By Greg Ostrin

With a nagging knee injury preventing me from running the last few months, I’ve turned my focus back to cycling and more recently mountain biking. This weekend in Monterey was one of the nations largest gatherings of cyclists from around the globe at the Sea Otter Classic. “Sea Otter” started in 1991 as a mountain bike race that would take advantage of the trails that surrounded the Laguna Seca race trek a few miles outside of town. Today, Sea Otter has something for everyone, from road racing, to downhill mountain biking to stunt riding.

I participated in my first Cross Country (XC) mountain bike race this weekend at Sea Otter representing the cycling club for the Naval Post Graduate School. It was a ~20 mile course with 2500’ of climbing. The race started on the Laguna Seca race track, and after about 1 mile, turned off road and into the hills of the neighboring Fort Ord.

Being in my back yard I had plenty of opportunities to train on the course and develop a game plan that would work to my strengths as a road cyclist, and my newly developed bike handling on the technical descents.

The gun went off and I immediately moved to the front of the 40+ field of riders, finally settling in around 5th position. Not wanting to put my nose into the wind too early, I was content to let the others take the lead until we got closer to the single track. We hit a small rise on the track, and I decided to put in a small attack to shed some riders and see who would react, definitely the road racer in me coming out. Top of the hill the group was strung out and I settled back into a moderate tempo letting some others come around me again. I quickly moved back into 4th position and waited for the next hill before we hit the dirt.

At the bottom of the next hill I put in another dig, this time opening a significant gap to the other riders, and continued to drive the pace onto the dirt and into the first single track trail 3 miles later. Just before we hit the trailhead for the first descent around 4 miles into the race, a wild man that was riding like his hair was on fire passed me, taking corners faster than I even thought possible. Having only been riding a mountain bike for 5-6 weeks, I was shocked at how fast he was riding the corners and still staying upright.

I kept as close as I could but he managed to get a good gap and I chased but decided to ride my own race assuming he’d either crash or go too hard and I’d catch him later in the race. Unfortunately I only spotted him one more time as he turned onto one of the climbs about 45 minutes into the race. I put in an extra hard effort to keep him in sight but lost him up the trail as he slipped into the tree line.

When it was all said and done, I managed to keep my lead over the rest of the field finishing in second place. Next up is to get my knee healed and find an Xterra/offroad triathlon!

By Greg Price
This past weekend I competed in the Florida Gator Olympic Triathlon at Lake Manatee in Bradenton, Fl. It was a fun race especially since I was the first one across the finish line. The swim was a bit short and it started raining on us about halfway through the swim but I was able to get a pretty good draft and came out of the water only 30sec behind the leader. Coming out of T1 I was in 3rd place and it was starting to rain pretty hard. By mile 2 I had moved up to 2nd place and shortly thereafter reeled in the leader. It was a hard ride in the rain but the course was pretty flat and the winds were relatively light so I felt pretty good despite the fact that I was riding a Tri bike that I had only gotten a few weeks prior and only had 3-4 rides on. I pulled into T2 with a slight lead on Dash 2 and had a quick transition and was out on the run in no time. By now the rain had subsided and it was turning into a pretty nice day. At mile 1 on the run I had a minute plus lead and felt pretty good, however by mile 3 I started to feel a bit fatigued and a little dehydrated but my lead was 2+ minutes on the next competitor. I crossed the line with a time of 1:58:38 which is a decent Oly time but once again it was a short swim which in reality probably shaved about 4 minutes (I’m not a 16 min 1500m swimmer). I wasn’t very happy with my run as I finished the 10K at 38:00 which is at least 2 minutes slower than what I’m used to doing in an Olympic. Hopefully it’s just early season sluggishness and not a bigger issue although my mile splits in training this year have been disappointing so I am a bit concerned about my run. Overall, the family and I had a great time on our “Road Trip” and the kids were bummed when we returned home Monday morning. Next “Road Trip”is planned for May (not sure what race yet).

