Perfection

That's what today was, just perfection. Perfect weather, perfect route... okay, so I was out there solo, but that was okay today too.

I started off on a bit of a bad note, finding that one of my tubular tires was flat. It was good that I found it that way before I got on the road though, so I'm still going with that "perfect" thing. ;-)

I swapped out the carbon Zipp wheels (and carbon specific brake pads) for my Kysrium wheels and standard brake pads and got on the road a little after 9 AM. I had no particular destination in mind but thought I might ride out and back on the Willamette Valley Bike Route. I wasn't too enthused about that though. I started across the Boone Bridge and planned on picking up the WVBR a few miles from it's Champoeg Park starting point. That plan went out the window real quickly. I'm not terribly fond of out and backs. I rode with a wind at my back to Donald, then over to St Paul where I followed the Willamette River to Keizer. From there I rode to Mt Angel and then followed some Dan Henrys that had me skirt the western edge of Silverton.
Then it was off to Sublimity and Stayton. In Stayton I stopped at Dairy Queen for a banana split! :-)

After that brief stop I continued south until I saw a sign that said Lyons and I took that eastward. I rode up the Santiam Canyon on the south side of the river on a road I've never been on. I climbed up over a 1200 summit

then dropped into Lyons and then on to Mill City. I stopped in Mill City for a large chocolate milkshake and a small hamburger. I talked with a local a bit and he informed me that I could get back to Salem without having to back track and without having to get on Hwy 22 which was very busy with weekend traffic.


I took Old Mehama Rd for the most part, all the way to Stayton. Then I headed to Aumsville and Turner. I entered Salem on a road that went by the airport. I made my way downtown and crossed over the Willamette River on the Marion Street Bridge then took Wallace Rd all the way northward to Lafayette.

Then it was time for the least enjoyable part of the trip. I pedaled a few miles along the side of busy Hwy 99w. It was ok, just not as much fun as the rest of the trip. Just north of Dundee I took a side street that brought me into Newberg.

I skirted the southern end of Newberg and stopped just before starting down Wilsonville Rd to turn on my front and rear blinkies. The road is a bit windy, a lot shady, and if you travel at the wrong time of day can be very busy. Late in the day on a Sunday I practically had the road to myself. I had 3 cars pass me in the 10 miles of Wilsonville Rd.

Blessed by some of the longest days of the year, I finished before it got dark.... barely!

A great ride!

.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today.......172..............0.............0..........0.........172
Jan.........474..............0............21..........7.........502
Feb.........530..............0.............0..........0.........530
March.......502..............0.............0..........0.........502
April.......524..............0.............0..........0.........524
May........1003..............0.............0..........0........1003
June........876..............0............10..........0.........886
YTD........3913..............0............37..........7.........3966