Joe Vandal’s Perspective – I think I can – 25 more miles is all
We got to the house and Bill got some extra food and water to take along just in case. Bill said that if he sat down he probably would not want to get back up again so we just kept on going. Back onto the bike and heading out to go around the lake.
We did a loop to start out to add a little mileage since the route around the lake is about 20 miles. The wind had actually died down a bit so the start of the ride went a little easier. We connected into the same route through Spring Mountain Ranch from earlier in the day. We continued out around the lake. This time we did not need to turn around at the condominiums because no one was standing there telling us to turn around. Gravel road was going to be our friend for the next few miles. If gravel is our friend then dust was going to be our enemy. Cars sure can create a lot of dust when they go by. I could hear Bill hacking every so often when a car went by. It was hard on my eyes to see as we went. When there were no cars the scenery was very nice this way. There is one downhill section that is makes your hair stand up straight. Of course Bill does not have an issue with that. The bottom of this section curves left but slopes right causing the tires to slide to the right. Can’t go to fast through here since you really need to stay in your lane to keep from missing cars.
The north end of the lake was busy with activity. Boats and other watercraft parked with people having a fun time. No time to stop for us since we had to finish this ride. The river that feeds into the lake had a lot of canoes and kayaks on it. We got to the 10 miles to go mark and Bill started to ponder turning around and going back. I mentioned to him that it really didn’t matter since we would still have to bike the 10 miles to get back. He just shook his head and kept on going. After 6 hours on a bike he was getting rummy.
From gravel to paved road was a nice transition. We headed towards McCall on Warren Wagon Road. It seemed like we had been this way earlier. Not much had changed since the last time here so it was just peddle, peddle, and peddle our way along the road. Finally making it to downtown and then to the house. Almost 7 hours and 100 miles on the mountain bike was quite the feat.
The only things on Bill’s mind were getting taking a shower, getting a massage, eating dinner, having a beer and going to bed. He was not very sore but the shower and massage would help relieve the muscle tightness. The meal and the beer would just be icing on the day. Sleep would be good since Sunday brings 50 miles of road biking. I hope I am ready for it. I will be hanging on for dear life again.
Day 2 on the way …
Biking in and around Moscow, plus other things that randomly seem to make sense to me.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
MS150 Ride – Day 1 – Part 2 of 3
Joe Vandal’s Perspective - Into the Wind
We stopped about 200 yards up from the "Y" so that Bill could take a couple of pictures. The wind was blowing kind of hard at this point. We started up again and the wind was making for some slow going. It did make it easier to see things as we rode along. A couple of miles after the turn we saw Steve heading down and Bill told him that we would meet him back up at the top of the summit. The climb was not that bad. Riders were yelling excitedly as they came down from the summit and a guy that was passing us said that they still had to ride back up with the wind blowing on them. When we got to the rest area Bill got a Payday bar and had a couple of pickles. One of the other riders told Bill that pickles help when riding.
Steve made it back to the top and we chatted for a little bit. We never did see Deb at the top, so we went ahead and started down towards McCall. Steve went out ahead and we just coasted down the road after him. The wind made the trip down a little slower than when we went down the other side. Bill told me about the deer that ran out in front of him on this part of the ride a couple of years ago. After he told me this I kept my eyes peeled for any movement on both sides of the road. The upper lake came into view and I marveled at the colors. The burned out trees are starting to have more and more smaller trees and bushes growing among them. This area was pretty well devastated several years ago from fires that came through and it is nice to see more and more vegetation growing.
We finally made it to the rest stop where Deb and Steve were waiting for us. Deb had actually made it to the summit but it was a couple of minutes after Steve had gone down the back side. They got more fuel for the ride in and headed off towards the big long gravel part. Everyone made it through just fine and started the trek toward McCall. There were a lot more cars driving on the road now. This was making it a little scarier for me to be on a bike. Bill didn’t seem to mind and I think he actually liked having the cars and trucks driving by. Deb and Bill stayed with Steve for a little while but then Steve started going at Steve-pace. Before he started off they decided that they would meet at Deb and Bill’s Dad’s office to walk over to the McCall Brewery for the after ride lunch. Deb and Bill plugged along getting closer to McCall as the seconds passed. Finally they reached the turn onto the main road and Steve was waiting at Lardo’s to ride with them across town.
