Paul’s Team

Just figured I’d get this week started for Paul’s with a quick ride recap.  I left Friday morning at 9:30 to meet up with Dave and his friends Bill and Ben at the MoC on Franklin Blvd.  After a quick get to know you session and some last minute grocery shopping we were on our way out of town for what would be for most of us a 3 day 2night tour down to the Umpqua and back.  The plan was to ride out to Sharps creek and summit and camp somewhere on the back side down towards Steamboat.  This was not to be as one of our guys was suffering from knee problems after about only 25 miles.  We decided to set up camp after about 60 miles which put us right at the base of the Sharps Creek climb.  Day two was a beast of a day but we lucked out with near perfect conditions as it stayed cool for our climbing bits and the sun came out for our flat stretch of the day along the Umpqua between Steamboat and Rock Creek Rd..  We made the grind over the Sharps Creek climb to start the day and although the group was slow we were steady and made decent time and stopped for a snack at the summit before descending down to Steam Boat which seemed to go on forever. The exit for this descent dumps us right onto the Hwy. 138 and the start of the Mott segment of the NUT. After a short break we rolled on to grab a quick lunch and a beer at the Steamboat Inn where some repair work was required on the trailer to keep me rolling.  This was a super nice spot and the prices were very reasonable, definitely worth checking out if you find yourself in the area.  We then continued a bit further down the road to find a beach where we could catch some sun, sip some whiskey and just relax before we hit the big climb of the weekend.This gave our injured rider a chance to ice his knee in the stream which seemed to revive him somewhat and he rallied for the 2nd half of the day.

If you haven’t done the Rock Creek Rd. climb it should definitely be added to your must do lists.  This thing is epic and huge. This is a steady 18 mile climb.  Outside of the first mile or so it is never very steep but it just goes on and on and on.  For much of the climb we were rewarded/punished with views of the ridgeline which always seem way too tall and way too far away.  The climb is mostly shaded so it was definitely chilly at times.  With a road rig this would be an amazing climb and I’m considering posting up doing a smaller version of this loop later this summer, stay tuned for what would be an all day120+ mile epic much like the Mary’s Peak Alsea Falls loop we just did last weekend.  We ended ups camping just shy of the summit at what ended up being a nice spot next to a man made pool which was labeled as a source of water for fighting fires. Everyone was pretty beat that evening which made for a much more quiet campfire but I still managed to get my fair share of s’more action and then some.  The final day came after what was a much warmer night than our first and after the much harder day two everyone seemed to sleep better. We broke camp at a leisurely pace and hit the road at sometime near 10:30.  The day started with a 3 mile or so climb before we drop into the huge descent down towards London and CG.  This is where we encountered all of the snow on our previous trip here a few months back but the road was almost completely clear with the exception of maybe a 100 foot patch but the tire tracks gave us a dry path to sneak through.  The road was almost totally clear of debris on our trip down and we only encountered maybe one truck and one motorcycle on trip down to the flats.  Bill decided to give his knee a break for the day and was looking to spend an extra night outside so we parted ways shortly after the descent we we continued on towards London.  We stopped at the gas station/deli for some snacks and to text all of our significant others to let everyone know we’re alive then we continued on towards CG.  We moved on and rode around Cottage Grove Lake until we came to town where we stopped for a burrito on the outskirts of town.  Finally after a beer and food we rolled on back the way we came to Sears Rd. We had the chance to be good Samaritans as we helped an old woman out of the ditch on the road side who had fallen while trying to harvest some wild flowers.  Dave then shortly after spotted a man passed out in the ditch on the other side of the road as we passed Creswell but it turns out this guy was fine and just passed out drunk in the sun.  We all rolled on until we came to Dillard where I made the call to head into town while Dave continued on to Seavey Loop.  Managed to make it over but took the wanker bypass of Old Dillard Rd. and the descent down into town was much less treacherous than I was anticipating.  Afterwards Dave reported that the total mileage of the trip was a hair over 180 miles from start to finish with almost 3 even 60 mile days.  With this much climbing, 60 miles, maybe 80 per day sounds about all I’d want to do, much more and we’d have to drive a much less enjoyable pace. With this being my first attempt at loaded touring I’m pretty stoked on how it all worked out and I’m looking forward to future trips. -Matt 6/2/2010

Climbing in the sun...

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May started off strong with a good showing in the Eugene Roubaix. Galen and Matt R. showed up in the 1/2 field, made a good day of it. In the 3’s we had a strong group composed of Brian, Abe, Matt B., and Brice. Brian ended up flatting out, but Matt put in a great breakaway move at the right time. With some strong riding of his own and help from the team in the pack, the break stuck and Matt scored a 2nd place. Doug rode to a good 6th place finish in probably his last race at a Cat 4. Doug completed the double by finishing first in his category at Mudslinger, way to go! Here are a few pictures of the weekend. 5-3-2010

Cat 3 Gravel

Matt leads through the gravel.

Galen works with the pack.

Smiles amongst friends at the finish. Great day!