Week-end awesomeness: Sisters, OR

A little background: Week-end awesomeness was enabled by new friends Tracey and Bill who astonishingly opened up their home to me while I was visiting Central Oregon. Sadly (for me), they were off camping for the week-end, so I didn't get to hang out with them much past dinner on Friday night. But, I will be going to visit them and Sisters again soon because, as I found out, the hiking and MTBing in this kitschy town that the hardcore adventurers usually pass through on their way to Bend (me included), is in fact a hidden mecca of camping, hiking, and riding (they even have a bike shop). So, my original plan of hiking the South Sister and MTBing the North Fork in Bend (impossible until Aug. 15 anyway), utterly changed in favor of less traffic-y, but no less epic, Sisters-area adventure.

Stage 1: Three-Fingered Jack Hike

The mountain as seen from Canyon Creek Meadows.

Because I was a short drive from the trail-head (so I thought), I got up a little late, taking my time with my blueberry oatmeal and watching the most tired people in the world ride their bikes up Mont Ventoux. When I finally did get started, it was around 9 am and already promising to be a scorcher... good thing I was heading for higher climbs!

I took a few wrong turns in the woods (revealing my utter disdain for following directions... to be fair though, all the roads have names like 1232 and 1230 and 1234, and they all look the same). I finally found myself at the primitive campground beside Jack's Lake and at the trail junction that included Canyon Creek Meadows. After begging bug spray off of an obliging couple camping beside the lake... I motored out. My long legs ate up the trail, passing people who managed to get to the trail before me. I'm also kind of a silent walker, nearly causing one woman to keel over when I announced my presence so close to her. She politely asked that I wear bear bells to warn other hikers... hah!

Looking the other way in the Meadow

About 2 miles in, I encountered the Meadows (pictured above). The picture doesn't do it justice... a stream babbles through the meadows and thousands of butterflies dance among the purple, orange, and yellow flowers. I pushed on, through the trees to come out on the tree-less shoulder of Jack. Here, I encountered four glaciers, an unforgiving gravel scramble to a bumper of sorts, a mountain lake, and the incredible views in all directions, including the snow-capped peaks of Mt. Jefferson, the three Sisters, Broken Top, and the wonderful high desert forests surrounding Bend and Sisters, OR.

I played around at the top bouldering like a 7-yr old on a playground until I encountered an actual 7-yr. old. He belonged to a posse of two dads and four kids that had spent the night in the Meadow on their first overnight backpacking trip ever. We chatted about the hike, the scenery, what I was doing up there (also if I hiked with band-aids/mole-skin, etc... not this time), and also the meals that they planned on cooking while up there. I told them about my hiking trip-essential frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwich that was the perfect melty-ness by the time I was ready to eat it. Also, suggested a few easy to hike/prepare meals (burritos, eggs in a Nalgene).

Time to head down... There was a snow-field that looked as if it were the perfect pitch for a butt-sled. And would cut 150 yds (distance, not vertical) off our descent. Never would have done this if I were alone... but these guys (Jake and Dirk) seemed enterprising and ready for some fun, so I sneakily suggested that this might be a fun way to get down. I must have looked smart or responsible because Jake asked me if I would let my kids (!) try it. In all reality and really, I would have. Two words... Cold! and Wahoo! My butt did get a little soggy, but it was dry in minutes in the dry mountain air and, at least for a bit, provided some nice air conditioning.

The hike back to the car was uneventful. I took a sightly different way home, heading on a connector to Wasco lake before cutting back through a burn. This was by far the less traveled way to reach the Meadows and I was glad I had taken in when I saw the number of cars at the parking area when I got back.... I leap-frogged about 20 people, at least!

The rode less-traveled went through a very silent burned section of trail... gave me pause.

If you do this hike... start earlier than I did... 8:00 am would have been ideal. No need for a 4-wheel drive vehicle to get to the trail-head. Also, DO NOT FORGET BUG SPRAY! Also a good idea to charge your camera batteries (notice all my pics are from the iPhone). Lastly, the best time to do this hike is late July early August... and early and you will encounter a lot of snow on the trail (I only encountered a little). Any later and the flowers will be gone. Have fun!

Stay-tuned for part 2 of week-end awesomeness!

Going in circles

I didn't start off going in circles. Nope. First, I bolted from work right at 5:00 pm (gasp!). I ran/hobbled (foot still boloxed) to my car where I had stashed Dean the road bike and sprinted to Brent and Pam's house to meet them.... we were supposed to leave at 4:45 (whoops!). Because you see, after a five-year retirement and a solemn promise never to do another criterium race, I was on my way to another crit race.

I had good reasons, for racing that is... if I didn't get some more OBRA (Oregon Bicycle Racing Association) points, I was going to spend another season languishing (sandbagging) in the Cat4 women's division. A source of embarrassment and derision.

