I loaded my bike this morning and drove across the Boone Bridge, because as much as I dislike riding southbound on I-5 across that bridge, I will not ride northbound. I just don't have a death wish. I unloaded the bike and pedaled south in search of 146 miles and my first 1000 mile month of the year. I stayed on the east side of I-5 all the way to Albany, avoiding the thousands of riders participating in the Monster Cookie ride.
It was a nice day for a ride. It was cloudy and cooler to start, just perfect for the hills I was climbing early in today's ride. By late morning the sun was out and the temperature got in the mid 60's.
I rode many of today's miles on the Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway. I am leading a ride for my social bike club in June that will traverse the entire 150+ mile length of it on a Saturday, followed by a return 150+ miles back on Sunday, so it was nice to get some miles on it again today.
I did pick up a bit of a tailwind late in the day as I pedaled northward, always a welcome way to end a long ride.
I found my 146 miles, plus 10 additional, by the end of the day. My first 1000 mile month of the year. It was about time!
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today.......156..............0.............0..........0..........156
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536
March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April.........1010..............0.............0..........0.........1010
YTD........2352............142.............0.........46.........2516
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Perfect
Max was leading a ride for our social bike club today. It was billed as a flat, easy ride, since most everyone is riding a double Monster Cookie ride tomorrow. I was following the listing for the ride and noted that Shelli was wondering how to get to the start of the ride from inner SE. I figured I knew my way around well enough to make sure neither of us got lost. We met at OMSI and pedaled down the East Bank Esplanade , then out the Springwater Corridor to the I-205 bike path where we turned north for about a mile and arrived at Lents Park, our ride's starting point today.
The group started off shortly after we arrived. As advertised, It was a slower pace than would be expected for this group, but it was hardly flat! We rode up Mt Tabor and Rocky Butte. :-)
Shelli struggled a bit but always had a smile on her face and stuck to the task at hand.
By the time we reached Marine Drive and headed east we took advantage of a tailwind and pedaled along in the low 20 mph's. Our group rode out to near Blue Lake then turned south on the Gresham-Fairview trail.
Shelli was tiring but a few off us talked her into continuing on. We all thought it would be easier for her to ride along the bike trails that we would be on for the remainder of the trip rather than cutting directly back via surface streets. We slowed the pace a bit more and made sure that at least one of us was by her side the rest of the ride.
Our little entourage reached 92nd Ave, where the others turned back north to return to Lents Park, Shelli and I continued toward the Willamette River and OMSI.
We arrived there with 54 miles, just over double what the club ride was advertised at. It was nearly perfect weather for riding, with temperatures in the mid to upper 60's and though there were dark clouds, there was no rain.
Tomorrow on to longer miles for all of us. :-)
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........54..............0.............0..........0...........54
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536 March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April..........854..............0.............0..........0..........854 YTD........2107............142.............0.........46.........2304
The group started off shortly after we arrived. As advertised, It was a slower pace than would be expected for this group, but it was hardly flat! We rode up Mt Tabor and Rocky Butte. :-)
 |
| Photo by Max |
By the time we reached Marine Drive and headed east we took advantage of a tailwind and pedaled along in the low 20 mph's. Our group rode out to near Blue Lake then turned south on the Gresham-Fairview trail.
Shelli was tiring but a few off us talked her into continuing on. We all thought it would be easier for her to ride along the bike trails that we would be on for the remainder of the trip rather than cutting directly back via surface streets. We slowed the pace a bit more and made sure that at least one of us was by her side the rest of the ride.
Our little entourage reached 92nd Ave, where the others turned back north to return to Lents Park, Shelli and I continued toward the Willamette River and OMSI.
We arrived there with 54 miles, just over double what the club ride was advertised at. It was nearly perfect weather for riding, with temperatures in the mid to upper 60's and though there were dark clouds, there was no rain.
Tomorrow on to longer miles for all of us. :-)
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........54..............0.............0..........0...........54
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536 March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April..........854..............0.............0..........0..........854 YTD........2107............142.............0.........46.........2304
Thursday, April 26, 2012
It is Thursday
And time once again for Rocky Butte hill repeats.
The weather deteriorated as the day went on. By late afternoon there were hard showers of rain and hail scattered around. I took a look at the skies and decided to take the rain bike.
I had a few people cancel but was surprised to find 5 others show up, with only 2 no shows. The roads were dry as we started up the hill, and remained so for the first hour, then we got some rain. Not the torrential downpour I was expecting, but rain none the less.
I was spared the last climb when I (and my floor pump and a tube) was called into service to help Monica change a flat.
Following the ride we paused for a photo before retiring for carbohydrates. Oscar had already left by the time we decided to take a photo.
L to R, Kay, me, Monica, Catherine, and Jon (photo credit to Jon)
We decided on a post ride debriefing at an establishment that was a couple of miles away. It was raining lightly. Catherine commutes everywhere by bike and shamed me into pedaling along with her and leaving my pickup at Rocky Butte. Following our little celebration Catherine had a take home box to carry, so Kay offered to give her a ride home. Monica had been riding with Kay since she did not have lights. The easiest way to get everybody where they need to be seemed to be that I accompany Monica on her ride back home since I had lights enough for both of us. I got Monica back to her house then turned back around and pedaled back to Rocky Butte. So the evening ended with 5 repeats and a few miles of puttering around Portland in the dark.
