

Total distance: 114.75 miles.

 

After ride thoughts:

After doing a lot of 50-75 mile rides and a couple over 100 miles, it seems that the crossover point where the rides go from complete fun to a drudge is about 65-70 miles. For a couple days after this ride, my thoughts were to keep my distances down to below 70 miles but by Wednesday, I was planning another century ride. The extra distance may not be fun but the challenge is an attraction of it's own.

60 mile route of 2 hills and 2 valleys

Today's ride headed northwest into Thurston County and then hooked south. Combined with Sunday's ride this has been the most scenic week of riding that I have done yet.
I headed north on Airport Rd and then turned onto Military from Mellen. This allowed me to get on Cooks Hill from a different direction and the choice was a good one.

Graf and Blanchard roads follow a creek and the climb is easier than the 12% grade up Cooks Hill Rd. The traffic is much lower as well.
After topping Cooks Hill the route dropped down to Galvin. This town was really slammed by the flood.
After a couple turns, I headed north on Old 99 towards Grand Mound. The shoulder on this road is wide and smooth and was recently swept so it was real smooth. I quickly came to Old 9 turn off. The road goes past the Maple Lane Corrections campus and to my turn onto James Rd. This road is probably the aesthetic low point of the ride.
Once I turned onto Independence Rd the scenery improved again. But the moment I crossed into Lewis County the scenery and the quality of the pavement improved dramatically. The ride so far had been real easy and I was in that back-road blissful state that comes with exploring a new road that is sparsely traveled and lined with forests and neat farms.

At a creek crossing I noticed a well made beaver dam and tried to take a pic but it did not turn out.
The valley ended all too quickly and I was climbing up and over to the Lincoln Creek valley. My route only traveled on Lincoln Creek for a mile before I turned onto Ignalis Rd and up and over to Bunker Creek. This area is just a row of long narrow valleys with ridges separating them.
Bunker Creek Rd is one of my favorites, since it has all of the right things: very low traffic, nice pavement, beautiful scenery and a gentle grade. A couple times on this road I scared deer in the road.
I turned onto Ceres Hill Rd. This part I was a little nervous of. There were unpaved parts and I was going over a 1,000 foot hill. I also wondered if there were any problems at the far end due to flooding. Soon, my worries were over, the road started out on a gentle grade. I spotted a family of raccoons in someones yard with a cat watching them on the porch.
When the road turned to gravel, I was surprised at quality of it. I had no problems riding up it. The only annoyance was the occasional car that kicked up dust. The crest of the hill offered outstanding views of the valley below.

If there was an issue with this road it was the descent portion which was also gravel and a steep grade with hairpin turns. I took it slow and made sure that I was unclipped from the pedals in case I went down. Fortunately, it ended without mishap. In the valley the road crossed the South fork of the Chehalis River, the bridge somehow survived. There was a large salvage operation going on here. The flood had piled up massive amounts of wood and they were grinding it up and loaded it in trucks. The smell of the ground wood was divine. I stopped and gulped large amounts of the scent.
The road ends at SR 6 along a forested section. I stopped to look at a sign showing how high the water got in the December flood.

The ride on SR 6 was a bit aggravating. The pavement is good except on the shoulder. The shoulder is also full of debris from logging trucks which pass by on a frequent basis. Once the road reaches Adna the shoulder gets better but I had had enough by then and did not want to cross the bridge over the Chehalis which has no shoulder in the traffic level that was out. I turned onto Twin Oaks and rode that, I again flushed a few deer and came to the end at SR 603.
My choice here is to either climb the 12% grade to get on Tune Rd or attempt the gravel railbed that is a walking trail. I chose poorly and took the rail bed which is coverd in pea gravel and bigger rocks and weeds. Riding was miserable and the Teasel tore up my legs. Chalk that up to a never do again.
Overall, the ride was outstanding and my hill climbing for the day was one of my best yet.
By combining parts of this ride with parts of Sundays ride, an idyllic route could be constructed.
I will report on it once I design it. First, I need to explore Lost Valley Rd and Pe Ell-MacDonald Road.

Independence, Bunker, Ceres

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55 mile loop to Vader

On Sunday, I took a ride that I've wanted to take for a long time. To head out to Curtis Hill and then follow SR 506 to Vader. I was a bit nervous since I would be out on pretty remote roads with no cell phone service so if something went wrong I would be on my own.

I finally did it and was it worth it! The most beautiful ride, that I have done in Lewis County.
I started at 10 AM on a Sunday so there were not many cars out. The ride begins by heading down SR 6 which has nice wide shoulders as far as Adna. The last mile or 2 were rougher but not bad. Then the turn off on Curtis Hill Road, this was my first time on this road and the hill was as tough as I heard it was. I had to stop several times on the way up. The crest of the hill was built up with McMansions.
Down the other side was a fast descent though a forested section and drops into the valley. The next 20 miles pass through nice farms and forested sections that bring a very contented state.


I had a nice tailwind and was just effortlessly gliding along in a state of near bliss when it was shattered. At 1246 Wildwood there was a large dog in the road barking and to my dread there were 3 others in the yard. I dismounted and used my bike as a shield and yelled at dog to STAY!.
At this point a second dog came at me and this was the one that really put a scare in me. He was about my size and was just on the other side of my bike all bristling and snarling. Fortunately, I had my Halt! and gave him a squirt. The spray had an instant effect and the dog whimpered and went back in the yard. I backed the other dog down and left the scene.
My bliss was gone and it took a while for the adrenaline rush to subside.
The next problem was a truck coming down the road that I could hear from a mile back. Once it got up to my I found out why. It was full of teenage boys and they were running on a bare rim.
This part of the road was secluded and the passengers in the back stared at my as they passed.
About a quarter mile up the pulled into a side road and got out of the truck and fanned out in the road. I did not like the looks of what was going on, were they trying to jump me or what? I stopped and turned around and went a little way down the road trying to decide what to do. In the meantime, they got back in the truck and took off. I waited a bit and then continued on my ride. I closely watched the gouge in the road left by their bare rim to make sure they were not waiting for me somewhere. As the miles passed, I saw pieces of their rim lying in the road. Near Ryderwood, I passed them on the side of the road. I was doing about 35 mph on a long descent at this point.
Once I came to the turn onto the Vader-Winlock Rd, I stopped at the store and had a V-8. I was feeling great again, now that the problems were behind me and I had some very pleasant riding still to come.
Overall the ride was very easy, though I still struggle with hill climbs and there were several extended ones on this ride.
I look forward to riding in this area again.
After the ride was over I contacted the Sheriff's office to report the dog incident.

To Vader on 506

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Posting Dry Spell

It has been a bit since the last post. This is because work blocks my access to Blogger and I have been away from home. Riding has still been occurring.

I am now at the point where a 50 mile ride is no big deal. I still a poor at climbing hills though.