Another nice day, into the 70's and sunny. (a day of rain has transpired since the last nice day) Today I made another trip to the hardware store. Today's trip was for glazing points, window glaze, and a putty knife. Today I'm replacing windows in a sun porch.
............Road Bike........Rollers.............MTB..........Lifecycle......Total
Today ...........2................0....................0........................0...........2
Jan..............304...............15...................0......................31..........350
Feb................0..................0....................0.......................0..............0
March..........18.................0....................0........................0............18
April...........113.................0....................0........................0...........113
Friday, April 21, 2017
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
A Hardware Store Ride
The weather was nice, I should have gone for a long ride, but was busy doing projects. I rode to the hardware store and picked up some paint, a roller, and roller pan.
............Road Bike........Rollers.............MTB..........Lifecycle......Total
Today ...........2................0....................0........................0...........2
Jan..............304...............15...................0......................31..........350
Feb................0..................0....................0.......................0..............0
March..........18.................0....................0........................0............18
April...........111.................0....................0........................0...........111
............Road Bike........Rollers.............MTB..........Lifecycle......Total
Today ...........2................0....................0........................0...........2
Jan..............304...............15...................0......................31..........350
Feb................0..................0....................0.......................0..............0
March..........18.................0....................0........................0............18
April...........111.................0....................0........................0...........111
Saturday, April 15, 2017
Ladd's 500
Not as scary as it sounds!
The Ladd's 500 is the brainchild of David Barstow Robinson, a guy I've met through the Thursday Night Ride. Today's event was billed as the "Second First Annual". Yes, they did this last year too!
Portland's bike culture showed up en masse today, as did a few of us old fogeys.
My ability to grab videos seems to be not working tonight. If you are on Facebook you may see the video I wanted to put here.... here.
It was a beautiful day, perfectly blue skies, perfect temperature to race bikes, only the slightest of breeze.
Dave, Doak, and Alan joined me as a 4 man team to ride the 500 laps of Ladd's Circle.
We set up a table and chairs under a canopy, just because.
Alan picked our team name. Roughly translated into "the slow bunnies of Ladd's Circle" ;-)
Each lap is 0.2 miles in length. It was a crazy day. Tall bikes, fixed gears, swing bikes, cargo bikes, miniature bikes, unicycles, even skate boards. All going round and round.
Despite the look of the peloton, the field was moving ~19 mph. A few faster, and a few slower, but if you were out there at 17 mph, you were in somebody's way!
Vest and Kathleen each stopped by and we talked them into taking a few "guest pulls".
There were plenty of things to keep us amused. This couple were grilling hamburgers as they moved down the route at 20 mph, even passing out the finished product as they pedaled along.
There was no shortage of food, another bike was preparing burgers too, but there big claim to fame was the big propane blast that they'd set off from time to time.
It was one of those days where smiles were everywhere.
Even if T-Rex was hot on your tail!
We ended up finishing the 500 laps (100 mi) with a 21 mph average. Not bad for a bunch of slow rabbits!
............Road Bike........Rollers.............MTB..........Lifecycle......Total
Today ...........21................0....................0........................0...........21
Jan..............304...............15...................0......................31..........350
Feb................0..................0....................0.......................0..............0
March..........18.................0....................0........................0............18
April...........109.................0....................0........................0...........109
The Ladd's 500 is the brainchild of David Barstow Robinson, a guy I've met through the Thursday Night Ride. Today's event was billed as the "Second First Annual". Yes, they did this last year too!
Portland's bike culture showed up en masse today, as did a few of us old fogeys.
My ability to grab videos seems to be not working tonight. If you are on Facebook you may see the video I wanted to put here.... here.
It was a beautiful day, perfectly blue skies, perfect temperature to race bikes, only the slightest of breeze.
Dave, Doak, and Alan joined me as a 4 man team to ride the 500 laps of Ladd's Circle.
We set up a table and chairs under a canopy, just because.
Alan picked our team name. Roughly translated into "the slow bunnies of Ladd's Circle" ;-)
Each lap is 0.2 miles in length. It was a crazy day. Tall bikes, fixed gears, swing bikes, cargo bikes, miniature bikes, unicycles, even skate boards. All going round and round.
