Thirty-six hours means NO CLIMBING. I love Portland and all, but for crying out loud, the proximity to good climbing really sucks. The proximity issue becomes imminently more frustrating when you have a toddler and you end up driving for three hours to climb 2 good routes in the waning daylight.
Not that I'm complaining because I don't want to be one of those people who tells you how lame their life became when they had a kid. No, I am more likely justifying to myself why I didn't just say, "screw it" and hop in the car for the three hour trip to two good routes anyway, because sometimes two good routes is all you need to get your climbing fix.
Regardless, my life is far from lame. In fact, it's damn good. I have Barkernews and I have The Hizz and I have endless adventures out my front door, even if they don't involve rock climbing. I was jonesing to not spend the weekend at home, so we headed to Ft. Stevens State Park on the coast. Barkernews and I are nerds so we thought it was the coolest thing since the invention of sliced bread. Ft. Stevens was a military fort in the CIVIL WAR. I know, right? Who knew people in the Oregon Territory at the time had even heard of the Civil War (mail service being what it was)? It was originally built to protect the coast from the Confederates, which is kind of funny if you really think about it. The amount of time to get from the south to the Pacific Coast was, uh, LONG. Did you also know that the military put mines in the Columbia River during WWII to detract Japanese submarines? I know, I know. This is COOL SHIT.
Ft. Stevens is also located at the confluence of the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean and the beach there is now one of my favorites. It's long and flat and perfect for hanging out. The camping at the state park leaves a little to be desired considering how they pack people in there, but it did have electricity. Do you have any idea what this means for Der Kaiserhutte? It means we had HEAT. OVERNIGHT. We usually use a propane heater since under normal circumstances, we are camping in places without any amenities and if you know anything about propane, you know that leaving it on overnight is not recommended. So we got ourselves an electric heater and man, oh man, the LUXURY. My nose did not freeze off of my face and this is a huge improvement. It was like staying in a 4-star trailer.
The next day brought 32 degree temps (how would I have known? I was sleeping in glorious heat.) and the Cross Crusade in Rainier, OR. People tell me that cyclocross is supposed to be muddy and wet and messy, but after 6 races so far this season, I am starting to wonder. Every race thus far has been dusty and dry, and honestly? I have loved them all.
And while I didn't know it on Sunday, and probably not even on Monday, I loved this course. Steep hills are a petite girl's friend and while masses of beginner women wove their bikes dangerously and even walked up the hellishly steep gravel hill, I set my line and calmly pedaled past them. Had those women suffered with me at the Sublime Subilimity Road Race, they would have scoffed at such a hill. 45 minutes of suffering, with a few hills thrown in? BRING IT.
That's where I did well: riding up the steep hill and running past everyone on the runup. My technical skills however? Still somewhat lacking. But that's cool. I left my lungs on the course, which is an indicator of success in my book. I also improved my placing, from 15th last week to 13th this week, but there were 62 women in my group instead of the 92 the previous week. Not sure if that means I got better or worse? Never mind, don't answer that.
It was a near-perfect weekend, capped off with a date (with Barkernews of course) to the Powderwhore telemark ski movie. During the hour-long movie, I promptly forgot about bikes and started thinking about ski season and drooling. And drooling some more. I'll be back on the bike this week for the last Blind Date at the Dairy, but I see a lot of skiing in my immediate future. And it's only an hour away.