The ride across town was not very eventful. They basically acted like they were lost as they went this way and that. I was thinking that somebody had been drinking something other than water on the ride. They finally made it to the office and put their bikes inside before walking to lunch. Bill took me off of the Camelbak and carried me over so that I could watch them eat. They had a potato with fixings and a make your own salad. Pretty good stuff and Bill said that it tasted good. After they finished up lunch they went and got the bikes and went back to the house. Deb and Steve decided that they did not want to do any more riding for the day. Bill said that he would go ahead and do a loop around the lake to get 100 miles for the day.
To be continued ...
We stopped about 200 yards up from the "Y" so that Bill could take a couple of pictures. The wind was blowing kind of hard at this point. We started up again and the wind was making for some slow going. It did make it easier to see things as we rode along. A couple of miles after the turn we saw Steve heading down and Bill told him that we would meet him back up at the top of the summit. The climb was not that bad. Riders were yelling excitedly as they came down from the summit and a guy that was passing us said that they still had to ride back up with the wind blowing on them. When we got to the rest area Bill got a Payday bar and had a couple of pickles. One of the other riders told Bill that pickles help when riding.
Steve made it back to the top and we chatted for a little bit. We never did see Deb at the top, so we went ahead and started down towards McCall. Steve went out ahead and we just coasted down the road after him. The wind made the trip down a little slower than when we went down the other side. Bill told me about the deer that ran out in front of him on this part of the ride a couple of years ago. After he told me this I kept my eyes peeled for any movement on both sides of the road. The upper lake came into view and I marveled at the colors. The burned out trees are starting to have more and more smaller trees and bushes growing among them. This area was pretty well devastated several years ago from fires that came through and it is nice to see more and more vegetation growing.
We finally made it to the rest stop where Deb and Steve were waiting for us. Deb had actually made it to the summit but it was a couple of minutes after Steve had gone down the back side. They got more fuel for the ride in and headed off towards the big long gravel part. Everyone made it through just fine and started the trek toward McCall. There were a lot more cars driving on the road now. This was making it a little scarier for me to be on a bike. Bill didn’t seem to mind and I think he actually liked having the cars and trucks driving by. Deb and Bill stayed with Steve for a little while but then Steve started going at Steve-pace. Before he started off they decided that they would meet at Deb and Bill’s Dad’s office to walk over to the McCall Brewery for the after ride lunch. Deb and Bill plugged along getting closer to McCall as the seconds passed. Finally they reached the turn onto the main road and Steve was waiting at Lardo’s to ride with them across town.
The ride across town was not very eventful. They basically acted like they were lost as they went this way and that. I was thinking that somebody had been drinking something other than water on the ride. They finally made it to the office and put their bikes inside before walking to lunch. Bill took me off of the Camelbak and carried me over so that I could watch them eat. They had a potato with fixings and a make your own salad. Pretty good stuff and Bill said that it tasted good. After they finished up lunch they went and got the bikes and went back to the house. Deb and Steve decided that they did not want to do any more riding for the day. Bill said that he would go ahead and do a loop around the lake to get 100 miles for the day.
To be continued ...
MS Ride Day 1 part 1
Joe Vandal’s Perspective - To the “Y”, Burgdorf Y that is
Why do we have to get up so early? Sourdough pancakes do sound good for breakfast but 6:00 is early. Guess Deb, Steve and Bill want to have everything digested before the time the ride starts. Guess I will go back to sleep up here above the TV. I had to sleep up here since Lucy (one of Deb and Steve’s dogs) wanted to play with me. I don’t think I would have been able to handle the trauma.
After devouring their breakfast they started getting dressed in all of the tight fitting clothes they could find. Bill wore his Vandal Club Cycling jersey and the bike shorts that he got from the MS ride last year. I dressed the same way I usually dress and it is not tight fitting clothing. Bill then put me on the strap of his Camelbak water pack so that I would be able to watch where we were going on the ride.
