Saturday Ride Report With Pictures

Remember in The Big Lebowski when The Dude is getting a drink at the bar in the bowling alley and the mysterious cowboy tells him "Sometimes you eat the bar, sometimes the bar eats you."? Of course you do! Todays ride was the latter, sort of.

I did a hard ride yesterday and wanted to do 30 miles today to start getting my body used to riding longer distances on consecutive days. I decided to ride out to Sauvie Island because I haven't done it in a while and I was thinking after yesterdays climbing something flat would be nice.

So I got up early and checked the weather, drank some coffee, got dressed, and hit the road just after sunrise. I'm going to get all my whining out of the way right now so it doesn't plague this post like body odor at a basement show:

I don't wear wool. But damnit if cotton socks don't fail me every week and my feet are numb with cold less than 10 miles into the ride. Am I going to have to rescue a sheep, buy a plot of land for it to live in peace on, and follow it around collecting the wool that falls off on it's own before I will have warm feet in the winter? Truth be told, I haven't really looked for good vegan socks. I'm sure I can find them, and I won't have to exploit a sheep by buying it a farm and collecting it's wool shedding to darn my own. I'm just tired of cold feet!

Which gets to the bigger issue. I am tired of being cold! It's February, it's fair game that it's cold, and thusly, that I am cold, but still. I am dreaming of warm rides. You will be mine, warm rides!

The Whinocerous would also like to say that todays ride was mostly unpleasant because it is hunting season and I did not know you could shoot animals on Sauvie Island. I was most of the way around the island when I heard guns and birds making bird noises as they took flight en masse. This made me so mad. I rode by a trailer on a pretty large plot of land that had a big pickup truck out front with some dudes getting suited up to go hunt. I looked at their property as I rode by it. No sign of a garden. No fruit trees. 

Keep in mind, Sauvie Island is mostly farms and they grow everything there.

This made me remember that line hunters tell about needing to hunt for food. I imagine many do eat what they kill, but if that was a legitimate reason for hunting, why aren't hunters master gardeners? If they were all about needing a cheap source of food, why not grow it?  You can surely grow more calories than you can kill. These knuckleheads I rode by clearly had enough land for a massive garden, but weren't growing shit. More fun to go out and ruin the silence on a Saturday morning by destroying beautiful birds?

Hearing gunshots made me grumpy.

So! That is the end of the whining. 

All of that made it hard to really get into riding today, but I had a thought afterwards. I figure everyday of the big ride in May probably won't be some glorious visionquest where the secrets of the universe are reveled to me and the bike pedals itself. There are going to be some hard days and this was a hard day. So today was good training for days when I can't quite get my head in the game but have to keep pedaling. 

I got some pretty pictures, too.

Friday Ride Report And Tips On Donating

Today I rode with my friend Glenn, we went up the west hills, which seems to be my new normal route. We did a different section than I've previously done, which is pretty easy as they flank the whole west side of the city. Somehow though, this section seemed to go a lot higher than the sections I've done before? Am I just a softy or does anybody have facts on this? South hills versus North hills? They look the same when you look at em from the east side of the river. I'm pretty sure I'm just a softy today.

It was fun having a partner, though I'm a lot slower going up than Glenn. If you bike, perhaps you have friends like this, they rarely have to get out of the saddle, don't seem to get winded, and seem to barely be pedaling while you're grinding it out huffing and puffing? It was great though, it made me work harder than if I'd been on my own. Were it just me, I would have been stopping every quarter mile for a mouth full of trail mix or another Nutter Butter.

I'll do this route again and take pictures, it was beautiful. Lots of views of Mt. Hood and Mt. Saint Helens, as well as downtown Portland, from way up high. With my commute, today will come in at about 33 to 35 miles of riding with hills, which is a good workout. I'm going to try and do 30 miles tomorrow, and 30 on Sunday to get some multi-day exhaustion going. 

Brendan Brazier told me in an interview once that it is good to train when you are tired if the activity you're training for is going to have you working hard while you're tired. It helps you get mentally prepared and helps you realize you can keep going even when you're beat. That is this weeks goal.

