Gameday and birthday
Shelby Young
@SOURaiders @RaiderVB #NAIAWVB
Happy birthday Shelby Young, and good look in tonight’s important match up in Salem.
Ashland Daily Photo - A picture a day from beautiful Ashland, Southern Oregon USA in the Rogue Valley
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Happy birthday, Elliott Cook!
@SOURaiders @RaiderVB @elli_cook
Crater Lake Chipmunk
During my ride around Crater Lake last Saturday I pulled over to take a photo of the lake, and this little one came scampering up the side of the caldera, seemingly for the sole reason of getting its picture taken.
SOU @ Corban volleyball this Friday night
@SOURaiders @RaiderVB #NAIAWVB @HoytMakayla
More details here.
Although the Raiders have the #5 ranking and Corban is #11 (according to the coaches’ poll), Massey has things reversed with Corban at #6 and SOU at #13. Massey ranks Corban’s schedule as the most challenging in all of the NAIA. Corban barely lost to undefeated #2 Northwestern (who Massey has as #1).
The winner on Friday will grab first place in the conference while the loser will fall back into a 2nd place tie with Eastern Oregon (who Massey has as #3).
Ride the Rim (of Crater Lake)
@CraterLakeNPS
I once tried to ride around Crater Lake on my bike. It didn’t go well.
Fast forward many years to yesterday. I heard they were closing the road to vehicles on two Saturdays this year. Maybe this has happened in recent years as well. In any event, I did it!
Anyway, let me share a few observations for those of you doing it on September 21, 2019 or in future years…
Get there early! Before 8 is good; before 7 is even better. When I left Crater Lake for home at 11 something after finishing my ride the car traffic was crazy. People were circling forever and not finding places to park their cars. In addition, the roads may not have cars on them, but do you really want to ride around the lake when the roads are crammed with bikes? The ride was very pleasant, congestion wise, between 7 and 9. Things got a little crowded after that and seemed to be getting very crowded about the time I finished. Besides the crowd size issue, the lake looks fairly different between 7 and 11 a.m. with the sunrise but not so different between, say, 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Bring gloves and a face shield. The shield will help with the temperature and wind chill–especially before 9 a.m.–and it will also keep the bugs from entering your mouth and nose at 20+ MPH.
There is plenty of water at the five rest stations so you don’t need to carry too much. I brought three bottles which was two too many.
The ride is over 33 miles (not including Cloudcap) and includes a ton of elevation. Basically, there are no flat spots. You are either climbing or coasting downhill. Therefore, you will want to do some training to make sure you can ride uphill for at least 15 miles.
Cloudcap viewpoint adds an extra mile or two and is a big climb. Feel free to skip it unless you want the extra workout. I did it only because I didn’t realize I could skip it, and the bikes in front of me were heading that way.
You can go in either direction. West Rim Drive (not closed to autos) is best done early, IMO, before the car traffic arrives so if you park at the lodge or visitor’s center a clockwise direction is advised.
I would love to do this again, earlier in the year, when there is still some snow on things. It would be nice if they closed the roads to autos as soon as they open the East Rim Drive some year. I suppose a flexible date, based on the weather, would make planning more difficult though.
Raiders vs. Yotes
Addison Whitham
@SOURaiders @SOU_Football @AddisonWhitham
Details about today’s game can be found here.
A few things…
I’ve heard people talk about how the Raiders season is already over after losing their first couple games. Not true. The Sacramento State game means next to nothing–especially considering how well Sac State fared against Arizona State last weekend.
Southern Oregon has had problems with Eastern Oregon at home over the last several years. Last Saturday wasn’t an exception. SOU lost to EOU at home in 2014 too, and look how that season turned out for the Raiders.
Massey has the Raiders as 7-point underdogs at College of Idaho. However, if the Raiders win (and Massey gives Southern Oregon a 32% chance of doing so), they will possibly be in a tie for first place in the conference. Even if they lose, SOU still gets to face Eastern Oregon again (at a venue they have done very well at) and College of Idaho at home to make amends for the early losses.
In summary, the season is far from over–regardless of what happens today, and a win today can quickly move them back into pole position.
Lower Table Rock view
We hiked up Upper Table Rock last week, but I didn’t bring my camera this time. Then this photo, from 5+ years ago, showed up as my random, desktop image.
L.A. Edwards @ Britt
L.A. Edwards @ Britt Festival (September 4, 2019)
@brittfestivals
A week ago this happened before the Beach Boys.
The Vietnam Viper
Luke Andrew Edwards
National Defensive Player of the Week
Jessie Selby
@SOURaiders @SOUWomensSoccer @jessieselby0202
A day after being chosen as the conference Defensive Player of the Week, the NAIA national office announced today that Jessie Selby is also the NAIA National Defensive Player of the Week.
