Another Field Trip Day

Well, sort of.

After a nonstop rain day yesterday, on what was originally predicted to be the driest day, today was dry, on what was earlier predicted to be a wet day. I had a few errands to run. What better way to do it than to bike? I made a couple of rides to town for various supplies. After completing the projects I was working on the weather was still pretty darn nice. I hopped on the fixie and just went for a tour of the neighborhood.

I am a vocal supporter of riding with a helmet at all times, but.....me bad...... if I'm just riding the fixie to town I sometimes don't wear one. The route to the hardware store is just over a mile, and can virtually all be done on sidewalks or parking lots. My fixie has flat pedals, so literally I can just hop on a go for a ride.

I pedaled through parking lots and vacant residential streets and got to the historic site of Boone's Ferry.

Click on the photo to view full size and be able to read the text

The Willamette was running high from the recent heavy rains.

I continued to ride through city parks, parking lots, and quiet residential streets. Finally, with the day coming to an end I thought about getting a bite to eat. As I'm pedaling toward caloric nirvana I come across my sister who is out for a little fast paced stroll.

She rightly scolds me for not wearing my helmet, then takes my photo for proof of my stupidity.

I don't know why, but Friday was awesome weather but I didn't ride much, wanting to stay fresh for Saturday's ride....that was supposed to have awesome weather as well. Saturday was a very wet day but I rode 59 miles. Today was supposed to be wet, but was dry, and again I am a slacker. Can I only ride when it's raining?

It was a short mileage day, but a lot of fun!



............road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total
Today..........16................0..............0...............0............16 Jan.............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ...........130.............0..............0...............0............130
Total..........1418...............0..............0...............0.........1418

Pinch Hitter

I had posted an invitation on Facebook for friends to join me on a reride of last year's 58 mile birthday ride. I love the route and hadn't ridden it since last year. After yesterday's awesome weather, and a forecast for a good day until rain moves in around 5PM, a lot of people made plans to ride. This morning I woke up to a changed forecast (rain now by 11AM) and only one lady friend joining me.

I was planning on starting the loop at Riverside Park in the Sellwood neighborhood of Portland at 9:30 AM. I arrived a bit early, made my preparations to ride, then just surfed Facebook from my smart phone waiting for my friend. 9:30 came and went, still no riding partner, but a light rain had arrived early. The Facebook surfing paid off however, dear friend Monica was semi-looking for a ride. It took just a bit of arm twisting to get her riding down from the West Hills to meet me at the Hawthorne Bridge. She would make a good pinch hitter.

The route is mapped to send us mostly on Portland's 40 Mile Loop with a foray north into Washington to the Burnt Bridge Creek Trail, just to gain some miles. I had not ridden with Monica for many months. We chatted a bit as we pedaled. She has moved to a low traffic area and remarked on how she has become a bit uncomfortable around traffic now.
When we got out by University of Portland I took the Peninsula Crossing Trail rather than stay on roads out to Kelly Point. That cut off about 7 miles of our expected 58. It had been raining continuously since I started, I didn't think she'd mind.

When we got to Columbia Blvd we rode on it for a few blocks before turning left onto the path again. At that point we have to cross railroad tracks. If we had just been 1 minute quicker to that point we wouldn't have had to wait for the train to clear. At least this one kept going forward, unlike the one yesterday.

One thing about a rainy day, I carried my camera, but it's just too much of a hassle to take off gloves, take off pack, take the camera out of it's waterproof enclosure, take the picture, reverse the process. In nice weather I just reach into the pocket and take the photo. Today there were no pictures from the road. :-(

When we reached I-5 we exited the 40 Mile Loop and entered into Washington. Monica had left home on short notice and was riding without breakfast. We fixed some of that caloric deficit at a coffee shop in Vancouver.

I was on the fixie. The route was fairly flat and the weather was supposed to be dry. Alas, the weather was wet (the fixie has no fenders) and the course had a few more hills than I remembered. There was one hill just passed the Ross Substation that worked me pretty hard. I got within 50 feet of the top of the 15%ish hill, then bailed off. I was down to an excruciatingly slow cadence and pushing on the pedals with all I had. I finally gave in to Sandy Earl's voice saying, "I could pedal it, but what's the use". I walked the bike the last 50 feet.

