Epic long ride over McKenzie pass, Oregon.

Amber and I are in the thick of hectic training for the big races of the year. Yesterday she did a 6hr ride (WHY?!? - see why below) and I did a 4 hr ride with a short hard run off the bike. We met up along her way in Sisters, just outside our home Bend, Oregon. We rode up and over the lava covered McKenzie pass and dropped down to the green lushiousness (its my blog, I can make up words if I like)- of the west side of the Cascades to almost sea level, (500m) before turning around and climbing back up and over the arid 1600m peak. Nothing but climbing or descending for 4 hrs- great training mixed in with soul riding. About as much fun as road riding gets…

Amber nearing the summit of McKenzie pass. Observatory in the background. Gotta love Americans’ love for big Harleys…

Nothing but black lava and white snow. In August!

Nothing but green green and more green. And a bit of red…

Wet side

Dry side.

High side

And then of course we were really really hungry and hit the famous Sno Cap Diner in Sisters for burgers and milkshakes. (Western style town with population 1750)

Sno Cap has been one of the very oldest businesses in Sisters- where the local “old timers” go, a handy yardstick we use when picking eateries when traveling. Loved the suspenders so much I threw in a bicep flex for free…

My racing schedule:

XTERRA USA Champs in Tahoe, Oct 5

XTERRA Worlds Maui, Oct 26

Amber’s racing schedule: (and WHY she includes 7 hr rides and 3 hr runs)

XTERRA USA Champs, Oct 5

Ironman World Champs, Kona, Oct 11

XTERRA World Champs, Oct 26

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 14th, 2008 at 7:36 pm and is filed under Amber Monforte, News & Events, Story time, Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.