Despite the look of the peloton, the field was moving ~19 mph. A few faster, and a few slower, but if you were out there at 17 mph, you were in somebody's way!
Vest and Kathleen each stopped by and we talked them into taking a few "guest pulls".
 |
| Vest tearing the course up, Kathleen was too fast to get a photo of! |
There was no shortage of food, another bike was preparing burgers too, but there big claim to fame was the big propane blast that they'd set off from time to time.
It was one of those days where smiles were everywhere.
Even if T-Rex was hot on your tail!
We ended up finishing the 500 laps (100 mi) with a 21 mph average. Not bad for a bunch of slow rabbits!
............Road Bike........Rollers.............MTB..........Lifecycle......Total
Today ...........21................0....................0........................0...........21
Jan..............304...............15...................0......................31..........350
Feb................0..................0....................0.......................0..............0
March..........18.................0....................0........................0............18
April...........109.................0....................0........................0...........109
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Unprepared
I took off late this morning for a short ride. I thought maybe I'd ride into town for a burger, or maybe teriyaki. I put on a helmet, but was wearing a sweater and blue jeans.
The weather was gorgeous, despite a 30% chance of rain, rising to 90% by late afternoon.
I rode to the other side of the freeway via the path under the Boone Bridge.
I got across the little wood bridge in the above photo, and found an abandoned road that looked interesting. I rode around the gate (hey, who was going to mind?) and went exploring. The place obviously hadn't seen traffic for quite some time.
I'm not sure what it was in the past. I didn't see any foundations, so suspect it might have been a mobile home park. There were some metal anchor points around, but no power poles left. Just paved roads covered in moss, some leveled out areas that looked like driveways, or side streets, and a lot of non native ornamental plants.
I continued on, with no real destination in mind. Lunch could wait! I rode some paths and fringe streets and eventually made my way to Graham Oaks Park again. The through trail open to bikes, the Tonquin Trail, is part of a larger planned network of trails that will connect several parks. This sign talked about the ice age floods that scoured the landscape northwest of here.
From there I pedaled northward to pickup a burger. I noted that a hawk was also looking for lunch.
Having negated the health benefits of the morning ride, I headed back south. The weather was still quite pleasant. I made my way along Boone's Ferry Rd, and noted these historical markers. Bill Flynn thought he'd cash in those waiting for passage on the ferry, and on the increase of business brought in by the railroad being built, and barged his mahogany bar from Butteville downstream to Boone's Ferry and up the river bank to this location. The building stood until April 1971, when it succumbed to a wind storm.
I rode back into Graham Oaks Park, this time from a different access point, and saw these two signs.
The first describes again the huge ice age floods that created this landscape.
This one describes the glacial erratics that are found around here.
I continued riding around neighborhoods and fringes. I came to a sign that puzzled me. It was on a gate that accessed a Oregon Department of Transportation storage yard near the freeway. It talked about how they would remove any personal property within 1500 ft of the sign, despite that it would mean removing personal property that was outside their perimeter, within a church parking lot, residential driveways, and a car dealership. I'm sure it must have been instigated by some issue, but I doubt that this would be enforceable.
I rode back along Boone's Ferry Rd. The train that was to bring customers to Mr Flynn's bar, today was carrying freight as it passed by. I waved, the engineer waved back. ;-)
As I made by way back under the Boone Bridge, I noted a bike in the brambles. It has obviously been there for some time. I suspect it had been stolen. I did my best to ride two bikes. Not the easiest thing to do when riding a fixed gear. I found it hardest to stop, with one hand on the other bike, and only one hand left to provide leverage to exert back pressure on my cranks.
As I neared downtown Wilsonville, it began to rain. I ducked into a picnic shelter in Memorial Park to wait for the shower to pass.
After some time, the rain tapered off and I continued my trip northward, with two bikes!
I ended up bringing the bike to the police station. They said they didn't have facilities to store it. As we were talking, another woman who appeared as if she worked there, said that they donate bikes to a non profit nearby, where kids work on bikes and sell them. I said that sounded good to me. The bike didn't need much, probably a new chain and a few cables. The tires looked good, and held air when I pumped them up.
