Race Across Oregon (2 course records), Furnace Creek 508, UMCA North American 500 Mile Time Trial Champion, 4 consecutive 10k mile years. I no longer bike after being hit 3 times by drivers who violated the law, but were never held responsible. I no longer want to risk my life for the fun of riding bike.
After successfully #ridingeverydayinNovember I've pretty much taken the month of December off and have been #hardlyridingatallinDecember. There has been measurable rain in Portland for the first 24 days of December, laying down 14.70" of rain. (10.18" above the normal total December average) Despite it being very wet, it was not impossible to get on the bike, but with the nearly constant rain, and hectic holiday preparations, it was easy to find other things that needed to be done.
Today was the second dry day in a row so the excuses ran out. 5 of us took off on a leisurely pedal. We started at 10:30 AM from Sellwood Riverfront Park, allowing time for the morning frost to clear up. We first rode north to Portland and pedaled both sides of the Willamette River.
On the way northward
On Tilikum Crossing. -Mark H photo
After making the loop we pedaled out to Cartlandia for lunch. Cartlandia was in a holiday slump with a number of carts being closed, but there was still enough food available to keep us from starving.
After our lunch break, where we happened to strike up a conversation with Kelli the Credit Manager of Niner Bikes, we split up with Russ taking a more direct ride back to his home in Beaverton. Mark, Jim, Julie, and I continued pedaling back to Sellwood.
It was a cool day, never getting out of the 30's, but for the most part we were all dressed appropriately for the weather.
It was nice to be back on a bike, not so nice that it was only the second ride of the month.
That seems like the common choices this time of year, though I suppose wet and cold is an option as well, but we won't talk about that!
Today was a warm and wet day. There was rain predicted in the morning, with mid day clearing, then rain precicted again by late afternoon.
I hadn't been on a bike since November so I really needed to get out for a ride. As predicted it was raining this morning. I readied the rain bike, geared up in rain wear, and headed out to ride 40-60 miles.
I started out from Sellwood Riverfront Park in light rain and mid 50's and began riding the 40 mile loop. I was committed to riding at least 40 miles, with the option of adding miles to Boring and back if the weather actually dried out, or if at least I wasn't too cold and wet when I got to the point I had to choose.
It rained continuously. It never rained hard, but it did rain nonstop. I was dressed in full on Oregon mode. I had a rain coat, rain pants, goretex booties and gloves, and a waterproof helmet cover. My phone was in a waterproof case, and my wallet was in a ziplock bag.
Despite the incessant rain, when I got to the I-205 path/Springwater Corridor intersection I decided that I would take the turn east to Boring, adding about 25 miles to the trip. With my clothing choices I really wasn't all that uncomfortable. It helped that it was nearly 60 degrees.
I didn't take my gloves off or take the phone out of the waterproof case, so no photos, but it was a pretty grey and dismal day anyway.
Like many of the other participants, I succeeded in riding every day.
Today started out at 24 degrees. However it had dropped to 21 degrees by 8AM, but the sun was shining brightly in a cloud free sky. How bad could it be? I posted to the group that I planned to ride 40 miles. It was still well below freezing as I pedaled out from Sellwood Riverfront Park as a layer of grey clouds began rolling in. I was on my fixed gear bike and planned to ride to Boring and back on the Springwater Trail. I was dressed warmly, so I was comfortable. Within a few miles I began getting pelted by ice pellets. I was beginning to develop an alternate plan to stay close in case I needed to bail out because of ice, but about as quickly as it had begun, it stopped. There were a few ice pellets on the ground, but no dangerous layer of ice accumulation. I pedaled onward, with just a hint of trepidation. There was bit of headwind that got more intense as I rode eastward on the trail.
When I got to 136th Ave I stopped at a neighborhood mini-grocery for some snacks.
I continued eastward until I reached 158th, where I came across 2 bollards that had been locked into position 1/4 of a turn off, making the reflective surfaces ineffective to trail users.
The bollard in the background is the first guilty party.
I called the number listed on a trail informational sign to report the problem, and potential liability.
I was told that I was caller #1 in the queue. I was still on hold for 12 minutes, by now with cold numbed fingers since I had taken my glove off to make the call. It took another 10 minutes to get the nice young sounding female to understand exactly what the problem was.
