Burning Bridges

I have never been on Vancouver's Burnt Bridge Creek Trail and heard glowing reports on it.  I had hoped to ride this with a friend who lived up that way, but alas..........that bridge has been burnt.

My social bike club rode a ~20 mile loop last evening that included this trail but I was busy riding intervals closer to home.  Today I had time, so I went to Rocky Butte, the location of this evening's hill repeats, and planned on riding from there along Marine Drive and over the Interstate Bridge to get to the start of that route and then just pedal it as a preride.

The first snafu came as I was exiting the I-205 path trying to get on Marine Drive west. Before I knew it I was entering the Glenn Jackson bridge.  That didn't concern me too much as I knew the way on the Washington side to get from the Glenn Jackson bridge to the Interstate Bridge.  As I exited the Glenn Jackson bridge I saw a bike sign that said "Burnt Bridge Creek Trail, 3.5 miles".  How fortuitous I think to myself, I'll just follow the signs there.

That worked until I got .5 miles from the trail, then I missed a sign, or it wasn't there. After pedaling a couple of miles I zoomed out on my Garmin which had last night's route loaded and decided to navigate cross country to the course.  My Garmin Edge 305 does not have a base map, just a line on the screen to follow.  That normally works just fine, but once off course it does little good. As you can see on the map below (showing what I actually rode) I ran into dead ends more than once and had to backtrack.

This map is interactive, you can zoom, change view, etc.


Once I reached Hazel Dell I knew for sure I was not in Kansas anymore. I did eventually reach the Burnt Bridge Creek Trail, taking 20 miles longer than that sign said it would!  Yes, it was a nice trail, at least the few miles of it I actually rode.

Once on the Burnt Bridge Creek Trail I could follow last night's route back to Vancouver. I reached Fruit Valley Rd and pedaled hard.  I was running short on time. I am the ride leader for the Rocky Butte Hill Repeats and like to be there at least 15 minutes early to get everyone signed in and give a little preride safety talk.  I crossed the Interstate Bridge and kept the pedals spinning.  I covered the Marine Drive path quickly, then turned down the I-205 path. I could see Rocky Butte, but knew it was going to be close.

I arrived at our meeting point with 12 minutes to spare before pedals were to spin.
I got everyone signed in and we were off.

I put new brake pads on my bike.  I was running my carbon wheels and they require carbon specific pads. I bought them just yesterday.  It seemed a bit odd, they were in standard packaging, but there was a sticker on the front that stated "carbon".  I'm thinking somebody got sticker happy. Coming down Rocky Butte requires a hard application of brakes at the bottom.  My brake shoes melted, leaving residue on the wheel, and making a very loud screeching sound in the process. I stopped after 2 repeats, not wanting to damage my wheels.

I guess I'll be making a trip back to the bike shop in the morning!

  ........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.........1010..............0.............0..........0.........1010
 May..........1000..............0.............20..........0..........1020  YTD........3343............142............20.........46.........3526

Interval night

Wednesday night is interval night for my social bike group.  I haven't been able to attend many of these owing to a work schedule.  Tonight I had no conflicts so I arrived early, to find the ride leader there early as well, on a brand new Fuji bike! 

I accompanied him on a preride.

We were back to the starting location to lead the rest of the group out.

It was a good ride. I was able to hold a 24 mph pace for nearly 5 miles as I pedaled back from Butteville to  Boones Ferry landing at the end of our  preride. During our intervals I never dropped below 22 mph.  Not bad for an old slow guy.

Tomorrow is Rocky Butte again.. I plan to get a lap of Portland's 40 mile loop in before the hill repeats begin.

 ........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........29..............0..............0..........0............29
   Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
 Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536 March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
 April.........1010..............0.............0..........0.........1010
 May............950..............0.............20..........0...........970  YTD........3293............142............20.........46.........3476

Rocky Butte Hill Hill Repeats Repeats

Once again it was time for Rocky Butte hill repeats.  It was going to be a glorious evening for riding.  I had time before the ride tonight so went for a ride around NE Portland.  It was nice not to be in a mad rush to get there.
The preride also meant I was warmed up and ready to go.