By: Greg Price

I both love the beginning of the season and hate it. I love it because it’s an opportunity to shake the “off-season blues” and get moving towards achieving the year’s goals. I hate it because I’m slow, overweight, and a year older and I keep wondering if last year is the year I peaked. I love it because it’s time to load up again on all the new gear. I hate it because I can’t afford all the new gear that I want and race entry fees aren’t getting any cheaper. I love it because quick gains can be made on the bike and swim. I hate it because it takes longer than I’d like to shed the excess weight and get the run times down to where they need to be. I love it because I’m healthier and spend less time drinking beer. I hate it because it’s time to start worrying how I’ll get my two workouts in each day.
The good news is that the early season goes by so quickly that before you know it several races are under the belt and all is good because you’re constantly reminded that triathlon is such a great sport and triathletes are great people to hang out with. All in all, it’s pretty hard to get bored with triathlon because there are so many areas in which you can improve all of which will make you faster. Also, there’s tons of cool new race venues popping up all over the world.
Don’t forget though, in the end, triathlon should not be on the top of your priority list no matter how good or competitive you are. Keep the family happy first, and foremost, and you’ll have many years of happiness as a triathlete.

Name: Greg Price

Age: 43

Where do you currently reside? Boca Raton, Fl

Road Bike: Cervelo S3 w/Di2
TT/Tri Bike:Trek Speed Concept 9.9 w/Di2

Favorite running shoe: Asics Gel-Hyperspeed

Wetsuit: Xterra

Triathlon Strength: Run

Triathlon Weakness (if such a thing exists): Swim

What is your favorite race you have ever done and why? Military World Games in Rio De Janeiro, July, 2012. Race was held in Copacabana with big crowds and Olympic-like athletes and atmosphere.

If you could meet any person past or present, who would it be and why? Ronald Reagan- He was a true American hero who wasn’t afraid to make the tough decisions

Why/how did you start racing triathlons? What keeps you motivated? Cousins owned a tri shop and talked me into trying it. The desire to get faster motivates me.

Any comments: Can’t wait until my kids are old enough to train and race with me.

By: Ashley Keegan

First let me start out with a few thoughts:  The week before big races are always tough for triathletes.  Ironically you usually have a little more motivation during each workout, but the workouts are usually shorter, easier, and meant more as a recovery than anything else. They don’t provide us with that satisfaction we get knowing we have left everything out on the track, road, or in the swim lane.  With each day bringing you closer to the big event, you start to feel more and more like a caged animal.  We can only trust that the recovery, and emotions that go with it will leave us feeling 200% when we take that starting line!

On to some more of the usual  a…getting ready to travel to triathlons is never a fun process.  I started thinking about what I was going to pack and realized I no longer had a bike box to bring my bike in.  I frantically searched craigslist and was able to find a glorified cardboard box that is supposedly a travel case.  Did I mention I had to drive three hours in Portland traffic to get it?  Oh well, this $65 beauty should get the job done.

I was very content with myself and my savvy craigslist hunting skills when I received notice that my good friend, who is kind enough to be housing me while I am in Texas , was admitted to the hospital.  Luckily it is nothing serious, but she will be in until at least tomorrow (a day after I was supposed to arrive).  I decided to move my flight and will now be arriving Friday.  Hiccup number two overcome and hopefully smooth sailing from here on out!

When I pack, I always make sure to start with the essentials.  No, this is not toothbrushes, underwear, or deodorant, but rather cycling shoes, racing flats, and my awesome Loaded Energy tri suit and Hyperkewl cooling gear. Let me clarify (for anyone worried)  by saying that I do use the items mentioned at the beginning of the above sentence, but when traveling to a race, my packing mindset is totally different!

It is always hard to predict how races are going to go with so many different variables affecting the outcome so the best anyone can do is concentrate on how they feel and trust in their training!  I have had some great workouts and some even better recovery (thanks to my Hyperkewl products and husband who is always willing to run with or relax and watch a movie with me).