After the call I continued eastward, and the very next set of bollards, less than 2 blocks away, also had one post quarter turned. As luck would have it, the woman I talked to called back to tell me that she had reported it to her supervisor, but he told her that he had already taken care of it. I chuckled, and said that he must be thinking of a different location, and that I now had a second location to report! She assured me that she rode bike too and would see that this was taken care of.
Having done my good deed, I continued on. Just passed Gresham Main Park I came to Columbia Brickworks. The company started in 1906, and has been an important piece of Gresham history since then.
Another few miles east and it began to rain lightly. I was hoping that the air and trail surface had warmed enough that freezing rain wouldn't be a problem. I pedaled carefully testing the surface from time to time. I briefly considered cutting my ride to 30 miles. Last year I rode 100 miles on my 100th consecutive day, and thought that since it was raining that 30 miles on the 30th day might be ok. But I had told my #ridingeverydayinNovember friends that I would be riding 40 miles today, so ride 40 miles I would do!
I arrived at Boring, the end of the paved trail.
I struck up a conversation with a cyclist there. The conversation drifted toward him enjoying riding hills. I told him about Race Across Oregon because it is the Race Across America qualifier with the most climbing (42,000 ft in just over 500 mi) and because I am involved in the route planning and route book this year. ;-) He expressed interest in racing in, or crewing for, the event. We talked long enough that I was now looking at a 20 mile return ride with about 80 minutes before dark.
I pointed the fixie westbound and hoped for clear sailing and no ice. The rain had continued.
After about 8 miles the rain stopped. It had never rained hard and the fenderless fixed gear bike hadn't thrown a wet rooster tail spray. I continued pedaling quickly and didn't stop. I arrived back at Sellwood Riverfront Park just as it was getting dark enough that I would have had a headlight on, if I had one with me!
Day 30 is in the books! Thanks to the rest of my #ridingeverydayinNovember family for making it fun!
Noted Kentucky cyclist Cherokee Schill is a new Oregon resident, and as luck would have it, she lives less than 7 miles away. We have had our discussions on the merit of Portland cycling infrastructure in the past, so today I invited her to accompany me on a tour of Portland bike routes.
I had invited folks to join us with "You are welcome to join us if 1) you can put aside your personal agenda to score a personal record or Strava segment win. 2) You can ride 13-15 mph on flat ground. 3) you agree to stay with the group's slowest rider.4) you agree to follow all rules of the road."
It was 26 degrees this morning, and only a degree or two warmer by 10AM as 6 of us pedaled out. Yes, Cherokee, you are not in Kentucky anymore!
We pedaled north from Sellwood Riverfront Park and onto the Eastbank Esplanade. I assumed tour guide status and dutifully pointed out the Willamette River bridges and named them as we pedaled passed. We stopped at the Tilicum Crossing for a group photo.
Me, Cherokee, Mark, Mike, Sara, and Jan
We rode a bit farther before having to stop for a saddle height adjustment on Cherokee's borrowed bike. Mark took advantage of the lull in the action to get a photo of my fixed gear bike.
Mark's photo
I failed to get a photo of his fancy bamboo Renovo. :-(
We pedaled north up the slightly uphill Williams Ave.
Our group began to break apart with a rider leading off the front by several blocks.
We arrived at the Columbia River and turned east. Today this involved a moderate headwind. By now, half our group was ahead and out of sight. I felt bad that this was billed as a ride to show a new resident the bike routes, and some had chosen to ride off the front.
Mt Hood in the distance on a slightly foggy day.
We regrouped as we turned south on the I-205 bike path. We rode a few miles before stopping for a quick refueling snack. A rider expressed a desire to forego the stop and finish up the ride, citing cold temperatures. 2 others followed, not hearing the plan.
Following the quick food stop, we three remaining rode a bit farther south then turned west on Yamhill Street and climbed over the shoulder of Mt Tabor. Our climb would reach grades of 9%. Easy for Mike on his geared bike, easy enough for me on my fixed gear. Cherokee struggled on her ill fitting borrowed bike, but we eventually all made it to the high point and rolled down the west side. My riding partners rolled, I struggled on the descent, as fixed gear bikes are want to do. The grade eventually flattened out and we rode easily with a shallow descent and some tailwind to the Willamette River where we rode across the Hawthorne Bridge. We had to wait for a bridge lift for a few minutes. It just added to the charm of the day.
