| Oregon Coast Cycling Festival Festival Flyer August 12, 2004 I had a week off from my “day job” a couple weeks back, so of course I was on my bike quite a bit. I rode all three routes, even doing the Metric Century twice – though not on the same day. I came to the conclusion that the Metric Century and Quarter Century routes both need one more rest stop. There’s a stretch of road about five miles from the finish that is open to the afternoon breeze and has the perfect location along the Rogue River for a place to take a break. So I contacted a friend of mine and she’s agreed to get a group together to hang out and offer some support to the cyclists. It’ll be a comparatively sparse rest stop – no bathroom facilities – but there’ll still be cold drinks, healthy snacks, and smiling faces. Speaking of rest stops, we’ve got confirmation on the location for the southernmost rest stop for the Imperial Century riders. South Coast Lumber has graciously agreed to let us use their nice big shaded paved parking lot at the base of Carpenterville Road. This is a great place to catch your breath before the climb up and over the Carpenterville Summit. We’ve also been confirmed into the Pistol River Friendship Hall for the final rest stop for the Imperial Century Riders. And speaking with our local Clif Bar representative, we’ll have a few Clif Shots there for that last push over Cape Sebastian. I know when I do that route, it really, really helps. http://www.clifbar.com Results of the Cog Set’s latest photo shoot are posted on the website. http://www.oregoncoastcyclingfestival.com/Photos4.htm Turnout was small, but we did get some good shots along the Rogue River and had fun doing it. We were interviewed for a promo for the local TV station. We did this on the final day of the Tour de France, and a guy who was fishing in the pond we rode past a few times while the cameras were running kept shouting, “This ain’t France and that’s not Lance!” Registration and packet pick-up for Friday night, September 10th, will be at the Rod ‘n Reel restaurant located across the Patterson Bridge from Gold Beach. You can’t miss it; right across the road from Jot’s Resort, about two hundred yards east of Highway 101 on the north side of the bridge. http://www.jotsresort.com/ The Cog Set will be there from 3:00 or so until about 8:00, handing out riders’ packets, selling tee-shirts, answering questions, and having fun. Owner Dean McKinney (who is going to be doing one of the rides – he isn’t sure which one yet) is even going to bring in a band for the evening! The food’s great there, maybe we can talk Dean into having some sort of pasta-carbo-load special on the menu that night. Whatayathink Dean? This year’s tee-shirt design has been finalized and will be posted on the site when we get one back from the screen printer and find a model or two to show it off. It’s going to come out really nice. We received an excellent quote from Gibson Graphics in Bandon, Oregon, which allowed us to have a full four- color photo on the back as well as using a high-quality long-sleeve shirt which we can offer at the same price that others sell a cheap short-sleeve shirt for…only $19.00! Chip’s tips… For many of you this will be your longest ride to date. For others, it might just be another Saturday in the saddle. Either way, here’re five simple suggestions to make your journey more enjoyable: 1. Drink every half hour and eat every hour. Just a sip of water and a small bite to eat will keep you fueled and hydrated. You can drink and eat more – which is a good idea – but this routine reminds you to eat and drink, otherwise you might start to fade away before the end of your ride. 2. Start out slow to finish strong. Ride in a lower gear and with lighter pressure on the pedals for the first half hour or so. You might not get as far as fast at first, but you’ll have energy at the end. 3. Don’t dawdle at the rest stops. Get a drink and a bite to eat, then get back on your bike and keep pedaling. Your legs, back and arms will start to stiffen up if you hang out too long. 4. Move your hands around on your handlebars and look up to check the scenery. Changing your position keeps your back, arms, neck and hands loose. Looking up and around also reminds you of what a beautiful pastime riding a bicycle is. 5. Coast. On longer rides I set a pedaling speed limit of 25 mph…when my speedometer hits my speed limit I stop pedaling. Going fast is fun, but the difference in speed gained isn’t worth the energy expended, so sit up and look around, maybe take a sip of water, catch your breath, and relax. As I mentioned above, I rode the Metric Century route twice recently, once heeding the above five bits of advice, the other riding fast and pushing hard. While my cycle-computer’s readout of my average mph was higher when I “pushed it,” I finished in about the same total time for both rides and felt much stronger and less tired when I followed my own guidelines. And the best part was that I really enjoyed the ride! The list of raffle prizes as well as the list of hotels, motels, and campgrounds offering discounts to riders is starting to be nailed down. We should have the info posted on the website within the next week or so. So far everybody we’ve contact has agreed to help out. The whole town of Gold Beach is really looking forward to having you come and visit. The next issue of the Festival Flyer will be in your cyber-mailbox in about twelve days with news about… Details about the Spin-down Spaghetti-Feed (menu, band, schedule, etc) List of attractions and activities for non-riders Hope to see you in September! Chip Weinert a.k.a. Main Sprocket |