It was a good ride, not many miles, but nice to get out. I was unprepared for the possibility of rain, and my jeans got soaked from the water rolling off the front tire and splashing against the down tube, my sweater got wet and heavy, but at least I was warm!
............Road Bike........Rollers.............MTB..........Lifecycle......Total
Today ...........27................0....................0........................0...........27
Jan..............304...............15...................0......................31..........350
Feb................0..................0....................0.......................0..............0
March..........18.................0....................0........................0............18
April............88.................0....................0........................0............88
The weather was gorgeous, despite a 30% chance of rain, rising to 90% by late afternoon.
I rode to the other side of the freeway via the path under the Boone Bridge.
I got across the little wood bridge in the above photo, and found an abandoned road that looked interesting. I rode around the gate (hey, who was going to mind?) and went exploring. The place obviously hadn't seen traffic for quite some time.
I'm not sure what it was in the past. I didn't see any foundations, so suspect it might have been a mobile home park. There were some metal anchor points around, but no power poles left. Just paved roads covered in moss, some leveled out areas that looked like driveways, or side streets, and a lot of non native ornamental plants.
I continued on, with no real destination in mind. Lunch could wait! I rode some paths and fringe streets and eventually made my way to Graham Oaks Park again. The through trail open to bikes, the Tonquin Trail, is part of a larger planned network of trails that will connect several parks. This sign talked about the ice age floods that scoured the landscape northwest of here.
More recent landscape changes were caused when small rivers were piped and diverted, and wetlands drained. Now some of that process is being reversed as Graham Oaks Park is being developed to return the area to an Oak Prairie.
From there I pedaled northward to pickup a burger. I noted that a hawk was also looking for lunch.
Having negated the health benefits of the morning ride, I headed back south. The weather was still quite pleasant. I made my way along Boone's Ferry Rd, and noted these historical markers. Bill Flynn thought he'd cash in those waiting for passage on the ferry, and on the increase of business brought in by the railroad being built, and barged his mahogany bar from Butteville downstream to Boone's Ferry and up the river bank to this location. The building stood until April 1971, when it succumbed to a wind storm.
 |
| (you can click on any of these photos to see full sized versions....which are easier to read!) |
The era of community baseball was not just a city thing. My dad told of baseball being a big deal in his young adulthood. Even the tiny farming community of Verboort had a team. A member of the Verboort team, and dad to my elementary and high school classmate as well as cousin, went on to do quite well in the major leagues.
I rode back into Graham Oaks Park, this time from a different access point, and saw these two signs.
The first describes again the huge ice age floods that created this landscape.
This one describes the glacial erratics that are found around here.
I continued riding around neighborhoods and fringes. I came to a sign that puzzled me. It was on a gate that accessed a Oregon Department of Transportation storage yard near the freeway. It talked about how they would remove any personal property within 1500 ft of the sign, despite that it would mean removing personal property that was outside their perimeter, within a church parking lot, residential driveways, and a car dealership. I'm sure it must have been instigated by some issue, but I doubt that this would be enforceable.
I rode back along Boone's Ferry Rd. The train that was to bring customers to Mr Flynn's bar, today was carrying freight as it passed by. I waved, the engineer waved back. ;-)
As I made by way back under the Boone Bridge, I noted a bike in the brambles. It has obviously been there for some time. I suspect it had been stolen. I did my best to ride two bikes. Not the easiest thing to do when riding a fixed gear. I found it hardest to stop, with one hand on the other bike, and only one hand left to provide leverage to exert back pressure on my cranks.
As I neared downtown Wilsonville, it began to rain. I ducked into a picnic shelter in Memorial Park to wait for the shower to pass.
After some time, the rain tapered off and I continued my trip northward, with two bikes!
I ended up bringing the bike to the police station. They said they didn't have facilities to store it. As we were talking, another woman who appeared as if she worked there, said that they donate bikes to a non profit nearby, where kids work on bikes and sell them. I said that sounded good to me. The bike didn't need much, probably a new chain and a few cables. The tires looked good, and held air when I pumped them up.