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........21..............0.............0..........0...........21
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536 March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April..........800..............0.............0..........0..........800 YTD........2053............142.............0.........46.........2250
The weather deteriorated as the day went on. By late afternoon there were hard showers of rain and hail scattered around. I took a look at the skies and decided to take the rain bike.
I had a few people cancel but was surprised to find 5 others show up, with only 2 no shows. The roads were dry as we started up the hill, and remained so for the first hour, then we got some rain. Not the torrential downpour I was expecting, but rain none the less.
I was spared the last climb when I (and my floor pump and a tube) was called into service to help Monica change a flat.
Following the ride we paused for a photo before retiring for carbohydrates. Oscar had already left by the time we decided to take a photo.
We decided on a post ride debriefing at an establishment that was a couple of miles away. It was raining lightly. Catherine commutes everywhere by bike and shamed me into pedaling along with her and leaving my pickup at Rocky Butte. Following our little celebration Catherine had a take home box to carry, so Kay offered to give her a ride home. Monica had been riding with Kay since she did not have lights. The easiest way to get everybody where they need to be seemed to be that I accompany Monica on her ride back home since I had lights enough for both of us. I got Monica back to her house then turned back around and pedaled back to Rocky Butte. So the evening ended with 5 repeats and a few miles of puttering around Portland in the dark.
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........21..............0.............0..........0...........21
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536 March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April..........800..............0.............0..........0..........800 YTD........2053............142.............0.........46.........2250
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
luck
With the summer like weather earlier in the week I had 16 people express interest in joining tonight's Rocky Butte hill repeats ride. Today started out with just a few light clouds around, but as the day progressed the clouds increased, and the number of expected riders decreased. As I was commuting to Rocky Butte there were hard rain showers going around the area, and the list of riders was down to 12. I was wishing I had brought my rain bike as I saw Rocky Butte enveloped in dark clouds.
When I got there I was surprised to find the roads dry.
As the 6PM start time neared there was just one other rider and myself there. However, within minutes of the start another 3 showed up. We pedaled up the hill. By the time we were descending another two had joined in.
It ended up being a great night to ride. It was cool, perfect for climbing, and we had dry roads the entire night. The dark clouds and showers dodged us. The view from the top of Rocky Butte was awesome tonight. The dark rain cloud cells interspersed with sunny breaks made for some pretty scenic views. I didn' t bring my camera however since I expected rain. I guess you just should have been there. ;-)
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........21..............0.............0..........0...........21
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536 March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April..........779..............0.............0..........0..........779 YTD........2032............142.............0.........46.........2219
When I got there I was surprised to find the roads dry.
As the 6PM start time neared there was just one other rider and myself there. However, within minutes of the start another 3 showed up. We pedaled up the hill. By the time we were descending another two had joined in.
It ended up being a great night to ride. It was cool, perfect for climbing, and we had dry roads the entire night. The dark clouds and showers dodged us. The view from the top of Rocky Butte was awesome tonight. The dark rain cloud cells interspersed with sunny breaks made for some pretty scenic views. I didn' t bring my camera however since I expected rain. I guess you just should have been there. ;-)
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........21..............0.............0..........0...........21
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536 March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April..........779..............0.............0..........0..........779 YTD........2032............142.............0.........46.........2219
Sunday, April 22, 2012
A lion hunt
Today was the De Ronde Van Oeste Portlandia, an unofficial ride among about 700 close friends up and down the West Hills of Portland. We are sent on our merry way and told to let the Lion of Flanders show us the way. So today I went looking for lions.
Photo thanks to www.scorpius-cycles.com, I had my camera with me, but alas, my SD (secure digital) card was securely in my card reader slot and not in the camera, so I didn't take any photos today.
There is just under 48 miles on this route, with 7072 ft of climbing. Two climbs of note are Brynwood St, which reaches 32% (NOT a typo!) and College Street which reaches 29%. I was riding with Jon, a facebook friend who came on a package deal when I rode the Tour de Cure last year with Esther. I gained a lot of FB friends from the TdC ride and Jon was one of them. I'm thinking that this may be the last TdC friend to ride with me. When I rode TdC Esther clipped my rear wheel and went down hard. Today, Jon tangled with another rider and went down hard on Brynwood, only the second climb of the day. It took him out of today's ride. That's 0 for 2 with TdC friends. I guess it's ride at your own risk when you roll with the Desert Coyote! :-O
I pedaled along at my own pace. I knew I could not be first, but I did know that I would pedal (not walk) EVERY INCH of that course.
Here I am early in the ride climbing up Erickson. (photo thanks to Jon Durdick)
Photo thanks to www.scorpius-cycles.com
It was a warm day, when I finished up the ride the temperature was 85. I went through 5 bottles of water in the 48 miles. Luckily the neighbors were very friendly and there were many opportunities to refill water today. My 2008 Race Across Oregon partner lives along the route and today he and some neighbors set up an awesome rest stop with sandwiches, fruit, water, and sports drinks. There was even free Widmer beer at mile 33. Too bad we were riding bike!
