One week from today I leave for the great Pacific Northwest to begin a two week bike ride.  I will be part of a Pacific Crest Trail ride organized by PacTour.  Some of you may recall that I went across the country with this group in 2001.  The ride begins in Everett, Washington on 8 July and finishes in Reno, Nevada on 21 July.  It is a vicious itinerary with the toughest day being from Cascade Locks, OR to Mt. Hood in 142 miles with 15,000 vertical feet of climbing.  Yikes!  I'M WAAAAAY TOO OLD FOR THAT SORT OF THING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  At the very least it promises to be cool, more or less. throughout.  Since, as I write this, it is 107F outside, cool is a very appealing notion.  Still noting that average high temps on Mt. Hood in July are in the mid-50s and lows in the mid-30s, I may come to regret my wish for cool.  Descending from Mt. Hood at 6:30AM in the mid-30s will certainly be a mixed pleasure; happy to be going down hill, but somewhat bemused at the prospect of freezing to death.  Alas, such are the complexities of long-distance bike trips.

Here is the bike I will be riding:

Since these trips are often over somewhat uncertain terrain, indestructible Ti  seemed a better option than my rather more fragile Colnago.  Besides, with those boxy soft rims and the cushy Ti ride, this might actually be more comfortable.  But, let's be realistic; going uphill most of the time will mean that I will not be comfortable no matter what bike I'm riding.  The only way I could be comfortable under those circumstances would be to be in a PacTour vehicle, which, given the difficulty of the trip and my general geriatric decrepitude, is certainly not impossible.  Yet, I will try to remain optimistic and will continue to hope that, as in 2001, I will ride every mile, every day.  I await developments.