River to River

Today is Thursday AND gorgeous weather!  The Thursday Night Ride would be well attended and a boat load of fun.  But a bout of botrytis in my greenhouse had me empty it out today and ventilate like crazy in an attempt to lower humidity levels. I needed to be back before temperatures dropped to 50 degrees and get the tender plants back in the heat security of the greenhouse. I decided I'd have to forgo fun tonight and take care of business.

But I could still go for an afternoon ride!  I took off from Sellwood Riverside Park and rode north.  I crossed the Tilikum Bridge and continued north on the west side of the Willamette River.

It was well into the 70's as I rode along the waterfront.

When I got to the Steel Bridge it was raised for river traffic and there was a long line of cyclists and pedestrians waiting to cross.  We eventually got the go ahead and made our way across.

The nice weather brought out a lot of people. There were bikes, skateboards, roller skates, and pedestrians all over the place.  Jet skis and rowing shells jockied for position on the river.

As I stopped to take this photo, the Steel Bridge lifted again!  That made two lifts in less than 10 minutes. It was a busy day on the waterfront!

I continued up Williams Ave and made my way to Delta Park.  I crossed the park, made a few curly cues on the ramps up to the Interstate Bridge and the Columbia River.  Mt Hood beckoned.

Nothing nicer than taking a leisurely pedal, stop for a photo looking east, when right behind me on the other side of the jersey barrier there were frustrated motorists in stop and go traffic, mostly stopped.

If I had started earlier I would have been tempted to cross over to the Washington side and make my way over to the Glenn Jackson Bridge and finish the ride off by following the 40 mile loop back to Sellwood, but alas, my baby plants would be suffering, so I turned around and retraced my route back.

When I got to the Steel Bridge, it was raised again!  Rather than wait for it to come back down, I just went south on the East Bank Esplanade.  Instead of 26 miles (it was 13 to the Interstate Bridge) I'd shave off a little distance by taking the more direct route. I'd be okay with that today.

The high recorded on my backyard weather station was 75 degrees.  That is a pretty nice spring day in these parts! I got home in time to have all the plants back in the greenhouse before the outside temperature dropped below 62.  Good enough!


.........Road Bike.....Rollers.............MTB..........Lifecycle......Total
Today ........25................0...................0.......................0...........25
Jan...............0................0...............,...0.......................0............0
Feb..........124...............0...................0.......................0...........124
March......277................0..................0........................0..........277
YTD...... 401...............0...................0.......................0...........401

Buena Vista

It was a beautiful Spring day.  The morning started out at 35 degrees but by the time we hopped on bikes at 8AM it was in the low 40's.  By the time we finished today's ride it would be 74!

Several people backed out before the ride started today, their loss.  Our plan was to ride a 54 mile loop that included a Willamette River crossing on the Buena Vista Ferry. As I was waiting for the others to arrive a wild turkey strolled across the parking lot.

We took off from an industrial area in South Salem and were soon riding through Bush's Pasture Park.  None of our group had pedaled through there before, though we all had been by it.

We crossed over the Willamette River into Wallace Marine Park

We made our way along Hwy 22.

When we got to Rickreall, we turned south and followed a bike path next to Hwy 99 to Monmouth.
 It brought back a lot of memories as I had gone to college there, many years ago.  We continued east into Independence, then turned south along the west bank of the Willamette River.  Along the way we were treated to an Osprey busily building a nest.

It was a beautiful day for a bike ride.

We arrived in Buena Vista and took the ferry across the river.

Having reached the ferry, and our southern terminus, we started back northeasterly.
Soon we were on the Willamette River Scenic Bikeway, which we'd follow the rest of the way back to Salem.  Along the way we'd ride through the Ankeny Wildlife Refuge, which was filled with ducks, geese, a few hawks, and even a bald eagle.

This was our best day so far this year, and we were enjoying the ride.

We were reminded that we were riding across low ground that was prone to flooding.  New Orleans could learn a few lessons here.

