Tour de Cure July 28, 2012

[DarcyInOregon]

It is hard to believe that Event Day is almost here. The training season passed quickly and there are only two official training rides left. On July 14 there are two routes going out of Canby to bike the rollers of the farmland where the hops are grown; the longer route is 45 miles and the shorter route is 19 miles. On July 21 the training group bikes two routes out of Willamette Mission State Park and over the Wheatland Ferry to the Amity side of the Willamette River; the longer route of 37 miles entails several category climbs, whereas the shorter route of 24 miles bikes out to Grand Island, makes the loop and bikes back and the terrain is mostly flat to only mildly undulating.

Then it will be Event Day on July 28 and we can only hope that the registered cyclists trained hard for the route they will be riding.

After Event Day the training group members will continue to participate in group rides as individuals step forward to create and lead group rides, or to suggest other event rides. Members of the training group bonded as the season progressed, friendships were formed, and best of all, the training group did not get dominated by the elite power cyclists at the top, which happens too often to other bike groups. The volunteers worked hard to integrate new cyclists into the group who were just beginning on a bike, made the new cyclists feel comfortable with their skill and fitness levels and with delight we saw beginners transformed into distance cyclists.

My favorite success story of the season is one female cyclist, in her late 50s, she has MS and is legally blind in one eye, started the season biking less then 10 miles in distance with an average speed of less than 10 mph, and she now bikes over 40 miles that includes long climbs and with an average speed over 12 mph.

[DarcyInOregon]

The last official training ride for Tour de Cure was on Saturday. The Event Ride is on July 28. Members will continue to create and post rides on the meetup site, which is a great way to continue to bike with others after the Event. However, it is nice to have a SAG vehicle with us, got all of the cyclists spoiled.

Saturday's two rides were incredible. There were about 35 of us for both routes. We congregated further south in the Willamette Valley at Willamette Mission State Park. Both routes went over the Wheatland Ferry, which is a lot of fun to ride. The shorter 24-mile route turned right at Hopewell and rode Webfoot Road for a few miles, then a right turn to bike the perimeter of Grand Island. It was a push for the cyclists riding cruiser bikes because cruiser bikes are not designed for distance, but quite a few cyclists on cruisers were able to do the ride. Grand Island is a special place, all farmland and one park, orchards of cherries and peaches, fields of raspberry vines, corn and truck farm crops. The longer route of 37 miles went climbing over the Eola Hills twice, for two category climbs, and rode the roads winding through the farmland southwest of the small town of Amity, all exceptionally scenic, and the climbs giving a bit of challenge but not so difficult as to be impossible to bike up.

Photo one is the shorter route posing for a group photo on Grand Island, including our SAG volunteer. Photo two shows cyclists for both routes walking onto the river ferry.