Jon D photo credit

Soon it was time to attack that hill.  We took a group photo and were off. 2 more folks showed up after we were riding.  I goofed around a bit, The first climb I turned around after about 100 yds just to make sure all our riders were starting off.  About the second summitting I rode three laps around the top, just for fun.  Pretty soon I realized that if I focused I could perhaps get 7 repeats in.  As #7 unfolded I was pushing hard to get to the top. I did manage to arrive at the summit loop just as time expired. I would not have time for 7 complete laps, but I would get 7 ascents.......plus some bonus laps and a little goofing around at the start.

As I started down the hill I was riding with Monica. I was just beginning to get my speed up, traveling a solid 30+ mph when a sound like a gun shot went off.  I figured a blow out, but since my bike was not shimmying I figured it must be Monica.   I was wrong, it was my front tire.  The Gatorskin is only about a month old, but my first trip on them (the Goldendale ride) had an unexpected 6 mile stretch of gravel.  The gravel had scuffed up the sidewalls and finally on this trip the sidewall gave out.

On most Rocky Butte rides I leave my flat fixing supplies at the bottom.  I figure less weight is good, and worse case scenerio means a 1.47 mile walk back.  Well, this was almost the worse case.  The weather was nice, so that was one plus, and I was about 200 ft down from the summit.

Monica said she'd ride to the bottom then drive back up and fetch me.  Before she could get that plan in motion however I came up with a plan.  I shifted all my weight back, keeping the saddle on my chest, taking all the weight off the front wheel that I could.  I rolled down the hill at about 8-10 mph.

I made it to the bottom without damaging the rim.

We all met at Wild Wings for a post ride debriefing.

It was a good night.

 ........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........39..............0..............0..........0............39
   Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
 Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536 March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
 April.........1010..............0.............0..........0.........1010
 May............921..............0.............20..........0...........941  YTD........3264............142............20.........46.........3447

McKenzie Pass

McKenzie Pass is magical. I spend a great deal of time up there in the late summer and fall. It's a bonus when ODOT plows a single lane width through the 20 ft drifts and opens the road to bicyclists and hikers only.  They did that last year and repeated again this year.

I led a group of 8 up there today to ride from Western Oregon to Eastern Oregon and back.  We started at the McKenzie Ranger Station. We had a series of delays today, none big in and among themselves, but cumulatively they added up. I had hoped to be pedaling by 9:30 AM, instead it was just after 10:30 before the 8 of us shoved off.

We rode a couple of miles on relatively flat road then turned onto Hwy 242.  The first few miles of that were just gently sloping also.  We soon began to climb however.

Earlier I had been talking about this ride and a friend had said she'd like to ride this but didn't think she could do it. Ever the optimist, I convinced her to join us by saying I wouldn't drop her.  The rest of the group was invited to ride a slower pace with me, or hammer along at their own pace.

Catherine and I ended up riding together as the others pedaled along ahead.

We started at an elevation of about 1600 ft and would pedal to over 5300 ft to cross McKenzie Pass.
When we were a a few miles from the Obsidian Trailhead we met John Henry coming back our direction. His plan as not to ride all the way to Sister but rather ride to where the main climb leveled off for a bit.  There is still about 500 ft of climbing at that point so I always choose to pedal on.  Today John Henry turned around and pedaled back up with us.

 The climb was relentless. We soon started seeing consistant snow.

 As we climbed the snow got deeper and deeper.

We reached the summit

 and within 150 ft passed through a snow drift that had to have been near 20 ft high.  It was an impressive sight to be riding next to the gigantic wall of snow and ice.

Catherine and I arrived in Sisters about 20 minutes later than most of our riding partners. We did have lunch there and a chance to compare notes with our ride partners. They took off a bit before we were ready to go, they were near finished with their lunch before we arrived.

There was a bit of a head wind as we pedaled back to the pass.  It was enough to really slow Catherine down. I tried to get her to draft me, but we just couldn't seem to get that to work.