I continue to struggle to get back in riding shape after a winter of low miles. Today my legs started failing to respond with about 15 miles to go. It wasn't pretty, but it did get done. The one saving grace, I wasn't passed by many in those last 15 miles. Everybody was struggling with the hills and heat. That's okay for them, not for me. I've got plans in July that require more of me.
When I reached the end of the ride at Council Crest I visited a bit with the assembled riders. I was surprised to hear that many there had short cutted the course, saving a few miles and more than a few vertical feet. It made me feel a bit better about my struggles today. I rode the 5 miles back down to the start where my pickup was waiting for me. Even though it was mostly down hill, I picked up another 215 ft of climbing on the commute back.
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........53..............0.............0..........0...........53
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536 March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April..........758..............0.............0..........0..........758 YTD........2011............142.............0.........46.........2198
There is just under 48 miles on this route, with 7072 ft of climbing. Two climbs of note are Brynwood St, which reaches 32% (NOT a typo!) and College Street which reaches 29%. I was riding with Jon, a facebook friend who came on a package deal when I rode the Tour de Cure last year with Esther. I gained a lot of FB friends from the TdC ride and Jon was one of them. I'm thinking that this may be the last TdC friend to ride with me. When I rode TdC Esther clipped my rear wheel and went down hard. Today, Jon tangled with another rider and went down hard on Brynwood, only the second climb of the day. It took him out of today's ride. That's 0 for 2 with TdC friends. I guess it's ride at your own risk when you roll with the Desert Coyote! :-O
I pedaled along at my own pace. I knew I could not be first, but I did know that I would pedal (not walk) EVERY INCH of that course.
Here I am early in the ride climbing up Erickson. (photo thanks to Jon Durdick)
It was a warm day, when I finished up the ride the temperature was 85. I went through 5 bottles of water in the 48 miles. Luckily the neighbors were very friendly and there were many opportunities to refill water today. My 2008 Race Across Oregon partner lives along the route and today he and some neighbors set up an awesome rest stop with sandwiches, fruit, water, and sports drinks. There was even free Widmer beer at mile 33. Too bad we were riding bike!
I continue to struggle to get back in riding shape after a winter of low miles. Today my legs started failing to respond with about 15 miles to go. It wasn't pretty, but it did get done. The one saving grace, I wasn't passed by many in those last 15 miles. Everybody was struggling with the hills and heat. That's okay for them, not for me. I've got plans in July that require more of me.
When I reached the end of the ride at Council Crest I visited a bit with the assembled riders. I was surprised to hear that many there had short cutted the course, saving a few miles and more than a few vertical feet. It made me feel a bit better about my struggles today. I rode the 5 miles back down to the start where my pickup was waiting for me. Even though it was mostly down hill, I picked up another 215 ft of climbing on the commute back.
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........53..............0.............0..........0...........53
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536 March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April..........758..............0.............0..........0..........758 YTD........2011............142.............0.........46.........2198
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Sunny and warm!
Well, it least it ended up that way. :-)
Earlier in the week I had thought about riding around Mt Hood, but some concerns for all the gravel debris at the roadside, and having noticed that the Oregon Randonneurs were riding 300k from Newberg to Brietenbush and back caused me to rethink my plans.
I'm not much of a Rando, just don't get the collecting reciepts, identifying colored zip ties, etc. I also often find their routes to be on roads I'd prefer not to ride when there are alternatives available. So, this morning, rather than start out from Newberg in the cold fog, I started out a few hours later from Gervais....... in cold fog!
By the time I got to Stayton the fog cleared, and from then on the day was just gorgeous.
Rather than ride Hwy 22 I took county roads and bike paths to work my way up the Santiam Canyon. I rolled through Lyons and arrived in Mill City via a bike path that followed the Santiam River and crossed the river on an old railroad bridge.
From that vantage point there was a nice view of Mill City Falls. That was always a fun ride back when I did a lot of whitewater rafting. I presume it still is fun, but now I spend far more time on the bike than I do with oars in my hands.
From Mill City I continued on up river to Gates. I was able to make the 3+ miles to Gates with very little time on Hwy 22. I continued to find paths for a short stretch, then on low traffic county roads for most of it.
There were a few folks out on the river enjoying the day as well.
Once past Gates it was pretty much on the shoulder of Hwy 22 the rest of the way up to Detroit. There was a road right after the rest area where I was able to take a parallel lower traffic route for a few miles. It was very scenic and right along the river. I guess I was too busy gawking to take out the camera and take a photo. :-O With all the late season snow, and the rather wet Spring, the side streams were running full.
Before long I arrived at Big Cliff Dam, followed in a few more miles by Detroit Dam.
Both dams were spilling water over the spillways. That surprised me when it appears that all danger of a high spring runoff has passed and the reservoir is not full. Oh well, the Corps of Engineers knows more about anticipated river flows than I do. Mt Jefferson did look nice today across Detroit Lake.
I arrived in Detroit and had a fudgecicle from the little store, and a few snacks from my pack before turning around and pedaling back down the canyon. I did pass a few of the slower Randoneurs as I neared Detroit Lake on the way up, and started seeing some of the faster Randos on their return trip as I neared the town of Detroit. There were several Seattle Randonneurs milling around the store when I got there.
