Day 4 – Change of Scenery

By Mark Heggestad
Ocean views, lush hilly forests, amazing mountains, beautiful ranch country – in four days we have experienced all this and more.  I am much more observant of the scenery when viewing it from a bike traveling sixty miles a day versus a car traveling sixty miles per hour.  There is something serene, something spiritual, something humbling about each of the terrains we have experienced.  Out on our bikes where all we see is unobstructed landscape, I get lost in the grandeur of it all.  When not bothered by traffic or inclement weather it is just peaceful.





Today we biked hilly ranch country surrounded by Mountains.  We saw picturesque rolling country, dotted with pine trees and an occasional river.  Much of the way we drove by ranches, sighting cattle, horses, and one alpaca ranch.  I have never seen alpaca.  They are an interesting looking animal and they found us interesting as well.


Today's bike ride was much easier than yesterday.  I should say it was supposed to be easier – given the fatigue of my body from yesterday’s ride, it did not feel easy.  We biked 47 miles from Sisters, OR to Prineville, OR.  The terrain was relatively flat, hilly by Minnesota standards, but relatively flat compared to what we have experienced thus far.  We were able to ride on a meandering county road.  No shoulder, but very little traffic.  It was much more peaceful than the previous two days.

Unfortunately tomorrow we are back on State Highway 26.  Our ride tomorrow will take us through Ochoco Pass at 4,700 feet.  Back to a busy state highway with limited shoulder and significant elevation climb.

For those interested in stats:
Ride time = 3 hours, 34 minutes
Miles biked = 46.7 miles
Average pace = 13.1 mph
Max pace = 29.1 mph
Average RPM = 73
Calories burned = 2,011
Average HR = 125

Max HR = 171

Comments

  1. UnknownMay 5, 2017 at 5:04 AM

    Nice to see hear rate dropped today. Sounds like flat in Oregon is rolling hills! Here is a suggestion to experiment with during your ride, try experimenting with increasing your average RPM to 85-90 range and see how that feels. Using a lower gear, you may find it help preserve your thighs more.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Blessed Beyond MeasureMay 5, 2017 at 9:52 PM

      Agree with both of you. Yesterday was just a mind game. I was so fatigued, it seemed no matter what gear I switched too my legs just did not want to pedal faster. Today my average RPM was 79 and all went much better despite the big ascent.

      Delete
  2. CherylMay 5, 2017 at 9:20 AM

    A lower gear will help your knees too!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 70 – Reflections

By Mark Heggestad
Image
The well-aged guy spotted my bike and glanced at me.   I know, most consider me old, but this guy was older.   I could tell by his quick smile and the way it spread across the lines of his face and through his eyes that he was an old soul making the most of life.   “What will you gain from this journey?” he asked.   He used the word journey, not me.   I had been asked a lot of questions since this bike trip started, but not this one.   “That’s a good question.” I responded, and then I stumbled through an answer I don’t remember.   But I do remember the question.   In fact, I thought about the question often the rest of the journey. This journey taught me a lot about myself.   I learned I have the fortitude to complete a 4,064-mile bike trip.   It reinforced the value of perseverance.   I learned I have very little control over a lot of things that impact me; and I learned to expect, and embrace, whatever surprises the day may bring.   It taught me the importance of taking things o
Read more

Day 63 – One Last Dog Story

By Mark Heggestad
Image
Today’s bike ride was 80.3 miles from Wytheville, VA to Catawba, VA.   It was another great day.   Scenery was beautiful, but cannot compare to the Appalachian’s of the past couple days.   Weather was good.   Road conditions and traffic were good.   I biked through a couple small cities (Radford and Christiansburg), so that slows me down a little.   There were hills, but a gentler kind: shorter and not as steep as previous days.   With that said, I did climb enough hills today to accumulate 5,213 feet of ascent.   That marks the eighth day in a row I have climbed more than 5,000 feet, or a mile straight up. It was just a really nice peaceful ride today.   I love the gentle (gentler, ok, not quite as hard) hills, and the scenery.   It was about as stress-free as it gets. It has been bothering me that I spent so much time in my previous blog posts complaining about the dogs of eastern Kentucky.   I love dogs; in fact I have been missing our black lab (Tess) while on this long jo
Read more

Day 68 – Blessed Beyond Measure – No Doubt About It

By Mark Heggestad
Image
I awoke this morning excited to bike the last thirty miles of this journey.   I took my time with everything: a little longer than usual getting ready, a little longer than usual eating breakfast, a little longer than usual prepping my bike.   In retrospect I suppose I was just savoring the moment.   The first seven miles of today’s ride were on a beautiful designated bike trail.   I took it slow and easy.   All was perfect. Then my perfect world turned imperfect.   The majority of the last thirteen miles of the ride is on Colonial Parkway.   Sounds like a peaceful road, doesn’t it?   It was one of the bumpier roads of the trip and it was the busiest two-lane no-shoulder road I have been on in weeks.   Cars were zooming by fast and constant.   All focus went from savoring the moment to dealing with traffic.   And then it started raining – not a hard rain but enough to get me wet.   I increased my speed in hopes of beating any potential hard rain.    I started bumming about the sit
Read more