It was a good ride, not many miles, but nice to get out. I was unprepared for the possibility of rain, and my jeans got soaked from the water rolling off the front tire and splashing against the down tube, my sweater got wet and heavy, but at least I was warm!
............Road Bike........Rollers.............MTB..........Lifecycle......Total
Today ...........27................0....................0........................0...........27
Jan..............304...............15...................0......................31..........350
Feb................0..................0....................0.......................0..............0
March..........18.................0....................0........................0............18
April............88.................0....................0........................0............88
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
A respite
I got a brief respite from my race planning this afternoon as I waited for some decisions from my racers. The temperature was 62 degrees! I jumped on the fixed gear bike and went for a spin. I had considered shorts and short sleeves, but chickened out and wore long pants and a light weight long sleeved jersey.
I took off toward the Willamette River. My first stop, the site of Alphonso Boone's ferry.
I took a path under I-5 then pedaled through neighborhood streets. Most of the homes here had waterfront property with the associated views. I managed to find one vacant lot, where the view was mine for the taking.
I crossed over Wilsonville Rd and rode into Graham Oaks Park. The park is now owned and managed by Metro Oregon's regional government that deals with land use planning and livability issues , among other things.
As I was reading the historical signs, I felt the first drops of rain. I didn't have anything close to rain gear along, so I started planning my exit.
The roads were wet by the time I finished up, and my jersey was wet through, but at least I wasn't cold.
............Road Bike........Rollers.............MTB..........Lifecycle......Total
Today ...........11................0....................0........................0...........11
Jan..............304...............15...................0......................31..........350
Feb................0..................0....................0.......................0..............0
March..........18.................0....................0........................0............18
April............61.................0....................0........................0............61
I took off toward the Willamette River. My first stop, the site of Alphonso Boone's ferry.
I took a path under I-5 then pedaled through neighborhood streets. Most of the homes here had waterfront property with the associated views. I managed to find one vacant lot, where the view was mine for the taking.
I crossed over Wilsonville Rd and rode into Graham Oaks Park. The park is now owned and managed by Metro Oregon's regional government that deals with land use planning and livability issues , among other things.
As I was reading the historical signs, I felt the first drops of rain. I didn't have anything close to rain gear along, so I started planning my exit.
The roads were wet by the time I finished up, and my jersey was wet through, but at least I wasn't cold.
............Road Bike........Rollers.............MTB..........Lifecycle......Total
Today ...........11................0....................0........................0...........11
Jan..............304...............15...................0......................31..........350
Feb................0..................0....................0.......................0..............0
March..........18.................0....................0........................0............18
April............61.................0....................0........................0............61
Sunday, April 9, 2017
A non group group ride.
I finally had an open day and just needed to get on my bike. I checked the Portland Wheelmen Ride calendar. They had one riding the Tacoma Wheelmen's Daffodil Ride. I didn't feel like driving all the way to Tacoma just to ride today, plus in the past when I did ride the Daffodil, I wasn't too enthralled with the local drivers, who let us know that we weren't welcome on "their" roads. I opted instead to join a local ride, advertised as a 25-35 mile group ride, 14ish mph, with a snack stop in the middle. I'm usually not looking to stop in the middle of a 30ish mile ride, I'd just as soon get the ride over with, then go for a social stop. But you take what you can get.
It was a cold morning, just 33 degrees at home at 6 AM. The weather forecast promised near 60 degrees by afternoon, and no rain until 6 PM.
With a forecast like that, there should be no surprise that there were 35 riders at the start.
One of the regulars offered to lead a split group if the intended route could be shared. The leader said he didn't have a route, he would make it up as we rode along. He wasn't sure how he'd keep the group together. He said he wouldn't regroup at stop signs, but would wait at all turns for the riders to re-group. If anyone got dropped, he said to just go straight, and they'd find the group waiting. He mentioned that he wasn't sure how he'd figure out when all the riders where there though. I offered to sweep and he should have no problem recognizing me (on my crazy fixed gear bike). He agreed, and we were off.
