Day 4 of #ridingeverydayinNovember

We turned our clocks back to Pacific Standard Time early Sunday morning.  I remembered to turn the few clocks that don't automatically adjust back, but sort of forgot what that meant for outside activities.  Today I cleaned, sorted, and put back in storage all the bike race supplies that I had brought with me to Borrego Springs this past weekend but didn't think about impending darkness until the middle of the afternoon. I was waiting for fog to clear and the temperature to increase a little, until I realized the the sun was going to set at 4:54 PM.  I loaded up the fixed gear bike and headed toward the East Bank Esplanade.  I figured  I should be able to find 5 miles there, and be able to take some photos as well.

I started off from Sellwood Riverside Park and headed north.

As I pedaled along I did my Bob Norvelle imitation

We have had a quarter of an inch of rain since October 19th, and the Willamette River shows it!
I've never seen the water so low.

The water might be low, but it still provides some scenic views.

The sun is low in the sky this time of year, and it was getting late in the day besides. Unlike my friend in Panama, we get LONG shadows here in November!

There was just the slightest breeze so the water made nearly perfect reflections.

After a couple of tries, I managed to get a cyclist perfectly framed as he pedaled across the bridge.

It was a nice winter afternoon for a ride.

I was mindful that while I always have a taillight on all my bikes, that I do not normally have a front light along unless I know I'll be riding in darkness or inclement weather.  I did not have a front light with me this afternoon, and the sun was getting closer to the horizon by the minute.  I already had my 5 mile minimum for #ridingeverydayinNovember so I could have turned around at any time but could not resist the urge to "see what lied ahead" even though I've been on this route many times. I decided that at this point I might as well cross the river and ride back down the west side. As long as I didn't stop for too many photos I figured I could make it back before lights would be necessary. The first photo stop was at the Burnside Bridge.

Then some waterfowl caught my eye.

Canadian Geese

Mallard Ducks

I picked up the pace a bit and rushed to the Tilikum Crossing.

The sun slid below the West Hills and it would be dark in about an hour, but I could pedal the remaining distance in about 15 minutes.  I crossed the bridge and headed south along the Springwater Trail back to Sellwood Riverside Park. I made it back well before lights would have been necessary.

It was a fun trip!

...........Road Bike......Rollers........MTB...........Lifecycle......Total

Today......13..................0.................0......................0.............13
Jan...........0.................. 0..................0.....................0..............0
Feb...........0..................0..................0.....................0...............0
March.......0..................0..................0.....................0...............0
April..........0.................0..................0......................0...............0
May..........0..................0..................80....................0..............80
June........63.................0..................59....................0..............122
July..........86.................0..................78....................0..............206
August......24.................0.................0.....................0..............24
September.23................0.................0.....................0..............23
October........0................0.................0.....................0................0
November....40..............0.................0.....................0.............40

YTD.........273...............0................218.....................0.............492