The rain was relentless, but never heavy. The temperature was in the 50's. We've all biked in worse. As we crossed the Glenn Jackson Bridge (I-205) we were on the path nestled between 3 lanes of freeway traffic each direction. While it was not raining hard, the road was wet, and each passing vehicle whipped the water into a frenzy. We were both glad to finally reach the Oregon shore and get off that bridge.

We pedaled the remainder of the 40 Mile Loop without incident. We were both glad to be finished up, but neither of us were really finished yet. Monica turned down my offer to drive her home, and planned to ride to the OHSU tram, ride it up the hill, then pedal the remainder back to her house. I planned to put my bike on MAX light rail, take that to Hillsboro, and lend my mom my "Gravity" DVD.

The shortcut taken early in the ride had shaved off almost 7 miles. My little commute from the Hillsboro Downtown MAX station to mom's and back, and from the Moda Center MAX station back to my pickup added 8. Net mileage? 1 more than I had expected.

Ya, it would have been nice to have sunny weather, but it didn't rain all that hard, temperatures were mild, and I got to ride with Monica for the first time in many, many, months.

I guess I'll have to call that a good day on the bike!


............road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total
Today..........59................0..............0...............0............59 Jan.............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ........114................0..............0...............0............114
Total..........1402...............0..............0...............0.........1402

On a Field Trip

I have been attending the NW Leadership Seminar this week. During most of the seminar it was raining and blustery. Starting late yesterday the weather started to clear up. The seminar ended around noon today, and by that time it was looking pretty darn nice. I brought the fixie along to the seminar today, hoping to get a ride in so by 2 PM I was out riding.

The seminar was just a couple hundred feet from the 40 Mile Loop route, so I started out west on that. It was a nice afternoon.

Along the way I decided to ride out to Kelly Point Park, the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette Rivers, rather than continue on the 40 mile loop. I had a gentle tail wind and was moving along at a pretty good pace. That all came to an abrupt stop when a came around a bend to find............

The train was in no hurry to clear the crossing. It crept forward a bit, then backward a bit, then stopped, then forward again It was a bad as a cat trying to decide whether to go outside or not! It finally moved on slowly.

I continued westward and was soon in the braided channels and lakes common at the junction of these two big rivers.
Here I ride along the Columbia Slough.

The sun was out, the temperature was in the low 60's, but still the park was nearly empty.

I made my way to the tip of land where the two rivers flow together. There were a couple of ships anchored in the Columbia River. A tug pushed a barge up to the grain terminal at the mouth of the Willamette River to load wheat. There were some barges tied off on piling along the river bank. I was out playing, but it was a working day on the river.

I felt like I was on a school field trip. I stopped and read all the sign boards.

I did a little better than Lewis and Clark, at least I saw the Willamette River. Of course they saw it, just didn't recognize it as a separate river. It would be easy to do when in a canoe among these channels and sloughs.

I exited the park and rode toward the St Johns Bridge but part way out turned around because the time was slipping away.

I rode back along the Columbia River. When I reached where the Columbia River splits around Hayden Island I stopped to take a photo of Mt Hood about 70 miles to the east.

I arrived back at the tangled twisty route through the I-5 interchange. Luckily it was well signed, because often one has to turn away from where you really want to go!

I made it back to my pickup, and as I was putting everything away my sister called. She had just flown back from a Minnesota business trip and was wondering if I wanted to join her and her and Dave at the Lauralwood Pub.

Score! A great way to wrap up a bike ride on a sunny day.


............road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total
Today..........27................0..............0...............0............27 Jan.............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March .........55................0..............0...............0.............55
Total..........1343...............0..............0...............0.........1343

Golden Gardens

It was raining this morning in Seattle and predicted to be quite wet until mid morning then changing to showers. To my surprise it stopped raining about 10 AM, and the wind had the roads dried off by 11 AM. With mostly blue skies with a splattering of white puffy clouds it was time to get on the bike. I've only got the fixie with me this time around, so bike choice was easy.