I will leave you with this thought for those of you who get really nervous (like I do).  When nerves start to build, and threaten to consume us, it is important to take a step back and remember why we do the sport.  I won’t say that it is just for fun because that would be a lie.  While a big part of it is for fun, another part is the excitement and contentment we get from pushing our bodies to the limits. We also have to remember how lucky we are just to get to compete!  Without the help of our wonderful sponsors and my loved ones, I wouldn’t get to be experiencing any of this!  So no matter what happens on Sunday, as long as I walk away knowing I left every drop of that 200% out on the course I will be happy!  Thanks for reading what has turned out to be one of the most random pieces I have ever written

Making sure I have the essentials!! My awesome box in the background! Yes, those are dog bowls for my three amazing pups who were keeping me company!

By: Dennis Hahn

This race was quite unique, and a last minute addition to the racing season. A point to point triathlon? Up Mt. Hood, an 11,000-feet-plus mountain about fifty miles east of Portland, Oregon, at the end of September? Sure, the weather can be unpredictable, but the run was barely a 5k, and the cycling leg was only 8.2 miles. Piece of cake, right? Why not sign up? Before you pass judgement, read on, then decide.

The weekend started with a cyclecross warmup race the day prior — what better way to get your legs warmed up than a 60 minute all-out cross race on a BMX-style course in 98 degree high desert sun? The race was in Bend, Oregon, where I camped with my girlfriend and her dad. The weather was amazing and the race was good practice for the triathlon the next day, which included a one-mile section of dirt road that the race director described as “hard packed surface.”

After the cross race, we headed up to Mt. Hood, and by the time we had dinner that night, the sunny skies had turned to rain, with plenty more in the forecast. Sure enough, the next morning, we had a steady sprinkle. The car temperature read 60 degrees at the race start, which was 4,800 feet below the eventual finish line.

To get to a full 12 mile distance, the race director designed a 1.2 mile swim in a high alpine lake. It was beautiful and one of my favorite swims of all time. I must admit though, that I started the race with a little negative energy given I thought the distance favored someone who excelled in the water. A 1.2 mile swim but then only a 2.3 mile run? Yeah, that’s not fair. That, combined with the sub-60-degree water temperature, motivated me to jump out of the water and get on the bike. I stripped off my wetsuit and threw on a beanie for 2200 feet of climbing on the bike. Might be a touch cooler at the top.

My cyclecross skills paid off. The mile-long section of gravel was a little loose; I hammered through it before getting to the steep mountain climb. Another perfect choice of the route as the switchbacks wound up through the ski resort runs and under the empty chair lifts. Arriving at the top, outside of historic Timberline Lodge, I was pleasantly surprised to see I was the first to arrive at T2. How could this be? Oh wait: maybe everyone was spending that extra time in the lower T1 removing their wet clothes for a reason. Still in my damp skinsuit and jacket, I looked up toward the top of the mountain only to see that about 200 feet up, everything disappeared into the clouds. I questioned whether I needed to take my staged fleece given I was quite warm at the moment, but based on some vague past memories of shivering on mountaintops, I grabbed the fleece, threw on my running shoes, and set off the “trail.”

Did I mention that during the pre-race brief, we were given the option of taking any line up the mountain as long as we ended up at the top of the Timberline Lodge chairlift? “When you reach the last man-made structure, you are at the finish line,” the race director told us. I opted out of the snow pack to the right and the windy dirt road to the left and instead chose the loose boulders and rocks as the most direct and quickest way. About 15 minutes up, I disappeared into the clouds with 2700 feet of climbing ahead of me and the temperature quickly dropping. I was happy with my decision to grab the fleece but wished long pants had been also chosen. One out of two wasn’t bad.  I used the chairlift poles as my guide. About 45 minutes in, my pace no faster than a snail’s, I’d covered  about 1.5 miles, and who knows how many chair lift poles to go? I started to wonder if everyone else just turned around, and that was why I wasn’t seeing anyone else on the mountain. Or maybe I didn’t see anyone else because the horizontal freezing rain had turned to horizontal freezing snow, and the clouds and fog were so thick, I couldn’t see the chairlift cables to guide me to the next pole. I chose the latter and kept climbing. After 2 hours and 28 minutes and 57 seconds, I pushed stop on the iPhone, teeth chattering, legs red and numb.