We drove down the I-5 to the Eugene house of one of Pam's teammates on Therapeutic Associates. There we be-spandexed ourselves, grabbed extra water (for the 90+ temps and the 45 min pre-ride to the race), and bike posse-ed to the crit course. Over bridges, across highways, through residential neighborhoods, and along the bike path (where one "funny" resident thought we looked hot and lovingly diverted his water hose to soak us as we rode by... good thing the iPhone was safely stashed). Finally arriving just in time to watch the first race go off... a "practice" crit for newbie riders consisting of just 6 laps.

Following Pam along the bike path and displaying mad skills to take

an iPhone picture while riding a bike!

At the sign-up, it didn't take much convincing for me to register for both the Women's B and A races... for one thing, there was potential for more points toward my upgrade to Cat3 if I finished well in both races. And the critical mass for scoring a women's race is 5 riders (of which there were only 4 at that point and Pam really needed the points to keep her standing as the state-wide points leader... she races far more than I do!) So, not only did I break my stand against crit racing... I did it double time. Oh well.

I don't pretend to know tactics, but from years' of racing I've gotten pretty good at knowing how long it will take me to catch up to someone and how long I can sustain my top-end. As well as being able to recover my breathing pretty fast. All of these things came in to play!

The start of the B race was cake as every rider struggled to clip in. A Poplolly (the host team) hopped off the front first, but I grabbed her wheel and we went around a few times until the pack got organized. There were three prize primes (races within the race where if you win a lap, you take home a small prize). I sprinted for the first one and thought I had, but was a half a foot too sow. The pack surged and slowed until the second prime where I was going head-to-head with another Poplolly, this time easing off the pedals as I had my race plan set in my mind. The third prime came on the 5th-to-last lap of the 16 lap race... I sprinted down a single-woman break away to take the prize and kept going! I settled into my time trial position, practicing holding a fast line around the curves, managing to stay ahead until the final line... Sweet! But, dude... I was wiped!

I got to recover about 15-minutes between races, refilling water bottles in between. The A race started fast and just kept getting faster. Break after break... it was like the B race on crack! I chased down some... while I confusedly watched the girl's with teams (Pam included) alternatively block, lead-out, and break throughout the race. With 15 of the 20 laps completed, a prime was announced and I selfishly "helped" chase down a break away to get a chance at the prime... I closed pretty well into a head wind on the back stretch, passing the break and keeping going. I rounded the final bend and surprisingly held off any final attacks in order to take the prime. Brent —super fan extraordinaire — yells out "Great! Now work together to take it all." What? I looked behind me to find Pam on my wheel and the group gone. She and I hammered for the next couple of lap until lap 19 when she said "Sunny, I need the points." To which my response was "Oh-gasp-kay-gasp-cool." And with that and one lap to go, she jumped off my wheel. She gapped me by about 20 yds and we both mostly respectably soft-pedaled to the finish line to take 1-2. Very cool.

The aftermath. We still had to ride home in the dusk. Pam's teammates took us a super-cool, different way home that wound through downtown, past UofO (Hola, Ducks) and along a bike path that took a bike-bridge over the Willamette (wow!). And as night fell, we arrived back at our car and their house.

A little on the caloric-deficient-side after my 45-mile, 2:45 ride that included essentially an hour of zone 4, I was ready for some ice cream. We rolled into dairy queen on the way home. Brent pulled up to the drive-through and patiently waited for the trash can to take our order. When it appeared that the tinny voice would not in fact materialize from the DQ wrappers and napkins he tried to stealthily pull up to the actual intercom... Pam and I were not fooled!!! LOL.

After all that, I managed to get a few more points to bring my grand total for the year to a paltry 18. On the way home we figured I needed two more points (sigh) to get my upgrade, even after the seven I earned that night. You might be hearing about another criterium, soon.

Wish they gave points for cyclocross!!!

Shout out: Tom Zirbel racing in the Cascade Classic Stage Race in Bend, OR. I'll be out there this week-end to cheer him on in the Crit and Sunday Road Race!

Brainwashing.

Or just conditioning, ala Pavlov's dogs? I can't seem to find my measuring cups. They used to be in the drawer with all the other non-utensil-utensils. Until that drawer got to full and I got tired of wrenching it open or feeling around blindly among the knives and spatulas to move the beater that was blocking me from opening the drawer all the way. So, I moved them. Somewhere. Every morning this week, I have opened that drawer expecting to immediately pull out the 3/4 cup for the water and 1/4 cup for the oatmeal (please don't comment on measuring out water with a cup, all you foodies). Instead, I stare blankly for a second and then spend an extra few minutes rifling through cabinets and drawers for the new resting place which I forget everyday. It's hard to break a habit once it has set in. Good ones and bad ones. The lucky among us all get good habits to stick: working out in the morning, eating oatmeal, avoiding diet soda, taking a daily vitamin, smiling at strangers (this is a habit... as is frowning or pretending that you don't see me... you see me. Smile already!) The not so lucky: always forget to turn out the lights (wasting electricity), making the 3:00pm run to the snack machine for Oreos, getting the more expensive-fatty-sugary-mocha instead of regular coffee. It's a struggle.