We eventually got to the summit.  It was 42 degrees with about a 20 mph wind in that wide open lava field country. We stopped only momentarily to take a photo, the stellar view of the volcanic peaks was not to be had, as there were a lot of low clouds and fog obscuring them.

Though there was only about half the climbing on our return trip, the wind caused us to take longer than we had anticipated.  We arrived in Sisters after 4 hours of riding, as predicted preride.  The return trip took 3.5 hours, whereas we had predicted 3 hours.

It was a good ride, Catherine had never been on McKenzie Pass before and was amazed at the scenery. I only wished that we would have had clear weather, the North Sister is so close that it seems you can reach out and touch it.

Next time.

........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........78..............0..............0..........0............78
   Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
 Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536 March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
 April.........1010..............0.............0..........0.........1010
 May............882..............0.............20..........0...........892  YTD........3225............142............20.........46.........3408

listen to me here! Following the Desert Coyote - 168th phonecast

listen to me here! Following the Desert Coyote - 167th phonecast

2/3rds

that's how much of our Rocky Butte hill repeat ride was dry tonight.
It rained most of the day, even a thunderstorm mid afternoon, but it cleared up and dried out late in the day.  I still brought the raingear and rain bike.

As the 6PM start time arrived I was the only one of 5 expected to be there.  The road was dry and the hill was ready, up I went. Catherine had texted me saying she would be late, so I figured at least one person would join me.  

As I was on my third repeat she arrived.  We pedaled along enjoying the evening and chattering a bit. About 7PM the sky darkened and the wind picked up a bit.  We knew what that meant.  By 5 minutes after 7 it was pouring, and continued to do so for the remainder of our ride. We normally quit at 90 minutes, but Catherine wanted to atone for her tardiness, so we rode 15 minutes over.  I had raingear, but she didn't.  She said she was already wet, one more repeat wouldn't make her any more wet. ;-)

Given her cold wet state, we skipped the usual post ride carbohydrate replenishment.


.........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.........1010..............0.............0..........0.........1010
 May............794..............0.............20..........0...........814  YTD........3147............142............20.........46.........3330

back on the Butte

After missing both Tuesday and Thursday Rocky Butte rides last week I managed to make it tonight.
It was raining most of the day, and happened to be raining hard when I got off work.
I put on a long sleeved jersey, long winter pants, my goretex rain gear..........and brought the rain bike.

7 folks showed up, not bad for a windy night, that was supposed to be wet as well. I managed to get 6 repeats, plus about 100 yds before the 90 minute time limit expired. Not bad for riding the rain bike.

Dan D often starts early and leaves early and tonight he had already left by the time Jon D took this photo as we were swapping stories and deciding where we were going to go for post ride refreshment.

Jon D photo

It was a good night, didn't even get a single drop of rain.

.........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.........1010..............0.............0..........0.........1010
 May............776..............0.............20..........0...........796  YTD........3129............142............20.........46.........3312

One more day of sunshine

It was predicted to rain at home.  I was still in California enjoying blue sky and sunshine. The sunshine was going to be eclipsed today though.  The center of the eclipse elipse ;-) was right over Mt Shasta and the town of Weed, CA. The retirement community of Lake Shastina was holding an eclipse viewing party, heavy on the party.  7 live bands, food booths, and lots of green grass to relax on.  All of that added up to making it very enticing to spend a bit more time in the California sun before returning home to rain.

I arrived in Weed by noon (a 5 hour drive), found the park, unloaded my bike, and pedaled northward on US 97.  I kept looking for a paved road that would head east toward Mt Shasta, but every road I saw was gravel.  I finally just resigned myself to a ride out and back on US 97. It wasn't bad.  Traffic was low, and the shoulder was wide. As I pedaled, the blue sky gave way to some building clouds.  They were dark and appeared that they might result in lightning, but never quite made it.

I got in 72 miles  before getting back to the park.

I arrived back at the park with plenty of time to help out the local economy by buying "dinner" from the food booths and sitting back and enjoying some music.