Deb, Steve, Bill and I rode over to the starting area at Alpine Village at about 7:30. Other riders were already there and more were filtering in. As we wandered around the parking lot we met Lori from the College of Education. They had a pretty neat rack of new Trek road bikes that Bill and Steve went over and drooled over. I got a few questions about why I was riding along. Bill said that it was for the fun of it. I started to wonder what fun it was going to be riding along hanging from a strap. I would suppose it would be easier than trying to ride the bike myself.
With about 5 minutes to go everyone gathered near the starting area to listen to final instructions for the ride. All I remember was: right, right, right, left, left and follow the motorcycle. 10, 9, 8 … 2, 1, GO! Right, right, left, OOPS! Motorcycle heading back the way we came. A lady drops her bike in the middle of the road and Bill heads through the dirt to bypass all of the chaos. The motorcycle gets back on track. Bill and a few others fall in behind him.
It sure does feel nice to have the cool air flowing through my beard as we head out on the ride. This part will take us past the airport and then across Highway 55 to Spring Mountain Ranch. There is not very much traffic so we do not have to wait very long at the light to cross the highway. Spring Mountain Ranch is a subdivision in McCall near the golf course. It is a nice area to ride in since it allows you to bypass the downtown area in order to get to the eastside of the lake. Our first destination was the Tamarack Bay Condominiums. This is where we were going to turn around and come back into town before heading up Warren Wagon Road to get to the Burgdorf Y. We made it to the turn around and headed back towards downtown.
Riding on the road through the forested area on this side of the lake was pretty neat. Bill rides this way whenever he rides around the lake. There is are few up and down sections along this route so it gives you a pretty good work out and you can get some good speed.
As we got near downtown we stopped at the first rest stop at Gravity Sports. All of the rest stops had a Hawaiian theme to them. Bill had a half of a banana at this one and then we were off again. As we made the turn back onto Highway 55 by the Hotel McCall we could hear cheering. It was Pam (Bill’s sister), Victoria and three other ladies sitting at the opposite corner. It was great to have somebody cheering for you as you rode by. Kind of made me think about the Tour de France and how loud it must get.
We rode on towards Warren Wagon Road with the shouts still ringing in our ears. We made the turn onto the road and made our way towards the “Y”. It was at this point that I realized that Bill sings and talks a lot as he rides. Never really sings a whole song, just kind of skips around and mixes them up. I can see why he rides alone. We were making pretty good time as we made our way alongside the lake. It is amazing the number of house and cabins that they have along here. Bill was following a couple of guys as we came to the first gravel area, (It seems that during the spring there was some washout damage in several spots along this road). As they got almost on top of the gravel area they almost stopped and Bill had to swerve around them to make it across. The bigger tires on his mountain bike made it easier to navigate across the gravel.
The lake sure looked pretty as we rode towards the north end of it. I should have taken some pictures but Bill had the camera in his back pocket. We came to the next part of the road that was gravel and it ended up being about twice as long as the last time Bill road along here. They had to fix two areas so it looked like they decided to do both of them together. We ended up riding on the left hand side since it was smoother than any other part. After making it through there we came to the second rest stop. We decided to wait here for Steve and Deb.
Bill grabbed some extra snacks to keep his energy level up. They had a nice variety of snacks for the riders. Since Bill was the one doing the pedaling I really did not need anything for the ride. Steve and Deb made it to the rest stop and rested for a while. After they got what they needed we took off. We made it to the third area for graveled road and made it across it just fine. Steve was in the lead with Bill behind and Deb behind him. All of the sudden, Bill had to stop to throw something off of the road. Deb asked if there was anything wrong he replied that he had stopped to throw something off the road. He then followed Deb up the road. Soon we decided to pass her to start the little climb to get to the Upper Payette Lake. This area is so beautiful. The river flows on the right side of the road as you ride along. Trees and brush all around you. Sun just starting to warm everything up. What a nice day for a bike ride or to be attached to someone who is riding a bike.