Not long afterward, I was cheered to see the second finisher arrive at the top. I started to head down and ran into my girlfriend. My legs were no warmer than before, but she was so close to the end, I turned back around and finished with her. Chivalrous moment now complete, we held hands and flew down on the snow, sliding a few inches with each step.

This was the first year of this race, and I can say it was one of the most memorable and well organized triathlons. Jensen Huffman and a small but friendly and dedicated crew put a lot of effort into coordinating and preparing this event. I also want to thank Loaded Energy Drink for all their support and giving individuals like me the chance to compete. Thank you. I look forward to sharing the next adventure and seeing you out on the course.

By: Greg Ostrin

Well 2011 race season has almost come to a close.  Last week I was lucky enough to race in my new home town of Pacific Grove, California.   It was a nice leisurely morning.  I was able to sleep until about 5:45, got up, had some coffee, read the news….now this is my kind of race day!

I had my things packed the night before so I was in no rush to get there too early.  I had an 8am start time, but wanted to be there and warmed up when the first wave went off at 7:30.  Around 6:40 I hopped on my bike and rode the 1.5 miles to the start.  Tri-California does an incredible job at their races.  This is the second race I have done of theirs and I am truly
impressed.  Very professional, very organized and tons of volunteers.

Once I got my transition area all set up, sprayed Kool N Fit on my leg and arms then I looked around for a friend of mine that was taking pictures for me.  I couldn’t find her so I went on with my warm up.  After my warm up I put on my wetsuit ready to watch the start of the 7:30 wave.  It was important for me to watch this wave go off.  All of the kelp really plays havoc and sometimes lanes will open up in the water that you can slip through rather than fighting over the top of the kelp.  As I expected, the swim was chaotic but I did see that if you didn’t get to the front in the first 50m, you could get caught behind other swimmers because there was a bottleneck between the kelp and some rocks.  After that wave did their first of two 750m loops I hopped in the 58 deg water for a warm up.   The arms felt good, I felt strong and the water wasn’t too bad.

At the start of the race I took off with the point to be the first one in the water.  I hit a hard pace for the first 100m, then once I realized we were past the bottleneck I looked up for some feet to get on.  Just as I did I hit my first kelp bed and had to claw my way through it.  We made it to the first turn buoy and that is when the group came back together.  I was in a small group of 4-5 swimmers and we stayed together for the next couple hundred meters.  On the way back to the beach I was really feeling good so I accelerated and got ahead of most of them.  Lap 2 was fairly non-confrontational….more kelp but less swimmers to contend with. I was pretty much by myself that lap until the 2^nd turn buoy when 2 swimmers from the wave after mine caught me.  I jumped on their feet and tried to hold on for the last few hundred meters to the beach.  1500m later I hit the beach and knew I was in the top 5 for my wave.

Prior to the race I talked to my bike coach, Chris Daggs, abouta plan for this course.  It’s a four loop 10km course (40km total) that has a couple small rollers but is basically flat. The focus was to have a good run so he had me go easy the first lap, keeping in the lower end of my lactate threshold (LT), and then lap 2 and 3 ride at LT, and lap 4 was up to me. There were lots of variables to consider for that last lap, my overall time, were I was placed, the wind etc etc.  Lap 1 went off easy.  Kept the HR low and tried to focus on my cadence keeping it smooth and the steady. Lap 2 I had a great surprise as my wife and kids came out to cheer me on, thanks guys!  At the end of lap 3 I decided I was going to keep my conservative steady pace on the last lap and really go for it on the run.

