For readers not familiar with Oregon, the Cascade Mountains divide the state roughly into 1/3 on the west side that is wetter and has milder temperatures than the 2/3 on the east side, that is high desert, has much less rain, and much more extreme temperatures. Portland annual averages look like THIS. On the east side, Bend annual averages look like THIS, and even farther east Burns isn't much drier, but is significantly colder.
What this all means to the Portland area, which is situated at the west end of the Columbia River Gorge, is subject to the Gorge's famous winds. Winds of 35mph through the Columbia River Gorge are common, and winds of 80 mph are not uncommon. When high pressure builds inland, as it is doing now, the pressure differential takes the cold dry air from Eastern Oregon and pushes it into the Portland area on very strong winds.
I just heard the weather guru say that the low in Bend tomorrow morning will be around 10 degrees, and the high will be 30 degrees. Winds at the Vista House (situated on Crown Point in the Columbia River Gorge) will gust near 100 mph. Humidity is plummeting as fast as the temperatures.
All that just to say that today was a great day to ride a bike, if you don't mind a bit of wind. It will certainly be a lot less enjoyable to be out pedaling by tomorrow.
I took the fixed gear bike out for a shopping run. I was looking for a particular fungicide for a houseplant that has issues. I didn't find what I was looking for, but did find swirling leaves.
And even some stuff I did NOT expect to see! Gust were to 45, not normally enough to down trees, but there are still a lot of leaves on the trees, giving the wind more to push against.
Nearer the west end of the Columbia Gorge the winds are much higher. We are "around the corner" and out of the direct blast of the winds.
I pedaled toward home via the Korean War Memorial in Wilsonville. It looked like a Veteran's Day memorial service had just wrapped up. There were about 25 people, many wearing medals, and a few using walkers, quietly visiting as they were packing up
With all the coming home empty handed shopping and photo op stopping, I only got 5 miles pedaling in. In a few hours the wind was blowing harder but the sky was still crystal clear. I hopped on the rain bike (only because it has the ability to carry panniers) and rode to 24 Hour Fitness for a soak in the hot tub. With impending snow and ice it just seemed like the thing to do. The majority of that ride was with a cross wind. The few sections where I rode into the wind were challenging.
I made it to 24 Hour Fitness and got my hot tub visit, then rode back toward home. As I neared home the shadows were getting long, but still plenty of light.
Despite the wind, it was a gorgeous day.
............road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total Today............23...............0..............0...............0.............23 Jan.............710...............0..............0...............0............710
Feb............ 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ..........701...............0..............0...............0............701
April...........749...............0..............0...............0............749
May.............613...............0..............0...............0............613
June............309...............0..............0...............0............309
July............615...............0..............0...............0............615
August..........359...............0..............0...............0............359
Sept............292...............0..............0...............0............292
Oct.............708...............0..............0...............0............708
Nov.............213...............0..............0...............0............213 Total..........5749...............0..............0...............0...........5749
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