The sky was still blue and cloudless to the east, but there was a dark band of clouds running longitudinally right over the sun.  We were going to have to catch that eclipse in the spaces between clouds.

I had my GoPro set on a tripod filming continuously.  I was doing my best with my phone's camera to capture the event and post updates to facebook.  I had my digital camera sitting nearby.

With the clouds making timing everything I completely forgot about my digital camera, probably my best chance of getting a good photo. I was messing around with the phone and finally found I could get an image of the sun in a "barrel flare".  The sun, even when mostly eclipsed, was still way too bright for my phone and I didn't realize until later that there was an exposure adjustment I could have fiddled with and maybe got something better. In the photo below, the actual sun is above the image in that bright white area. (the GoPro had similar results)

As soon as the sun was done playing hide and seek I continued on my way northward, another 5.5 hours of travel left to go.

It was yet another great day on the bike!

.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........72..............0..............0..........0............72
   Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
 Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536 March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
 April.........1010..............0.............0..........0.........1010
 May............758..............0.............20..........0...........778  YTD........3111............142............20.........46.........3294

The American Way

or at least the American River Bike Path. ;-)

I joined The Butts on Bikes Inland Empire from Chino today on a ride of the American River Bike Path starting in Sacramento.  Getting there involved a road trip for both the BOBIEs and this BOB.

The weather was awesome, sunny, warm, everything you expect California to be.

I started the morning off joining some of our group for a large breakfast at our hotel.   Following breakfast most of our group started from the hotel and rode the couple of miles to Discovery Park where the ride officially began.

At Discovery Park we were joined by a few more folks.

We shoved off under warm, cloudless skies.  A real treat for an Oregonian in May!

I was expecting a trail like Portland's Springwater Corridor, a rails to trails project that actually follows an abandoned railroad right of way. I was surprised to find that this trail is in the general vicinity of an old right of way, it does not stay right on it.

We had a fun ride up to Folsom Dam.  Unlike the Springwater Trail the American River path is more like a braided river.  There were many forks in the trail, and it appeared that they all eventually got to the dam. Some of the others had Garmin 805 gps units and were having trouble deciphering which fork we were to take.   My 305 shows me the way quite well.  I ended up leading the group (the blind leading the blind!) up the mapped route.

There were turkeys

But none of the BOBIEs were turkeys!
There were also deer, doves, red winged blackbirds, and a whole slew of other wildlife.

I was surprised by how few times we saw the American River.  It was right there, but the shrubbery and trees blocked the view much of the time.

After we reached the dam we spent a bit of time looking over the lake.

We then rode back a few miles to a lunch stop. After lunch we continued our way back to Discovery Park.
It was a slightly downhill ride, but rarely over 1%.  What little help we got from the terrain was negated by a headwind.  None the less, a group of three of us were pedaling hard and moving quickly.  I was pedaling a sustained 22-24 mph and April stuck right with me and Jeff not far behind. Finally April had enough and dropped off, Jeff had turned off the afterburners a bit earlier.  I could not rest though, a guy on a TT bike tucked in behind me and decided to put the aerodynamics of that bike to use sucking into my draft.  I stepped up the pace a bit.  I pulled him along for several miles then backed off just a bit to give him the chance to pull, he declined, so it was back on it.  I stepped the pace up a bit more, figured if he was going to suck my wheel all the way back he was going to have to earn it. I had it in the upper 20's for another few miles.  I came into an area that had a few sharp bends.  I slowed a bit to get through the corners then put the hammer down again.  My tail couldn't match the acceleration and dropped off.  Little did he know, that was about all I had too!

I held a quick pace for another mile or so then dropped back to the upper teens.  I was about 5 miles from Discovery Park when another TT bike came up from behind.  I didn't have it in me to catch him, though I did give it a good try.

