June 23, 2023
Rocky Point
The appointment with my cardiologist is tomorrow morning, so today is my last chance to fit in a hilly ride to see how I do so I can report on that tomorrow. After considering some alternatives I decide to take a shot at the climb up to Skyline Boulevard. Assuming I make it to the top, I’ll bike north along Skyline and drop down to the river on any of the four options (Newberry, McManamee, Logie Trail, Rocky Point) and then bike home beside the river on highway 30.
Rachael isn’t tempted by this challenge, and instead is taking a loop I put together for her over to Mount Tabor and then down to Oregon City. Her breathing issues are still bringing her grief, and the climb up Mount Tabor will be challenge enough for her. She has an appointment at an urgent care clinic tomorrow that will hopefully bring her some relief.
I cross the freeway on the new Flanders Street pedestrian overpass that opened last summer, another development that makes us feel better about the city. After that I head north on 18th, overshoot the turnoff on Johnson because I’m not paying attention, and as a result find myself climbing up the 14% rise at the end of Raleigh to get to Cornell and the start of the ride up toward Skyline. It’s quieter going up Raleigh, but enough steeper at the end that I haven’t often chosen it.
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It’s been a year and a half since the last time I climbed up Cornell, on a metric century in December to celebrate my 75th birthday. It’s the most peaceful and enjoyable ride up the ridge I’ve ever experienced, because the road was closed to cars that winter for a maintenance project to upgrade the two Balch Creek tunnels. This didn’t stop the bikers though, who could use the side trails that skirt them - which everyone always does on the way uphill anyway because the tunnels aren’t safe on a bike unless you’re going the other direction, racing downhill in a gap between the cars.
Today I get my first look at the project results and like what I see. The tunnels are well-illuminated now and look like they’ll be much safer to descend through. It was always a little tense before, with the roadway dim and rough surfaced and in need of maintenance.
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It’s not a bad climb really up to Skyline, first along Cornell and then on much quieter Thompson: a little over a thousand feet in not quite four miles, with the worst grade maybe 9%. In the past I used to push myself on this climb, trying to maintain a 10 mph average from our home down in the flats to the junction at Skyline. At the top I’d pull over to the side to catch my breath, and if Rachael was along I’d wait for her here as she raced up herself, usually not far behind me.
Those days are gone, I’m afraid. Instead I maintain a steady, prudent pace this morning that I hope won’t trigger an episode, and am fully pleased with myself when I stop at the top and look back.
It’s been long enough since I’ve ridden out Skyline that I’ve almost forgotten some of the details - the order and names of the turnoffs, how steep some of the ascents and descents are, and even how glorious it feels to roll along the top for the next 17 miles, all the way to the final drop off at Rocky Point. Truly, I love this ride and feel grateful at the chance to experience it again.
I hadn’t settled into how far north I’d ride today, or if I’d even make it up to Skyline in the first place. I’m feeling fine though, and conditions have never been better - the weather is excellent, the traffic is surprisingly light, and I end up riding it all the way to Rocky Point, a spot I haven’t been in two years.
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The drop to the river is a rush, descending 1,300 feet in three miles at a steady 8-9% pitch. It’s narrow and twisty all the way, and my hands are getting tired from clutching the brakes by the time I bottom out - it makes me regret that I didn’t splurge and get the disc brakes when I bought the Rodriguez but as it was I felt a little guilty about the price tag at the time.
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It’s really warming up when I reach the highway and start biking south toward the city - it must be in the mid-eighties today. It’s a rush though, as I race back toward town helped along and cooled by a brisk, refreshing tailwind. After about four miles of this though I sense something’s not quite right as I cross Cornelius Pass. I pull off in the shade, check my heart rate, and confirm that it’s racing. It’s a pretty mild episode though, and after I lie in the shade for five or ten minutes it subsides and gradually stabilizes.
I’m still twelve miles from home, but I feel nearly normal and have no difficulty finishing off the ride although I do take it down a notch. Really, I’m more aware of and concerned about a rubbing sound coming from my back wheel, like the brakes are rubbing. It’s not slowing me down though and I decide that in this heat I’ll just ride with it and look at it later when I’m back in our cool apartment.
An hour later I’m back home and Rachael and I are post-morteming our respective rides when the arrhythmia starts again. This time though, it doesn’t quit. Two hours later it’s still racing and Rachael and I are discussing whether we should be thinking about a trip to the ER when it suddenly and mercifully stops.
So, a successful experiment, and I’ve got an important datapoint to share with Dr. Lin in the morning. It does leave me wondering if I’ve just experienced my last ride out to Rocky Point though. I sure hope not, but if so I’m glad it was such a fine one.
Today's ride: 42 miles (68 km)
Total: 201 miles (323 km)
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