I had a good pedal down the canyon. I blew right past a few Randos near Lyons. You can spot them a long way away. Why on earth you need THAT much luggage on a bike for a day trip is beyond me! ;-)
The Randonneurs were going for 187 miles today, I figured with my plans for De Ronde Van Oeste Portlandia tomorrow, that 136 would be plenty for me. ....and I had fun, which is what it's supposed to be all about! (not that the Randos didn't have fun too)
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today.......136..............0.............0..........0..........136
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536 March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April..........705..............0.............0..........0..........705 YTD........1958............142.............0.........46.........2145
Earlier in the week I had thought about riding around Mt Hood, but some concerns for all the gravel debris at the roadside, and having noticed that the Oregon Randonneurs were riding 300k from Newberg to Brietenbush and back caused me to rethink my plans.
I'm not much of a Rando, just don't get the collecting reciepts, identifying colored zip ties, etc. I also often find their routes to be on roads I'd prefer not to ride when there are alternatives available. So, this morning, rather than start out from Newberg in the cold fog, I started out a few hours later from Gervais....... in cold fog!
By the time I got to Stayton the fog cleared, and from then on the day was just gorgeous.
 | |||||
There were a few folks out on the river enjoying the day as well.
Once past Gates it was pretty much on the shoulder of Hwy 22 the rest of the way up to Detroit. There was a road right after the rest area where I was able to take a parallel lower traffic route for a few miles. It was very scenic and right along the river. I guess I was too busy gawking to take out the camera and take a photo. :-O With all the late season snow, and the rather wet Spring, the side streams were running full.
I had a good pedal down the canyon. I blew right past a few Randos near Lyons. You can spot them a long way away. Why on earth you need THAT much luggage on a bike for a day trip is beyond me! ;-)
The Randonneurs were going for 187 miles today, I figured with my plans for De Ronde Van Oeste Portlandia tomorrow, that 136 would be plenty for me. ....and I had fun, which is what it's supposed to be all about! (not that the Randos didn't have fun too)
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today.......136..............0.............0..........0..........136
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536 March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April..........705..............0.............0..........0..........705 YTD........1958............142.............0.........46.........2145
Thursday, April 19, 2012
not very popular
Tonight was the second installment of my Rocky Butte Hill Repeats event for my social bike club. After having 16 RSVP's for Tuesday's event,(and only 8 show up) tonight there was just one other RSVP, but at least he showed. I guess that means we had 100% attendance tonight. :-)
It was raining all afternoon. Just before the 6PM roll out, it stopped. As Oscar and I climbed and descended the roads were wet, but at least the sky was dry, until our 5th repeat, when a shower came through.
I was on my rain bike and had my goretex jacket on. I was plenty warm with the climbing.
I got 6 repeats in during our 90 minute time window. I had 4 minutes remaining when I came down the last time, enough time to likely get back up as far as the tunnel, but was lazy and called it a night.
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........18..............0.............0..........0...........18
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536 March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April..........569..............0.............0..........0..........569 YTD........1822............142.............0.........46.........2009
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........18..............0.............0..........0...........18
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536 March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April..........569..............0.............0..........0..........569 YTD........1822............142.............0.........46.........2009
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
deja vu
Tonight was the beginning of another season of Rocky Butte hill repeats for my social bike club. I just about didn't lead this again this year because I remember all too well the 100 miles a week I drive to lead it, and half of that through rush hour traffic. It didn't take long tonight for me to get that feeling of being here before. It took 1 hour and 45 minutes to commute the 25 miles to the ride. Yes, it would be quicker to bike there, if there were a good way to bike there. Last year I'd often drive as far as Oaks Park then cycle the last 10 miles. Tonight as I neared Oaks Park it was raining and since I wasn't prepared for rain I just drove the rest of the way.
I had 16 people signed up to ride, par for the course when it comes to the social bike club, about half showed up.
Two more showed up after we started, both had experienced issues. Josh pedaled in from Vancouver and had three flats along the way. When he showed up I helped him fix his third flat, and provided him with my floor pump. I had two repeats before helping with the flat, and two after. Not the workout I was hoping for, but enough for the first night.
Keeping my fingers crossed that Thursday's commute there doesn't take as long.
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........12..............0.............0..........0...........12
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536
March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April.......561..............0.............0..........0..........551
YTD........1803............142.............0.........46.........1991
I had 16 people signed up to ride, par for the course when it comes to the social bike club, about half showed up.
Two more showed up after we started, both had experienced issues. Josh pedaled in from Vancouver and had three flats along the way. When he showed up I helped him fix his third flat, and provided him with my floor pump. I had two repeats before helping with the flat, and two after. Not the workout I was hoping for, but enough for the first night.
Keeping my fingers crossed that Thursday's commute there doesn't take as long.
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........12..............0.............0..........0...........12
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536
March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April.......561..............0.............0..........0..........551
YTD........1803............142.............0.........46.........1991
Sunday, April 15, 2012
A good ride on new roads!
Today I started in Bingen, WA and rode to Lyle, Centerville, Goldendale, Glenwood, Husom, and back to Bingen. 111 miles today, in the mid 6000's feet of climbing, and some significant headwinds. Oh, and a couple of unexpected stretches of gravel too!
