Rapha Gentlemen’s Race Recap
October 2nd, 2009 |
We got the informal invitation to the 2009 Rapha Gentlemen’s Race while socializing with fellow participants after the Rapha Redwoods Ride from Palo Alto to Santa Cruz ahead of the Tour of California riders back in February. Slate, of Rapha, extended the offer in front of everyone during his ride wrap up speech. Well greased from the wine, we looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders and replied, “of course” to Slate’s public invitation. Was he calling us out in front of the rest of the room? Was he serious? We’d seen the video from last year. We were excited.
The official invite came via email a few months later. What had we gotten ourselves into? We’re very good drinkers, decent bike riders and can make a mean Pimm’s cup with only the most rudimentary ingredients. Being on a bike for 137 miles over the hills that stand between the Oregon Coast and Portland seemed like it might be a little tough (for everyone except Tina). Well, as San Francisco Bay Native, Too $hort so eloquently put it, “No time to waste – get on that case.” Translation: Of course we’re doing it.
After an exhaustive selection process (drinking at Delfina) we decided on a co-ed team with the mission (no pun intended) of riders who would enjoy the experience without feeling the uncontrollable urge to hammer and win. Nothing at all wrong with holding the foam number one finger up in victory, but we’re a cycling club not the Cobra Kai dojo. Mission Cycling is about the experiences on the bike – not necessarily on the end result, ya know? Besides, women look better in spandex.
The ride was set to begin in Otis, Oregon and finish, 137 miles later, at a bar in Portland. We had a lot of logistics to work out for the weekend. Rent a van big enough for all of our bikes, stuff and our human bodies. See, we all wanted to drive together in one vehicle. So cute, right? We had to rent a place by the starting line (Otis, OR if you’ve been paying attention) which is on the coast and also reserve a place in Portland where the ride ends. We had a mix of boys and girls, so we needed gender specific space (we’re not a bunch of heathens or the guys in the movie, Porky’s). We also had to get the van from the starting line to the finish line. It was complicated, like a Three’s Company episode.
We rented a 15-person passenger van from a place that bands go to for their tour vehicles/transportation. Perfect.
The van came with a Play Station and a disc of old school arcade games. Pacman, Dig Dug – no need to mention the others. Yes. We were traveling in style. As I previously mentioned, we packed the car with all of our bikes, bodies and enough food to keep us alive in a snowstorm for at least a month. The 12 homemade banana breads would get us through the first 2 weeks.
After 650 miles we arrived at “The Castle”, HQ for two nights, around 9pm. It got its name from the outside facade – it looked like a castle. How ingenious! But one of those plastic figure castles that you find on the top of a themed birthday cake. The inside, however, was like The Four Seasons. 6 plus bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, a sauna, jacuzzi, a pool and ping pong table, 8 plasma televisions, 2 balconies, a fireplace, a kitchen with stainless steel appliances, a double stove and a huge framed tapestry depicting a Turkish war battle at sea. It was textured. We should really have taken it on the Antiques Roadshow.
Did I mention the place was steps from the ocean? Open your window at night and the soothing ocean sounds put you to sleep.
We woke up Friday and had a proper breakfast on the balcony overlooking the ocean. After digesting, we headed out for an 18 mile spin around the town. It was sunny and hot. Looked like it was gonna be hot all weekend. Uh-oh. We in the Bay Area are not used to the heat. Whatever.
We rode along the ocean most of the way. The rest of the day was spent relaxing, playing pool, ping-pong, napping, watching Cannonball Run, eating, and planning for the next day’s ride.
Saturday morning we woke up refreshed and ready for the big day. Packed the van and headed to the Otis Café to get started on our 137 mile ride to Portland.
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After delivering our entry fee (a case of beer – ours included some Van der Dans Mission Gentlemen’s Kristalwit) and getting the rules for the day we were off. There were 23 teams. We were the 3rd team to start.
The morning greeted us with a cool, overcast sky – kind of like the typical start to a Mission Cycling ride. We climbed our way out of the starting line into lush Oregon forest. It was a nice and steady four mile morning heart-rate-jumper through magical landscape. There was talk of Middle Earth and saving the Shire. Grades of 3-7%.
