The Semaine Federale, is being held in Bright, Australia, the week before the Alpine Classic.   Wes just forwarded me the information about this week long 'festival of cycling', which is based on the event of the same name held in France every year.  Cyclist can ride everyday, from a central location near Bright, January 16-22, choosing from three levels of rides. Seems a good way to get in shape for the Alpine Classic on January 23rd plus a very good way to sight see.  Events are organized by the cycling club, Audux Australia.

Yesterday we rode with Velo - a 43 mile ride out to Tile Flat and Holly Hill.  I expected good weather and rode my good bike without fenders.  A mistake.  It rained the whole time.

Today's weather was cool and dry.  The trees around Portland are gorgeous.  I did short a city ride and rode over to my friend Lois's house.  Took out my old steel bike with fenders to test it out.

Bright red foliage spotted across the street from Lois's house

The Last Wednesday Night Ride

Our Wednesday night rides are over for the season, to be resumed when daylight time returns in April.  Sonia and VA joined us for our last ride, again up to Council Crest via Terwilliger Blvd.  By 6:04 it was getting dark and riding home via Hewitt Blvd, our tail lights looked like something out of a Christmas scene or as Fixie Joe* mentioned, a disco.  He even started singing 'YMCA'.  I love these rides.

Council Crest
Mark, Cheyne, Judi, VA, Sonia, Fixie Joe* & Coach Shari

*Fixie Joe is a name picked for Joe by Craig.  He occasionally rides a single speed bike (not a fixed speed bike as Craig originally thought) and can beat most of us up a steep incline with one gear.  He's a really nice, young guy who is a Major in the US Army.  Joe has served in Iraq and Afghanistan and is currently teaching ROTC at University of Portland.  You can count on him to yell out 'car up' or 'jogger up' in a tone one might hear in basic training.  He also teaches a 'boot camp' at U of P; I have to go!

Shut Up Legs

Our Australian friend, Wes, sent me a link to one of the best cycling blogs I've recently seen.  Called Cycling Tips, and written by a cyclist who moved to Melbourne from Canada in 2005, it's full of "tips, hints and tricks" that the author has gleaned from many bike trips in both Australia and around the world.  A recent post, 'Shut Up Legs', offers a t-shirt and also some pretty good videos of Jens Voigt (who coined that phrase).   Today's post has information about exercise and the heart.  My favorite, and the reason Wes sent me this link, is of a ride through the Victorian Alps.  Wes aptly states, "it's all blokes but the The Ride and scenery are stunning".  It has peaked my interest in riding the Alpine Classic, a 250 km ride January 24, 2011 in Australia, covering most of the same terrain.   

Portland Velo Club

Nothing like a group ride to motivate one to get up early to ride in the rain.  Portland Velo Club does just that.  This group has organized rides during the week and every Saturday morning.  Each Saturday a rider can join one of 3-5 different ride groups based on average speed, all led by a Portland Velo leader.  Today we started out in Hillsboro, meeting at Longbottom Coffee off Evergreen Blvd at 9 am*.  Portland Velo rides rain or shine.  Today we had a 41 mile 'rain' ride.  A bargain to join at $25/year, the site provides maps, information for riders, 'deals' for gear, etc.  I hope to snag a new Showers Pass rain coat when they are offered; my current one envelops me in a virtual sweat bath.

*10 am once we go to standard time.

More fall riding

Our MAC group rode up to the Pittock Mansion Wednesday night via Cornell, Westover and Beulah Vista Drive, a route that is part of the Tour de Flanders I wrote about last May.   A nice aspect of Portland is that one can ride some pretty interesting terrain and never leave the Portland city limits.  From the Pittock Mansion we rode over to Council Crest.  Mark's Garmin picked up our loop nicely.

View of downtown Portland from the Pittock Mansion
Mt. Hood in the distance

Pittock Mansion

Mark, Cheyne and Coach Mike
Council Crest

Yesterday, Sonia talked me into riding with the Thursday 'lawyer' group.  This group meets at 12:15 pm every Thursday from Pioneer Courthouse Square and rides for a little over an hour up to Cornell and Thompson.  A big group of about 35 riders, a few 'fast' guys split off Thompson at 53rd (steep!) and hooked back into the 'slower' group near the top of Thompson.  I laughed as this group easily sprinted by me on that last part of what I already thought was a hard climb.  No pictures - no time.

I like these rides because they push me to a level I wouldn't normally do by myself.  It's also really fun to be in a large peloton of serious riders, sometimes the only sound being the whir of the bikes moving along.   

I'd like to think that these rides incorporate some of Chris Carmichael's fall and winter workouts that he writes about in this month's Bicycling Magazine.  "One workout a week involving short, maximum efforts will retain enough of your VO2 max power that you'll experience rapid and substantial gains when you ramp it up next year."  The unstructured version of this workout that Carmichael uses in Colorado is "a neighborhood circuit that includes a short hill; I hammer up the climb, roll around to the base and go again." (Bicycling Magazine, November 2010)

Update on Craig; he's two weeks post accident and walking almost normally now.  He is getting tired of guarding his right arm and limiting movement, but I find it highly encouraging that he's talking about bike camps this winter.  Now that has to be a good sign!!

MAC rides

We've had a really good season riding with the MAC coaches.  Yesterday was the 'Bridge Ride'.  Great weather, although we had a bit of a cold start.

Coffee break at Riverplace on the Willamette

Our Wednesday night rides are winding up for the season.  Last week's ride took us through the West Hills of Portland and up to Council Crest.

Council Crest at dusk

'The Record Collector'

Check out the article about Craig in this week's Portland Mercury.

Fall riding

What could be better?  A noon ride on a splendid fall day, followed with a latte in the sun.  In addition, Craig is improving every day.  His ortho doc says 'do whatever doesn't hurt'.  

Bike accident

Craig got new aero bars Tuesday so that he can ride without worsening the numbness he is experiencing from ulnar neuropathy, or 'handbar neuropathy'.   He went out to Sauvie Island Wednesday night after work, caught an edge while going a pretty fast pace and took a 'spectacular' fall, as descibed by a woman who stopped to help.  He actually declined a ride back into town and rode his bike about 10 miles to his car.  I was on a hill ride with the MAC.  Craig called me when he was done,  told me he had fallen and couldn't get into his car.  I found him hobbling by the side of his car, looking fairly beat up.  I managed to get him in the car and when I saw him shaking, I decided to take him to the ER.  X-rays confirmed a non-displaced fracture of the distal right clavicle and thankfully, no breaks in the pelvis or hip.  He'll be in a sling for the next 6-8 weeks.  Anyone in need of some cheap aero bars?

Leaving the ER in paper scrubs

MAC Hill Climb Championship 9/29/10

Course map. 

Top of MacNamee, ready to descend to the start

Getting ready at the bottom of MacNamee at Highway 30

Results?  3rd to last.  Excuse?  Chain fell off twice.   Sour Grapes.  Probably wouldn't have made a big difference anyway, except for overall time.  Mark won in the Master's division!