121 miles (including a 100k populaire & some sausage)

Okay … blame it on David Sedaris.

I was an hour late to the start of the Verboort Sausage Populaire last Saturday, perhaps in part because I made a spontaneous visit to the Schnitzer Concert Hall the night before. During my Friday morning commute, I noticed on the Schnitz’s marquee that Sedaris was to perform that night. So even though the show was sold out, I stopped by on my way home from work and scored a scalped ticket at face value. (BTW, I’ve enjoyed his books, listening to him on radio, and his CD’s. But I think he’s funnier in person!)

Attending Sedaris’s performance on Halloween night created a cascading lateness effect on everything else I needed to do before Saturday’s 100 km ride. Bike prep. Dinner. Sleep. Yadadada.

On top of that, I had decided to ride my bike out to Forest Grove, so to keep my longer distance endurance more-or-less in tact. While it may have been prudent to take the Max from Goose Hollow to Hillsboro when I didn’t leave home till 7:40 AM, I took advantage of the full hour that the start of a randonneuring event is usually open. Even then, I ended up putting my bike on a bus between Cornelius and the Grand Lodge to ensure getting there by 10:00.

And boy was I happy to see Kathy there, along with Joel, a rider who I hadn’t met before who was equally late getting started. It was coincidental that Joel and I were both wearing STP windbreakers.

I enjoyed Joel’s company for the first 20 miles or so. He’s a nice younger guy who rides a carbon Raleigh and who's lived some interesting (to me) cities (like Milwaukee, WI). He pulled away in North Plains when I stopped to buy two AA batteries, cuz my freshly charged rechargables apparently didn't hold a charge any more.

Greg and Marcello ...
Originally uploaded by tangobiker

Hence, my first picture of the populaire is of Marcello and Greg at the Snooseville control/turnaround. Greg had his own adventures on the way to Snooseville that involved going back to Forest Grove to get a new tire.

‘Twas funny to me to have forgotten about the yellow pom poms at Cedar Canyon and Jack Road. I didn’t pre-read the info control questions, so the surprise happened upon arrival at the intersection. There they were, sadly weather and water beaten, but still hangin’.

weary pom poms
Originally uploaded by tangobiker

The pom poms were my contribution in hosting the Snooseville populaire 7 ½ months earlier. I remember driving out there well after dark last March and attaching those things by headlight. They were souveniers from a U of O football game at Autzen Stadium in Eugene over a year ago (the only football game I’ve been to since college).

On Kansas City Road I caught up with Beth, who I was happy to see pedaling strong with only 20-30 minutes to go. I was also happy to have a chance to talk to her … about bikes (xtracycles in particular) … and her blog (which I enjoy reading).

There was a nice little congregation at the finish that included Marcello, Kathy, Susan, David, and Kevin. After partaking of a sausage dinner

making it official
Originally uploaded by tangobiker

(with a nice lemon cream pie!), I headed back home, through Cornelius, Hillsboro, Beaverton, and over the Sylvan Hill (where it got dark), to SE Portland. Total miles: 121. (195 km)

A few more of my photos of the populaire are here.
Cecil's pictures.
Beth's blog report.