Coming into the second transition (T2) I racked my bike slid on my shoes, grabbed a gel, my number and my watch on the way out.  I had a set plan for this run.  I was going to ease into my run with a 6:30/mile then on mile 2 if I felt good I was going to increase the pace to 6:10 or faster if I could hold it.  The first mile was pretty easy and I felt really good and the time was right on with a 6:32.  I increased my pace a bit to a 6:10 and was starting to feel good.   This was three loops of 2 miles each, with the first mile being slightly downhill and the return mile being slightly up hill.  On the uphill section I managed to turn a 6:11 mile and increased the pace to a 6:08 for mile 3.  Unfortunately mile 4 didn’t go so well, I really felt those last 2 miles and slowed a bit back to 6:30.  I took in some of my gel, and by mile 5 and 6 felt better and was able to go a little faster but couldn’t get back to my 6:10 pace.  Overall I averaged a 6:21/mile for the 10km course.  That was about 6 seconds slower per mile than I had hoped but overall I was very pleased.

At the end of the day I was 1^st in my age group and 10^th overall.  The best part was my son Tyler went back to the awards ceremony with me that afternoon and he came up on the podium with me…He loved that especially when they put the
medal around his neck!

Thanks again to my coaches, Becki and Chris for all their help in my training and to Loaded Energy and Kool N Fit for the continued support, and a special thanks to Catherine Hatfield for the awesome photos.

Next race is Santa Cruz Triathlon on Sept 25^th.  Stay safe and GET LOADED!!

By: Greg Ostrin
With my second biggest race of the year upon me (Triathlon at Pacific Grove) I’m at the end of my taper.  What’s that?  Well in laymens terms it’s 8 or 9 days of laziness.  At least that’s how it feels.  Really though it’s just a rest period to allow your body to over compensate for all the hard work you put in, and in theory will allow you to be rested, fresher and faster on race day.  The problem is you dont always feel that way during the taper.  The legs feel weird, almost stiff, and not a “I just did the hardest run of my life” stiff, but a lack of movement stiff.  So you go for a jog, or a spin on the bike and it gets the blood flowing and makes everything better.

Tapers can be a bit scary though.  As an athlete that is competitive you want to do well, and if you dont trust your training and your taper, often times you will over do it the week before and blow it on race day.

Luckily for me I have one more day to “Chillax” and then it’s game time.  Train safe and see you at the races!

Greg

By: Ashley Keegan
The weekend started like every other triathlon weekend: Packet pick-up. Pick up was at a bike shop in Portland so we (my talented husband and I) made the trip up from Salem (where we live) to get our packets and scope out the course. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of recycled material that was used by the race organizers. My favorite was the recycled swim caps. They look a little funny, but were really comfortable and are definitely keepers for training. Got to love Oregon and its recycling!
After an uneventful course scoping, we headed back to Salem for some dinner and then sleep. We awoke the next morning at 4:30 am to make it up to the race site in time. All went as planned and we were at the course site at 6am with plenty of time for setting up our gear and warming up. We got our warm up swim in with ten minutes to spare until the gun went off.
The swim was really cool. A nice out and back in the willamette River under some of the big bridges in Portland. I was pleasantly surprised by my swim as I ended up getting a time that is my fastest ever for a fresh water swim. Unfortunately, the rest of the race did not go as well.
The bike was a strange course with three loops that included three pesky turn arounds. It was definitely a rush though as the course took us uphill for approximately four miles, and then back down hill for the rest of the eight mile loops. The downhills were on the infamous Terwilliger curves in Portland, a name that sends chills down any Oregonian’s back due to the amount of deadly car accidents on that section of road. Flying down them at 40mph + when the posted speed for cars was only 25 was a bit terrifying, but oh so satisfying at the same time! It was a bit hard to tell where I was place wise during the bike because the sprint racers were out on the course at the same time. I was so excited when I thought I caught the woman in first place but later discovered that she was in the sprint .
The run was a two loop course that took triathletes over two bridges and on a very nice section of the riverfront walkway. It was a little rough though for the olympic distance athletes who had to pass the finish once to go out on another 5k loop before completing the race. I am not exaggerating when I say I felt the worst I ever have in a tirathlon during the run. Not sure what was going on but it was just not my day in the run.
I finished in a disappointing time and a disappointing third place overall. After months of tedious bar exam studying, I was hoping for this race to be a glorious celebration of freedom from the thirty pounds of law books I was able to get rid of a few works before. Although not as glorious (or victorious) as I had hoped, it was still an awesome experience as most triathlons are and an overall awesome day! As the saying goes, the worst day of triathlon is better than the best day of law school! (Okay, I made that up but borrowed parts of it from the real saying).
Many thanks to our awesome sponsors who make this all possible! It is truly an honor just to race and be part of an awesome team made up of amazing Marines!

