[ORRando] Barlow Trail 300 Pre-Ride

[Michael Johnson]

So I see the ride is post-poned. Kinda good for me because if I can  
get the following Saturday off I'll do it.

Yesterday Joshua Bryant and I did a ride from Portland that  
incorporated elements of the Barlow Trail 300k and the Timothy Lake  
200k. The heat was brutal. And in spite of all the trees we had very  
little shade on some sections of road. We road up NFD 57 and then  
connected with NFD 5810 over to Timothy Lake. NFD 5810 is an awesome  
climb. Not too steep and offers great views. The creek crossing is  
interesting. Doesn't seem to enjoyable on a bent though... At Timothy  
Lake we went to the historic rangers stage and took NFD 42 back down  
to the Clackamas River. This descent was amazing although the steady  
climb up to the descending part of the road killed me. It was just so  
hot and exposed. I was having flashbacks of the 600k XTR. Once back  
on 224 we had a hot headwind back into Estacada where I sent an SOS  
to my wife who came and retrieved my wreck of carcass. By the time  
she showed up I was feeling a bit better. On the return to 224 my  
stomach stopped working and I couldn't take in fluids or food without  
getting nauseous. I actually felt worse than on the XTR. Still, I got  
in 140 miles.

I've realized that doing rides like this on your own is a lot  
different than doing a brevet. While Josh was great company it's just  
nicer being around more people having dedicated controls to stop at.

I should mention that Josh limped home on his own, finishing the ride  
as planned.

Here are some pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/41335973@N00/sets/72157621778650380/

--mike