I rolled into Discovery Park.  I got a good long drink of water then sat down in the grass in the shade of trees and waited..... and waited.......and waited. About 40 minutes later April and Jeff arrived.  They laid their bikes down next to mine and we were all just sitting there chatting when about 15 minutes later the rest of the group arrived.  They said we looked like a train wreck, bodies and bikes scattered around in the grass.  :-)  I took a photo our little contingent and then we all rode back to our hotel where we got cleaned up in anticipation of Mexican dinner on the shores of the American River.

It was a good ride with a fun group of folks.


.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........69..............0..............0..........0............69
   Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
 Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536 March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
 April.........1010..............0.............0..........0.........1010
 May............686..............0.............20..........0...........706  YTD........3039............142............20.........46.........3222

listen to me here! Following the Desert Coyote - 166th phonecast

Silence

I participated in the Ride of Silence again this year.  The Ride of Silence is a slow paced ride designed to honor those injured or killed while on a bike.  It became personal for me after a car ran a stop sign and hit me a few years ago.  I have not missed an RoS since then. This time I joined the event in Salem.  The Salem area lost three riders in the last year. There was a pretty good turnout of about 60 riders.

Many had signs indicating what we were doing.

 We rode a course that took us on a mix of city streets and paths.  We unfortunately did not have a police escort, I think that always adds a little "officialness" to the ride.  Without the police escort, to the general public it begins to look a lot like just a group of folks out for a ride.

As I am posting this tonight I hear on the news that a cyclist was hit tonight in Portland by a right turning semi-truck. We as cyclists need to always be vigilant and be sure we are doing everything possible to mitigate the risks, and work to insure that drivers are held accountable for their actions.


...and then again it might have been a case of cyclist stupidity.


and the last of my rant for today's post.....  here is a good example of why a cyclist should never ride to the right of a potentially right turning vehicle.



If you ride up to a line of stopped cars, ride like a car, get in the lane and wait your turn.  Don't be a gutter bunny and sneak up on the right side.  Bunnies die way too often.

.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today.........8..............0..............0..........0.............8
   Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
 Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536 March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
 April.........1010..............0.............0..........0.........1010
 May............617..............0.............20..........0...........637  YTD........2970............142............20.........46.........3153

a fall back plan

As I was pulling into work headquarters today, already about 6 minutes "late" my work phone rings........3 more hours of work.  Ya, OT, but I had a Rocky Butte ride I was supposed to lead.  I made a few quick calls/text msgs to make sure I had a qualified ride leader to fill in for me.  :-(

After my work day finally ended I was looking for a fall back plan and decided that I had time for a short ride before it got too dark.  I took off on my winter "night loop", a route on well lit and mostly low traffic roads with wide shoulders, if not actual painted bike lanes.

I did take my light with me.  ;-)

....and yes, had three red blinkies on the back, a white blinky and my bright Stella 3 on front....as I finished up.

It was a good ride, nice weather.

Tomorrow is the Ride of Silence.  I'll be there. 

.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........24..............0..............0..........0............24
   Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
 Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536 March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
 April.........1010..............0.............0..........0.........1010
 May............609..............0.............20..........0...........629  YTD........2962............142............20.........46.........3145

Luvin' da long days

 I had high hopes of being on the bike by 4PM or shortly after tonight on my way to two laps of Portland's 40 mile loop.  Alas, I got off work very late and wasn't on the bike until shortly after 7PM. Though the sun was still up, and the temperature was 85, I knew it would be dark and cooler by the time I'd be finished with one lap, so I packed my bright light as well as arm and leg warmers. I'm just a pansy when it comes to getting cold!

I started off and by the time I got to the University of Portland the view from the bluff presented a perfect photo opportunity.

 I continued on, soon taking a right turn onto the Peninsula Crossing trail.  Before long I was along Marine Drive, my last segment of road, the rest of the route being bike paths.

The sun was beginning to get low in the sky, and the shadows were lengthening.

I was still along Marine Drive when the sun set over the Columbia River.

I was half way through the 40 mile route.  It was still warm, and I was pedaling hard, so I was warm enough. I turned south when I reached the Glenn Jackson Bridge and followed the I-205 path. I climbed to the highest part of the route as I skirted the shoulder of Rocky Butte. As I reached the top I stopped and put on my lights and warmers.  From here on it was going to be dark and I was beginning to feel cool air against my skin.

