It's contagious!

Eric decided he really wanted to join me on my night ride route. What better way to experience that than to do it on a rainy night? ;-)

We began our little journey at 6:30pm and started with about 11 miles into a noticeable wind. Builds character they say. ;-)

Eric has never intentionally pedaled in the dark. He had decent lights, but did not have his speedometer illuminated. He thought I was riding hard until we got down to Wilsonville and regrouped. I mentioned that we had a 14.4 avg. He thought for sure it should have been several mph higher!

We did manage to push it a bit higher on the return to Tualatin as we pedaled with the wind at our backs. Eric had ridden a century on Sunday and was still feeling the effects of that and struggled to maintain my pace. I looped around at a few turns so as to not leave him out in the dark, lost and alone. ;-)

As we finished the route Eric said thanks for the ride, but added that he didn't think he'd be doing night rides much in the near future.

I guess it's an acquired thing. ;-)

..........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........25..............0.............0..........0..........25
Jan.........474..............0............21..........7.........502
Feb.........289..............0.............0..........0.........289

YTD........773...............0............21..........7.........802

a sweatheart of a ride

It was Valentines Day, and it promised to be a dark, windy, and rainy night. If one had a sweety it would have been a perfect night to snuggle in front of the fire with a cup of hot cocoa.

I went for a bike ride!

As I prepared to ride the wind was blowing hard, the rain was falling harder. It didn't look like it was going to be fun. I planned on riding my favorite 23 mile night route; Well lit, wide shoulders, low traffic.

It ended up being a little less miserable than I expected. The rain quit and the wind died down. It was still dark, but a 6:45PM start time assured that.

I pedaled hard and fast because, well, just because it was Valentines Day evening and I was on my bike!



..........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........23..............0.............0..........0..........23
Jan.........474..............0............21..........7.........502
Feb.........264..............0.............0..........0.........264

YTD........748...............0............21..........7.........748

timing

Real Estate folks may preach "location, location, location" but today for we folks on bikes it was "timing, timing, timing", and we had perfect timing!

Earlier in the week the weather forecast said Saturday would be a wetter day than Sunday. I had scheduled a century ride for my social bike club on Sunday based on that forecast. As the week went on Saturday began to look like the better day of the two. Finally late last night it appeared that the rain wouldn't come in until late Saturday and Sunday is predicted to be wet, wet, wet! I transferred leadership of the Sunday century to a new ride leader who was begging for experience, and posted a ride from Troutdale to Multnomah Falls and back. A mere 40 miles, but with just over 3000 ft of climbing it would still be a good ride. I didn't want to plan many more miles than that, not trusting the weather forecast, and not needing to ride all day in the rain anymore.

I only had one person RSVP for the ride, and that person's history as a perennial no show didn't make it look promising for company. No big deal, I have ridden many miles solo and could do a few more.

As I arrived at Edgefield, our starting point, I was not surprised to see the "perennial no show" not be there, but was surprised to see 3 others decide to show up...all prompted by the nice weather this morning!

We pedaled up to Chanticleer Point then zoomed down the back side to Multnomah Falls, took in the sights a bit, then returned. We took a few alternate roads just to make sure we weren't bored by a straight out and back.



We had no wind, a rarity in the Gorge, no rain, a rarity in February, and the weather was in the 50's reaching the high 50's by ride's end. As we sat at Edgefield enjoying a post ride carbo loading session we noted the sky darkening, and the wind picking up. I'd estimate gusts in the 35-40 mph range by the time I was driving back home.(update, peak gust measured at Portland Airport was 37) Tomorrow's century looks to be a wet and miserable affair. I'm glad I rode today, and opted out of tomorrow's ride.

I'll get a few things that have been deferred finished up, and stay warm and dry!

and late this evening a comment was posted to my facebook page:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Jennifer wrote: "Kevin, apparently timing IS everything...read my narrative about our trip from SE PDX to NE to N PO to Marine Drive to Troutdale to the hills...and our struggle to make it back alive! being out there in that wind was like Hemet all over again, draining you of your will to live or function. All I can say is: you lucky bastard :P"
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
and the referenced narrative:
Don't think I've suffered on a bike this much since the XMas Ride into Hemet: sideswiping gales and headwinds so fierce we were almost literally knocked off our bikes several times, a missed turn, and with 10 mi to go, skies opened up and started pouring. Nothing to do but put the bit between your teeth and ride to shelter of home, right? Tomorrow's Worst Day of the Year Ride should be a piece of cake after this...



..........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........40..............0.............0..........0..........40
Jan.........474..............0............21..........7.........502
Feb.........241..............0.............0..........0.........241

YTD........725...............0............21..........7.........753

a dark and rainy night

There is a route I like to use when I ride at night, for the most part well lit, wide shoulders and low traffic. What a difference the weather makes! I rode it last week and had a very enjoyable ride, rode it again tonight and was ... not so enjoyable. Tonight was raining. Even though I had bright lights on, they just bounced off the black wet roads and went off into space. The raindrops on the glasses compounded the poor vision.

My riding partner had enough long before the ride was over, I wasn't far behind in how I felt.

We both agreed that it was still better than sitting home. But I think it's safe to say that we both hope for better weather the next time!

..........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........21..............0.............0..........0..........21
Jan.........474..............0............21..........7.........502
Feb.........201..............0.............0..........0.........201

Year to date ..........................................a paltry 703

Rode yesterday's birthday ride backwards

Rode yesterday's birthday ride backwards to meet newbies and lead them on 23 mi. Add commute and today's total was 83 miles.

