A Boring Ride

There was a 100 mile ride posted today that attracted my interest, starting in east Portland.  The ride leader said he wanted to finish before dark so he was setting the start at 7:30 AM.  This time of year the sun rises at 7:22.  The difference in temperature between 7:30 AM and just a couple of hours later is usually significant.  The sun sets at 6:33 PM.  I thought there would be plenty of time to ride 100 miles in daylight without starting near sunrise.  I decided to get some of my house chores done instead.

The weather today was perfect for riding.  Only the lightest breeze, comfortable temperatures, and dry.  By the early afternoon I was itching to get on the bike.

 I decided to ride to Boring and back.  Boring is an unincorporated community of about 8000 people lying about 8 miles south of Gresham.  It marks the current eastern terminus of the Springwater Corridor Trail.

I rolled out of Sellwood Riverside Park shortly after 3PM.  It was a pretty ride eastward, though slightly uphill and against a slight wind.

Mt Hood looming in the distance

When I got to Main City Park in Gresham I stopped to read the displays that were on the edge of the park, facing the bike path.

It seems that there is always something to learn.

Hogan Cedar, a variety of Western Red Cedar that grows naturally only in Gresham was recently designated the official tree of Gresham.

It was obvious that the City of Gresham understands the economic impact of bicycle tourism. There was a QR code displayed that directed to this marketing clip:

                       
I was somewhat involved in the creation of some of the recent Oregon Scenic Bikeways, and it is amusing to see the cities and chambers of commerce jockey and lobby to have scenic bikeways routed through their areas.  They know that bicycle tourism brings in dollars.

After reading all there was to read, I continued on my way.  After a bit of time I arrived at Boring.

I went across the street from the trailhead to a gas station's attached convenience store and picked up a pair of Hostess Cupcakes.

 (more than you probably care to know about Hostess Cupcakes)
You might call them "junk food", but I viewed them as 340 calories, 500 mg of sodium, and 2 grams of protein. Let's just ignore the rest of the stuff that is in them! LOL!

Thus fortified, I put the hammer down on the fixed gears and did my best to take advantage of the slight downhill and bit of tailwind.  I held 17 mph all the way back to Sellwood.

I got back early enough that I decided to ride out to the Tillicum Bridge and back.

By the time I got back to Sellwood I was just in time for a sunset.

Just another good day on the bike!

.......Road bike........Rollers.......MTB.......Lifecycle....Total
Today.......45...............0..............0..............0.............45
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.....502...........0...............0.............0...............502
Sept..........974...........0..............44............0..............1018
Oct...........466............0...............0.............0...............466
Total........3863.........0...............70............0..............3933