Timbeeeeer!!!!

Saturday group rides are always fun, but some are just more fun than others. With the weather being warm and dry the call was on...The Timber route was on...which always seems to come around on the first nice weekend of the year.

The ride is called "The Timber Route" because we leave Longbottoms Coffee and head out to the town of Timber (west side of the Oregon Coast Mountains off of HWY 6). Actually we go about 5 miles past the town of Timber to HWY 26, but it's all the same :) The route today covered (for me) just over 71 miles with about 3000 feet of climbing...the only really steep part is the actual climb up to Timber.

Everybody on the team seems to love this ride and it brought out some faces we hadn't seen in a while which is always great...of course it made for a big group today (around 30 members of the team) but that always makes for a fast ride.

The ride started out at a nice leisurely pace as we were all talking and just strolling along until Steve Brown decided it was time to pick up the pace :) We went from 21 mph to 25 mph to 27 mph in just a matter of minutes and it was on. We kept pushing the pace until we hit Hwy 6...then we started climbing and things started to break up a bit. There were a couple of new guys that were up from California (?) who were friends of Dave Haags. They were pretty strong riders and lit things up from time to time.

We held a good pace until the re-group site at the store before the turnoff to Timber...a nice "Pit Stop" since they have port-a-potties outside for relief.

From there we kept the pace sane until we hit the steep hill to Timber then all bets were off. My goal on the climb was to stay with Mr. Brown up the climb...something I haven't been able to do before. He set a fast pace up the hill and we were quickly joined by Mr. Rosier. About half way up we came up on two riders who didn't stop at the store trying to get a head start I'm guessing :) We went around them and Mr. Rosier decided to pick the pace up even further...it was a race to the summit :) That's one of the great things about group rides...you tend to push yourself farther than you will on solo rides.

As we crested the top it was Mr. Rosier, Mr. Brown then myself all together...goal accomplished...down the other side it was myself and Mr. Rosier as we made our way to Hwy 26...the turnaround point. As other riders made their way down the hill we gathered and started the way back up the hill for the fun descent and the race down the hill.

The descent is my bread and butter I guess since I love to fly downhills. I jumped up front and took off with a few in chase :) Screaming down the hill through some nice switchbacks is what I live for, after a few minutes of descending we were at the bottom...down 1st :)

From there I sat up and waited on the pack...as they caught me...the pace picked up and it was basically race pace from there back to HWY 26. It's mostly downhill rollers and a lot of fun. This section is filled by guys attacking the field trying to get away to be the first back to Hwy 6...but nobody ever really gets away and few know the road well enough to really know when to go. As we headed up the road the 1st time I made note of the finishing corners and kept an eye out for them. As we kept going I knew it was coming up then I noticed a sign and the drop off...so I sprinted out away from the pack, down the hill and kept the power on making it to the "Stop Ahead" sign first...those are our sprint lines :)

From there on we stopped at the store for a minute to re-group and head back to Longbottoms. for the most part things were a little slower on the way back, but the pace was still high, higher than usual.

I peeled off the group a little early since I live on the west side of Hillsboro and already had 68 miles on the day. At the end of the day I had 71.4 miles with an average speed around 20.5 mph. I did set two new power numbers for my self on the day...5 seconds (1391 watts) and 5 minutes (434 watts)...I guess it was a "5" day for me :)

Now I'm trying to rest my legs since I have a 20 mile Time Trial at Estacada tomorrow which is going to hurt....A Lot!!! My legs are a little toast right now, but back to back hard days followed by an easy or rest day are always good for the legs :P I'll give it my all tomorrow, but if my legs are toast...it will be a great training ride. I still think I can give a good effort tomorrow, but only tie will tell.

Overall....a great day on the bike :)