It was advertised as a non group ride, and that paper maps would be provided. I mapped a route from our turn around point in the Gorge (Vista House) back to where our vehicles would be parked. I know the Gorge, but not the section of town where we started from. I figured if I got dropped I would at least be able to find my way back to the pickup using my Garmin.
We started at 8:30 AM with about 10-12 riders.
The ride was advertised as a 71 mile ride, but a preride look at the map showed that riding directly there would only be a 44 mile round trip. I knew we were going to be doing some creative routing!
Just before we pedaled off, it was announced we'd be riding to Kelly Point on our way. Considering that meant we'd be riding away from the Gorge to start with, it looked like we might just get that 71 miles in today.
It was another great day for biking.
As we neared the Columbia River, we came across one of our group who had a flat tire. We stopped and provided some assistance.
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| Kathleen H photo |
Monica had her car staged there in case any of us needed to bail out, but her bike rack wasn't large enough to haul all of our bikes, so we decided to continue on.
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| Lamborghini |
We crossed back into Oregon via the Glenn Jackson Bridge.
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| approaching the bridge |
We turned up the Sandy River at Troutdale. Everytime I ride through here, I can't help but remember back to 2008 when I was competing in Race Across Oregon as part of the 4 man team, Old Goats. I had the first leg from near the Portland Airport to the town of Sandy, and rode up this stretch to the Stark Street Bridge.
The road began to tip upward, and would climb 830 ft in the next 8.3 miles.
The top of the hill is Chantacleer Point, the site of Women's Forum State Park. It also happens to be the site of many photos.
We'd drop down the east side of Chanticleer Point to Crown Point, the site of the Vista House. What could have been accomplished in 22 miles took us an even 50. Good biking is rarely about the shortest distance. ;-)
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| Michael C's photo |
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| Kathleen H photo |
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| Michael C photo |
What goes up must come down, and we got to drop back off that 830 ft hill. We made quick work of it.
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| Michael C's photo |
Consensus was to follow my mapped route back. It was a nice change of pace from our ride out. We rode through Troutdale, then took Halsey Street in toward Portland for a considerable distance. Along the way I found a brand new cable lock. Cable locks aren't worth much as far as bike security, but I figured it was worth picking up.
When we got near Rocky Butte, we took a turn onto Tillamook Street and a series of turns onto other streets that moved us along Alameda Ridge and back to Wilshire Park.
Kathleen and I rolled up to our finishing point ahead of Monica and Michael. We waited for quite awhile. It ended up that Monica had a flat. :-( When they finally arrived, we discussed the day for a bit before scattering.
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| Monica scolding me for abandoning her with her flat tire |
It was another great day in NW Oregon (and SW Washington!)
.........Road Bike.....Rollers.............MTB..........Lifecycle......Total
Today ........72................0...................0.......................0...........72
Jan...............0................0...............,...0.......................0............0
Feb..........124...............0...................0.......................0...........124
March......277................0..................0........................0..........277
April.......72................0..................0........................0..........72
YTD...... 473...............0...................0.......................0...........473
Awesome wrap up Kevin!! Great commentary that really captures the essence of the ride. Nice job and of course, always great riding with you!!
ReplyDeleteGreat day had by all! Kevin depicts it accurately! Can't wait to ride again.
ReplyDeleteKathleen
You have some impressive miles under your belt Kevin! Nice job.
ReplyDeleteYesterday was amazing! Thanks for the great memories.