338 miles for the week.
I started out from Bingen today and rode along Hwy 14 to Lyle then followed familiar roads. Today my riding partner and I enjoyed a brisk tailwind as we pedaled eastward. I was pedaling along in the mid 20's with out much effort at all. But of course, I knew what that meant since we'd have to change directions when we got to Goldendale, but for the time being it was fun!
We arrived in Goldendale and stopped to resupply food and water. We figured, correctly, that this was likely our last chance for 60 miles to add to our on bike supplies. From Goldendale we turned back west, into the wind and pedaled a few more miles of familiar roads before turning slightly NW and toward The upper stretches of the Klickitat Canyon are quite remarkable. It reminded me of the Grand Canyon, but on a much smaller scale of course.
We continued to climb and started seeing patches of snow roadside. We dropped into tributary canyon and then climbed even a bit higher to get over the divide into the White Salmon River drainage. There was quite a bit of snow as we crossed over that divide, but the road was dry and clear. Just on the edge of Glenwood we turned south. The road was scenic with many views of Mt Adams.
I had "street viewed" both ends of this road and saw pavement but we found a 1.8 mile section of freshly graded gravel in the middle of the run. It was a bit dicey, but we managed to keep upright while picking our way along. We were glad to see a return of pavement.
We cruised along our descending route at a pretty good pace, then our mapped route had us take a left turn that climbed over a small ridge rather than follow the White Salmon River down. I had remembered my map showed we were going to travel pretty much straight south at this point back to Bingen. Still, it was a bit hard to ride up hill, when we were pretty sure we could have kept going down on the main road. We felt even more sure that next time we'll stay on the main road when all of a sudden our route turns to gravel again! This time for 3.7 miles, and at least this was better packed.
We stopped part way down as we came across some turkey hunters preparing to leave. They were amazed to see road bikes on this gravel road. So were we! They told us we likely had about 4 more miles before pavement returned. Luckily they were wrong, we had less than two miles left. We returned to pavement right near Husom Falls on the White Salmon River.
We continued down the canyon, and were soon back in Bingen. It was a long ride made a bit tougher with long climbs and significant headwinds in the late miles. Chalk it up to training, and a great day on a bike!
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today.......111..............0.............0..........0..........111
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536
March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April.......549..............0.............0..........0..........539
YTD........1791............142.............0.........46.........1979
338 miles for the week.
I started out from Bingen today and rode along Hwy 14 to Lyle then followed familiar roads. Today my riding partner and I enjoyed a brisk tailwind as we pedaled eastward. I was pedaling along in the mid 20's with out much effort at all. But of course, I knew what that meant since we'd have to change directions when we got to Goldendale, but for the time being it was fun!
We arrived in Goldendale and stopped to resupply food and water. We figured, correctly, that this was likely our last chance for 60 miles to add to our on bike supplies. From Goldendale we turned back west, into the wind and pedaled a few more miles of familiar roads before turning slightly NW and toward The upper stretches of the Klickitat Canyon are quite remarkable. It reminded me of the Grand Canyon, but on a much smaller scale of course.
I had "street viewed" both ends of this road and saw pavement but we found a 1.8 mile section of freshly graded gravel in the middle of the run. It was a bit dicey, but we managed to keep upright while picking our way along. We were glad to see a return of pavement.
We cruised along our descending route at a pretty good pace, then our mapped route had us take a left turn that climbed over a small ridge rather than follow the White Salmon River down. I had remembered my map showed we were going to travel pretty much straight south at this point back to Bingen. Still, it was a bit hard to ride up hill, when we were pretty sure we could have kept going down on the main road. We felt even more sure that next time we'll stay on the main road when all of a sudden our route turns to gravel again! This time for 3.7 miles, and at least this was better packed.
We stopped part way down as we came across some turkey hunters preparing to leave. They were amazed to see road bikes on this gravel road. So were we! They told us we likely had about 4 more miles before pavement returned. Luckily they were wrong, we had less than two miles left. We returned to pavement right near Husom Falls on the White Salmon River.
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today.......111..............0.............0..........0..........111
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536
March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April.......549..............0.............0..........0..........539
YTD........1791............142.............0.........46.........1979
Saturday, April 14, 2012
A new beginning
Not for me, but for Jim. Our social bike club is recruiting and training new ride leaders. Today was Jim's first ride as leader. We started out from his garage, which is set up as one of the best home bike shops I've seen. In addition to all the tools necessary to maintain a bike, today he had food and drinks set out for all of us. Maybe he's trying to get a "new ride leader of the year" award in December. ;-)
It was a nice day for a bike ride. There was no noticeable wind and comfortable temperatures. The sun was out, the birds were chirping, and the farmers were farming.
The route had two major out and backs, and I cut the Dairy Creek Rd O&B short since I was invited to celebrate a friend's birthday and with today's late start, and slower than expected pace, I was going to be late if I rode all the way to the end of the pavement. There were a couple of other riders who had plans afterward and shortened it up a bit too.
I ended up with 73 miles and 4384 ft of climbing. A good day on the bike. Tomorrow will be even better. I'm planning on riding 111 miles with something like 6000 ft. The best part of that is that the majority of the route I have not seen before, let alone biked. Should be fun!
