(Photo: Velo Pro, LLC)
In a city that’s crazy for bikes, we also have a lot of people who do crazy things on bikes.
There was Merritt Raitt who rode 650 laps around Ladd Circle in August 2011. And who can forget when friends Andy Edick and JT Lehman biked from Portland to the peak of Mt. Hood and then skied down in under 24 hours.
Add Dave Anolik to this quirky club.
Dave’s story was shared by Velo Pro, a local business that sells customized cycling training plans, earlier this week.
According to Velo Pro, Dave started at 5:00 am on February 19th and watched the sunrise over Mt. Hood and the sunset over the West Hills all while pounding out the laps on Mt. Tabor’s roller-coaster roads. Given that Tabor’s main loop is about three miles along, he probably did about 30 laps. He rode for over 14 hours, covered 120 miles, and climbed a total of 13,084 feet when it was all said and done.
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Here’s more from Velo Pro:
“The unending loops with the infinite climbs and descents made the ride a peaceful meditation versus a traditional Gran Fondo or Century.
Dave spoke reverently of the changes in winter light through the trees and the bite of the wind from the Columbia Gorge. He also charted the comings and goings of the different groups of people enjoying the park throughout the day. Morning trail runners, lunchtime CAT racers preparing for the Tabor criterium races, and dog walkers sharing the love after work.”
How far would you go to reach your training goals? Or maybe I should say, how close could you stay to home and still get those big winter miles in?
Read more about Dave’s incredible ride at Velo Pro’s website.
— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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Awesome! While training for the Boston Marathon I once did a 18 mile run on Tabor (plus a mile to and from!). I was definitely ready for Boston’s infamous late stage hills, which felt pretty puny in comparison.
What a waste of time
In the community I live now we have lots of local cyclists who do loops in our military park or up and down the main rails-to-trails. When I lived in East Portland, I saw lots of people doing the same on the 205 MUP, along Marine Drive and on the Springwater. It’s a step above a stationary bike, but I agree it’s a bit below actually exploring the city on its streets. Exercise without the community.
“…waste of time”
Hey, lots of people spend that much time watching TV, take the same amount of time driving to and from (and watching, of course) sporting events, or spend that long playing video games on a weekend. If I thought I could do it, I’d much rather do cool laps on a sunny winter day in a peaceful park setting. With so many health (physical and mental) benefits, I would have a hard time calling this a waste. Who knows, maybe those 14 hours will be part of an extended lifespan, so it’s really a break-even…?
That other wastes of time rank higher in the hierarchy of time-wasting activities does not make this any less boring.
What
I love Mt. Tabor, for the experience of witnessing the energy of the city. Airplanes over the top, trains heard passing in the distance, runners, walkers, babies in strollers, birds gliding on thermals, thousands of people in the city below with all their energy going to and fro, me laying on the hillside, chewing on a blade of grass, noting the final transition to dusk…
I personally prefer to recharge my batteries than log big winter miles but this sure beats riding inside, e-biking, or any other retail driven industry hype.
Summer Strava, winter Untappd, death before Zwift.
Zwift is pretty terrific (as are the other options).
aaaannnnddd now we all know where he lives
Not necessarily. Most Strava users know to set their privacy radius.
Thank the gods for car free Wednesdays at Mt Tabor.
I really wish we had more mountainous climbing around here.
Um… Larch mountain, Dixie Mtn, Mt Scott, Powell Butte, Council Crest, Rocky Butte, Bald Peak, Bull Mtn, etc. are all riding distance from the city.