John, Phil, and I started from Wilsonville and rode to the Canby Ferry.
The sky was blue but the cool air and brisk wind kept us in warmer clothing as we started. After about 10 miles the air was warming and so were we. From then on the wind breakers were off and stowed.
We held a quick pace, maybe a bit too quick. Phil turned back about 10 miles into the ride today.
John and I kept pedaling along through the Clackamas County rural countryside. John was on the `08 Race Across Oregon course record setting team with me. He's a strong rider and we made good progress today.
When we got to Maple Lane we saw signs saying the road was closed. We continued on cautiously. When we got to the low point we found that a truck driver had a bad day. News story HERE.
According to the site supervisor the loaded truck had failed to negotiate the turn at the bottom of the hill. Seems that he must have missed a shift then overheated brakes. No matter the cause, the truck ended up over the bridge in the creek. By the time we got there two large cranes had wiggled it up out of the creek and were preparing to hoist it back up to the road. We were told that the driver survived but was pretty banged up.
At first we were told that we'd likely have to backtrack and detour around. As we watched the "rescue" unfold the supervisor came over to us and said he thought he could get us through if we were willing to wait a bit. We did so and took the opportunity to take a few photos and talk with bystanders.
The supervisor soon led us through the site and we were on our way again. No more issues on this ride.....except for climbing Maple Lane and Pete's Mountain!
John is a good rider and we made our way through Oregon City and over the Oregon City Bridge without any problem. It's important when riding the OC Bridge that cyclists take the lane and practice good lane control on the exits and entries to the bridge. Those without good skills are often hesitant to do this and passage becomes an issue.
Today we zipped right across the bridge then made our way to Willamette and on out to and over Pete's Mountain. From there it was a quick dash back to Wilsonville and the end of our ride. A lunch and brew at Kraven's Sports Bar made for a good end to today's ride.
Here's an interactive map of today's route:
............BIKE............LIFECYCLE.........TOTAL
Today.......44................0.................44
Jan........618...............0................618
Feb........692...............0................692
March......519...............0................519
_________________________________________
TOTAL.....1843...............0...............1843
And this....... Portland is a hotbed of cycling and creative type folks who put up some pretty entertaining YouTube clips. Those who've seen the Performance clip would have to agree. The following clip, also made by local Portland folks has been on the net for several weeks already. I decided I should include it here for those who haven't seen it yet.
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