Middle Fork Willamette is a trail that follows the Middle Fork Willamette River up/downstream for up to 30 miles. Ideally one would use a shuttle so that one could start at the high/furthest point of Timpanogas Lake at an elevation of about 5500 feet / 1850 metres. The start of the ride is at about 2000 feet / 650 metres - so it has quite an amount of elevation change given that the trail is constantly ascending or descending...no steady gradients here.
I started at about 1/3 of the way along the trail, and given that I had to report back to the bike shop so that they knew I was safe, I allowed myself 1.5 hours heading up river and the same heading downriver.
The ride started well, and I was again amazed by the fragrant air and beautiful scenery and landscape.
The bike wasn't as happy though. The "feel"of the rear brake had changed while the bike was on its side for the few days it took to drive from Montana - and I had to stop and mess around numerous times to get it to how I wanted it. It's now back to how I like it. YAY. The gear shifting for the crankset started giving me grief, but I dealt with it by some messing around and cable tweaking. Sorted - let's enjoy the trail *smiles*
By this point I'd figured out that the ride didn't have a nice steady gradient, but it had many short steep pinches to climb, I couldn't get into a rhythm, and my lack of fitness was annoying me. Add in that there was no breeze down in the small valley that the trail followed, and I was suffering. I decided that before I next rode, I'd change my tubes and rear tire for lighter ones - every bit of weight counts!
Because I'd stopped quite a few times on my way upstream, I turned back quite a bit later than originally planned, but still leaving myself plenty of time to get back to the car - given that it was mostly downhill. Of course the bike LOVED heading downhill, and so did I - minimal pedalling required you see!! Unfortunately after only a few minutes of descending the front shifting went south in a big way, and it wouldn't change out of the biggest gear at the front. I wasn't able to immediately see what the problem was (with heart pumping, prickly bushes and undergrowth around me, and low'ish light) - so headed back to the car in the big ring. It was mostly ok, though I had to walk a few uphill sections, and rode a few others in a "grunt it out" singlespeed style.
I wasn't able to take as many pics as I wanted on the way back - the memory card on the camera filled up! However, here are some for you.
You can read the post ride report after the pics :)
Trees, big trees, and lots of them. Not many rocks - a BIG change from Montana!!
Here's a pic of a rare straight & open section
The river was an almost constant companion
The trail was typically never "open"
Once I was back at the car it was easy to see that something on the front derailleur was hitting the frame, and that it shouldn't be. I bend the offending piece on the front derailleur, and the shifting worked again.
My theory that the wrong front derailleur somehow made its way on to the bike was correct (thanks Google), and the fix simply involved removing the part from the bike, and applying a hacksaw to the offending bit of metal. It was only chance that the problem occurred on this ride - the part of the front derailleur had probably been slowly bending, and a bump on this ride was the straw that broke the camels back - I'm very thankful that the problem didn't happen when the rest of the ride involved climbing and needed easy gears...
I felt great to have finished, and savoured the breeze, the fragrance and the sense of relaxation that I felt.
Once I'd reported in to the bike shop, I grabbed some dinner and headed to a park in the town, its best feature (?), and eat. How's this for a spot to eat dinner??
I grabbed some groceries, here's a pic of a good looking couple that were waiting for me when I left the supermarket.
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