Oh the humanity

The winds were such that there was still smoke in the Willamette Valley, though not as thick as yesterday.  I had signed up to join a group for a 33 mile ride around east Portland.  This morning found folks dropping like flies before the ride even started because of "smoke".  I decided to ride, even if everyone dropped out, just because. There is a saying floating around that came to mind today, "those that want to will find a way, those that don't will find an excuse"

The smoke in the air did made for a colorful sunrise.

I drove as far as Sellwood Riverfront Park, met with the ride leader, and planned to ride the nearly 5 miles to the ride. Some frivolity ensued.

We rode along the Springwater Corridor to Division St, then turned eastward.  We rode through the new construction related to access to Tillicum Crossing.

We arrived at the meeting point, a French Bakery, with plenty of time to spare.  Before long it was time for the pre-ride portrait.

Our leader billed this ride as "A bakery and a hill".  The bakery part was right, but there were more hills than one!  ;-)

It's okay, we all survived!

The smoke really wasn't an issue, it was hardly noticeable unless we had the ability to look across long distances.

After climbing, and descending, Mt Tabor, we got on Burnside St for 100 blocks.  Our ride leader invited us all to ride as fast as we wanted.  We were to regroup at a gas station at 182nd.
I watched from the rear as the group spread out. Finally I decided that I should join the fun.  I worked my way up through the group and as I passed the leader I was pedaling 22 mph.  I got on the aerobars and brought it up to 25 mph, and held it for the remaining distance.  I arrived at 182nd nearly 8 minutes ahead of the number two rider.  :-)

Our group pedaled on through the SE Portland neighborhoods. With every little bump we had to pedal over we reminded out trip leader that she advertised "only one hill".

After we finished up the group ride, the ride leader and I retraced our route back to Sellwood. This time a hint of tailwind, and an over abundance of energy reserves made for a quick trip. We pedaled  at a solid 20 mph all the way back along Springwater Corridor.

It was a fun ride, and a fun day.



........Road bike........Rollers.......MTB.......Lifecycle....Total
Today.......43...............0..............0..............0..............43
Jan..........765.............0..............0..............0.............765
Feb..........248............0..............0..............0..............248
March......183...........0...............0.............0...............183
April........228...........0...............0.............0...............228
May.........200............0..............0.............0...............200
June.........199...........0...............26...........0...............225
July..........246...........0...............0.............0...............246
August.....452...........0...............0.............0...............452
Total........2583.........0...............26............0..............2609