[ORRando] Abridged pre-ride Report. Blue Mountain 1000K

[Vincent Sikorski]

I rode the Blue Mountain 1000 with Kole Kantner, John Pearch and the  
other Vincent over this past Memorial Day weekend. Even though I live  
in Central Oregon, I am always impressed with the beauty and quality  
of riding in Central/Eastern Oregon. John Kramer has put together an  
incredibly splendid route. For the most part the road surfaces are  
great and vehicle traffic low to non existent. You are probably at  
greater risk of being hit by an animal than a car on this ride. On a  
fast descent on Twickenham Rd (after Mitchell), a deer jumped off of a  
cliff above me. As I was descending about 30 mph, an adult mule deer  
landed on the road about 10 yards in front of me. All four legs  
collapsed as it skidded across the wet road on its belly. When it hit  
the gravel side of the road, it jumped up and kept running. Must have  
been some predator chasing after it.

There is a section of gravel patched road on a descent between  
Mitchell and Fossil. I believe most riders, if not all, will ride  
through that during daylight. There are paved sections that you can  
wind around and avoid the graveled sections. John did a great  job  
with listing availability of food and water on the route sheet. If the  
support on the main ride is half as good as the support that John and  
Eric provided to us this weekend, everyone is going to be pampered.  
Thanks, John and Eric.

I don't believe any words (or even photos) could adequately describe  
the beauty of this ride, so I am not even going to try. Needless to  
say, If you enjoy long fast descents, you will be all smiles. If flat  
straight roads bore you, you won't be often bored.

I will warn you about the three rabid animals that you are likely to  
encounter. The first, Wind, will be playful at first. Don't trust him.  
He will viscously turn on you before the end. Second is Hill. She will  
nip at your heels for much of the ride. She has a keen sense of fear.  
Display any fear to her and you will be devoured. Lastly, the most  
rabid of all is Heat. Fortunately for us, rabid animals are known to  
avoid water. The rainy weather we encountered kept Heat hidden in his  
burrow. If the sun comes out, you would be well advised to carry lots  
of water.

Vince Sikorski
P.S. My Garmin registered 35,833 feet of climbing.