~BunceMan's TranzAmerican Bike Ride~
Log Entry #7: June 14, 2005
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Day 2: Sweet Home to Ochoco State Park, Oregon on Highway 26. I have been a teacher for 20 years and commuted to school on a bicycle 99% of the time. My students have asked me a thousand times, "How fast can you go on your bike?" And I have responded a thousand times, "It depends on whether I'm going against the wind or against it, and whether I'm going uphill or downhill." Quickly, the students narrow down the variables and want to know how fast I can go downhill with the wind. I hit 62 mph once coming home from Yosemite on Highway 120.
The climb from Sweet Home to Santiam Pass is about 42 miles. Temperatures were in the low 50's F. As is the climb to all mountain passes, it starts with small easy climbs, then levels out, climbs a little more, levels, then gets serious, usually 8 to 10% grades. Gearing up, I manage about 7 to 10 mph. I left Sunnyside County Park, outside of Sweet Home, shortly after 8am. I reached Santiam Pass about 12:30pm.
The road to Santiam Pass has an interesting history. Like most pass roads, they began as wagon roads. The first tranzcontinental automobile race also went over this pass in 1905. The Pacific Coast trail, which runs from the Canadian border to Mexico, also crosses the road at the pass.
For every uphill, there's a downhill. Santiam had a good one: 6 miles.It was a long ride and a chance to make some time was welcome.
Back to the how-fast-can-you-go thing. There's a 20-mile stretch of road between towns of Sisters and Redmond. Fairly flat, a few rollers, and wide, smooth shoulder. Ah, the best part, a strong tail wind. I covered the distance in 52 minutes. Likewise, from Redmond to Prineville, the road was under construction in many parts with more extreme rollers. The wind was not at my back, but blowing strong across the road. Another 20 miles in 69 minutes.
Day 2 mileage: 116 miles | Peggy Pics