So, the donation page has been up for a day and a half and we're over a thousand bucks already! Thanks to all of you who have pitched in so far, I truly appreciate it. I've come up with some tips to help you decide when and how to donate. They follow.

Tips On When And How To Donate:

1. Do it drunk, if you are the drinking type. If you're like me, you'll be feeling extra generous!

2. If you don't drink, get drunk and do it cuz you won't know what the hell you're doing and will probably donate everything you've got. When you wake up with your first hangover wondering where your money went you'll realize asking for some of it back would just enhance your shame. Look at how much good you did the animals!

3. Do it on pay day. What good are you to me if you only have two dollars and thirty three cents to your name?

4. Do it after you watch Babe: Pig In The City.

5. Do it when your roommate who you know has a trust fund goes out clubbing but leaves his or her credit card at home. You know they want to help animals and again, way too shameful to ask for it back.

That's all I can think of right now, but I'm sure I'll have other brilliant and somewhat legal tips for you as time goes on.

I think I'm going to ride out to Sauvie Island tomorrow, I'll take pictures for you. There's a nude beach, but I think it's still too cold for all but the most ambitious dirty old men, so I probably won't get any shots there. Sorry.

Donation page is up!

Hey everybody,

The donation page for my ride to Farm Sanctuary is up and ready for you. I know times are tough so whatever you can do is greatly appreciated. I will post later about the hardships our economic situation is having on animal rescue efforts, but for now, as you think about what you're able to give, look at Whitaker. He was rescued by the brave folks at Farm Sanctuary. Think about how happy it will make you knowing you bought him lunch a few times.

Yes, I just played the emotion card. It is the first of many times I will do that.

Friday Ride Report With Pictures

(click on the images to see the whole thing)

Today was awesome. You can see the route in the post below, but I rode out to St. John's, crossed the bridge, and went up Germantown Road again, which is steep and does not like you. It's pretty, but still, it wants you dead. There were cars to deal with today, but it's such a curvy road they are going pretty slow as it is and tended to give me pretty wide clearance when they passed me.

Of course, a sea turtle could have passed me on Germantown cuz it's steep and I'm a sloooooow climber. Dumb show off sea turtles, who needs em?

A couple miles of climbing, then the ancient closed down burger joint at Skyline Drive. I went right and followed Skyline to McAnamee and started to descend. There were no cars, which was nice. McAnamee is far more stretched out than Germantown so you descend for a lot longer. This was an out and back route so it did occur to me as I was flying down the hill wooping it up and smiling that I'd pay for all this fun when I had to come back up, but whatyagonnado?

At the bottom is Hwy 30, so I turned around and headed back up. Right at the foot of the hill it's so steep I almost had to walk. The road had patches of loose gravel and I'd hit one and my back wheel would spin out because I was pushing so hard and had most of my weight over the bars. I managed to get past that patch without walking but did start up a mantra on my breathes which was "ohmygod" SUCK AIR "ohmygod" SUCKAIR "whatthefuck?" SUCKAIR "ohmygod."

Maybe not what the wise man or woman who invented mantras intended, but I got up that hill didn't I? IN YOUR FACE WISE MAN OR WOMAN!

I climbed my way back to Skyline and the rest of the ride was Easy Jefferson. I think the total climb up the hills was between 2000 and 2400 feet. I think that's about the max climbing I'd be doing on sustained hills on the real ride on any given day. Of course my ride today was 30 miles and on the real ride they'll be 60 to 80, but this is why we practice!

February 20 Route: Skyline Boulevard

Tomorrow's route is a 30 miler, shorter than my current weekly long rides, but there is at least 2000 feet of climbing to do. I like climbing better than I like descending lately because I get warm grinding it out up hills but freeze flying down the other side. I'll take photos and video to post. Wish me luck!



View Larger Map

Photos from Valentines Day Ride

I got a few good ones while I shivered and pedaled. 

Ride: 57 Miles of Country and Cold Feet

Valentines Day Ride
57 miles, Tualatin countryside

The previous Saturday long ride was supposed to be 38 miles but of course I got lost and it turned out to be 45. This ride was in the book as 42, but of course I got lost and it turned into 57.

