Day 4 – Change of Scenery
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
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.
ReplyDeleteAgree 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.
DeleteA lower gear will help your knees too!
ReplyDelete