I rode down from Queen Ann via 3rd Ave N. I was spinning pedals just as fast as I could and moving along at 25 mph. I hit a bump in the pavement and lost my footing on the pedals. No way could I catch back up with the pedals so I curled my legs up and rode it down to Dravus St where I could take a slight right and level out a bit. Once the speed slowed a bit I got back on the pedals. I was pedaling along about 20-21 mph when a car came up behind me and honked. There were cars coming toward me and this guy wanted around me. I held my position in the middle of the lane for safety, as there was no room for both of us to be in the same lane side by side, and pavement imperfections made room to maneuver mandatory. Within 2 blocks we came to a backlog of vehicles waiting for a light on Nickerson. I took my position in the line of cars, the impatient driver quietly cued up behind me. As the light turned green I accelerated hard and kept my place within the line of cars in the center lane, being the right lane as it turned across the Fremont Bridge. As I made my way onto the bridge I veered right and took the MUT on the bridge deck. The impatient driver watched from his backed up lane as I took the signal and crossed in front of him. Point made.

I rode out along the Burke-Gilman Trail toward Golden Gardens. I stopped at Jack-in-the-Box for some health food. ;-)
Having taken on calories and hydration I continued on to Golden Gardens. It was pretty out there today, but alas, no camera along, and also forgot to bring my phone. Take my word for it, the view across the Sound was glorious today.

After taking in the view for a few minutes I turned around and started back, all the while pondering the climb back up Queen Ann.

I started off on the "Easy Way" up Queen Ann. When I got about half way up I took a left where we'd normally go right, just because it was a sunny afternoon and I felt like exploring. It ended up being a bit steeper, but ridable on the fixie, barely.

I came in just below a cemetery and finally recognized the normal route ahead. I mostly followed it the rest of the way back.

Only 15 miles, but the weather was nice, and with the hill, it was a good workout.

............road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total
Today..........15................0..............0...............0............15 Jan.............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March .........28................0..............0...............0.............28
Total..........1316...............0..............0...............0.........1316

Bike Expo

 Today was Bike Expo in Seattle.  It is one of the longest running trade shows, now in it's 26th year.  There was a wide variety of bike related businesses.  Attendees had the chance to look at bikes, bike racks, bike nutrition, bike clothing, tours, events, art, and photography, as well as presentations on all sorts of topics of interest to cyclists.

 There were a few guys demonstrating bike handling skills on trials bikes.



There were also a team from Germany doing "Artistic" cycling demonstrations.





I rode my fixie there, just a short 5 mile trip from Queen Ann via the ship canal trail.  The ride this morning was nice, the roads were dry and temperatures were reasonable.

The predicted rain arrived during the day so roads were wet on the return, but we dodged the worst of the rain. On the ride out I took 3rd Ave N straight down the hill, on the return I took the slightly longer and less steep way back up.  I did manage to ride all they way up Queen Ann without walking or dismounting.  I wasn't sure I'd be able to manage the grade in the 43x18 gearing, but managed (with much huffing and puffing!)

It was a nice ride and an appropriate way to commute to Bike Expo.

 ............road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total
Today..........13................0..............0...............0............13 Jan.............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March .........13................0..............0...............0.............13
Total..........1301...............0..............0...............0.........1301

What a difference 24 hours makes!

Well, as expected, yesterday was the bad  weather day. It was sunny on Wednesday but I could not ride.  Yesterday I had all day to ride but had cold rain as Carol and I pedaled a few miles in Portland.   This afternoon I'm driving to Seattle for Bike Expo so my time is limited, but it is sunny again!

 You know the sayings: "strike while the iron is hot",  and "make hay when the sun shines".  I'll add that one must "bike when the weather is nice"!  I hoped on the fixie and pedaled a few miles in the Springlike weather.

Just wandered around the neighborhood, and stopped for a sausage and egg McMuffin. ;-)

 ............road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total
Today..........16................0..............0...............0............16 Jan.............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578 Total..........1288...............0..............0...............0...........1288

Perfect Timing

Yesterday was a gorgeous day.  A bit of wind in the Portland area due to east winds in the Columbia Gorge, but mostly sunny skies and reasonable temperatures.  Unfortunately, I didn't have time to ride a bike. Tomorrow is predicted to be nice as well.   Today was 38 and raining as I started out.  My friend Carol joined me with perfect timing to see if we could adhere to Rule #9.