We were soon on the worst section of today's route.  As we approached Salem on River Rd the road was busy, narrow, poor shoulders, and with many blind corners and blind hills.
We managed to get through it. Soon we were back in Salem and made our way to our vehicles.  Luckily, we had parked at Gigamesh Brewery which made the post ride debriefing very convenient. ;-)

It was a good day!

.........Road Bike.....Rollers.............MTB..........Lifecycle......Total
Today ........54................0...................0.......................0...........54
Jan...............0................0...............,...0.......................0............0
Feb..........124...............0...................0.......................0...........124
March......252................0..................0........................0..........252
YTD...... 376...............0...................0.......................0...........376

A last minute ride on a beautiful day

It was a typical Spring day.  There was a touch of frost this morning, but it would warm to the upper 60's by afternoon.

I had a lot of errands to keep me busy today.  I was just getting going on the list (waiting in line at my bank) when friend Carol texted me asking if I wanted to go for a ride.  I haven't biked with Carol in quite some time, so I accepted her invitation.  I asked her what time and where, she answered that she was on her way to Sellwood Riverfront Park.  Well, that put me in a rush!

I put my bike on the bike carrier and made haste to Sellwood.  I arrived to find Carol, as expected, waiting for me.

She wanted to ride about 40 miles, and ride over the Tilikum Crossing bridge.

We took off northward on the Springwater Corridor.  In 4.5 miles we arrived at the Tilikum Crossing.

It was a beautiful day, and the I-podded masses were out along the waterfront.  We rang bells and hollered, and clamped the brakes hard from time to time.  We made it to the Steel Bridge without hitting anyone.

We returned to Portland's 40 mile loop after crossing the Steel Bridge.  Our little detour would be enough to bring this 39 mile loop up to it's advertised 40 miles.

We had to make good time because Carol had to work later in the afternoon.  Our next photo stop would be on the bluff near University of Portland.

Looking back upstream over Swan Island

We rode across the peninsula separating the Willamette River from the Columbia River and turned up the Columbia.  I had expected a headwind here, the usual situation when the weather is clear, but was surprised to find a slight tailwind.

We continued our way upstream along the Columbia.

When we reached Interstate 205 we turned south and rode to the Springwater Corridor.
We turned west and kept right on pedaling. As we neared 82nd Ave, there was a Portland Police Officer talking to some of the homeless people camped in the area. We didn't stop to figure out what was going on.  As we passed Cartlandia Carol wanted to stop for tacos but I figured we were too tight on time to allow for a stop.
We kept on pedaling.

We made the mandatory jogs on neighborhood streets to stitch together the missing segment of the Springwater Corridor and were soon back in Sellwood Riverfront Park. (6 minutes before our deadline!)

It was a nice day on the bike!

When I got home I found that a video made by the Tualatin Valley Visitor's Association has been posted. A few of us spent a few hours several months ago being extras for this video. You can see the results of our hours of riding bikes around with drones flying overhead beginning at the 38 second mark. (you can see my bright yellow jersey and brightly colored fixed gear bike at 39 seconds. Another 0.5 seconds of my 15 minutes of fame logged!



.........Road Bike.....Rollers.............MTB..........Lifecycle......Total
Today ........40................0...................0.......................0...........40
Jan...............0................0...............,...0.......................0............0
Feb..........124...............0...................0.......................0...........124
March......198................0..................0........................0..........198
YTD...... 322...............0...................0.......................0...........322

A day late, but not a dollar short

I had a meeting for most of the day in Salem.  I arrived home late afternoon to find another letter from a collection agency resulting from a stolen checkbook.  I had just enough time to ride to the local bank branch to advise them of the situation.  I made it to the bank just before 5 PM, and as luck would have it, there were still cars in the parking lot.  I thought I was home free, until I realized it was Saturday!  Oh well.  It was a nice little bike ride, and it's not like waiting until Monday will have any effect, the account was closed over a month ago.  I can't help it if vendors don't check ID when they accept an out of state check.

.........Road Bike.....Rollers.............MTB..........Lifecycle......Total
Today ........2................0...................0.......................0............2
Jan............0................0...............,...0.......................0............0
Feb..........124...............0...................0.......................0...........124
March......158................0..................0........................0..........158
YTD...... 282...............0...................0.......................0...........282

Thursday afternoon, and TNR

I attended a Historic Highway Advisory Committee meeting today in Cascade Locks.

