Recently
A couple of months ago I heard that the Bend Cascade Classic was happening this year — scheduled for August 17. It had been cancelled for the past several years. Historically, this event has been a multi-day stage race in Bend, OR. This year, only a crit would be organized. I was also vaguely aware that the Portland Criterium was supposed to be around the same time — coincidentally, the weekend after the Cascade Classic. I thought it might be a neat opportunity to drive up from Palo Alto (8 hours). My plan was to race in Bend, then drive to the Portland area (3 hours) and stay with family for a week or two.
I left at 5:30am on Friday. I took a few work calls from the car and I also caught up with some friends. I stopped in Klamath Falls for lunch. The visibility was pretty bad because of local fires. The AQI was 290.
Bend is pretty cool. It’s changed a lot since I was a kid. Friday evening, I noodled around on the bike.
Saturday, we rode in the morning then went to Sparrow Bakery. They have these “Ocean Rolls” which are like a cinnamon roll. I had a bagel too.
My race was around 3pm and it was pretty hot (like 85-90 dry heat). I used an ice sock which was just ice cubes in pantyhose. I hadn’t used one but A crafted it for me. You can read my race report here. After, I showered up and went back into town to watch the Women’s P123 race and the Men’s P12 race. Races at night are fun. Good energy. Everything finished at around 10pm. We got burgers at that McMenamins Hotel place.
Woke up early to leave. First, stopped at Lone Pine Coffee which was the right move.
I drove 3 hours to Portland.
Portland is nice in the summer. I miss it a lot. I saw some friends while I was there and had some good food. The riding isn’t bad. The roads are nice but the shoulders are sparse and drivers tend to be awkward.
The Portland Criterium was fun but frustrating. It was hard to find opportunities to move up since it was tighter and the road was torn up. You can read that race report here.
I thought it was a good idea to ride to/from the race. Getting there was easy. On the way home, a thunderstorm started and I got completely soaked. I haven’t ridden in that much rain before actually.
I woke up early on Sunday and drove back to Palo Alto. I’m not a huge podcast person but I tried some that were recommended:
I tried some audiobooks, but couldn’t get into them. The drive down is pretty beautiful. Especially Eugene. The smoke was better on the way back.