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........73..............0.............0..........0...........73
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536
March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April.......438..............0.............0..........0..........438
YTD........1680............142.............0.........46.........1868
It was a nice day for a bike ride. There was no noticeable wind and comfortable temperatures. The sun was out, the birds were chirping, and the farmers were farming.
The route had two major out and backs, and I cut the Dairy Creek Rd O&B short since I was invited to celebrate a friend's birthday and with today's late start, and slower than expected pace, I was going to be late if I rode all the way to the end of the pavement. There were a couple of other riders who had plans afterward and shortened it up a bit too.
I ended up with 73 miles and 4384 ft of climbing. A good day on the bike. Tomorrow will be even better. I'm planning on riding 111 miles with something like 6000 ft. The best part of that is that the majority of the route I have not seen before, let alone biked. Should be fun!
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........73..............0.............0..........0...........73
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536
March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April.......438..............0.............0..........0..........438
YTD........1680............142.............0.........46.........1868
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Disturbed
I've been feeling a bit of a disturbance in the forces of life around me today..... oh well. Things are looking up however. A pretty girl invited me to go ride a few Rocky Butte hill repeats later this afternoon. (she's taken, but she's still pretty, and I do like riding with her.) I'm off work already so will have time to get about 15 miles of commute by bike in.
In the meantime I ran across a new Danny Macaskill clip that I'll share with you for your viewing enjoyment. That guy is amazing!
Evening update:
I got a bit late so had to ride hard to make it to our meeting location. I began the ride at Oaks Park and rode the Springwater Trail and I-205 bike path, at over 20 mph! I finally arrived and my friend and I rode 5 Rocky Butte hill repeats. I rode the hill repeats at a social pace, visiting comfortably. On our last repeat I challenged her to a sprint to a yellow traffic warning sign about 50 yds distant up the hill. By golly, she still had some snap in her legs. The race was on! ;-)
We were under partly cloudy skies, but to the west the sky was BLACK! It looked like there might have been a thunderstorm brewing. I tried to take a photo, the contrast between the black sky and the sun illuminated radio tower was photogenic, but my camera was compensating for the light conditions. I should have played a bit more with settings, but we were riding bike, and my partner was leaving me behind as I futzed around.
As it ended up, there were thunderstorms playing around to the west. We were lucky in that we didn't have so much as a drop of rain.
Following the hill repeats I accompanied her on the ride back to her house, it was in a direction that worked for me. Once back at her house she went in to prepare dinner, I mounted lights and pedaled south.
I rode back through east Portland via bike boulevards and residential side streets. I hit the Springwater Trail at about 33rd Avenue and followed it back to Oaks Park. I finished up near 8PM, still plenty light.
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........40..............0.............0..........0...........40
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536
March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April.......365..............0.............0..........0..........365
YTD........1607............142.............0.........46.........1795
In the meantime I ran across a new Danny Macaskill clip that I'll share with you for your viewing enjoyment. That guy is amazing!
Evening update:
I got a bit late so had to ride hard to make it to our meeting location. I began the ride at Oaks Park and rode the Springwater Trail and I-205 bike path, at over 20 mph! I finally arrived and my friend and I rode 5 Rocky Butte hill repeats. I rode the hill repeats at a social pace, visiting comfortably. On our last repeat I challenged her to a sprint to a yellow traffic warning sign about 50 yds distant up the hill. By golly, she still had some snap in her legs. The race was on! ;-)
We were under partly cloudy skies, but to the west the sky was BLACK! It looked like there might have been a thunderstorm brewing. I tried to take a photo, the contrast between the black sky and the sun illuminated radio tower was photogenic, but my camera was compensating for the light conditions. I should have played a bit more with settings, but we were riding bike, and my partner was leaving me behind as I futzed around.
As it ended up, there were thunderstorms playing around to the west. We were lucky in that we didn't have so much as a drop of rain.
Following the hill repeats I accompanied her on the ride back to her house, it was in a direction that worked for me. Once back at her house she went in to prepare dinner, I mounted lights and pedaled south.
I rode back through east Portland via bike boulevards and residential side streets. I hit the Springwater Trail at about 33rd Avenue and followed it back to Oaks Park. I finished up near 8PM, still plenty light.
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........40..............0.............0..........0...........40
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536
March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April.......365..............0.............0..........0..........365
YTD........1607............142.............0.........46.........1795
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Pete's Mountain
I had a bit of time this afternoon and used it to ride a short Pete's Mountain loop. 17 miles and 1600 ft of climbing. Dodged the rain showers that plagued the area in the morning.
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........17..............0.............0..........0...........17
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536
March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April.......332..............0.............0..........0..........332
YTD........1584............142.............0.........46.........1772
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........17..............0.............0..........0...........17
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536
March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April.......332..............0.............0..........0..........332
YTD........1584............142.............0.........46.........1772
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
a few good miles
I joined a few of my social bike club friends for a 28 mile ride from Helvetia over the West Hills to the Columbia River and then back over to Helvetia. For added fun I commuted to the ride. I started off with shorts and a short sleeved jersey, but carried arm and leg warmers along. It was plenty warm on the 30 mile commute to the ride.
