2nd day of #hardlyridingatallinDecember

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.


.........Road Bike.....Rollers.............MTB..........Lifecycle......Total
Today .......21...............0...............0.............0............21
Jan.........765..............0...............0.............0............765
Feb........248..............0...............0.............0............248
March....183..............0...............0.............0.............183
April......228...............0..............0..............0.............228
May.......200...............0..............0..............0.............200
June........199..............0..............26............0.............225
July.........246.............0...............0..............0.............246
Aug.........502.............0...............0..............0.............502
Sept.........974.............0,,,,,,,,,,,,,,44.............0............1018
Oct.......... 962.............0..............45.............0............1007
Nov...........504..............0..............20.............0...........524
Dec...........86...............0...............0.............0............86
_________________________________________
total.......6001.............0.............118............0...........5219

Wet and wet, or clear and cold?

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.

.........Road Bike.....Rollers.............MTB..........Lifecycle......Total
Today .......65...............0...............0.............0............65
Jan.........765..............0...............0.............0............765
Feb........248..............0...............0.............0............248
March....183..............0...............0.............0.............183
April......228...............0..............0..............0.............228
May.......200...............0..............0..............0.............200
June........199..............0..............26............0.............225
July.........246.............0...............0..............0.............246
Aug.........502.............0...............0..............0.............502
Sept.........974.............0,,,,,,,,,,,,,,44.............0............1018
Oct.......... 962.............0..............45.............0............1007
Nov...........504..............0..............20.............0...........524
Dec...........65...............0...............0.............0............65
_________________________________________
total.......5080.............0.............118............0...........5198