I continued south to the Springwater Corridor and followed that to the Willamette River then took the East Bank Esplanade northward to close the loop.

It was a great night to be on a bike, and daylight until nearly 9PM was sure nice!

.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........41..............0..............0..........0............41
  Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
 Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536 March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
 April.........1010..............0.............0..........0.........1010
 May............585..............0.............20..........0...........605  YTD........2938............142............20.........46.........3121

Mother's Day

I drove to my mom's home in Hillsboro, because it was Mother's Day and I had a hanging basket to deliver.  I just couldn't think of a good way to carry that on the bike for 35 miles!

Once I had the flowers delivered I unloaded the bike and started to pedal. I rode Evergreen back eastward to 185th, rode that to Old Cornelius Pass Rd, took that to Skyline then down Newberry to Hwy 30.  Once on Hwy 30 I rode to the Longview Bridge.  ...then turned around and rode back! Hwy 30 is the bane of many an ST rider, but though there was a reasonable amount of traffic, two lanes each direction plus a very ample shoulder made me feel quite safe.

The climb up Newberry Rd reached 19% for one brief stretch.  It was a WARM day, in the upper 80's, and I was feeling the heat as I climbed up that hill. Oh, and I had 100 miles on my legs when I was doing it too. I was not fast, was riding solo with no one to try to keep up with, and nobody to push me.  But I pedaled up to the top.  I was streaming sweat by the time I reached Skyline Blvd. I cooled down nicely on the descent back down to Hillsboro though.

It was a good day to bike.  I probably should have ridden more.........  but you know how it is.  :-O

.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today.......121..............0..............0..........0...........121
  Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
 Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536 March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
 April.........1010..............0.............0..........0.........1010
 May............544..............0.............20..........0...........564  YTD........2897............142............20.........46.........3080

Light

After last evening where I did not have my bright light along, today I played it safe and had it stowed in my pack. Didn't need it, the large bright gaseous orb in the sky provided more light than I could possibly use!
I knew I was going to ride somewhere, just didn't know where.  I followed facebook chatter among my bikey friends and finally decided on a commute to Portland where I would meet Art for a ride around Portland's 40 mile loop.  Art has been having some pinched nerve like issues and was looking for an easy ride to loosen things up a bit.  He asked what the pace would be, I responded "15 mph", and we were set.

I played with ridewithgps again to give me a bike friendly route to the Steel Bridge, our meeting point today. It was a fun ride taking bike paths and back alleys where it worked.

 The only issue was along Tom McCall Waterfront Park where there was some festival going on, and just shoulder to shoulder (and dog leash)  people that had other things on their minds than making room for two wheeled users of the multi-use path.  I had attached my bell to the bike today, expecting "the I-Podded masses" to be out in force on the paths today.  It got a workout!

I met Art at the Steel Bridge.

 We were soon off on today's adventure.  We pedaled out past University of Portland then took the Peninsula Crossing Trail. The Peninsula Crossing Trail is surprisingly rural in nature.  We pedaled along backwaters and sloughs, with wildlife watching our every move.

 We turned  onto the Marine Drive path. Mt Hood was looking glorious today.

It seemed that everyone was out on their bikes today.  We saw several friends today while making our loop. Many of them were Rocky Butte Hill Repeat ride alums.

We finished up our loop today with a 15.7 mph on bike average, not too far off my prediction to Art of 15.

We said our goodbyes then I pedaled back southward.  Part of my route was on Corbett Avenue, the view from that street is pretty nice.

It was a warm day, in the upper 80's.  I didn't need that light today!

.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........85..............0..............0..........0............85
  Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
 Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536 March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
 April.........1010..............0.............0..........0.........1010
 May............423..............0.............20..........0...........443  YTD........2776............142............20.........46.........2959

7 days makes one weak

Today was my 7th consecutive day on a bike. I rode long last weekend, but during the week I've just been puttering along in the neighborhood of 20-30 miles.  Tonight I rode a very easy out and back on the Springwater Corridor.  It was a nice evening to pedal.  It was in the mid 70's as I started out.

