Three Capes 300k: another awesome ride:)

Have I mentioned I really, really love riding my bike? I really love riding my bike. And then I take a ride like yesterday’s Oregon Randonneurs Three Capes 300k, and I fall in love with it all over again.

Gosh. I almost bailed on this ride, actually, because the 6am start in Forest Grove meant that I got up–that’s right, I set my alarm and then got out of bed–at 3:30 am so I could bike down to Sellwood and catch a ride with a fellow I’d never actually met who turned out to also be from Sacramento and sort of know my brother! I love random shit like that. (Thanks, Dylan!:) But yeah, the 3:30am thing wasn’t awesome, and I felt a little bad to be missing a Saturday 1-year-old birthday party for my favorite small child. So I thought–for a few seconds at least–about not riding this one.

But of course a bike ride almost always wins out. And I’m so glad it did! :)

Like most of the rides I’ve taken with the Oregon Randonneurs, the route is pretty amazing. I realized after the fact that most of the ride was actually along water of some sort, which is perhaps why I liked it so much: first along the Wilson River on Highway 6 out to the coast, then south along the Pacific Ocean on the scenic Three Capes route, then back along the Little Nestucca and Yamhill Rivers, and then all the wetlands around Fern Hill right by the end. Add to that the timing–everything green is sprouting right now, and the world is tinged in springtime–and it was quite a lovely day.

Cape Lookout(showing off some springy green at Cape Lookout:)

Even better was that some early-morning showers and mud-splattering ultimately gave way to perfect biking weather: not too hot, not too cold, mostly dry, beautiful clouds with just enough blue sky to remind you that better weather is on the way. It was an amazing day to dedicate to many miles of pedal-spinning.

pacific ocean(blue skies! ocean! biking! so fricken lovely!:)

When I start these rides, I’m always fully prepared to ride by myself. Thirty two riders, the number of people who started yesterday, is not very many when you spread that out over almost 200 miles, and even though I generally end up biking with several people for at least part of the time, I ultimately spend a lot of time by myself. Which I like, actually, because I’m pretty happy going at my own pace and letting my mind wander.

This time, though, I was surprised to bike basically the whole way with a fellow, Tim, I met at the Timber Rd turnaround. Whether we were actually always going the same pace or inadvertently matched ourselves up to each other as we went, it was a new experience to spend that many miles with one person. Nice, though–a good reminder of the awesome people out there in the world, just waiting to chat on a long bike ride. :)

Another fun surprise: I finished the route way before I was expecting, I think in part because it was way flatter than I was expecting, too (and there was way more tailwind than I would ever dare hope for again). But all those extra hours of daylight at the end of the ride just make me want to bike and bike and bike, farther, farther, farther.

Like I said, I fricken love riding my bike. And days like yesterday just feed the beast.

Tim Fern Hill Rd(so sunny near the end of the ride; Tim rockin’ it to the finish:)

It’s always a little weird to be on a ride like this and know that there are thirty or so other people out on the same route, some in front of you and some behind, and yet have no idea what their experience of the ride is. That’s often mitigated by chatting with people either at controls or at the end, but this time I didn’t stick around the finish long enough to see too many others. I hope it was great for all of you, though:)

If you’re curious about the route itself, the OR Rando page linked above has details, or Susan Otcenas actually has a map posted here, if you want a visual–thanks, Susan!:)

And, of course, pictures, though not very many, are here.

7 Comments:

  1. How about a pic of your bike too? :) Interested in your rando setup.

    • huh! The only picture I have of my bike from this ride is a super poor-quality early morning shot from before the start.

      But my basic setup can be described as “I have no rack capacity and thus cram everything into a velcro-on handlebar bag.” :) It works pretty well for me–though I may need to adjust it for a ride of any distance that requires changing clothes;)

    • Actually, this one from the Olney-Gothic Logger 300k last year is basically still what I’ve got going. Except that I fixed my back fender:) And I’m rocking different tires now.

  2. You’re welcome. :-) Thanks for the ride report. Always fun to read about other people’s experiences. I had a wonderful day as well, finishing an hour ahead of my previous best 300K, which was on this route a few years ago. Rode the first and last 100K with other people, the middle 100K alone. Like you, I always expect to ride along, but also enjoy falling in with a similarly paced person for some pleasant miles. Hope to see you (at the start, at least :-) on a few more rides this spring!

    • Nice! Seems like a lot of people did this route pretty fast, then? Whee! :)

      I don’t think I can do any more rides this spring just because of work scheduling, but certainly come the end of June I’ll be back out on Saturdays:) (though now that I’m a real RUSA member, can anyone say permanent??;)

      Thanks again for the map–it’s super nice to be able to see the overall visual picture instead of just the cue sheet.

  3. Riders have been loving 3 Capes for nearly 30 years. I believe they will love it for a long long time to come. Me and other RBAs have been running a variation of this 300k since the mid-80s.

    Nice blob Stasia…I’m enjoying many other of your entries.

    • Thanks, Susan! If there’s anything I like nearly as much as biking, it’s writing about biking;)

      Thanks for organizing everything to make rides like this happen:)

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