Our plan was to ride Portland's 40 Mile Loop.  My Randonneur friends like to say that there is no such thing as bad weather, just poor clothing choices.  Carol had tire issues as well.  There is very little worse than having multiple tire problems during a cold, rainy ride. I was riding my fixie so had little along that could help with her Presta tube, as my fixie has Schrader valves.  Before we made it half way around Carol decided to pull the plug for today. Luckily she had an adapter for her Presta stem so we could use my pump to add air from time to time.  She had little interest in patching the tube. We turned around and pedaled back toward Riverside Park.

It had rained nonstop so far, but as we got back to Riverside Park to her vehicle, the rain stopped.  Carol loaded her bike and headed for home. I was warm and comfortable so I turned east to ride the Springwater Corridor to Gresham in search of more miles.  I had left home planning on a 40 mile ride and had just under 30 miles.  The weather was the nicest I'd seen all day. Certainly you understand. ;-)

Any day on a bike is a good day, though it might have been "less good" than if I had biked yesterday.

 ............road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total
Today..........58................0..............0...............0............58 Jan.............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 562...............0..............0...............0............562 Total..........1272...............0..............0...............0...........1272

Chilly Hilly

Today was Cascade Bicycle Club's season opener, Chilly Hilly. The ride takes place on Bainbridge Island, a place noted for it's hilly topography.  Nothing big, just a lot of up and down.

The weather forecast said it was going to be wet, and even a chance of it turning to snow by afternoon. For the second year I was volunteering as a ride referee.  There was some talk of eliminating the ride ref program, but after an uproar by the ride refs, the club big wigs relented. I was disappointed to see many of the refs today bail out because of the weather forecast.  If you ever needed the ride refs it would be in inclement weather when crashes are more likely to happen.

 I like to ride to the ride when possible.  It was 42 degrees as I rode down Queen Ann to the ferry terminal.
My ride packet was to be mailed to me, it included a rider number that gained me space on the ferry.  Without it I'd have to pay a separate fee, with it, the ride was included in the ride registration.  My ride packet never showed up, not a rare occurrence I found later.  Cascade said they'd have a duplicate available at the registration desk.  When I arrived I was bounced around from line to line only to find a clueless person at the desk.  With the ferry leaving imminently, I finally just told them to forget it, I was just going to go for a bike ride.  It was a good thing I planned on dual citizenship and had a pirate flag on the bike to better fit in with the .83 sponsored FHR.  

The ferry is always a sight to behold with all the bikes.

                                                                    Arsen S video

The views are always nice on this ride.  Even with the hassle of stopping, taking off gloves, taking the phone out of it's waterproof packing, taking a photo, and reversing the process, I just had to stop for a photo every now and then.

With the predicted wet and cold weather the crowds were a little smaller this year. Those of us attending enjoyed the better than predicted weather.

I stopped to help 3 folks with flat tires who lacked the parts or skills to deal with it. I also assisted with one person who had a medical issue and was evacuated from the route.

Marathon Photo happened to get a photo of the pirate ride ref.

 Even with the stops to assist, I finished the course by noon.  I hadn't even had a single drop of rain.  I pulled into Harbour Public House, the location floated as an after ride meeting point.  The place was hopping, and I was about 2 hours early.  No problem, Scott B showed up shortly and we just waited on the front porch before staking out a table.

Scott B photo

 
Once I knew that some others were just minutes away I walked in to put our names on the waiting list.  A patron who happened to be one of the guys I helped with a flat saw me, and bought me a beer as thanks! 

Before I had to take leave to catch the ferry back, 17 friends showed up for a little post ride food and drink.
It also started raining while we were there.

After the ferry ride back across the water I rode back north along the Seattle Waterfront, then UP Queen Ann.
It was a nice ride!

 ............road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total
Today..........39................0..............0...............0............39 Jan.............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 504...............0..............0...............0............504 Total..........1214...............0..............0...............0...........1214

Ready to Ride

A group of Cascade Bicycle Club folks have put together a series called  "Ready to Ride".  Today was Ready to Ride 3.  They planned to ride 25 miles beginning at 11AM.  That was a perfect excuse to ride to the ride.

