A Rocky Butte non repeat

Back when I led rides for a Meetup group I used to lead Rocky Butte hill repeats on Tuesday and Thursdays.  It was way more fun than it should have been.  But that was many years ago.

Today was Thursday and tonight the Thursday Night Ride would climb up Rocky Butte to join another bunch of people on bikes for a little gathering on the top of the hill.

As per usual, I started in Sellwood, and today had time to pre ride out to Boring and back. I had 42 miles before TNR began. Considering I rode a total of 6 miles in the last two weeks, I was pleased to say the least.

Despite the nice weather (86 today in Portland) the gathering crowd was smaller than normal.  I believe there were a couple of other bike events tonight that siphoned some away.  A piano had been placed at the fountain with signage inviting anyone to play. Kids of course took advantage.  A few rather accomplished adults did as well.

As we were preparing to ride, I noticed Michael C, a fellow RAHOOer (Ride Around Mt Hood) was in attendance as well.

He had just completed his first Seattle to Portland (STP) so we visited a bit about that experience.

We finally rolled out.  Despite the lower numbers, we were still quite the sight as we pedaled along the city streets.

Michael C's photo

When we neared Rocky Butte our fearless leader made a stop so that we could get supplies.

There were several options for shopping, most went to Plaid Pantry.
Michael, not being well versed in TNR protocol, milled around waiting for the others.

Michael is wearing the green helmet

From there it was just a short ride up to the top of Rocky Butte.  I was happy to see that our leader chose to go up the "back side" since it isn't as steep as the other way.  It was still steep enough for a fixed gear bike! When we reached the top we joined other people on bikes who were already there.

Having 15+ miles to ride back yet, and a busy day tomorrow, I decided that once up the hill would be just fine tonight.  There would be no repeat.  I paused a moment to get this photo as I was leaving.

I rode down to the I-205 bike path then followed it to the Springwater Corridor, then followed that back to Sellwood.  It was a perfect night for a ride.

.........Road Bike.....Rollers.............MTB..........Lifecycle......Total
Today .........68................0..................0.......................0............68
Jan...............0................0...................0.......................0............0
Feb..........124...............0...................0.......................0...........124
March......277................0..................0........................0..........277
April......559................0..................0........................0..........559
May.........414...............0..................0.......................0...........414
June........337...............0..................0.......................0...........337
July........266...............0..................0.......................0...........266
YTD...... 1974.............0...................0.......................0..........1974