This is one of those strange weeks that we often have near the start of the season, where we’ve had a couple of special concerts under our belt, then a few days off, another special, and then the season gets underway in earnest. This week happens to be one where we had a concert on last Saturday night (the Countdown to Carnegie fundraiser) and then no rehearsals until Thursday morning. On Thursday we start rehearsals for a concert by the Portland Symphonic Choir, conducted by their conductor, the excellent Steven Zopfi. The major piece on the program is Mozart’s Mass in c minor, with the first half of the program dedicated to three short portions of Wagner’s Lohengrin. Tickets are available here, and lots of tickets are available, from what I hear.
In the first half of the week, I’ve been doing a lot of training rides in preparation for the Echelon Gran Fondo Hood River, which takes place on Sunday. The fundraising deadline is October 1st, even though the ride takes place on September 26th – so please consider a modest donation if you are able – the ride benefits both the Livestrong Foundation and the local OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, both incredibly worthy causes.
Here’s a link to my fundraising page.
A couple rides up Council Crest have been helping with preparing for the hills on the route, and yesterday I rode over Chehalem Mountain (really around it, almost completely) via Rte 219, and road I’ve driven quite a few times but never thought that I’d actually ride over. And I even did it without stopping. I must admit that there was one place, on SW Leander Road, where the grade was 18% and I had to walk for about 50 yards, but other than that I rode all the climbs without stopping. I’m pretty proud of myself, I must admit! Here’s a map of that ride, for those of you who are interested: