I took the fixie out for the first time in months. I drove to Sellwood and rode out the Springwater to Cartlandia and back just for a little preride before riding to the Salmon Street Springs and the meeting point for the TNR. With the ride meeting up at 7 PM and pedaling out at 7:30 PM, it was dark as I pedaled the last few miles to join them.
There were well over 100 riders assembled. The usual tall bikes, stretch bikes, fatties, fixies, and commuters. One thing I did notice that has changed in my absence, is that there was a much higher percentage of riders wearing helmets. Where there used to be just a handful wearing protective headgear, tonight the majority were. Not sure exactly what precipitated the change.
Today was the last day that the old Sellwood Bridge was open, and at 7 PM it would close to automobile traffic and only be open to pedestrians and cyclists. The group really wanted to take one last trip across the old bridge, so away we went. We rode down the west side of the Willamette River using a lot of pathways, very unusual for our "bikes in the streets!" gang. It forced us into a long string of single file riders most of the time. It was almost magical to see the long line of bike lights snaking along the river's shoreline. I didn't get any photos of that however, I was too busy riding!
As we neared the Sellwood Bridge, it became a little dicey. We had to take the construction narrowed traffic lane and with 24 Hr flaggers, we weren't sure we'd be allowed to proceed. I was about mid pack and didn't hear the conversation, but after some negotiation we were allowed to proceed, with the first 150 ft or so being required to walk our bikes in a narrow area behind some concrete barriers.
Once past the concrete barriers we got in the former traffic lanes. We pedaled VERY slowly as there were well over 1000 pedestrians on the bridge taking part in a bridge closing party.
After crossing the bridge we rode back northward on the east bank of the Willamette River to our favorite resupply point, Jacksons, for some picnic supplies. We then pedaled back southward a short distance to the Hawthorne Bridge, were organizers and volunteers had spent some time building a new and improved fire pit and seating area under the bridge. It was a perfect venue for a post ride gathering.
After some time there, I rode back to my pickup in Sellwood.
With 15 miles preride, and 5 miles post ride commute, I ended up with 30 miles, just about right tonight.
.........Road Bike.....Rollers.............MTB..........Lifecycle......Total
Today ......30...............0...................0.......................0...........30
Jan............0................0...............,...0.......................0............0
Feb...........91...............0...................0.......................0...........91
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