 As the sun went down it got noticeably cooler and the light was leaving. I had a front blinky on but did not bring my good light. 

Finished the ride up just as it was getting dark, then went out for Chinese food. A good evening for a bike ride.

.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........30..............0..............0..........0............30
  Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
 Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536 March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
 April.........1010..............0.............0..........0.........1010
 May............338..............0.............20..........0...........358  YTD........2691............142............20.........46.........2874

It was time for Rocky Butte hill repeats again.  I felt good tonight, even though it was my 6th consecutive day on a bike.  I survived because the weekday rides have been short.  Tonight I managed to get 7 full repeats in the 90 minutes, plus about 300 yds.  That's 300 more yards than I got on Tuesday.  :-)



.........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.........1010..............0.............0..........0.........1010
 May............308..............0.............20..........0...........328  YTD........2661............142............20.........46.........2844

Something new

Today Steve led the inaugural South Metro After Work Ride. It was designed as an interval training ride. It was also my first foray into this format.  He had said this should be a workout and to bring a heavier bike to increase the benefits, and he had specifically mentioned bringing a mountain bike.  So I did!

Steve and his wife Barb were on a tandem. I was able to keep pace with the tandem most of the time, even passed them a couple of times, but there was a brisk wind.  When pulling into the wind I just couldn't match the efficiencies of two people on a tandem. ...but I was close.  The others were quite a way back.

It was a good night to bike, and I was pleased with my performance.


.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today.........0..............0.............20..........0............20
  Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
 Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536 March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
 April.........1010..............0.............0..........0.........1010
 May............287..............0.............20..........0...........307  YTD........2640............142............20.........46.........2823

Tuesday again

 and time for Rocky Butte Hill Repeats.

I had to work late and couldn't leave Wilsonville until 5:10 PM. Battling rush hour traffic from one end of the metro area to the other, I've never made it to the ride in less than 90 minutes, and have taken as long as 150 minutes.  Tonight I made it in 40 minutes! I arrived 10 minutes before the ride was to start.

I had a good night.  My legs felt a bit tired as I started out, but just sort of fell into a rhythm and pedaled.  I was surprised to get 7 complete repeats in before our 90 minute session was up.  I was pleased with that.  The most I ever got last year was 8, and that was after many months of riding that hill.

Following the ride 5 of us met at the Alameda Brew Pub for a little carbohydrate replacement therapy. :-)

Tomorrow  evening I ride closer to home, doing some interval training with a few folks.

.........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.........1010..............0.............0..........0.........1010
 May............287..............0..............0..........0...........287  YTD........2640............142.............0.........46.........2803

recovery miles

My legs were tired today.... I'm such an out of shape specimen of a bike rider.  The sun was shining though, and it was warm.  No better excuse needed to hop on a bike and go for a ride.  I wasn't looking for a workout, just an easy spin/stretch........aka, "recovery ride".

I took off sort of randomly, but soon found myself on the route I ride often during the dark winter months. Today in bright sunshine it looked a bit different, and since I was out there during rush hour there was more traffic, but it was still a good ride. I modified the route from the normal route just because I like exploring.

I would have kept pedaling longer, but had agreed to help a friend move some furniture tonight.

It was a good ride, just what I needed.


.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........24..............0.............0..........0............24
 Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
 Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536 March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
 April.........1010..............0.............0..........0.........1010
 May............266..............0..............0..........0...........266  YTD........2619............142.............0.........46.........2782

A commute, a trail, and a commute

 I saw that the Whino's  were riding the Banks-Vernonia trail today, beginning at 10AM.  Hmmmm, with that late start I could ride to the ride!  So I did. There was low overcast, almost a high fog, as I started out this morning.  I was 30 miles into my ride before I saw my shadow, but from then on it improved rapidly.