 Following the meeting I went for a ride on the Historic Columbia River Hwy State Trail.  I thought I had time to ride back to Eagle Creek.

It was a beautiful day in the Gorge, just the usual wind. Today the wind was "nuclear" as the windsurfer gang calls winds blowing from the east (the direction of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.) If you want to read something scary click on that link.

I pedaled the fixie downwind, and up and down the 5% grades of the Historic Highway.

Before I got to Eagle Creek I came to an obstacle. The first one was not so bad.

The second one was more bothersome.

I turned around and played tourist on the return to Cascade Locks.

I then hurried back to Portland, knowing that if I didn't dally I could make it back in time for the Thursday Night Ride.

It was a great night.  There was a decent sized crowd, probably in the 90-100 range.  Unicycles, fixies, single speeds, commuter bikes, racing bikes, and fatties were all represented.

A representative of the Lumberjack Riders

The next four photos are Nathan's. (he has his camera much more accessible than I do) 

Following the ride I rode back along the East Bank Esplanade.

I finished up with a few miles along the Springwater Corridor to where my pickup was parked.
It took 2 rides, in two different counties, plus an 8 mile commute to and from the TNR to get a mere 23 miles, but it was fun 23 miles.


.........Road Bike.....Rollers.............MTB..........Lifecycle......Total
Today .......23................0...................0.......................0............23
Jan............0................0...............,...0.......................0............0
Feb..........124...............0...................0.......................0...........124
March......156................0..................0........................0..........156
YTD...... 280...............0...................0.......................0...........280

80% of the Covered Bridges, 70% of the miles

I joined 10 others on a ride to see 5 covered bridges.  The weather was predicted to be a little wet from 7:30-9AM, then dry out. Perfect, since our ride was to begin at 9 AM.  It was a wet 50 mile drive to Scio, our starting location. It was still drizzling lightly as we started spinning pedals.  I put on all my raingear, figuring I could always take off layers if I got warm.

Dave S photo

 A few of us were prepared for rain, some where not.  As the Oregon Randonneurs like to say, there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing choices. It never really rained (by Oregon standards anyway) but it drizzled most of the time. Sometimes it was more like heavy fog.

Dave's waterproof camera came in handy

Gilkey Bridge

The drizzle would lighten up from time to time, giving us hope.

We were traveling at a relaxed pace to take in the view.  While that made for easier riding, we weren't generating much heat, and those who made poor clothing choices were suffering a bit. The temperature ranged from 45 degrees to 49 degrees while we were riding, so it wasn't really all that cold.

Hoffman Bridge

I was riding sweep again, and the pace was just a bit faster than advertised most of the time. It was advertised as a 15 mph on the flat sections, and no drop.  Several times I'd find myself keeping a couple of the slower riders company, about a mile behind the lead group. I define that as being dropped, but then I'm not the ride leader.

Larwood Bridge

As I arrived at our 4th bridge, I could hear the others discussing bail out plans.

Shimanek Bridge

 The route for today's ride was not published ahead of the ride.  No problem, I figured I'd just play follow the leader today. Suddenly I was being tapped to lead anyone that wanted to finish up the planned route while the others pulled the plug and were riding back to our cars.  Cold and miserable is not fun.  Dave and I were dressed for the weather and wanted to ride to the last bridge, but neither of us knew the route.  So we followed the others back to Scio.   We'd miss 20% of the planned covered bridges today, and cut 30% of the miles off.

With the 100+ mile round trip to get there, it as disappointing to not ride the full meal deal.  It was still a fun ride though.

4 of us met in Salem (about half way home) for a little post ride debriefing. Some were still cold...... some of us brought warm dry clothes to change into.  ;-)

.........Road Bike.....Rollers.............MTB..........Lifecycle......Total
Today .......33................0...................0.......................0............33
Jan............0................0...............,...0.......................0............0
Feb..........124...............0...................0.......................0...........124
March......133................0..................0........................0..........133
YTD...... 257...............0...................0.......................0...........257