I arrived a bit early and put my warmers on, as well as my windbreaker before we pedaled off because I was getting chilled. My coolness lasted for only a few miles as we began to climb Rock Creek Rd to Skyline Blvd. About the time we hit Skyline it began to rain. Everybody was thinking it, but nobody dared utter that we might be able to turn around and get out of the rain sooner.
We made a slippery road descent on McNamee Rd to Hwy 30, then a rain soaked slog along Hwy 30 to steep but short climb up Newberry Rd to Skyline again. As we pedaled along Skyline the sun set, and a beautiful sunset it was.
We arrived back at Helvetia and finished our ride with burgers, brew, and smiles at Helvetia Tavern.
I took brother-in-law Dave up on his offer to load my bike and haul me back. So, I ended up with 58 miles, a few hills, and lots of fun.
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........58..............0.............0..........0...........58
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536
March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April.......325..............0.............0..........0..........325
YTD........1567............142.............0.........46.........1755
I arrived a bit early and put my warmers on, as well as my windbreaker before we pedaled off because I was getting chilled. My coolness lasted for only a few miles as we began to climb Rock Creek Rd to Skyline Blvd. About the time we hit Skyline it began to rain. Everybody was thinking it, but nobody dared utter that we might be able to turn around and get out of the rain sooner.
We made a slippery road descent on McNamee Rd to Hwy 30, then a rain soaked slog along Hwy 30 to steep but short climb up Newberry Rd to Skyline again. As we pedaled along Skyline the sun set, and a beautiful sunset it was.
We arrived back at Helvetia and finished our ride with burgers, brew, and smiles at Helvetia Tavern.
I took brother-in-law Dave up on his offer to load my bike and haul me back. So, I ended up with 58 miles, a few hills, and lots of fun.
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........58..............0.............0..........0...........58
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536
March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April.......325..............0.............0..........0..........325
YTD........1567............142.............0.........46.........1755
Monday, April 9, 2012
recovery ride
I'm enough out of shape that I could feel my legs a bit today after yesterday's effort. Not sore, just... tired. Thought it might be good to go out for an easy pedal. I thought maybe Portland's 40 Mile Loop. I texted a friend as I prepared to leave seeing if perhaps she might want to join me. I started near the Willamette River and met her in the mid east side. We pedaled easy, catching up on life's details, her new boyfriend, my .. well nothing to report for me. We did have a nice visit as we took in the wonderful evening. We rode over Mt Tabor, then over to Rocky Butte and did two repeats. We then headed back to NE where she had to check in for mom duty. I pedaled back to the river. I noted that it must have been just what I needed, an easy pedal, a few hills, a little bit of spirited riding on the way back to her place through the neighborhoods. It was all good.
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........38..............0.............0..........0...........38
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536
March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April.......267..............0.............0..........0..........267
YTD........1509............142.............0.........46.........1697
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........38..............0.............0..........0...........38
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536
March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April.......267..............0.............0..........0..........267
YTD........1509............142.............0.........46.........1697
Sunday, April 8, 2012
A dead coyote
I rode the Tygh Valley Century route today with Barb, a woman who has done multiple Iron Man competitions, including Kona. I got worked, but not quite as badly as this other coyote.
My riding partner for the day showed up on a TT bike and an aero helmet. She walked the talk. If I were in the shape I was last year I could have given her a run for the money, but alas, I'm not. But I am working on it!
We rode from Tygh Valley around the fairgrounds then dropped into the Deschutes Canyon at Shearer Falls.
What goes down must go back up, so we climbed "Lauren's Hill" up to Grass Valley. It is a challenging climb to start with, but when riding into a 20-25mph wind it is even more so. Even after topping the most serious climb we were only able to maintain about 10 mph into the wind.
Once we made the turn toward Shaniko the wind became a cross wind for us. By the time we got to Shaniko the wind had slowed a bit, but still gave us a bit of a push for most of the climb. The road winds around a bit, so from time to time we still had to contend with a bit of headwind.
The wind pushed us again as we made the final approach to the drop down Bakeoven Road into the Deschutes Canyon at Maupin.
We finished up the ride, loaded up, and headed home. Tired, but successful in our quest for 100 miles..
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today.......100..............0.............0..........0..........100
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536
March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April.......229..............0.............0..........0..........229
YTD........1471............142.............0.........46.........1659
My riding partner for the day showed up on a TT bike and an aero helmet. She walked the talk. If I were in the shape I was last year I could have given her a run for the money, but alas, I'm not. But I am working on it!
We rode from Tygh Valley around the fairgrounds then dropped into the Deschutes Canyon at Shearer Falls.
What goes down must go back up, so we climbed "Lauren's Hill" up to Grass Valley. It is a challenging climb to start with, but when riding into a 20-25mph wind it is even more so. Even after topping the most serious climb we were only able to maintain about 10 mph into the wind.
Once we made the turn toward Shaniko the wind became a cross wind for us. By the time we got to Shaniko the wind had slowed a bit, but still gave us a bit of a push for most of the climb. The road winds around a bit, so from time to time we still had to contend with a bit of headwind.
The wind pushed us again as we made the final approach to the drop down Bakeoven Road into the Deschutes Canyon at Maupin.