I noticed as we passed the lake that the road started to get a little steeper and wondered if I would need to get off to help push the bike. Bill seemed to just keep going with much resolve. It was as if he had done this before. He started singing and talking again and I wondered if this helped him. I guess I would have to ask him later. We continued on passing a couple people as we trudged up the incline. Bill mentioned that this was not as bad as the climbs that Steve and he did during the Three Summit Challenge. As we got near the Secesh Summit, Bill lost his watch and had to turn around and go back to get it. Velcro is good but when it goes bad it does not hold up to well. After getting the watch we finished making it to the summit where Steve was waiting. We decided to stick around for a little bit to see if Deb was going to make it.
After a while Bill and I decided to take off towards the “Y” and Steve would wait for her. The trip down the other side was awesome. We reached some pretty fast speeds and I felt pretty sure that Bill had everything under control. We made it to the Burgdorf Y with no issues and turned around there.
To be continued…
Why do we have to get up so early? Sourdough pancakes do sound good for breakfast but 6:00 is early. Guess Deb, Steve and Bill want to have everything digested before the time the ride starts. Guess I will go back to sleep up here above the TV. I had to sleep up here since Lucy (one of Deb and Steve’s dogs) wanted to play with me. I don’t think I would have been able to handle the trauma.
After devouring their breakfast they started getting dressed in all of the tight fitting clothes they could find. Bill wore his Vandal Club Cycling jersey and the bike shorts that he got from the MS ride last year. I dressed the same way I usually dress and it is not tight fitting clothing. Bill then put me on the strap of his Camelbak water pack so that I would be able to watch where we were going on the ride.
Deb, Steve, Bill and I rode over to the starting area at Alpine Village at about 7:30. Other riders were already there and more were filtering in. As we wandered around the parking lot we met Lori from the College of Education. They had a pretty neat rack of new Trek road bikes that Bill and Steve went over and drooled over. I got a few questions about why I was riding along. Bill said that it was for the fun of it. I started to wonder what fun it was going to be riding along hanging from a strap. I would suppose it would be easier than trying to ride the bike myself.
With about 5 minutes to go everyone gathered near the starting area to listen to final instructions for the ride. All I remember was: right, right, right, left, left and follow the motorcycle. 10, 9, 8 … 2, 1, GO! Right, right, left, OOPS! Motorcycle heading back the way we came. A lady drops her bike in the middle of the road and Bill heads through the dirt to bypass all of the chaos. The motorcycle gets back on track. Bill and a few others fall in behind him.
It sure does feel nice to have the cool air flowing through my beard as we head out on the ride. This part will take us past the airport and then across Highway 55 to Spring Mountain Ranch. There is not very much traffic so we do not have to wait very long at the light to cross the highway. Spring Mountain Ranch is a subdivision in McCall near the golf course. It is a nice area to ride in since it allows you to bypass the downtown area in order to get to the eastside of the lake. Our first destination was the Tamarack Bay Condominiums. This is where we were going to turn around and come back into town before heading up Warren Wagon Road to get to the Burgdorf Y. We made it to the turn around and headed back towards downtown.
Riding on the road through the forested area on this side of the lake was pretty neat. Bill rides this way whenever he rides around the lake. There is are few up and down sections along this route so it gives you a pretty good work out and you can get some good speed.
As we got near downtown we stopped at the first rest stop at Gravity Sports. All of the rest stops had a Hawaiian theme to them. Bill had a half of a banana at this one and then we were off again. As we made the turn back onto Highway 55 by the Hotel McCall we could hear cheering. It was Pam (Bill’s sister), Victoria and three other ladies sitting at the opposite corner. It was great to have somebody cheering for you as you rode by. Kind of made me think about the Tour de France and how loud it must get.
We rode on towards Warren Wagon Road with the shouts still ringing in our ears. We made the turn onto the road and made our way towards the “Y”. It was at this point that I realized that Bill sings and talks a lot as he rides. Never really sings a whole song, just kind of skips around and mixes them up. I can see why he rides alone. We were making pretty good time as we made our way alongside the lake. It is amazing the number of house and cabins that they have along here. Bill was following a couple of guys as we came to the first gravel area, (It seems that during the spring there was some washout damage in several spots along this road). As they got almost on top of the gravel area they almost stopped and Bill had to swerve around them to make it across. The bigger tires on his mountain bike made it easier to navigate across the gravel.
