[OrRando] Down the Drain 200k Pre-Ride Report (Susan Stumpf)

[Lesli Larson]

Sending this out for interested parties.  Written by riding buddy (and local
Eugene GEARS cycling club president, Susan Stumpf)
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*Ride Report: Down the Drain (Pre-ride)* by Susan Stumpf

The Oregon Randonneurs are doing this ride in Eugene on August 11.  Some
friends and I were fortunate enough to join the organizer, Jack Fortune, to
make sure the cues were all accurate.  We met at the parking lot at the
corner of 13th & University at 7am on June 23.  It was a gorgeous, 60 degree
morning, I had my peanut butter/jam/trail mix sandwich on a bagel in my
camelback, and I was ready to go.

We went South out of town over 29th to Lorane (I had to take my arm-warmers
off going over the hill).  The Lorane Store is a favorite rest location for
many cyclists, so we made our first stop there.  When we got back on the
road, we went for a very short bit on Siuslaw River Road, then took a left
onto a road I had never been on: Forest Service Road 20-5-141.  It started
out very picturesque; narrow, a little windy and quite lush in vegetation
and trees on both sides of the road.  Soon it got VERY steep.  Some of us
did not have low enough gearing/strong enough legs to just go straight up,
we had to go up switch-back-style.  One of my companions did this whole ride
on a fixed gear!  He is amazing!  Jack did warn us that this road is not
paved all the way.  He was right!  The road became gravel and hard dirt
after reaching the summit.  The group had dispersed a little by this point,
and I was alone when I came upon the biggest logging equipment I had ever
seen.  The scene was a little earie with the rigs just lurking there quiet
on the side of the road – they reminded me of dinosaurs.  They did not come
to life though, so I carried on.  The biggest reason I do hills is for the
exciting descents.  The faster I can go, the better.  Well…this descent had
patches of (pot-holed) asphalt and patches of gravelly dirt, so it was slow
going.  It was great though because it popped us out on Upper Smith River
Road.  Wow!  This is a pretty road!  I am pretty sure that was old growth
Douglas Fir trees we passed on our way to Drain.

We had a much needed lunch in a park in Drain.  Then it was on to Yoncalla.
We got some more beverages in Yoncalla before we headed out towards Cottage
Grove.  London Hill Road and Shoestring Road were very difficult roads to
ride.  It was a long haul, it had sections of gravel (did I mention I ride
on 23mm tires???) and it was steep.  And one section was almost totally
washed out.  I have got to say, I was calling Jack some bad names on this
section.  Not that he could hear me, he is such a strong rider that I only
saw him for a little while before the road got really steep.  We all made it
to the top though.  That felt like an accomplishment!   Then, oh yea, was
the BEST downhill experience I have had yet!  It was LONG, it was the
perfect grade, the road was paved, it was smooth and it had just the right
amount of not-too-sharp curves that it was a BLAST!  It TOTALLY made up for
all of the hard work it took to get to that downhill.  Which is why Jack
waited for all of us to catch up to him not at the top, where we were still
grumpy, but at the bottom, where we had BIG smiles!  Smart man!

The next part of our ride took us by the Cottage Grove Resevoir.  It was
pretty, but I was kind of zoning out through this section.  When someone
suggested that we take refreshing break at the charming Axe & Fiddle Bar, I
jumped at that opportunity.  Not all of my companions were ready for a beer,
but I had been wanting to try a Ninkasi (which I had been calling Nishiki –
wonder why?!).   I could only drink half of it though, not because it was
bad (It was great!) but because we had to get back on the road and I was too
dehydrated to just gulp it down.  Too bad!

Now we were on the road North towards Creswell.  The Down the Drain ride is
a full 200K that includes an out-and-back on the Row River Trail, but we
decided to skip it.  That was the only part of the ride I was planning on
skipping, but one of my riding companions was getting picked up before the
end of the ride in order to get home in time for an appointment.  When she
offered to take me too, I was ready.  We had made it to Saginaw and I
finished the day with 96 miles on my odometer.

My companions did complete the rest of the ride to Creswell and over Dillard
(yikes) to Eugene.  This was a very challenging ride, but it was a very good
one.  I feel really good about having done as much of the ride as I did.  I
am really glad that Jack put together such a great ride for the Randonneurs.


For more information about what Randonneuring is, and to participate in the
official Brevet, visit their webpage: http://www.orrandonneurs.org/
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