We finished up the ride, loaded up, and headed home. Tired, but successful in our quest for 100 miles..
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today.......100..............0.............0..........0..........100
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536
March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April.......229..............0.............0..........0..........229
YTD........1471............142.............0.........46.........1659
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Eggs
Dave and I rode to my mom's place today to celebrate Easter a day early, thus avoiding the problem of forcing folks to choose which side of the family's celebration to attend. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, made even more so by the stark contrast to the weather we've been having the last few weeks. There was not a cloud in the sky and temperatures eventually reached into the upper 60's.
I had mapped a route and had chosen the "automatically route for bike" option. We had fun! Most of the 28 mile route was on roads/trails that I had never biked on. From Wilsonville to Beaverton we were on roads for only a few miles, the rest was on various multi-purpose paths. It made for a fun trip, seeing sights I hadn't seen before.
In two hours flat we arrived at mom's and soon after the rest of the family filtered in. I avoided the hassle of bringing appropriate clothing for an Easter celebration by wearing appropriate biking attire. ;-)
Following just over 5 hours of food, egg hunts, visiting, and more food, we began our ride back. We took a slight detour and visited the Washington County Bicycle Transportation Coalition's new home where they were having a grand opening celebration. Fellow social bike club friend Tonya was there as well.
We backtracked our route and had a great ride back.
I could feel lackluster legs on a few of the mild inclines later in today's ride. Not a good sign. Tomorrow will be a test, leaving VERY early in the morning to go ride my Tygh Valley Century route. 100 miles, about 6000 ft of climbing with a really LONG climb. That ought to test the legs and lungs.
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........58..............0.............0..........0...........58
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536
March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April.......129..............0.............0..........0..........129
YTD........1471............142.............0.........46.........1659
I had mapped a route and had chosen the "automatically route for bike" option. We had fun! Most of the 28 mile route was on roads/trails that I had never biked on. From Wilsonville to Beaverton we were on roads for only a few miles, the rest was on various multi-purpose paths. It made for a fun trip, seeing sights I hadn't seen before.
In two hours flat we arrived at mom's and soon after the rest of the family filtered in. I avoided the hassle of bringing appropriate clothing for an Easter celebration by wearing appropriate biking attire. ;-)
Following just over 5 hours of food, egg hunts, visiting, and more food, we began our ride back. We took a slight detour and visited the Washington County Bicycle Transportation Coalition's new home where they were having a grand opening celebration. Fellow social bike club friend Tonya was there as well.
We backtracked our route and had a great ride back.
I could feel lackluster legs on a few of the mild inclines later in today's ride. Not a good sign. Tomorrow will be a test, leaving VERY early in the morning to go ride my Tygh Valley Century route. 100 miles, about 6000 ft of climbing with a really LONG climb. That ought to test the legs and lungs.
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........58..............0.............0..........0...........58
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536
March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April.......129..............0.............0..........0..........129
YTD........1471............142.............0.........46.........1659
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
The Lanterne Rouge
I joined 7 other riders tonight in a little ride around the hills in the Helvetia area. We rode 21 miles with 1642 ft of climbing. Not bad, especially since the last 8 miles or so were pretty flat. After a day of rain I decided to bring the rain bike, and to wear my goretex jacket. With the hills I was plenty warm, too warm. But the main issue is that I am so far out of shape that I struggled to keep up tonight. (well, a burger and carbonated drink about an hour before we started didn't help either)
We lucked out with the weather, rain showers were around the area but we had dry weather as we pedaled.
Somebody has to be the Lanterne Rouge, and today that person was me!
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........21..............0.............0..........0...........21
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536
March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April........71..............0.............0..........0...........71
YTD........1413............142.............0.........46.........1601
Monday, April 2, 2012
a nice evening ride
I met up with a friend on short notice to go for a ride, no particular route in mind until we started pedaling. It was a beautiful night to ride. We started south on the I-205 bike path, cut west on Taylor to the Willamette River, then Peninsula Crossing Trail and Marine Drive path. Mt Hood was just gorgeous tonight. I didn't have my camera with me, so the phone was pressed into duty.
We had just over 40 miles in before it got dark. We stopped for a bite to eat at a place that offered fortune cookies. Her's: "you will attract many hearts" (agree) Mine: "you will be offered an exciting new job" (hope so!)
I, being ever the gentleman, accompanied her back to her home across the Glen Jackson Bridge, then rode back (into the wind!) to Gateway where I had parked. It made for a 47 mile loop. I rode another 3 just to make a nice round number. ;-)
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........50..............0.............0..........0...........50
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536
March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April........50..............0.............0..........0...........50
YTD........1392............142.............0.........46.........1580
We had just over 40 miles in before it got dark. We stopped for a bite to eat at a place that offered fortune cookies. Her's: "you will attract many hearts" (agree) Mine: "you will be offered an exciting new job" (hope so!)
I, being ever the gentleman, accompanied her back to her home across the Glen Jackson Bridge, then rode back (into the wind!) to Gateway where I had parked. It made for a 47 mile loop. I rode another 3 just to make a nice round number. ;-)
.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........50..............0.............0..........0...........50
Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536
March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
April........50..............0.............0..........0...........50
YTD........1392............142.............0.........46.........1580
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