This past weekend Jay and I explored the area northeast of Yamhill county in what ended up being a 44 (46 by my bike computer) mile hilly (3800 feet of climbing) adventure. We are often asked if we are “training” for something.  The answer is no and yes.  We are not training in the sense that many of you might think: Going hard and fast, trying to make a certain time and pushing to our physical limits.  We are trying to get as much time in the saddle we can.

Our 44 mile ride took us just under four hours of riding time and a total of six hours to complete.  It was more of an adventure than a training ride.

Gibbs Cemetary

We stopped to help a guy and his elderly companion (father, or grandfather, we didn’t ask) push their car out of the gravel they managed to high center on a steep hill in Gibbs Cemetery.

We played with alpaca at the Alpacas of Oregon farm where the animals were named after famous folks such as Ricky and Lucy or Mick Jagger.  We purchased really cool fingerless gloves and tried on a bunch of fun hats.  Alpaca wool is super soft.  We were invited back to help with shearing, now that’ll be fun.

We got lost, for a very short period of time.

Going up.

We took shortcuts that were longer and steeper than our intended route.

We had a fantastic Pho dinner about 2/3 the way through.

In a way we are training. Training to tour.  A totally different mindset than our racing days.  Much more relaxing and enjoyable.