When we first heard about the CROC (Century Ride of the Centuries) we were skeptical because of all the climbing, but due to the weather in Portland we were persuaded to pound the pavement in Pendleton .

Saturday morning we met the organizers and registered for the ride. We were given a packet of coupons and information about the area. The food turned out to be a fabulous catered affair. Our breakfast was eggs, assorted breakfast meats, potatoes, pastries, biscuits, and gravy. The local police gave us an escort out of town after our mass start.

Saturday's out and back 65 mile ride had us climbing a total of 2780 feet, all the way to the Bar M Dude Ranch, where most folks come for good home cooking and to ride horses not bikes. It wasn't long before we were passed by most of the group, but we knew it was going to be hot that day so we were just hanging back to do the ride Blueberry Style. We followed the old Oregon Trail through the Umatilla Indian Reservation. We passed through Thorn Hollow so named because of all the thorns along side the road. Thankfully we did not take one back with us as a souvenir.

At the Bar M Dude Ranch an old fella, who had sung his songs all over the country, treated us to cowboy music. On the way back the Umatilla River sparkled next to us in the 80-degree heat. Even though the ride back was mostly down hill, we were drained due to the temperature. We are used to cool rain, not dry heat.

We perked up at the dinner, an all you can eat western Bar-B-Q. After dinner we settled in to watch an electrical storm from our air-conditioned RV, aptly named, The Turtle. Thankfully the air-conditioner drowned out most of the noise from the trains that rumbled and roared by about every hour all night.

Sunday's breakfast was equally impressive with the featured dish being Pancakes with apple filling.

Thankfully the day turned out to be much cooler than Saturday.

The Century Ride of the Centuries is named after all the Century Farms in the area. They are farms that have been in the same family for over 100 years. There are over 50 of them. However, they could have called this ride the three "W's" ride for wheels, wheat fields and windmills. Though the ride had no significant climbs we managed to get in 6150 feet of climbing by going up and down huge rollers all day long. We would fly down and then pedal, pedal, shift, stand and grind over the top in time to go down the next one. It was like one whole daylong roller-coaster ride. Then, just when we needed a little diversion along came a crop dusting helicopter that began dancing and dipping along side us. How do they do that? It was amazing to watch. Bec thought for sure he was going to crash!

The first 50 miles went slowly because we were pacing ourselves. We know how wearing roller-coaster hills can be. All the folks who passed us yesterday began to pass us again.

Lunch at Weston was a hot meal of pasta and salad. This is the first organized ride where we got a hot meal at lunch. How about that! After lunch we perked right up and began passing many of the riders who had passed us on Saturday's ride and early into this ride. The more difficult and long the ride, the better we get. Most people will go out hard at the start and wear themselves out, but we go out slow and hit it harder the last half.

Sunday night's dinner was the best. It was Salmon and Prime rib. When was the last time you had prime rib on a bike ride! What amazing food! As if that was not enough, after dinner they had a raffle and Bec won a beautiful Pendleton Woolen Mills Bag.

Monday we had a 22-mile climb up to Dead man's Pass. We have always wanted to climb Cabbage Hill outside of Pendleton. This was the hill next door, Emigrant Hill. It is equally tall, but no traffic because it is the old road over the pass. The views were spectacular on the way up. The hills, which are normally brown, were dressed up for the holiday in their best green sprinkled with patches of blue, yellow, and orange wild flowers. We have never seen them this beautiful. We did not break any land speed records up the hill but we moved right along due to the power left in Louie's legs. Poor Bec had used up most of her muscle the day before. One of the nice things about tandeming is that when one team member is spent the other can carry the ride.

The ride back down the mountain required all Louie's skills as captain. Some of the switchbacks were so curvy that we could even see our behinds! Bec's height anxiety kicked in due to the way the curves hung out over the mountain. Louie was very patient and slowed down more than he would have liked. He was whooping and hollering, but Bec was mostly just trying to keep from causing an accident from freaking out over being so high up, coming down so fast, and curving around corners that hung in mid-air.

That behind us, we were riding along and all at once and just had to have the obligatory flat tire. But, not to worry. Louie had it fixed in no time whatsoever.

We really liked this ride. It was challenging and well supported. The food was out of this world and the price was very reasonable. There were less challenging options for those who are not quite up to the climbs and distances we did. This was the first year the ride was presented so it can only get better. Even so, about 150 people showed up which is pretty good for the first time out. Look for it again next year on our calendar and be sure to attend.