keithmo bikes: Reach the Beach 2009

After our less than illustrious finish at last year's Reach the Beach ride, Kasia and I had something to prove this year.We were going to reach that beach this year, damn it, and reach it together.

Normally, that level of hubris leads to disaster and embarrassment, but almost everything went perfectly well this year. Woo-hoo!

Two big problems hit us last year that kept us from enjoying the ride and kept Kasia from finishing: the oppressive heat, and time pressure. Coincidentally, a record-setting heat wave hit western Oregon last year on the day of Reach the Beach 2008. The official high was ~95F that day, but a friend's thermometer-equipped cycle computer showed 104F while cycling on the black asphalt. Kasia, being a native of Poland, is just not used to physical activity in those conditions.

The other problem we faced was time pressure. We got a late start that day, mostly due to mechancial problems with my rear disc brake. By the time we reached the 50 mile point, we became concerned that we wouldn't make our 7:00pm bus back to Portland.

This year, Mother Nature was much more cooperative. It did get warm later in the day, but only warm, not oh-my-god-we're-cycling-in-a-convection-oven hot. Also, we had a plan.

The Plan:

Wake up at 4:00am (yuck).
Eat breakfast at 5:00am.
Get to the starting line by 6:00am (mostly to claim one of the scarce parking spaces).
Get bib numbers, etc at 7:00am.
Hit the road by 8:00am.

The Reality:

Woke up at 4:00am (yuck).
Ate breakfast at 4:45am.
Got to the starting line at 5:30am.
Got bit numbers, etc about 6:20am.
Hit the road at 6:30am.

Preparing for an early departure.

It was actually someone chilly when we left the starting area at 6:30am. We both wore lightweight jackets and full-fingered gloves. This helped somewhat -- cycling in the sun was very comfortable, but the shady areas were downright cold. 50 minutes later, we reached the first rest stop at the Elk's Club near Middleton, OR.