Training ride from Eugene to Salem

mev — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 18:10:07 +0000

Cycled another training ride, this time from Eugene to Salem. I took Amtrak overnight to Eugene and stayed at the Econolodge. Next morning called for cloudy skies with chance of rain, though it stayed dry through the day.

The route from Eugene is fairly flat and speed was ok though not very fast. Stopped in Junction City to pump up the rear tire, a pressure of 30 psi so that helped rolling speeds. After this a brief stop at rest area for Applegate Trail and then on into Corvallis for a morning break. Bike was riding well, though after Corvallis, started to get a bit slower. There was a slight headwind and a few gentle grades though I’m sure I wasn’t in top shape either. Without too much difficulty made my way into Salem and relaxed in afternoon before taking morning train back to Portland. So far the new bike has “connected” Eugene with Portland.

Specifics of the ride can be seen at: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/161385290

[See image gallery at bike2013.com]
[See image gallery at bike2013.com]
[See image gallery at bike2013.com]

First training ride on new bike

mev — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 20:34:10 +0000

The new Trek bike and wheels is a smooth ride. I did a ride back from Salem to try everything out.

I started the ride Saturday night with a train trip from Portland to Salem. From here a mile to the Howard Johnsons and overnight. Time for sunrise was 6:45am but I was on the road before then. Not that I actually saw much of the sun on this ride. Initially it was cloudy and misty, just enough to collect on my glasses to make it hard to see – but not enough to really worry about getting cold or wet.

I followed 99E from Salem and the first 30 miles or so is pretty flat. The bike rode well. I experimented with putting on/off the suspension lock. On the flat stretches didn’t make much difference since my weight keeps the suspension mostly in one spot anyways. The hand positions are comfortable. I’m still a bit cautious on downhills and disc brakes seem to be better stopping power than cantilever.

At 18 miles I made a short stop for breakfast. After this another 9 miles to Canby and there I found the back roads to the ferry. I was the only vehicle on the ferry and the ride was free. Can’t make much money with that business model. There was another cyclist on the other side to take back. After this more hills to climb: mountain road and then via Lake Oswego.

Overall a good ride. Specifics can be seen on Garmin web site: http://connect.garmin.com/player/154938240

[See image gallery at bike2013.com]
[See image gallery at bike2013.com]
[See image gallery at bike2013.com]

Salem –

Training ride from Eugene to Salem

First training ride on new bike