Finally, The Hills Beat Us.
13 years old. Over 513 miles ridden, feeling the PAIN for Kids with Cancer! Donate HERE!!
Total Distance: 513 Miles
Cumulative elevation gain: 24,500 ft.
Sketchy GPS tracker, click HERE
Tomorrow's route profile, click HERE
Day 9 Vlog post, click HERE
Out of curiosity, I'm wondering how many people looked at the GPS tracker today and caught that we went way off track? I would love to lie and say that we went up a steep climb and down another just to check out a nice beach, but, sadly, that is not the case. There is a gut punch type feeling when you know that you just gave up a bunch of energy doing something that is completely unnecessary in terms of completing your task and it couldn't have come at a worse time. This was our day.
On paper, this was supposed to be one of the easier days. Only 53 miles, downwind, not too crazy of hills--the kind of day where you get a late start. In fact, I let Katelyn sleep in until 10:00 before we walked over to a breakfast place for a quick bite. The first 12 miles of riding were actually pretty easy and we knocked out the Cat 4 climb. As we came to our first rest stop, we noticed a sign for ATV rentals just off the 101. Knowing that the day was going to be shorter, we popped in for a quick visit.
The area we are passing through right now is dune country. The sand extends all the way to the beach and for miles inland. We rented a two-seater buggy and headed out. Getting out onto the dunes, the first thing we did was to try and go up the biggest dune we could find. We got almost to the top but couldn't make it. I tried it a second time with the same result and then a third. It wasn't until the fourth try that I backed up and got enough speed to get to the top. That mountain of sand was having it's way with us and I couldn't help but think that, even with an engine, some hills are just too steep to go up. Perhaps a sign of what the day would be like...
After we left the dunes, we headed on the next 10 miles to North Bend for a late lunch. It was already around 3:30 now and we had only gone 22 miles with 30 to go. I have no idea how we got so late in the day! Regardless, we ate and got ready for the second series of climbs--only a couple category 5 climbs that didn't look that bad. How the map showed was that we were going to cross a bridge and then have a steep climb at the beginning and end up around 500 ft elevation for 8 miles give or take. So, after the bridge, we started a nasty climb and after we got to the top, the road wound around before taking us back down. To the beach. Again. Checking the map, I realized that we were supposed to have turned onto a different road at the bridge. No worries though, I found a different route a mile further up the road that we could take so we kept pedaling ahead. When we got to our "detour" road, our hearts sank: gravel. That meant three miles back uphill where we had just come from. Try telling that to a 13 year old.
Getting back to the main road, we now turned to head to where we were supposed to climb to begin with. As we made the turn, I realized that even the dune buggy would have a hard time getting up this climb. My Garmin--which shows the percentage gradient for the climb--kept reading higher until it got to 13%. And the road would not stop--the climb went on and on and on! Later on, when we got to the hotel, the man at the front desk asked if we took the route up Seven Devils Road (where the climbs were) and he said that there were many riders that stayed there that could not make it to the top and had to be carried in a van instead. I'm happy to say that Katelyn did not join that group; she worked and worked and made it to the top. Later we passed through 3 more climbs on that road with at least an 11% grade and it was by far the toughest climbing Katelyn had ever had to do.
After the climbs, it was mainly downhill the rest of the way to Bandon. By the time we started the descent however, it was already 6:45 with 9 miles left to go. We rolled in finally around 7:30 and were happy to get off the bikes. On the way to the hotel, we lamented that we did not stop and pick up some chocolate milk as a recovery reward and the guy at the front desk, now for the second time on our trip, let us use his vehicle to go to the market and buy some.
A quick thanks to the Sunset Motel in Bandon that gave us a nice discount on our room to help with our trip to raise money for kids with cancer! The room here is nice and the location is fantastic!
On to tomorrow: Bandon to Gold Beach--the last full day in Oregon. Will be a pretty hilly day and yep, we are back to pedaling into the wind. There is a small weather system hitting over the next couple days and I think that is driving wind from the south. Wish us luck!
Total Distance: 513 Miles
Cumulative elevation gain: 24,500 ft.
Sketchy GPS tracker, click HERE
Tomorrow's route profile, click HERE
Day 9 Vlog post, click HERE
Out of curiosity, I'm wondering how many people looked at the GPS tracker today and caught that we went way off track? I would love to lie and say that we went up a steep climb and down another just to check out a nice beach, but, sadly, that is not the case. There is a gut punch type feeling when you know that you just gave up a bunch of energy doing something that is completely unnecessary in terms of completing your task and it couldn't have come at a worse time. This was our day.
