FUN!

I got an early start today on the Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway I started from Butteville to avoid the hell that is the Boone Bridge during construction. (don't get me started on how the new design is even LESS bike friendly than the old design.)

I rode down 50 miles and back 50 miles in sub freezing temperatures. There was a splattering of fog, but nothing serious, and the roads were dry the day before so the chance of ice on the road was minimal. Yes, I was cold by the time I got back. Luckily there was time to get cleaned up and warmed up before the second ride of the day.... the FUN part! ;-)

In the evening we had the third installment of "The Waffle Ride"

Our new leadership in the social bike club frowns on mixing alcohol and bikes. I understand and support that position. However, if I pick the participants to only include those who are responsible and have good urban biking skills I feel it's safe to go have a little fun by bike.

Tonight a little group of 5 outlaws went on a non club ride, as we've done about once a month lately. It seems these rides always involve waffles, and tonight was no exception. We began our ride on the East Bank Esplanade.


We had designed a route to take advantage of bike paths and bike boulevards. The route shows that biking rarely involves the most direct route between waypoints. We made sure we had enough miles to make it worth riding bikes!


We started off and pedaled less than 4 miles to The Waffle Window. These are not your mother's waffles. They are really more like sandwiches, or desert! I had a hot apple pie waffle, including whipped cream! Others had such additions to their waffles as jalapeno peppers, bacon, and cheese. Remarkably good! Rather than ending our ride with waffles as per usual, because of the early closing hour during winter we started off with waffles.

Here's what a hot apple pie waffle looks like, and yes, it was yummy!



We rode by a few homes that were lit up for the holidays. This house certainly had the holiday spirit! You'll also note that in the foreground two of our group was also into the spirit of the season.


From the Waffle Window we rode 5 miles to Hopworks Bike Bar They let us borrow U locks to secure our bikes as we enjoyed some food and brews.

The smiles were on account that we had by chance arrived just as Happy Hour was starting! We were happy that there were food specials!


We had a nice assortment of beers to sample.


There were cameras out all over as we found this to be a very photogenic establishment, or maybe Mark found Sandy to be very photogenic! :-)


From there we rode about another 5 miles back to Apex, a very bike friendly establishment. They too loaned us locks.


The river wasn't as calm as it was last night, there was an ever so slight breeze blowing tonight, enough to put a few ripples on the water, but still worth a stop to take in the view as we pedaled over the Hawthorne Bridge.


After this morning's cold ride I put on an extra layer tonight and had chemical hand warmers in my gloves. It must have helped, I was quite comfortable despite below freezing temperatures this evening. My riding partners weren't so fortunate. We had planned on visiting one more location tonight but the late hour and cold feet and fingers dictated that it was time to call it an evening.

We did take a moment to snap one more photo as we rode along the path through Waterfront Park.


Yup, even more fun than last night's ride in the dark!

.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today.......119..............0.............0..........0.........119
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.......1016..............0............10..........0........1026
July.......1148..............0.............0..........0........1148
August.....1049..............0.............0..........0........1049
Sept.......1153..............0............50..........0........1213
Oct.........881..............0.............0.........20.........901
Nov........1012..............0.............0.........20........1032
Dec.........196..............0.............0..........0.........196
YTD........9399..............0............87.........47........9533