I am continually amazed at the Ridewithgps site. Today I told it to map me from Wilsonville to Banks via a bike friendly route.  It of course did that.  I found bike paths along my route today that I did not know existed. I often found myself going into a cul-de-sac expecting a mapping error only to find a small path heading out the back side.  At one point as the path along Fanno Creek emptied onto a street I saw that there was no curb cut. I was preparing to stop and step off the curb and turn right when I noted that my gps was directing me to turn left for 20 feet.  Sure enough, 20 feet to my left was a curb cut.  How can that website possibly know all those details?

I did arrive in Banks with about 25 minutes to spare. Our ride leader today was Esther, a friend who I led to her first century last year. We pedaled at a leisurely pace along the trail. A few of the folks were struggling a bit. It was a nice day to be biking.

We all made it to Vernonia, 22 miles away.  We spent about 20 minutes in the park regrouping, then pedaled back to Banks.

Once at Banks we regrouped at a pizza place and replaced some carbs.  The rest of the gang drove back to the McMinnville area, I pedaled back to Wilsonville.

My only issue today was during my solo commute back.  A woman in a Subaru came up along side me, then without signaling turned right in front of me across the bike lane to enter a apartment complex.  I had just put new brake pads on my bike the night before and was glad I did.  I took advantage that the weather was nice and she had her windows open.  I hollered loud enough to get her attention, then rode up to the driver and had a civil discussion with her. Okay, so I told her a few things like if she didn't start paying attention she was going to kill someone, maybe a neighbor kid. Hopefully she remembers the scolding she got.

Other than that, it was a great day on the bike!


.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today.......126..............0.............0..........0...........126
 Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
 Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536 March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
 April.........1010..............0.............0..........0.........1010
 May............242..............0..............0..........0...........242
 YTD........2595............142.............0.........46.........2758

an alternate 100 miles

Many of my friends were riding the Ride Around Clark County (RACC) today.  There were varying length options, but the folks I ride with were mostly riding the century route. With the price of gas, the reduction in wages, and the time involved to drive there, I decided to ride closer to home today.  In fact, I began my ride from the driveway.  I rode the Wilsonville Century route, but in the reverse direction of normal, because ODOT (or maybe Feds, it IS on the interstate) has been changing the Wilsonville interchange on I-5, and what used to be a relatively safe crossing of the Boone Bridge now is dicey southbound, and totally unacceptable northbound.

I started off southbound over the Boone Bridge and rode the flat part of the route first, leaving the 4500 feet of climbing for the last half of the ride. :-O



The weather wasn't quite as good as predicted.  It was mostly cloudy all day, and the clouds were moisture laden and dark.  I had a few scattered drops of rain from time to time, but no real rain showers.

With a bit of riding to get to the official unofficial route, I ended up with 102 miles for the day.


.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today.......102..............0.............0..........0...........102
 Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
 Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536 March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
 April.........1010..............0.............0..........0.........1010
 May............116..............0..............0..........0...........116
 YTD........2469............142.............0.........46.........2632

not feelin' da love

A few of us gathered to ride Rocky Butte hill repeats again tonight. I had to work late and was 10 minutes late to the ride.  I just couldn't get my head around riding hard, but I did pedal up and down that hill a few times. It seemed to be contagious, at least one other rider mentioned having the same feeling. There were five of us riding in the light rain showers tonight.  I expected worse, and had brought the fendered "rain" bike. 

 

Jon D photo

 More than the rain, the cold was an issue.   I was warm enough, but my riding partners were quite cold.  All of us got cold at the end of the ride when we were discussing the options for a post ride snack.  Tonight it was decided that we all had too many things to get done yet tonight..........  and one of those things was to get into some warm, dry, clothes!

.........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........14..............0.............0..........0...........14
 Jan.........105.............34.............0..........0..........139
 Feb.........428............108.............0.........24..........536 March.......809..............0.............0.........22..........831
 April.........1010..............0.............0..........0.........1010
 May.............14..............0..............0..........0............14
 YTD........2367............142.............0.........46.........2530