Mike H photo
We rode south to the Tilicum Crossing Bridge and crossed back over to the east bank of the Willamette.
We stopped to watch a steam locomotive chug by.
The three of us followed the MAX Orange Line southeastward and rode along the bluff above Oaks Park.
Our speed bunnies were in contact via phone and had indicated that they were at a Mexican restaurant near our finish point. We finished up, locked our bikes up, and drove to the restaurant. (there was no place to lock up there hence we locked up on the vehicle's rack and drove the pickup there)
When we got there we were surprised to find those that dropped us, had dropped their 3rd member also. I made a phone call to make sure all was okay. We three late comers ordered food while discussing all sorts of topics from Kentucky bike law, to HIPAA to group riding etiquette.
It was a nice day for a ride, cold in the morning, warming to the low 40's by afternoon.
I drove the first 120 miles today from Seattle in freezing fog, making for slippery conditions. I made it safely to Portland, others were not so lucky.
As I neared Portland the fog cleared and the temperature rose above freezing. I still had a bike ride to do today to stay in #ridingeverydayinNovember, and the afternoon would be filled with family holiday baking. I stopped as I neared the Clackamas River to go for a ride. I had some fond memories of a previous ride along the river. I thought it would be nice to ride there again. I suppose it is a sad sign of the times that on that previous ride I described the 40 miles we rode as a low mileage day. Today I'd only get 6 miles, but they were nice miles!
Today was another beautiful day. It also happened to be the 27th day of the #ridingeverydayinNovember cycling challenge.
I did another home plumbing project while the temperature was below freezing. Once my job was done and the temperature warmed, I was on my way.
Julie and I decided to ride to Costco to score a pair of those recipe books that the company traditionally gives away on Black Friday. It was a nice ride down the hill. I stopped as we arrived at the waterfront.
Looking north
Looking south
Looking north and south!
When we arrived at Costco, we found that the company was not giving recipe books out this year. That was ok though, the weather was nice for a bike ride.
We turned around and rode back northward toward downtown Seattle.
When we began to climb back up Queen Anne, Julie fell behind. While waiting for her I took a few photos.
Just to the left of the Movembered photo bomber is the Space Needle
Evening plans for dinner meant that despite the good weather, today's ride would end with 14 miles.
I spent 6 hours this morning serving meals to the less fortunate at a local food bank. It certainly opens one's eyes on what we all have to be thankful for.
In addition I am thankful for the good health to enjoy a 30 day cycling challenge in traditionally one of the most wet and stormy months.
Between the morning volunteer duty and the Thanksgiving celebration beginning mid afternoon, I had about an hour to go for a bike ride.
I took the fixed gear bike and went for a little exploration on the west side of Queen Anne. I was winding my way down when I came to a sharp switchback. Ahead lay a long steep stairway. to the right was a road curving more gently downward.
Not bad for a stairway, but not so bike friendly.
This looks reasonable enough!
I turned right and started around the corner. The road dropped away precipitously. It ranged from 22-26%. I was glad I had brakes on the fixie. Despite that it was going to scuff the paint up on my wheels, I used them!
Luckily, the steep descent ended in about 2 city blocks. Once on the bottom, I started working my way back up. I did have one 2 block stretch of 12% but most of the climb was in the 6-9% range.
I managed to get nearly 400 ft of climbing in just under 4 miles.
Today was a continuation of yesterday afternoon's sunny but cool weather. The damaging winds of yesterday had abated. You couldn't ask for better weather for the final few days of the #ridingeverydayinNovember cycling challenge.
My morning was spent doing some home plumbing repairs. My friend Julie's work day came to an end at 2PM. Since it is more fun to have company, I waited for her, even though it meant a shorter ride.
