Crew, official and riders stand ready to take on the record.

Last year, when Tim Woudenberg and I did our Cross State CA Record Attempt bicycle ride, I had such a wonderful time that I wanted to do another Record Attempt. But the western states are very large so it's a daunting project. I finally found that Oregon, north to south, is a bit shy of 300 miles, which is doable for me on a two-person team. I was pleased once again to have Jim Kern as a crew member, with his vast experience of both crewing and bicycling. Newbie crew member Rich Kranz added invaluable mechanical help (and also increased the humor quotient immensely). And to round out the team, it was great having Bob Redmond as our Official, especially since he was so enthusiastic the whole time.

Preparing for this ride was much easier than preparing for the CA ride, mainly because this time I actually knew what I was doing. There's still quite a bit of work getting all the paperwork done and coordinating five people with busy lives. You never know what the weather is going to be like on a ride like this and in Oregon, that can often mean rain. I wanted to be prepared, so whenever it rained at home, I made sure I was out riding, in order to get rain-hardened.

The idea was to start the attempt at daybreak. I looked out my window and saw rain. But it didn't dampen my spirits at all. This was nothing compared to my training rides. I was ready for it. I got ready for the first pull and saw our Official standing nearby, clock in hand, wearing a black and white stripped Referee's shirt. Cracked me up. He was really into it. As I pushed off, he pulled out a cow bell he had hiding behind his back and gave it a good shake. Really made me laugh.

The start of the ride climbs out of the Columbia River gorge. The road is lined with basalt cliffs so it was a spectacular beginning. The road has wide shoulders with moderate traffic. When the first 18-wheeler passed me, the wind and water spray from the wheels were very strong and gave me a big push. I'm thinking, "This is going to be a very long 300 miles." But when all the other trucks passed me, I didn't have the same wind problem, so I was grateful.

Official Bob Redmond next to the Official Record Attempt crew car.

We decided to do half hour pulls to get started, since it was rainy and to get the kinks worked out. The first swap went smoothly and Tim was on his way, powerfully ascending the next hill, as usual. Actually, it wasn't "as usual." Tim usually rides a recumbent, but we're not allowed to have mixed bike types for a Record Attempt so he offered to ride an upright bike.

Soon we went to hour pulls. An hour is long enough to get into the rhythm of things, but short enough to not get too tired. The route started at about sea level and got up to almost 5000 feet. There were no big hills, just rollers.

There's very little traffic in northern Oregon. During my hour pulls, it was just me and the wilderness. I enjoyed seeing the scenery change from rock cliffs, to high desert to conifer forests. At the higher elevations, there was snow on the ground. My hour of silence would then change to an hour of laughter when I was in the van.

While riding, it was cool and wet, but I was able to stay warm. Once in the van, I would eat quickly and then hop up on the bench to lie down and cover myself with blankets before I cooled down. After about five hours of light rain, the sun came out, which was much appreciated.

Bend was the only town of any size on the route so we planned to do some grocery shopping there. My pull was ending so I came upon the team getting Tim ready. For some reason, they waved me on and I continued. Soon, Tim came up behind me and we did the swap. Turns out when Tim was getting ready, he found he had a broken spoke. The crew quickly swapped in the spare wheel and Tim caught up to me. And where did all this happen? Across the street from the only bike shop we would see in 300 miles!

Tim Woudenberg tackles a hill.

The crew dashed in to buy a spoke only to find they didn't have that kind. After a bit of tinkering, our crew was able to literally braid two spokes together and make a fix. How amazing is that?!

We then quickly did grocery shopping and then sped off (within the speed limit) to find Tim. The road here is two lanes in each direction so it was easy to pass the 18-wheelers, but we wanted to make sure Tim wasn't beside one as we passed. We tried to look under the trucks as we passed, hoping we didn't miss him. That would be embarrassing.

We planned on hour pulls, but the exact times were rather loosey-goosey and I found our riding times were actually an hour off. To make up for it, I continued to do hour pulls but Tim did shorter pulls so our times would approximately be equal by the end.

There was only one downhill that was steep enough to warrant a "truck on cheese" sign. Tim is a much better descender than I am so he got that pull. It was great to see him zooming down the mountain.

An elated Vicki Pelton and Tim Woudenberg at the finish.

We had the bike tail lights on all day, since we had a lot of rain and we added front lights as night approached. I also had a helmet light I had just bought for the occasion. I had practiced night riding a bit but had never done it on a real ride. The headlights of the van were wonderfully bright and my helmet light helped to fill in the shadows.

So now it's pitch black, just 15 miles from the end, on a Saturday night. A car full of teenagers whips around us, the kids lean out of the car and yell at me, "Keep going, you're almost there!!" Total strangers, encouraging me in my endeavor. Made me feel great.

The last couple of miles, Tim and I rode together. I was so jazzed. I couldn't stop talking. Tim and I kept talking about the highlights of the trip as we powered on. Soon we saw the Poppies sign, "Welcome to California". We did it!!

I love being part of a team, working together to accomplish a goal. The crew was always there when I needed them and the official kept accurate notes. I'm also appreciative that Tim is willing to show a newbie like me the ropes of long distance cycling. And best of all was the continuous laughter. What a way to spend time with friends.

Official Record: Oregon N-S, 291.4 miles, 17:15, 16.89 mph, Two-person Team
Start: OR/WA state line on US 97 bridge over Columbia River at Biggs, OR
Finish: US 97 at OR/CA state line south of Worden, OR
Official: Bob Redmond