On paper, this was supposed to be one of the easier days. Only 53 miles, downwind, not too crazy of hills--the kind of day where you get a late start. In fact, I let Katelyn sleep in until 10:00 before we walked over to a breakfast place for a quick bite. The first 12 miles of riding were actually pretty easy and we knocked out the Cat 4 climb. As we came to our first rest stop, we noticed a sign for ATV rentals just off the 101. Knowing that the day was going to be shorter, we popped in for a quick visit.
The area we are passing through right now is dune country. The sand extends all the way to the beach and for miles inland. We rented a two-seater buggy and headed out. Getting out onto the dunes, the first thing we did was to try and go up the biggest dune we could find. We got almost to the top but couldn't make it. I tried it a second time with the same result and then a third. It wasn't until the fourth try that I backed up and got enough speed to get to the top. That mountain of sand was having it's way with us and I couldn't help but think that, even with an engine, some hills are just too steep to go up. Perhaps a sign of what the day would be like...
After we left the dunes, we headed on the next 10 miles to North Bend for a late lunch. It was already around 3:30 now and we had only gone 22 miles with 30 to go. I have no idea how we got so late in the day! Regardless, we ate and got ready for the second series of climbs--only a couple category 5 climbs that didn't look that bad. How the map showed was that we were going to cross a bridge and then have a steep climb at the beginning and end up around 500 ft elevation for 8 miles give or take. So, after the bridge, we started a nasty climb and after we got to the top, the road wound around before taking us back down. To the beach. Again. Checking the map, I realized that we were supposed to have turned onto a different road at the bridge. No worries though, I found a different route a mile further up the road that we could take so we kept pedaling ahead. When we got to our "detour" road, our hearts sank: gravel. That meant three miles back uphill where we had just come from. Try telling that to a 13 year old.
Getting back to the main road, we now turned to head to where we were supposed to climb to begin with. As we made the turn, I realized that even the dune buggy would have a hard time getting up this climb. My Garmin--which shows the percentage gradient for the climb--kept reading higher until it got to 13%. And the road would not stop--the climb went on and on and on! Later on, when we got to the hotel, the man at the front desk asked if we took the route up Seven Devils Road (where the climbs were) and he said that there were many riders that stayed there that could not make it to the top and had to be carried in a van instead. I'm happy to say that Katelyn did not join that group; she worked and worked and made it to the top. Later we passed through 3 more climbs on that road with at least an 11% grade and it was by far the toughest climbing Katelyn had ever had to do.
After the climbs, it was mainly downhill the rest of the way to Bandon. By the time we started the descent however, it was already 6:45 with 9 miles left to go. We rolled in finally around 7:30 and were happy to get off the bikes. On the way to the hotel, we lamented that we did not stop and pick up some chocolate milk as a recovery reward and the guy at the front desk, now for the second time on our trip, let us use his vehicle to go to the market and buy some.
A quick thanks to the Sunset Motel in Bandon that gave us a nice discount on our room to help with our trip to raise money for kids with cancer! The room here is nice and the location is fantastic!
On to tomorrow: Bandon to Gold Beach--the last full day in Oregon. Will be a pretty hilly day and yep, we are back to pedaling into the wind. There is a small weather system hitting over the next couple days and I think that is driving wind from the south. Wish us luck!
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| We appreciate your upport more than you know! |
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| Unfortunately, I have to draw the line on the types of souvenirs that Katelyn wants to get. Nice heavy rocks don't make it into the bag. |
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| Smiling was probably tough at this point. A hard hard ride into Bandon today. |
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| Every town has signs, but Bandon is one step up. They paint their evacuation routes right on the road. |
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| Never been so happy to finish a ride! |
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| Still smiling here. That's because we hadn't ridden the next 20 miles yet... |
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| We looked like total dorks out there in our bike gear, but we had a good time playing around! |
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| Why am I including this picture? Because it is the ONLY picture I took while up on the sand dunes! Too much fun playing I guess? At least we took plenty of video. |
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| One thing I will say about Oregon: every city has an awesome sign letting you know you have arrived! |
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| The nice thing about riding is that you don't have to count the calories! |
Both of you are in PHENOMENAL shape!! I am impressed. Routing for you all the way!
ReplyDeleteAnd she totally deserved that burger! Hope it was good. :)
Great job guys!! Keep pedaling!!
ReplyDeleteImpressive to say the least! Go Cardoza’s!
ReplyDelete