Something I have learned: If I ride my bike more than 5 miles, chances are good I will get lost. This doesn't pose a problem when I'm riding around Portland because you always sort of know where you are so you don't THINK you are lost. But once I get onto unfamiliar territory, slap a radio tracking collar on me and send the helicopter out because who knows where I will end up.

This prediliction to disorientation I will have to remedy before I leave for Orland. I'll have the ocean to my right (I think) to at least up my odds of staying on course. I'll know, for example, if I find myself waist deep in the Pacific, I have taken a wrong turn.

So this leaves only 2 possible wrong directions, North, and East. A complete moron can keep that straight right? RIGHT?

Anyhoo, this route was beautiful, once you get out of the suburbs. The roads out of town were fine, nice bike lane the whole way, but boring. Once into the country the bike lane and shoulder disappear but so did almost all the cars, so it was ok. I hit the road early, I was pedalling by 7:45 so that helped as well.

After the ride I felt ok, which was a good sign. I sometimes find over exertion to result in a feeling not unlike the beginnings of the flu where everything kinda aches and I feel run down. I felt tired after this ride but not achey and achey in a bad way. I've got 3 months left to train and having knocked out almost 60 miles without dying is a good sign. The real ride will have a few 80 mile days, a couple 50s, and a couple 70s so I'm feeling confident.

After the ride I went into the grocery near the start of the ride to refuel. I walked around and couldn't find anything good. I didn't think I was THAT far outside of Portland that I couldn't find a roll up/wrap something vegan, but I guess I was. I was hungry in that way that you kinda feel crazy so I grabbed Kettle Chips (black pepper and salt version) and Cracker Jacks. On the ride home I ate out of both bags at the same time. And while you may be recoiling at the thought, the fat and salt and sugar totally hit the spot!

Six Hundred Mile Bike Ride For Animals

I'm going to ride my bike 600 miles to raise money for and awareness of farm animals. I am undertaking this ride to mark my 10 year vegan anniversary and to benefit Farm Sanctuary, a group who was a big inspiration and influence on my decision to go vegan.

When I went vegan I didn't know how I was going to do it, or what I was going to eat but my heart was speaking so loudly to me I had to listen, no matter the inconvenience, doubt, and social awkwardness I might have to go through. What I was asking of myself was the least I felt I could do for the animals.

That decision changed my life in ways I never would have imagined. That decision put me on a path away from cynical apathy to doing my part to make the world a better place. It led me away from not caring about anything outside of my own comfort to caring deeply for the well being of animals and humans alike. It led me away from the pessimistic idea that I couldn't make a difference to dedicating my life to trying.

Over the years I've met the most dedicated and caring people I'll ever know, all because of veganism and animal rights. My partner and I are raising a beautiful vegan kid who loves animals and the farm. She loves coming to "take care of the animals." She also loves to ride bikes, as it turns out. The work I do with Herbivore and the Let Live Foundation never would have happened had I not made this choice. And this choice might not have stuck had it not been for Farm Sanctuary.

All those years ago Farm Sanctuary was a big inspiration and help on my new path of living cruelty-free. Now, as I mark my 10th year, I want to give back to the farm and the animals by marking this personal accomplishment and by raising money and awareness for the farm.

I'm going to leave Portland the first week of May and spend the next still to be determined number of days riding South to the farm. My plan is to average around 80 miles a day on the road. I intend to arrive on May 15 and will Emcee the Annual Hoe Down over that weekend.

I've been to both Farm Sanctuary farms, in Watkins Glen, New York, and Orland, California and have met the most amazing people and animals at both. These are animals who were doomed to live and die horribly were it not for a small group of people who care enough to take them in, nurse them back to health, and provide them with a wonderful place to live out their days. I've met weeks old piglets rescued from floods, animals dumped on the side of the road, and animals abandoned by farmers who found it more cost effective to let the animals starve to death than to find them a new home or euthanize them when the farm went bankrupt. Farm Sanctuary helps every animal it can and gives many of these animals the only affection and care they have ever received. It is a very special place for the animals and humans who visit. Meeting these animals and people has touched me every time.

So I will not be shy asking you to support them by sponsoring me on this ride. Details on how to donate coming soon!

-Josh Hooten