Day 2 – Hard to Beat Day 1

By Mark Heggestad
I won't provide statistics very often, but once in a while to provide some context:

Today’s ride time:                          4 hours, 16 minutes
Actual time including breaks:        5 hours, 50 minutes
Total miles biked today:                 62.4 miles
Average speed:                             14.6 MPH
Top speed:                                     28.9 MPH
Calories burned:                            2,860

We spent most of the day biking alongside the McKenzie River and we are camping close to Blue River, Oregon tonight.  Tomorrow we were intending to bike through McKenzie Pass which is at 5,300 feet.  However we are taking an alternate route through Santiam Pass because McKenzie Pass is closed due to snow.  One of the locals told us the Pass is snowplowed when the snow melts down to six feet and it is nowhere near that.  Santiam Pass is only 4,800 feet but will add approximately twenty miles to our route.

Yesterday was perfect.  Today was great, but not perfect.  The body was a little sore from yesterday but no complaints in that department.  Today’s landscape was beautiful but didn’t compare to yesterdays out-of-this-world phenomenal scenery.

What made today difficult were the riding conditions.  Yesterday we rode on winding little roads with limited traffic, which allowed for complete enjoyment of the scenery.  Today we spent the first 15 miles driving through the outskirts of Eugene and ended the last 30 miles on a busy state highway (Oregon State Highway 126) with little (and sometimes no) shoulder.  Although we rode alongside McKenzie River most of the way, I saw little of it.  My eyes were usually glued to the road instead of the scenery, my focus was on the traffic instead of the river, and my body was tense instead of relaxed.  I couldn’t wait to get off that State Highway.

We took limited breaks to enjoy the scenery today, but did stop to view this covered bridge spanning McKenzie River.

Covered Bridge on McKenzie River

 We spent a lot of time this evening discussing tomorrow’s route and trying to estimate how far we will get.  Given the significant elevation climb we are a bit unsure just how long we can ride before our bodies scream, “enough”.  I have the feeling we will be testing our limits tomorrow.

Comments

  1. Brian BentleyMay 3, 2017 at 6:36 AM

    Looks like a 40 mile climb today in 5 hours and a 20 mile descent in 1 hour. What a reward that last 20 miles will be.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownMay 3, 2017 at 7:56 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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    Replies
    1. UnknownMay 3, 2017 at 7:59 AM

      I'm not a blogger as you can see ...... still technically challenged.... I love riding on the back of the Harley so I can take in all the scenery and snap all kinds of great pics!

      Delete
  3. UnknownMay 3, 2017 at 11:46 AM

    Wow, Santiam pass, only 4800 feet! I'll be thinking about you on the 5 hour ascent! Also love seeing the ride stats, mileage, mph, what about cadence and heart rate....Mark, I know your computer has that!

    ReplyDelete

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