Within the first half mile a rider decided this ride wasn't for him and bailed out. I stopped and got his name to pass onto the ride leader. I pedaled hard and caught back up to the group.
Near the three mile mark we found ourselves in a large group of cars jockeying for parking places, and pedestrians making there way to a Palm Sunday church service. Some private security and Portland police were doing there best to keep everyone safe. During all this craziness, something happened with one of the tandem bikes. I'm not sure if there was a mechanical or some altercation with one of the pedestrians. but the tandem was being walked down the sidewalk. I got turned around and made my way back to see if I could offer any assistance.
They assured me that they were okay. It seemed that there might have been issues between the captain and stoker. At any rate, I took the hint, and turned around to catch my group.
I got back through the congestion, then pedaled hard to find the rest of the gang. I rode straight down the last road I saw them riding on while visually checking side streets in case they turned. How hard can it be to find 30+ riders in a leisurely paced ride?
Well, after I got a few miles out, I pretty much realized I wasn't going to find them. The only indication I had of a route was a pre-ride mention of Marine Drive and Panera Bread being the likely lunch stop. I intersected the diagonally oriented Sandy Blvd, and took it toward Marine Drive, hoping to head the group off.
Mt Hood was there, but no group of cyclists. I decided if I was going to be on a solo ride I'd continue to Troutdale. I got to Troutdale and noted that I had 17 miles. If I wouldn't be in the group ride, I'd at least get the expected miles by the time I got back!
Troutdale is trying to reinvent itself as somewhat of an artist's enclave. I noted a bronze sculpture that was being kind enough to show me the way.
I figured that no trip to Troutdale was complete without riding to the Sandy River. Being on the fixie, and not in the best of bike shape, I quickly dashed any thoughts of continuing up to Chanticleer Point for the view eastward to Crown Point and Vista House. Today, the historical sign about the Sandy River would have to do.
I turned around and rode back up out of the Sandy River canyon and made my way back westward along Halsey St. When I crossed Interstate 205 I jumped over to Tillamook, knowing from my Rocky Butte Hill Repeat days, that it was one of Portland's bike friendly neighborhood greenways.
In just a short time, I was back at the starting point. I was a bit surprised to see that all the cars related to our ride, were gone. Not suspecting a mass theft, I figured that even with their lunch stop, they had managed to beat me back and had already left.
Oh well. It was still a good day for a ride. The weather gurus got this one right. I saw a time/temperature show 61 degrees, and the first drops of rain began falling long after I was done riding, at 5:55 PM.
.........Road Bike........Rollers.............MTB..........Lifecycle......Total
Today ........34................0....................0........................0..........34
Jan..............304...............15...................0......................31..........350
Feb..............0..................0....................0.......................0..............0
March.........18................0.....................0.......................0.............18
April.........50................0....................0.......................0..............50
It was a cold morning, just 33 degrees at home at 6 AM. The weather forecast promised near 60 degrees by afternoon, and no rain until 6 PM.
With a forecast like that, there should be no surprise that there were 35 riders at the start.
One of the regulars offered to lead a split group if the intended route could be shared. The leader said he didn't have a route, he would make it up as we rode along. He wasn't sure how he'd keep the group together. He said he wouldn't regroup at stop signs, but would wait at all turns for the riders to re-group. If anyone got dropped, he said to just go straight, and they'd find the group waiting. He mentioned that he wasn't sure how he'd figure out when all the riders where there though. I offered to sweep and he should have no problem recognizing me (on my crazy fixed gear bike). He agreed, and we were off.
Within the first half mile a rider decided this ride wasn't for him and bailed out. I stopped and got his name to pass onto the ride leader. I pedaled hard and caught back up to the group.
Near the three mile mark we found ourselves in a large group of cars jockeying for parking places, and pedestrians making there way to a Palm Sunday church service. Some private security and Portland police were doing there best to keep everyone safe. During all this craziness, something happened with one of the tandem bikes. I'm not sure if there was a mechanical or some altercation with one of the pedestrians. but the tandem was being walked down the sidewalk. I got turned around and made my way back to see if I could offer any assistance.