By: Dennis Hahn

How do you squeeze in workouts during your busy week? I’ve found the best way to keep up on the training is to turn your workouts into an adventure or is it turn all your adventures into workouts? You decide. Here are my past few weeks of training:

During our two weeks of annual reserve training, we were in Hawthorne, Nevada, for exercise Javelin Thrust. There isn’t much out there except the summer heat, and beautiful trails. Over the week I found time to click off a few slow, long runs. One run included a secretly staged a full water bottle in a landing zone at 10,000 feet. On our last night, after everything was packed up around 5pm, I left the compound and hitched a ride out of town to the bottom of Lucky Boy Pass. Up the 8 mile dirt road, then right off on 5 miles of trails up to the summit to snag the water bottle, right where we landed three days prior. A quick swig, down the back side, back in tent city by 10pm for the early morning launch back to McGwire AFB, New Jersey.

After sleeping in a tent with a sand floor for a week, I was ready to get out of there. We took four days to fly the aircraft back to New Jersey. Our first night in Phoenix was good. Went from sleeping on a hard, fold-out cot — basically a metal, rectangle frame with the aesthetics of a hammock but the built-in comfort of sleeping on a 2×4. My feet hung over the end and continuously banged the metal rails, leaving me tossing and turning through the night. So transitioning to the Marriott Resort luxury room, with double doors opening up into a bedroom from the living room and a king-sized bed all to myself, was quite the upgrade. The Super 8 would have felt like luxury. How quickly I was spoiled back into a comfy bed. The owner of the fueling company took 35 Marines out to a multi-course meal. The next three days were a blur. Flew all day, out to dinner then crash back at the hotel. Arrived on the east coast Tuesday, one day late for weather, where I met a friend from DC who was looking for a road trip partner.

Jumped in with him and his dog Lucy, and we were off en route to Boise, Idaho, to meet up with his wife Becca and prepare for the arrival of a baby girl. After taking Samir and Lucy on a tour of the CH-53E we had just flown back, we headed west. We raced to Michigan where we spent the night with my parents, and enjoyed breakfast/lunch of my favorite meal: noodles, mashed potatoes and corn. Lucy and my parents’ dog Westin enjoyed a dip in the lake. Then we headed to Chicago in a rush to miss rush-hour traffic, timed to precision — maybe all these years of road-tripping I have learned a few things or two? or just luck. A quick workout swim in Lake Michigan accompanied by Lucy. Dinner with Samir’s mom, then we departed after dinner pulling a late night drive all the way to the Mississippi. We found the best rest area campsite to date. Usually I have to sleep with the overhead street lights, but this had a separate parking area close to the river, with a grassy area that easily hid us from the night patrol. We arose and departed for a bagel and coffee stop in a small town just far enough off the beaten path. A 85 year old man on the front porch polished his pee-wee herman lookalike bike: red with lots of chrome.

A quick drive by of Mt Rushmore and a stop in Yellowstone. Then time for a solid trail run to get the heart pumping. Found a perfect 4.5 mile out-and-back trail across the grasslands of the park. Incredible. Could spend a summer in the park exploring all the trails, but we only had two hours. Got to the 4.2 mile mark and a massive bison blocks the trail. We tried to have a talk with him but he refused to exit the trail so we could pass. Satisfied with the beauty of the moment we hightailed it back to the car. Samir on his mountain bike, Lucy in pursuit, and me cruising up the rear. Lucy would stop every hundred yards, turn around and make sure I was still on trail, and as soon as I came over the hill or around a corner she would dart ahead. This was an amazing comfort to know that she would not leave me out on the trail alone.

