Met a fellow road warrior yesterday.  My age.  Hadn't ridden nearly as many years as me; he got serious in 2000 when he purchased an Airborne ti but since than he had been putting on 9000+ miles/year on that, another bike and a tandem.  He's put 170,000 miles on that ti bike!  (The frame cracked at the seat/toptube weld and he had a very nice repair done at TiCycles.  The insert for the seatpost didn't extend down below the mid toptube.  The crack was just below.  Dave Levy welded the crack, made a deeper insert and did a single plug weld to hold it that shows on the left side as a perfect button.  All finished to look original and intended.)

This meeting happened on what I had intended as a quick stop to use a port-a-potty (sp) to shed an inside layer.  Instead we talked probably an hour and a half.  Traded war stories, Cycle Oregon stories, bike stories.  Not one-up-man-ship but as brothers who hadn't met before.  (His big crash was on the 2012 Cycle Oregon, the day before we went up to Crater Lake, my epic day of planned 88 miles and 8800' of climbing plus the unplanned spectacular 1000' descent and forced climb back up.  News of a crash was buzzing around camp the night before but I was focused on tomorrow and paid little attention.  He had no memory of the crash and little of that day.  Was tracking speed.  He was descending ~38 mph when he slowed to 25 and the ride stopped.  Poor riding in front of him?)

Fun encounter with another member of the 8-lap club.  (8 laps around the planet.)  Another one who after the last crash is on the trainer, then road as soon as possible.  He lives 6 miles from me.  We share favorite rides.  He was doing one of mine, over the Chehalem "Mountains" (1300'+ hills) for about 2000' and 70 miles.  He was going to do the reverse of my ride out to get home.  Maybe add another 10 miles.  I was riding my flat 68 mile out and back to the coast mountain foothills except I had just changed my mind and decided to ride around Hagg Lake instead.  2 miles longer and ~900'.  Easy day for me.  Jessica J in a 43-18.  Just loafing.

Yesterday was one of those magic days.  Beautiful, near perfectly clear, just some high clouds. Very light wind.  October colors.  Fields in fall mode but not yet winter-dead.  Still fields of blooming flowers.  I decided the day should just be a "stroll" and that is exactly what I did.  Didn't sweat the stops.  Dressed perfectly comfortably but had to make a few stops to shed layers.  The day warmed 20 degrees.  Plan was to be back before rush hour started but the conversation scuttled that.  Hagg Lake, a very popular summer destination, was near deserted.  Shadows were getting long coming home but the sun was perfectly behind me so I was very visible plus this was a route that while trafficked as I hit the final miles, was civilized.  All I had to do was chase the 15' image of myself.  Last 4 miles were very lightly traveled suburbs and quiet MUP.

Ben