The end is in sight

After 3.5 months where we got very little rain (Hillsboro received 0.11") the weather guru's tell us the end is in sight. This weekend is expected to be wet, really wet. The impending change made today even more special. I took off early this morning and headed north to join a few Cascade Bicycle Club folks on a ride up Mt St Helens. The dry weather has made it hard to get control over the forest fires that are burning in several areas of the Cascade Mountians. That means there is still some smoke in the air. There is not so much that it smells smokey, but it does affect distant views. It also makes for beautiful sunsets and interesting effects.

We started at Hoffstadt Bluffs because of an advisory of heavy construction traffic below that point. That would shorten our normal route to about 50 miles round trip, with about 5100 ft of climbing. The 5 of us saddled up and began the pedal up the hill.

The fall colors were quite brilliant today.

There was a bit of excitment as we made our way to Johnston Ridge. I was leading our little entourage on a short descent. As I came around a corner I saw an elk on the roadway. I was traveling about 30 mph so braked to slow down as I tried to determine what exactly this big animal was going to do. I was down to about 5 mph as I approached to within 25 feet of the puzzled cow elk. Finally the elk decide to continue off the right side of the road, jumping the guard rail in the process. Once this elk had demonstrated the safety of the maneuver, the rest of the herd appeared from the brush on the left side of the road and followed the lead. About 15 animals in all, all cows and calves. I had pulled my camera out and was trying for "the shot" as an elk would jump the rail. Alas, don't wait for that perfect shot because you are likely to get what I got, which is nothing, as you can see from the elk photo that... I don't have posted!




After a couple of hours of pedaling up hill we arrived at the top of Johnston Ridge, and the end of the road.



Once on top we took in the view for a bit, smoke limited though it was.

I was surprised to learn that the lava dome, that continues to grow, has now replaced 7% of what was lost due to the eruption. The size of what we see is deceiving, the lava dome is 1300 ft tall. To put that in perspective, it is approximately the height of Portland's West Hills.

I was also somewhat surprised that the river had cut channels up to 200 ft deep through the previously smooth plain that resulted from the eruption and debris flows.

After spending about an hour at Johnston Ridge, playing tourist and snacking, we began our descent.

The descent back down down was fun. Top speed was kept in check by a bit of headwind, but my 56x11 high gear allowed me to keep it moving a pretty good pace. The top speed was only 43 mph, but I rarely dropped below 35 mph.



I ended up with 51 miles and 5900 ft of climbing. As with all rides, when we reached the end it was time to stop. With the impending rainfall, I probably should have pedaled a bit more as I waited for all of us to arrive. As it was, I was happy just to load up the bike, change clothes, and relive the day's adventure with my new found friends as they arrived back at Hoffstadt Bluffs.
It was indeed a very good day on the bike!

............road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total Today..........51..............0.............0..........0...........51 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 June.........1500..............0.............0..........0.........1500 July.........1558..............0.............0..........0.........1558 Aug...........531..............0.............0..........0..........531 Sept..........730..............0.............0..........0..........730 Oct............366..............0..............0..........0...........366 YTD..........8023............142............20.........46.........8182