The lake sure looked pretty as we rode towards the north end of it. I should have taken some pictures but Bill had the camera in his back pocket. We came to the next part of the road that was gravel and it ended up being about twice as long as the last time Bill road along here. They had to fix two areas so it looked like they decided to do both of them together. We ended up riding on the left hand side since it was smoother than any other part. After making it through there we came to the second rest stop. We decided to wait here for Steve and Deb.
Bill grabbed some extra snacks to keep his energy level up. They had a nice variety of snacks for the riders. Since Bill was the one doing the pedaling I really did not need anything for the ride. Steve and Deb made it to the rest stop and rested for a while. After they got what they needed we took off. We made it to the third area for graveled road and made it across it just fine. Steve was in the lead with Bill behind and Deb behind him. All of the sudden, Bill had to stop to throw something off of the road. Deb asked if there was anything wrong he replied that he had stopped to throw something off the road. He then followed Deb up the road. Soon we decided to pass her to start the little climb to get to the Upper Payette Lake. This area is so beautiful. The river flows on the right side of the road as you ride along. Trees and brush all around you. Sun just starting to warm everything up. What a nice day for a bike ride or to be attached to someone who is riding a bike.
I noticed as we passed the lake that the road started to get a little steeper and wondered if I would need to get off to help push the bike. Bill seemed to just keep going with much resolve. It was as if he had done this before. He started singing and talking again and I wondered if this helped him. I guess I would have to ask him later. We continued on passing a couple people as we trudged up the incline. Bill mentioned that this was not as bad as the climbs that Steve and he did during the Three Summit Challenge. As we got near the Secesh Summit, Bill lost his watch and had to turn around and go back to get it. Velcro is good but when it goes bad it does not hold up to well. After getting the watch we finished making it to the summit where Steve was waiting. We decided to stick around for a little bit to see if Deb was going to make it.
After a while Bill and I decided to take off towards the “Y” and Steve would wait for her. The trip down the other side was awesome. We reached some pretty fast speeds and I felt pretty sure that Bill had everything under control. We made it to the Burgdorf Y with no issues and turned around there.
To be continued…
Sunday, August 15, 2010
MS150 coming up.
The MS150 is almost here. A few more days and I will be heading to McCall to relax for a bit before the two day event. On the first day we will be covering 75+ miles. Steve, Deb and I might end up going for another 25 on that day to make it a century type of day. Still playing it by ear at this point and it depends on how my legs and tush feel after the first 75.
The next day is the 50 mile ride to Tamarack Resort and back to McCall. I doubt we will do any extra miles that day.
I am really looking forward to the weekend and getting together with all of the other riders that are raising money for this cause. I would like to thank all who have donated so generously to help out.
The next day is the 50 mile ride to Tamarack Resort and back to McCall. I doubt we will do any extra miles that day.
I am really looking forward to the weekend and getting together with all of the other riders that are raising money for this cause. I would like to thank all who have donated so generously to help out.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Ride like the wind and climb like a mountain goat
What a finish to biking in July. Went to McCall this past weekend to participate in the 3 Summit Challenge and hang out in McCall.
Victoria and I went down on Thursday evening to just hang out and for me to get ready for the ride on Saturday. Friday morning I took a ride out around the lake and up to the Upper Payette Lake. This ride allowed me to see how the Warren Wagon Road looked for when we ride on it for the MS150 at the end of August. I got to see where the roadway was washed out during some of the hard rains that hit the McCall area during the Spring. Two places are single lane and one of them is about 50 or so feet of gravel. The gravel may give the road bikers a little bit of a problem but hopefully they are able to make it through with not much trouble.