Then I met Rachel, my love, in a penthouse suite on the 10th floor of downtown Boise hotel. After a night of rest, we prepared for the next leg of our journey: Boise to Portland, Oregon. We spread our bike stuff throughout the hotel room. She brought her bike and the BOB trailer on the plane, while mine strategically mailed a week earlier. We put our bikes together and headed out only to realize a bike store pit stop was in order. I had recently replaced my chain only to discover that a new cassette was also in need.

This little stop ended up costing a $150 but was well worth the temper tantrum and frustration that would have ensued if my chain had continued to skip during the Oregon crossing. Fully equipped, we hopped on the bike path in downtown Boise, which was packed with walkers and sight-seers; their casual pace was only mildly frustrating. A quick swing off the path to say goodbye to Samir and Becca, who nicely offered to ship back all the unneeded gear to lighten our load.

By now it is already 4pm. I’m not good at late starts and luckily Rachel forced a food stop; I would have just suffered through till at least 30 miles were covered. Then, finally we were off. Once out of town, we rode through backroads surrounded by all kinds of crops: onions, corn, potatoes. Amazing how vivid the smell of the crops tasted in our mouths. We knew there was a town about 70 miles out that had a hotel, so we pressed on, stopping at gas stations for water refueling, then out in the open with just the sunset. We pulled into town just after dark, got a baked potato, salad and milkshake, and found the Bates Motel. A little sketchy place, but it had an intense shower, an even more intense window air conditioner pumping out cool air, and cable TV. Die Hard 2 was on and we fell quickly asleep after the food coma set in.

Next day was across the Oregon desert. Started cool but quickly heated up. We baked in the sun with the road going out as far as we could see across the rolling hills. Took turns pulling, with me falling back on the hills blaming it on a packed BOB trailer and the fact I haven’t been on my bike in over a month. Rachel was great on the bike, zooming up the hills and pulling me through the windy open roads. She consumed less water than I, which is pretty amazing with my years of camel-like training. A little over 100 miles later, a car pulls over to Rachel about 1/2 mile ahead on a steep climb. It’s our friend Kathy. She lives in Prairie City, our destination for the night. She met us with some cold water, which made reaching the summit possible. We descended into a beautiful open valley and quickly found a campsite and showers. Kathy and her husband came about 30 minutes later as we organized camp. They brought lawn furniture while Rachel and I opened up some MRE pasta  left over from annual training. It went great with the watermelon, salad and cake. I built a campfire for ambience and mosquito smoke repellent. Then we made a little fort to cover our heads, using the BOB trailer turned on its side and bikes to make some walls. We slipped under our fort to the flickering fire and again fell into our post-ride food comas.

The next morning we awoke, packed camp, and Kathy picked us up on her way to work. We had breakfast together in John Day. She was heading to Bend, Oregon, for a Costco run, so we hitched a ride 100 miles through some beautiful country. Would have enjoyed exploring the area by bike, but I was in a hurry to get to Portland; once I start heading for home I make it a challenge/mission to find the quickest way. We got back on our bikes about 150 miles from Portland. My mind set on arriving before dark. Not sure if Rachel had the same intention? It was already noon and the sun was baking hot. We put in 50 miles and after a huge climb out of Warm Springs in 100+ degree heat, we rested for 10 minutes at the plateau with our thumbs hitched out. A pickup pulled over and we rode with the driver for about 15 miles — a quick ride, but it would have depleted our water supply and taken close to an hour to cover on the bikes with the hot headwind. Back in the trees, we rode for about 10 miles before stopping again. This time, we hitched a ride in about one minute. A bright orange old GMC truck. Turns out the driver was also a Marine, and we were in Okinawa at the same time. Even better: he was going all the way to Portland and was able to drop us off near the airport where the Passat was staged.

We were back home as the sun was setting. We decided that from now on, when we are road tripping by car, we will take a cooler filled with water and some Loaded energy drinks, so when we see cyclists, we can stop and offer up beverages. Got, in my cross-country adventuring, some pretty good workouts while crossing 25 states: nearly 250 miles of cycling in three days, 95 miles of running and swimming in three different states.