After a warming lunch we ventured back out into the cold sunshine and continued on Julie's list of 5 errands. Along the way, I convinced her that I needed to stop for photos, since "I've got a blog to maintain". ;-)
Looking over Smith Cove and Magnolia from Queen Anne
We hadn't started until 2 PM and with less than 2 1/2 hours before today's sunset (4:23 PST) we weren't going to have much time to ride. Our last stop was at a grocery store for Thanksgiving supplies. By the time we exited the store, the sun had just set. We scurried along the last 6 blocks with tail lights illuminated.
I drove back from Ellensburg to Seattle in snow last night. Overnight the rain pounded on the roof. Today the forecast was for it to clear up by noon. It did.
I hopped on the fixie and went for a ride! There was a very brisk wind blowing. Branches had blown down around Seattle and power was out for many. Puget Sound was whipped into a frenzy. Along Alki Beach a normally lake like scene looked like this.
Luckily for me I would not be along Alki today, but it was just tough riding against it, and the wind did make the already cool day feel down right cold. I stopped at the usual photo ops as I rolled down Queen Anne.
I reached the bottom and rode along the Elliot Bay Trail for a bit. It was windy enough that I had to place my bike carefully to avoid having the wind blow it over.
I rode back around the base of Queen Anne to the Ship Canal Trail.
Then I made my way up Queen Anne via the Kralik Way.
Only 11 miles, but I did get 835 ft of elevation gain.
My only time to ride is this morning as I've got meetings, work calls, and hotel check-outs keeping me busy from 11 AM on.
Today the plan was to explore the John Wayne Pioneer Trail east of Ellensburg.
It was 21 degrees as I pedaled out.
The trail from Ellensburg east was as straight as an arrow and unremarkable. Not saying it wasn't scenic, but nothing really jumped out at me. The area is noted for Timothy grass hay, and it appeared that once I got out of "suburbia" that I was riding past hay fields.
It was that dry cold that east of the mountains is noted for.
The cold river water is barely able to make it though the fence
That didn't keep locals (or me) from being out enjoying the day.
Great Danes taking their human out for a morning walk.
Again, those I spoke with were strong supporters of the trail, I guess not surprisingly. They thanked me for visiting Ellensburg.
With the rapidly approaching busy schedule I did not have much time to ride this morning. I turned around after riding 3 miles out. On the way back west I could see snow capped peaks on the horizon.
wishing I had my real camera and its better zoom!
Mt Stuart baffled me a bit. I thought I knew all the high volcanoes of the Cascade Range. I come to find out that Mt Stuart is not a volcano, but it is the second highest non-volcanic peak in the Washington Cascades after Bonanza Peak.
I could also see just the tip of a snow capped peak, which I presumed to be Mt Adams, over the barren hillsides.
The high today is supposed to reach the low 30's, and it was well on it's way, reaching 27 degrees by the time my ride ended.
I took advantage of my early arrival by going for a bike ride on the John Wayne Trail.
My friend Julie and I rode northwesterly on the trail (back toward the Cascade summit). In this stretch the trail is packed gravel and relatively flat. It was cold, in the mid 30's in the mid afternoon, after a low of 19 this morning, but the sun was shining.
We started on the north edge of Ellensburg, but were soon in an agricultural area. Being in the rain shadow of the Cascade Mtns, this is an arid area, getting 9" of rainfall annually.
There was a lot of pasture and rangeland.
This trail runs on the former Chicago, Milwaukee, St Paul, and Pacific Railroad right of way. After a few miles we noted that we were 2063 miles from Chicago. We would still ride a few more miles.
We came across several other trail users, most on foot, one on horseback. They all had heard of the meeting tomorrow, but thanked us for the reminder, and were supporters of the trail.
We arrived at a bridge that crossed the Yakima River. Like much of northern Oregon and eastern Washington, the Missoula Floods radically altered the Yakima River. Today it was relatively peaceful.
With sundown rapidly approaching we turned around and pedaled back toward Ellensburg.
As the sun got lower near the horizon, we noted a marked drop in temperature. There was ice in the shadows and bridges all afternoon and it didn't take much temperature drop to get cold creeping into the extremities. We were happy to be finishing up right at sunset.
In October of 2010 I completed a 4 year goal of finishing the Furnace Creek 508, an Ultra Cycling race billed as "The Toughest 48 Hours in Sport". I had planned to put together a video of the experience, however I could never come up with a plan on how to document what ended up being just a long bike ride.