The first 40 miles included some of the most picturesque riding and best weather on the route. We rode sort of north, via some scenic bypasses – over the river and through the woods as they say. Calm roads, and fortunately no cars approached as we crossed one-lane bridges. Due to the staggered starts, we spent most of the day in our own group, mostly bumping into other teams at stops.
Pink “R’s” and arrows on the road helped guide us through local rural roads on what literally seemed to be farmer’s backyards. Some methane-laden stretches kept us riding faster if for no other reason than to get through the cow smell. Other fun animals we saw were mating llamas (yikes!), rotting foxes (ew!), and barking dogs unfamiliar with a peloton fiercely chasing and nipping at our pedals.
Our first water break was at a little store in the town of Beaver. Rapha’s photographers and video crew were waiting and shooting. From there we began 20 miles of steady ascent that started eastward along the Nestucca River. Beaver was the last water stop before the bulk of the day’s climbing. In the middle of the woods, we hit our first checkpoint and enjoyed an unexpected Coca-Cola from the organizers. Dirt roads led to some mountain passes, until a well-deserved descent that granted us a phenomenal view over McGuire Reservoir. We pressed on, full steam ahead.
However, given the nature of the route, the descent, of course, sent us veering onto the first of the sharp gravel road sections. Some riders chose to bomb through at full speed; others used a more controlled method, and learned some alternative cycling skills.
Soon we ticked over the 100 mile mark, and hit the edges of wine country rollers and flats. The sun on the open land cranked up the heat to rotisserie level. Conversation waned considerably as water bottle levels dropped and emptied. It was sort of that head-down, stare-at-the-wheel-in-front-of-you style of riding. It was at this point (miles over 100) that The Colonel truly shines as a rider. She put her pink-helmeted head down and pulled the entire crew through the hot flatlands.
A traffic circle invoking the feeling of the Tour de France (or at least that’s how we imagined it) shot us into the second checkpoint at mile 116. Riders from other teams rolled up just as extra-salty as us. The beauty was everyone still had a smile to show. The race was still on but the epic-ness of the ride was showing its true nature.
After the 2nd checkpoint, the course into Portland was up to us. Interestingly, from this point, most everyone stuck to the recommended route that put a 3 mile climb at the end of mile 127 at a 6% grade. A climb that felt pretty much like a suckerpunch to the neck.
Gold evening light cast beautiful shadows into our final descent into Portland. Suddenly we were back into civilization and stoplights. Invigorated by knowing we were almost done we navigated the Portland streets to the Burnside Bridge. It was hard to imagine that we were moments from the end. The team put in a tremendous effort, and we all completed the 137 miles in style.
After this solid day in the saddle we were very excited to sit at a picnic bench in the back of Rontom’s and enjoy some cold and free adult beverages. Everyone cheered as the sun set and the final teams rolled in. Glasses raised, we toasted and gazed around at the hundreds of bikes and riders, all regaling each other with tales of the day.
Big thanks to the crew at Rapha for organizing such an amazing event and for documenting it all so beautifully. We’re excited for next year…
Before the ride, each team was given a disposable camera to document the day from their perspective. Here’s ours:
And click here for all the team’s Team Cameras.
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For the official recap visit Rapha’s account of the day here.
For nerdy bike stats from the ride: visit the Strava course here.
2 Comments to “Rapha Gentlemen’s Race Recap”
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Oct 2nd, 2009 at 9:47 am |
[...] der Dans Mission Gentlemen’s Kristalwit — the beer that we made for Mission Cycling’s trip to the Rapha Gentlemen’s Race — is now on the Rapha Website. Our beer is half way down the first page of photos recapping [...] |
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Dec 23rd, 2009 at 10:34 pm |
[...] start of a 137 mile journey to Portland. Of course there’s lots more to marvel at with the write up from the Mission riders and the great photos from the event collected by Rapha. So anyway, amazing things have been [...] |
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