RAO Training Weekend

Never say never.

My bio for this blog clearly states:
“Events that involve sleep deprivation are also disqualified, so no Race Across Oregon or multi-day ultra-marathons (for me).“

The bio needs an update, ‘cuz I’m the ringleader of a 4-man team signed up for this year’s Race Across Oregon, aka the “RAO.”

The Race Across Oregon, which is actually more of a Race Around Oregon, is a ~532 mile endurance event that starts near the Portland airport, loops out into the lonely hinterlands east of the Cascades, and finishes at Timberline Lodge. For solo riders, RAO is a qualifier for RAAM.

The RAOd Warriors: Mike Stafford, David Longdon, Vic Stueber, Mark Mirante. Team jerseys feature an image of a nuclear explosion and a skull and cross bones.

Interest in the RAO is a by-product of my new life as an urban cyclist, and feeling frustrated by the dim caliber of nearby cycling routes. I don’t think it would be on my radar this season, or ever, if I had easy access to lonely country roads as I did in Bellingham and Eugene. Desperate situations require desperate measures.

I’m on a number of cycling-related email lists, and an email exchange with Glenn Johnson, who was in the process of organizing the Lewis & Clark Ultra 12/24, got me seriously thinking about RAO. Glenn asked whether I was interested in doing a 2-man relay. “No way.” But, after my initial negative reaction, putting together a 4-man relay team began to sound like a fun adventure. After a couple iterations, we have assembled a compatible group of guys who are serious about their cycling, but who will be able to laugh together at the end of a strenuous and stressful event.

We are about 4 weeks out from race day, and this was our big reconnaissance and group training ride. We drove and cycled about 1/2 of the course, with an overnight in Madras, OR.

We are total rookies at this sort of event. During the weekend, two of our biggest realizations had nothing to do with cycling. For us to have a successful race, we’re going to need a good crew (which is still coming together) and need to be super organized. As rookies, we’ll no doubt make mistakes that will cost us time and cause tension or both.

During the weekend we mostly rode in 2-man shifts to see what it would be like to pedal hard for 30+ minutes, sit in a car for a while, then repeat.

Weekend highlights included 60 minutes worth of the infamous Bakeoven Road east of Maupin. Fortunately we didn’t get baked this weekend, but on race day we’ll be riding it in mid-afternoon and I expect we’ll all get our fair share of suffering on that road.

Saturday evening, we set out from our hotel to sample the course south of Madras. Storm clouds brewed as we hit the outskirts of town. Within a couple miles we were getting pelted with sideways hail and strong winds that made it nearly impossible to control our bikes.

As an indication of the sensibilities of the various team members, Mark and Mike picked up the pace and pointed themselves into the dark heart of the maelstrom. Vic and I turned around and rode the gusty tailwind back to the hotel. The dividing line between the A and B teams was definitely clear at that moment.

Later that night we drove into the Warm Springs Reservation to try some night cycling with a support vehicle, as well as to sample the terrain ~400 miles into the course. The climbing north of Madras is seriously difficult, but at night it wasn’t possible to see what we were up against. For a while I thought my legs were just tired from earlier in the day and simply unable to go more than 8 mph.

The final ~40 miles includes intimidating views of Mt. Hood.

Sunday morning we drove what we had pedaled the night before and we laughed at the unrelenting steepness and hairpin turns we negotiated in the dark. We finished the weekend with more miles across the the Rez, and then a gorgeous stretch of Forest Service road leading to the final approach to Timberline.

Today, Monday, in anticipation of race day, I woke up with sweaty palms and pre-race jitters. 4 weeks out, I’m not sure whether this is a good sign.

More to come…

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