..........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........83..............0.............0..........0..........83
Jan.........474..............0............21..........7.........502
Feb.........180..............0.............0..........0.........180

Year to date ..........................................a paltry 682

56 flat and fast miles, plus a few

Today was my birthday. I was joined by 18 folks on a ride of 56 miles to celebrate it.
The ride was advertised as "about 15 mph on bike average"...well, we were only off by 3mph. ;-) The weather was perfect and we took advantage of it and pedaled right along. I averaged 18 mph for the ride. I got a few bonus miles by commuting to the ride and did a couple of double backs to check on some who had fallen behind from time to time.

We finished up with snacks at a local sports pub in Wilsonville. My sister brought a birthday cake!

photos will be coming later.

Thanks to all who joined me today, it was a blast!

..........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........62..............0.............0..........0..........62
Jan.........474..............0............21..........7.........502
Feb..........97..............0.............0..........0..........97

Year to date ..........................................a paltry 599

21 flat and fast miles

21 flat and fast miles tonight. Nice to have the days getting longer. Started at 4:30 and got most of it done before dark.

We did have one issue. My riding partner and I were riding near Wilsonville, the sun was still up but we both had front and rear blinkies flashing. I did not have my 400 lumen light on. A driver in a 4x4 pickup (isn't it always a 4x4???) stopped as he was coming out from a side street, then creeped out, and out, and finally right in front of my partner, forcing an evasive maneuver, along with a verbal outburst. The driver was captive, vehicular traffic was at a standstill. I rode up, slapped the tailgate. (when will I learn?) and asked him what the hell he thought he was doing. He responded that he didn't see her. I asked if he even looked! I mean, bright colors, daylight, and a 1 watt white blinkie flashing in his face. If it was any solace, he had fear in his eyes, he wasn't sure what I was going to do. As it ended up, I made sure he heard my concerns, then rode away.

My friend and I pedaled quicky tonight. We had an 18 mph "on bike" average at the end

..........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........21..............0.............0..........0..........21
Jan.........474..............0............21..........7.........502
Feb..........35..............0.............0..........0..........35

Year to date ..........................................a paltry 537

for Pete's sake!

Well, who is Pete, and why did they name this hill after him?

A friend and I had planned to ride a 20 mile route with 2000 ft of climbing after work today, beginning at 4:45PM. Well, I-5 was stopped up with an overturned semi truck, the side roads were stopped up with those trying to avoid the freeway. Had I known that prior I would have commuted to Tualatin by bike, it would have been far quicker.

So, we started off about 45 minutes late. We pedaled down 65th avenue to start off with. No paved shoulder, but not normally a major issue. Tonight with all the traffic trying to avoid the mess on the freeway though 65th was very busy.

We made our way over to the Willamette area of West Linn and than began climbing the major hill of the ride, Pete's Mountain, from the more difficult side.

It was dark, my riding partner had cold toes, and a daughter that needed a ride to class. When we reached the top of Pete's Mountain we took Sheaffer Rd to the west, cutting off 6 miles of our intended route. We still ended up with 14 miles and just a shade over 1400 ft of climbing. Not too bad for an after work ride in the dark.


..........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........14..............0.............0..........0..........14
Jan.........474..............0............21..........7.........502
Feb..........14..............0.............0..........0..........14

Year to date ..........................................a paltry 516

The last day of January

And I waited until today to decide that it really was important to me to get 500 miles this month. I hadn't done less than 500 in quite some time. Despite not having any bike goals this year I just couldn't stand the thought of finishing up the month with less than 500 miles.

I hopped on the bike at 4:15PM and looked for at least 60 miles. I rode from Butteville and took French Prairie to River Rd, then took the Wheatland road loop toward Keizer. When I reached 31 miles I turned around and rode back. (1 mi for buffer!) I picked the roads because I knew they would have low traffic. The weather was dry but a bit chilly as the night progressed.

I had my standard two Superflashes on the back, a bright front blinkie, as well as my Stella 3 really bright LED light on the helmet. Seeing and being seen was not an issue.

Rolled back into Butteville with enough miles to salvage a 500 mile month. Not many miles compared to what I've been riding, but it will have to do for January.


..........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........62..............0.............0..........0..........62
Jan.........474..............0............21..........7.........502

Year to date ..........................................a paltry 502

4 separate bike rides today,

4 separate bike rides today, only 73 miles total, but each ride got more challenging. Now going to Portland Wheelman banquet.
(posted via phone)

Update:

Friends have remarked that they can't figure out why my mileage is so low, I ride every weekend. Well folks, when you ride 30-40 miles in a day it doesn't add up very fast! Today I continued my short ride ways, but at least today I rode 4 of them!

I started off with plans to ride about 150 miles of the Willamette Valley Bikeway. I got about 8 miles into it and just lost interest. It was cold and foggy...and I didn't have to ride.... so I didn't.

When I got back I Dave was preparing to ride a 20 mile hilly loop from Wilsonville to Sherwood and back. I jumped back on the bike and joined him.

I just got back from that, put my bike away, then checked email. Social bike group member Art posted a last minute ride from Gateway to take in 30 miles of paths and some roads. I decided what the heck and joined Art and Gerson. As I prepared to ride I got a call from a friend who could be ready to ride by 3 and was looking for company. When Art's route got close to Troutdale I took my leave and met up with my 4th ride of the day, a run up the Sandy River and into the hills above Corbet.

I had an invitation to attend the Portland Wheelmen Touring Club's annual banquet and once I left my riding partner I had to pedal hard back to Gateway in order to make it to the banquet on time. Thankfully I have a 24 hr Fitness membership, and had suitable clothes along. The gym was just 2 blocks away from the banquet. Despite a 20mph+ run from Troutdale back to Gateway I was still about 10 minutes late to the banquet, but the line was still formed for food, so I was good to go, and my space at a table was being saved for me. ;-)


..........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today........73..............0.............0..........0..........73
Jan.........412..............0............21..........7.........440

Year to date ..........................................a paltry 440