Missed Opportunities

I finished up my Fire District business by early mid afternoon in Forest Grove today, then started the ride back home.  The east wind was blowing through the Columbia River Gorge today, reaching gusts to 81 mph at Crown Point.  By the time the winds spread out a bit in Portland gusts were still into the mid 30's.  I estimated winds at perhaps 15-20 mph in Hillsboro.  I was pedaling directly into it, with the added joy of two panniers to help catch wind.

It was a tough pedal, and got tougher the farther east I went.

One good thing about the wind is that it blew out all the residual fog and left clear air.  Mt Hood was gorgeous as I pedaled along the Tualatin Valley Highway. I didn't stop for any photos because there were always some power lines in the view, and I figured I get a better shot later.

I made the turn south and was still pushing against a surprising amount of unfavorable wind.  I didn't pick up the expected tailwind until I was about 6 miles from Wilsonville.

The sun just dipped below the horizon as I rolled into Wilsonville.  I could see glimpses of Mt Hood through tree branches and from behind buildings from time to time. It was absolutely gorgeous, an intense hue of orange against the dimming blue sky. Alas, I had only my phone, no real camera, and by the time I'd be able to get to a known vantage point, the opportunity would vanish with the daylight.

So two locations where I should have gotten a nice photo or two for the blog, and didn't get either of them.

But I did get 38 miles on my 75th consecutive day on the bike.

And today's ear worm was this little ditty.



 ...........road bike..........rollers.........mtb..........lifecycle.......total Today............38...............0..............0...............0.................38 Jan...............385...............0...............0...............0...............385
Total............385...............0...............0...............0...............385