Man rides a century (and then some) in Mt. Tabor Park

Dave Anolik now knows Mt. Tabor better than most.
(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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