They assured me that they were okay. It seemed that there might have been issues between the captain and stoker. At any rate, I took the hint, and turned around to catch my group.
I got back through the congestion, then pedaled hard to find the rest of the gang. I rode straight down the last road I saw them riding on while visually checking side streets in case they turned. How hard can it be to find 30+ riders in a leisurely paced ride?
Well, after I got a few miles out, I pretty much realized I wasn't going to find them. The only indication I had of a route was a pre-ride mention of Marine Drive and Panera Bread being the likely lunch stop. I intersected the diagonally oriented Sandy Blvd, and took it toward Marine Drive, hoping to head the group off.
Mt Hood was there, but no group of cyclists. I decided if I was going to be on a solo ride I'd continue to Troutdale. I got to Troutdale and noted that I had 17 miles. If I wouldn't be in the group ride, I'd at least get the expected miles by the time I got back!
Troutdale is trying to reinvent itself as somewhat of an artist's enclave. I noted a bronze sculpture that was being kind enough to show me the way.
I figured that no trip to Troutdale was complete without riding to the Sandy River. Being on the fixie, and not in the best of bike shape, I quickly dashed any thoughts of continuing up to Chanticleer Point for the view eastward to Crown Point and Vista House. Today, the historical sign about the Sandy River would have to do.
I turned around and rode back up out of the Sandy River canyon and made my way back westward along Halsey St. When I crossed Interstate 205 I jumped over to Tillamook, knowing from my Rocky Butte Hill Repeat days, that it was one of Portland's bike friendly neighborhood greenways.
In just a short time, I was back at the starting point. I was a bit surprised to see that all the cars related to our ride, were gone. Not suspecting a mass theft, I figured that even with their lunch stop, they had managed to beat me back and had already left.
Oh well. It was still a good day for a ride. The weather gurus got this one right. I saw a time/temperature show 61 degrees, and the first drops of rain began falling long after I was done riding, at 5:55 PM.
.........Road Bike........Rollers.............MTB..........Lifecycle......Total
Today ........34................0....................0........................0..........34
Jan..............304...............15...................0......................31..........350
Feb..............0..................0....................0.......................0..............0
March.........18................0.....................0.......................0.............18
April.........50................0....................0.......................0..............50
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
A new month
Well, I'm back from Texas. After crewing 25 events with no DNF's, I'm on a bad roll now. Steven DNF'd about 140 miles into the 400 mile Texas RAAM Challenge. Mechanical issues that I wasn't able to resolve with the tools available spelled doom for our rider. I was able to use duct tape to get him another 60 miles down the course after the problem occurred, but that was it. Lesson learned, even if flying in, bring a full set of tools, and a spare bike.
I got back home from the extended Texas trip this afternoon, and by late afternoon Carol had talked me into going for a short ride.
We started from Fry's Electronics in Wilsonville and made our way mostly along paths and parks, interspersed with quiet residential streets for a whopping 16 miles.
It would be nice to start riding a bit again, but I've got a full schedule of crew duty this year. I'm crewing almost every US ultra cycling event this year except for Natches Trace. Who knows, that may happen yet!
.........Road Bike........Rollers.............MTB..........Lifecycle......Total
Today ........16................0....................0........................0..........16
Jan..............304...............15...................0......................31..........350
Feb..............0..................0....................0.......................0..............0
March.........18................0.....................0.......................0.............18
April.........16................0....................0.......................0..............16
I got back home from the extended Texas trip this afternoon, and by late afternoon Carol had talked me into going for a short ride.
We started from Fry's Electronics in Wilsonville and made our way mostly along paths and parks, interspersed with quiet residential streets for a whopping 16 miles.
It would be nice to start riding a bit again, but I've got a full schedule of crew duty this year. I'm crewing almost every US ultra cycling event this year except for Natches Trace. Who knows, that may happen yet!
.........Road Bike........Rollers.............MTB..........Lifecycle......Total
Today ........16................0....................0........................0..........16
Jan..............304...............15...................0......................31..........350
Feb..............0..................0....................0.......................0..............0
March.........18................0.....................0.......................0.............18
April.........16................0....................0.......................0..............16
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