On Saturday morning Deb, Steve, Victoria and I headed to Cascade for Steve and I to get ready for the 3 Summit Challenge. At 8:00 AM we headed out on Highway 55 towards Warm Lake. The weather was perfect for this ride. Nice and cool with the sun out. First destination is Big Creek Summit, elevation 6594 feet, 17 miles out from where we started. I start the climb up at about 13 miles out and it is 4 more miles of pretty good grinding to get to the top of this summit. I am feeling pretty good as I go up this climb but I can tell it is going to be a long ride since I will have two more of these climbs to deal with. I get to the rest area at the top and get a couple of things to tide me over for the trip down. The decent is very nice hitting speeds of 38MPH while passing and getting passed by other bikers. Talk about an adrenaline rush.
The second ascent to Warm Lake Summit started
at about 28 miles out and ended up being about 4 miles of major kick in the tush. I had to stop about 5 times on the way up to just catch my breath. WOW! Maximum slope of 11% with an average of 8.7%. This was getting the best of me. Finally got to the top of the summit and an elevation of around 7300 feet. Steve was there getting stuff for the ride back into Cascade so I decided I had better get some essential nutrients. I got back on the bike and started back down to go to Big Creek Summit. As I started the decent a chipmunk decided to come out and run into the side of my tire. I looked back to see if he was hurt but he just spun around a couple of times and rushed off of the road. I hit a maximum of almost 42MPH as I headed down the road. This was another adrenaline rush.
To bad I didn't save the adrenaline rush for the climb back up to the third summit. I ended up stopping a couple of times and walked the bike a quarter of a mile just to keep my calves from disowning me. I finally made it up to the summit. On the way down towards Cascade it started raining. The rain felt good as I descended down the mountain road.
This was a great ride and I am looking forward to doing it again next year.
With this ride I ended up going 677 miles for the month of July. It was a great month for riding and I hope that I will be able to get that much in August.
Victoria and I went down on Thursday evening to just hang out and for me to get ready for the ride on Saturday. Friday morning I took a ride out around the lake and up to the Upper Payette Lake. This ride allowed me to see how the Warren Wagon Road looked for when we ride on it for the MS150 at the end of August. I got to see where the roadway was washed out during some of the hard rains that hit the McCall area during the Spring. Two places are single lane and one of them is about 50 or so feet of gravel. The gravel may give the road bikers a little bit of a problem but hopefully they are able to make it through with not much trouble.
On Saturday morning Deb, Steve, Victoria and I headed to Cascade for Steve and I to get ready for the 3 Summit Challenge. At 8:00 AM we headed out on Highway 55 towards Warm Lake. The weather was perfect for this ride. Nice and cool with the sun out. First destination is Big Creek Summit, elevation 6594 feet, 17 miles out from where we started. I start the climb up at about 13 miles out and it is 4 more miles of pretty good grinding to get to the top of this summit. I am feeling pretty good as I go up this climb but I can tell it is going to be a long ride since I will have two more of these climbs to deal with. I get to the rest area at the top and get a couple of things to tide me over for the trip down. The decent is very nice hitting speeds of 38MPH while passing and getting passed by other bikers. Talk about an adrenaline rush.
The second ascent to Warm Lake Summit started
at about 28 miles out and ended up being about 4 miles of major kick in the tush. I had to stop about 5 times on the way up to just catch my breath. WOW! Maximum slope of 11% with an average of 8.7%. This was getting the best of me. Finally got to the top of the summit and an elevation of around 7300 feet. Steve was there getting stuff for the ride back into Cascade so I decided I had better get some essential nutrients. I got back on the bike and started back down to go to Big Creek Summit. As I started the decent a chipmunk decided to come out and run into the side of my tire. I looked back to see if he was hurt but he just spun around a couple of times and rushed off of the road. I hit a maximum of almost 42MPH as I headed down the road. This was another adrenaline rush.To bad I didn't save the adrenaline rush for the climb back up to the third summit. I ended up stopping a couple of times and walked the bike a quarter of a mile just to keep my calves from disowning me. I finally made it up to the summit. On the way down towards Cascade it started raining. The rain felt good as I descended down the mountain road.
This was a great ride and I am looking forward to doing it again next year.
With this ride I ended up going 677 miles for the month of July. It was a great month for riding and I hope that I will be able to get that much in August.
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