What's al the about? I have brainwashed myself. I am convinced that my plantar fasciitis will never go away, that it will hurt every time I even think of running. I put on my running shoes and I flex my foot and imagin terrible foot pain. I walk around and fell as if every step is moving me farther away from getting to run. When in reality there is only a little bit right now. But after two false starts, 100s of dollars in PT and doctor bills and massage, pain, disappointment, I can't imagine running without pain and so I won't hop on the treadmill for more than 5 minutes. And definitely not until I have had at least a 30 minute warm-up on the elliptical/stair-climber-rowing machine (I have athletic ADD). I can't believe I ran a whole marathon last year.... on concrete... in racing flats. What I need is to run with a pillow under foot that also has tons of biomechanical support. Maybe something out of memory foam.

So, after I get done watching the Tour this morning, I am heading to the gym. I will jump on the elliptical and I will hit the rowing machine and then I will attempt the treadmill. Maybe eight minutes this morning. After all that, I'm hugely lucky that I know at least I will be able to run again.... some day.

How many friends can you see in 72 hours?

A lot.

This is always the name of the game when I head back to Boulder. How to coordinate, combine, balance, and at the same time have fun and relax. How is this accomplished? Well, first off, I admit to myself that it is impossible to see everyone I want, do everything I want, and not move back permanently. Then, I just let the pieces fall into place. The other complicating thing... all of my friends are highly motivated, busy people with already jam-packed lives. Would'nt have it any other way.

So, this is how it went: Fly in... immediately go to bridal shower for wedding that is the main focus of trip. Following excellent lunch, Andrea and I squeeze in a pedicure and a nap (actually done simultaneously... whoops). Then we throw on our best slutty clothes and round-up the troops for the bachelorette party downtown. I even called in male reinforcements in the form of good friend Matt H. and Dave to help the bride perform some of her more risque tasks (body shots!). Following night of debauchery and libations, I introduce Andrea to the finer points of breakfast dining in Boulder by taking her to Marie's on Broadway, followed with some Vic's espresso (ohh-la-la).

The barista at Vic's showing off some mad skills with my latte.

Next it is off to meet Seth at the grocery store for some fine BBQing purchases for a meeting of the usual suspects later in the afternoon. At the BBQ, former roomies, training partners, and a suprise appearance by cycling wonderfriend Tom Zirbel, in town between pro-cycling gigs. Almost everyone from the old crew was there except for the bike Crash Test Dummy, Tate (very sad story!). Understandable, considering after three weeks, he still has some bleeding road rash and is wearing the latest fashion in back braces.

Next morning, I was the perfect picture of big girl on a little bike, crossing Balsam, when who hailed me from the his car, but Tate himself. Good reunion in the Ideal Market parking lot, could not have planned that friend run-in if I tried. I was on my way to meet Liz Fleigs for a swim at Rally Sport. Definitely got a few turned heads, and OMG-I-can't-believe-you-are-in-town looks. Bonus, Beth-y screamed from across the swimming pool. We had a wet reunion followed by abject disappointment when I told her I wouldn't be at CB this year (Scott G. the check is in the mail for next year).

Later that afternoon was the wedding of my former PI and the woman who mooned over him for over a year before I sat him down on iChat and suggested he ask her out. Obviously it worked out well. But, don't go asking me to fix you up with anybody. I just got lucky this time. There was a great best man toast from Rob's BF and amateur comedian, Jeff, followed by some strange dancing to all the classics. Finally, ending in Sunny's third night of drinking, but not quite getting drunk in a row. I'm done.

Tuesday was a chill morning with Amber and Eric in the swimming pool. We went to AM masters at Flatirons with Wolfgang. I was pooped and started to get out of the pool after an hour. Wolfy yelled at me to "put my swim cap back on"... and I did it... you don't disobey a stern German! Afterward, we went to breakfast at the Eastside Walnut Cafe... blueberry cornbread. 'Nuff said. Time was flying by as Amber had to sprint off to work. Verny came to hang out with us on Pearl St. before heading to her job at the Daily Camera (if you check out the paper link now you can read about the 80 yr. old man who is doing a 300-mile bike ride for his birthday or the 11-yr old who is climbing 14 14ers in 14 days to raise money for a friend's medical bills). Eric and I finished off the morning with lunch at Sherpa's (my second favorite restaurant in Boulder after Wahoo's Fish Tacos).

Verny posing with the giant ball of string in the Book-end Cafe on Pearl St.

Whew, that was a lot of good friend time!