a few hills, a few miles, and a few smiles

I rode to Multnomah Falls from Troutdale today. Most of those likely to ride with me were still at the beach following "Reach the Beach" so I rode solo today. Maybe the lack of company, maybe the lack of competition, maybe the 100 miles I rode yesterday... but for some reason I could never find my rhythm. I ended up being more of a person on a bike today, but I guess that it's okay sometimes to just to ride bike and take in the sights. I began at Glenn Otto park right on the edge of Troutdale and rode over the Historic Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway to Multnomah Falls. Along the way there were many great views.
(you can click on any photo to see it full sized)













After a brief stop at Multnomah Falls I retraced my route back to the Larch Mtn Rd intersection then turned UP. The sign said the road was closed 10 miles in because of snow. I just wanted to check if it really was! ;-) There was a bit of roadside snow just before the closed gate but who knows how the road was beyond the gate. The sign said "Road closed to wheeled vehicles" so I was not willing to risk a ticket just to satisfy my curiosity.

On the way back down Larch Mountain Rd I took a loop of Haines Rd/Bower Rd..... just that curiosity thing at work again.

After satisfying my wanderlust I finally rode back down to Troutdale.

I ended up with 64 miles at a rather leisurely pace... 14.2 mph, and according to the gps I struggled over 6062 ft of elevation gain.

Here's my route for today



+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today............64...............0.................64
Jan total.......501.....+.........30.......=.......531
Feb total.......614.....+.........0........=.......614
March total.....860.....+.........0........=.......860
April total.....790.....+.........0........=.......790
May total.......595.....+.........0........=.......595
Year to date...3395.....+.........30.......=......3425
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