Multnomah Falls

Today was a gorgeous day for a bike ride.  I took off from Wilsonville and rode to Multnomah Falls and back. I felt adventurous and let Ridewithgps.com determine my route.  I've had fun when doing this before. Today was no exception.

I started off by riding out to and over the Oregon City Bridge, no surprises there.  But once in Oregon City I was directed in a new way for me.  I rode north out of OC and was soon on the Clackamas River Multi-use path. Not only had I never been on it, I didn't know it existed!

Just as the trail ended I recognized where I was.  A friend and I had biked here from the opposite direction last year.

Today I just kept pedaling along.  From here I turned north and more or less followed next to I-205, sometimes close, sometime farther away.  Eventually I reached the southern end of the I-205 bike path and took it northward.  When I reached the Springwater Trail I took it east.

Once in Gresham I hopped on Powell Blvd and continued east.

When I reached Hogan Rd I turned north until reaching Stark Street.  I took Stark eastward and crossed the Sandy River.

I started up the Historic Columbia Gorge Scenic Hwy.  I could tell that I haven't been riding much this year.  The hill is not steep, 5% max, but I could feel it.  I finally made my way to Women's Forum State Park, the high point of today's ride.  I took the obligatory photo of the Vista House across the way.

I then proceeded on and got a photo from a closer vantage point.

Before long I was at Multnomah Falls, my turnaround point for today's ride.

I didn't dally long, I had a late start today and was going to need my time to be able to be home while the sun was still up. It was a nice day for a pedal, I couldn't help but let my mind wander to summer rides in the Gorge as I pedaled along in shorts and short sleeves.

The Gorge never disappoints as far as scenic beauty goes.

Lewis and Clark traveled down the Columbia River over 200 years ago.  My mind wandered to thoughts of what they might have been thinking as they traveled this portion of river.

I retraced my route back toward Wilsonville.  I crossed the Oregon City Bridge and stopped for a V8 juice at the little store on the west side.  I knew that there was a climb coming up, and my legs were feeling the miles. I pedaled out through historic Willamette, and then the climbing became more serious.  I made my way up Turner Rd.....S  L  O  W  L  Y, but made it. The sun was getting low in the sky and Turner Rd is shaded by trees the whole way, I turned my rear blinkies on.  There weren't many cars, but it only takes one.

I rolled back into Wilsonville, the sun still up for another 20 minutes or so after I stopped pedaling.

Cut it close, but it was a good day on the bike, and a good workout for this old guy! 


Today............104...............0.............0..........0............104 Jan..................93..............0..............0.........0..............93 Feb................411..............0..............0.........0............411 March.............653..............0.............0.........0............653 Total.............1160.............0...............0.........0..........1160