banerjek

Widely recognized as one of the premier cycling events on the West Coast, the Willamette Valley Fred RR (a.k.a. Peach of a Century) was held Sunday, September 26. Although roughly 1,000 contenders showed up last year, winds and cool rain drove away much of the field.

Since my commuting rig was literally built for riding in wind and rain, I took it rather than my racing bike. I mounted a front wheel I bought for $34 along with heavy puncture resistant tires. To make up for the loss of speed from taking a heavier bike with crummy wheels, I wore neither jacket nor arm warmers to improve aerodynamics and save weight. Curiously, I was the only rider I saw all day who thought to do this and my choice drew quite a few comments, most of them relating to my mental state.

Road debris was ridiculous for the first 25 miles or so. I've never seen so many flats in my life -- including on rides that were sabotaged by jackasses spreading glass and tacks. I normally ride solo, but the wind was bad enough that I decided I'd be nuts not to make a few friends. I started working with a local team around mile 45.

Between mile 55 and 75, I didn't see a single other cyclist aside from the team members. We thought we were off course, but the faint course markings which had been mostly washed away by rain indicated we weren't. The feed station at mile 75 is normally jam packed, but it was desolate when we arrived. The volunteers told us only 5 riders showed up before us, 4 of whom were still there.

During the final leg, the rain started letting up, but I'd worked a bit too hard fighting the wind during my pulls. At mile 90, I fell off the back on a modest climb into a headwind. The team support vehicle released their mascot, a pit bull named Ramses, to motivate me. And while that lifted my spirits and gave me a boost, I just didn't have enough left in me to bridge the gap.

The instant I crossed the finish line, I cramped up. A couple of the other guys mentioned the same thing happening to them which was strange since it had been cool and wet throughout the ride.

While I was enjoying peach cobbler and ice cream at the end, one of the team members came up to me, said some flattering things, and reiterated an invitation I'd been given earlier to ride with them on a regular basis. That topped off a great day in the saddle.

Legs are a bit burnt up, but I felt strong all day, and frankly being in slop enhanced rather than detracted from the experience. I wouldn't have it any other way.

roccobike

Sounds like you made a great day out of what might have been bad. Also sounds like you knew what equipment to ride. Way to go.

tjspahr

Great job. Any pics to post?

gnome

nicely done.

logdrum

This made me chuckle specially the feed station bit at mile 75. Congrats.

patentcad

You'll never be respectable.

Gluteus

Peach cobbler and ice cream...Hmm.
So, are you accepting the invitation? Does that upgrade your Fred status?

Creatre

Nice write up. Sounds like a fun day and a great experience!

zstjohn

that's awesome. i know the feeling of doing well at an event and having a team invite you to join/ride with em. it's a good feeling

banerjek

I don't have any, but it just so happens the chase vehicle took some pics for their sponsors. If I can get ahold of any of them, there should be some pretty decent ones of us hammering on the hills looking pretty grimy and abused by the elements

banerjek

I can't make the time commitment -- domestic issue. But even if I could, I suspect nothing could update my Fred status.

gnome

having two recumbents has cemeted your fred status for life.

banerjek

Those are the least of my Fredly crendentials.

shuffles

Nice job BJ. It's not about the raingear.

DScott

Semi-epic!

Sucks about the glass and tacks. Do they really do this up there?

banerjek

I've seen it happen a few times but that didn't actually happen yesterday.

These flats were just from bad roads, not sabotage. The water lubricates the rock chips and debris so they slice right through your tires. I was honestly surprised by how many people bailed since conditions like we had yesterday are common much of the year. But our summers are dry, so I suspect people have been spoiled.

mrbUSA

Sounds like it was a fantastic challenge, congratulations! Pic's would be awesome.

celticfrost

Nice job, though I'm a bit disappointed that you didn't at least make an effort to pull a sketchy sprint near the finish and take out half the group, or at least freak a few people out.

Velo Vol 

Hard to believe. Don't you go running around on snow fields in shorts?

banerjek

Correct. Other skiers think I'm even crazier than the cyclists do.

I was unusually sensitive to cold before moving out here. Now I have better cold tolerance than anyone I know, though I need to keep moving. Strangely, when I'm vegging out on the couch, I like to be under a blanket.

KendallF

To cement your Fredly credentials, you should have a Garmin log of the whole thing, higher average speeds that you should've attained without (fill in excuse here) calculated...

so how long did this take?

banerjek

It took a little less than 6 hours.

I'm not sure if I'll ever take the Garmin plunge -- I don't need to buy an expensive gizmo that tells me I suck since I already know that. Much better to maintain my Fred delusions.

awesomejack

Good man, a true oregonian.

The 'spoiled by summer' comment is probably right. You can either take the abuse from the rain or get out of the valley