They planned a flat ride, so I took the fixie.  I had to get down Queen Ann on the way out, and back up Queen Ann on the way back.  Other than that it would be an easy pedal.

I was brave and rode down 3rd Ave N.  I had to touch the brakes twice in the 3/4 mile of 15ish % to keep the bike from running away from me.  I got on the Ship Canal trail then turned into the wind as I got on the Elliot Bay trail.  The wind in my face continued as I rode Marginal Way toward the West Seattle Bridge.  It was raining nonstop during this ride to the ride.  I didn't want to stop to check the time so I kept pedaling.  I arrived at Jack Block Park, our starting point, a half hour before roll out time.  Not bad at all.

The ride finally put pedals down at 11:20.  I was anxious to get moving, I was beginning to get cold.   There were about 35 of us, and we broke into several smaller groups.  I was in the faster group, just hoping I could hold on.  As it ended up, there was no problem keeping up.  The pace was about 14 mph.

A recumbent rider got a flat about 7 miles in.  I stopped with him to help, or at least provide moral support.
His bike has a small front tire and he did not carry a spare tube.  We set about patching the tube. The process was a bit slower than I expected but we did get back on the road after about 15-20 minutes  I thought I'd have problems keeping up with a 'bent but he seemed in no real hurry to try to catch up to the others.

As we neared our turn around point we caught the slowest group.  They were only moving 10-12 so I made my way around them and pedaled on.  I thought the recumbent would also come around, but he didn't.  I knew the basic route, but not the exact route.  I had planned on just staying with the group.  Suddenly I found myself between the slow group and the faster group.  Me bad.

When I got to Bicentennial Park I had not yet caught the faster riders so I stopped to let the slower folks catch up. While waiting I took out the smartphone and Googled "Fort Dent Park", since I had heard that was our turn around destination.  I had overshot it by 1.1 miles, at least the rain had stopped.  I rode back to the park and looked around for the others.  It is a large park and I did not see the others.  I texted to let Julie know I hadn't found them and was riding back to Jack Block Park. I did not know that she didn't have her phone with her.

There was a bit of a tail wind and I made good time.  I came back along the Duwamish Waterway and stopped for a photo.

I caught up to the slower group a mile or so from the West Seattle Bridge.  The sweep rider told me the others were about 5 minutes ahead.  I rode with the group for awhile, but finally picked the speed back up and pedaled toward Jack Block Park.  I pulled into the park, but the faster group had already left.  I turned around and pedaled back towards Queen Ann.  I met the slower group as they neared Jack Block Park.  I thanked the leaders for the ride and kept on going.

As I rode up the ramps of the West Seattle Bridge I felt a squishy rear tire.  It was slow leak and I only had a few miles left to ride, so I just added air and rode fast.  I made it to the Ferry Terminal and added air again.  I headed up the hill.  It was way steeped than I can pedal up, so I walked the bike up 4 blocks, then hopped back on.

This was the second flat that I've had on the fixie.  I think I'll add some sealant to both tires.  The last thing I want on STP is a flat tire.

It was a good ride.  After starting off in rain, most of the "official" ride was dry, and all the return ride back to Queen Ann was dry.

Tomorrow is Chilly Hilly.  It promises to live up to its name!

 ............road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total
Today..........50................0..............0...............0............50 Jan.............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 465...............0..............0...............0............465 Total..........1175...............0..............0...............0...........1175

The best day yet!

Well, this week anyway.

I started out the day by upgrading some route markings that I originally placed over a year ago.  That project went well until I ran out of construction adhesive.  I could have got more, but the weather was just too nice to not be riding.  I hopped on the rain bike and pedaled out.

There was a mostly cloudy sky, but that means at least partly sunny. There was a slight wind, but nothing like the last few days. Temperature was near 50 degrees.

I pedaled down Queen Ann and across the Fremont Bridge.  I joined the Burke-Gilman Trail and followed it to the northern end.  I decided not to extend my trip to the Sammamish Trail as I normally would, as I have plans to celebrate a Cascade Bicycle Club staffer's retirement tonight and don't want to be late.

It was a good ride!

 ............road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total
Today..........35................0..............0...............0............35 Jan.............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 415...............0..............0...............0............415 Total..........1125...............0..............0...............0...........1125