Another "Boring" ride

I joined a group of folks riding to Boring today via the Springwater Trail.  It had rained overnight, but the weather looked promising as I left home.  I left the rainbike home and took the fixed gear bike.  I did bring a rainjacket and put a clip on rear fender on the bike.  As it ended up I needed neither.  We never had so much as a single drop of rain all day, and the path was dry. As I often do for Portland rides, I started from Sellwood Riverfront Park, today riding 4 miles to the meeting point.

There were 16 signed up to ride, but the rain overnight scared quite a few away.  We pedaled out with 10 of us. 

Jan W photo

The group quickly broke into two groups, the faster folks riding away from the slower group.  The group organizer and I pedaled along with those taking a more leisurely pace.

We were having way too much fun on bikes.  Impromptu drag races, annoying goose calls, and general chatter ensued most of the day. When it comes to contests of speed, I'm at a disadvantage on the fixed gear. My top speed with the 42x18 gearing is about 24 mph  (a 135 cadence) but it was still fun trying!

We arrived at the end of the trail, in Boring.  We found the fast folks waiting.

After a short break, and a few photos.....

Picture #1 for Mark H's benefit

Picture #2 for Mark H's benefit!

The way back to the Willamette River is slightly downhill, and even the slower group picked up the speed a bit.

A few weeks ago I was riding the Springwater Trail and saw Lisa, a fellow RAHOOer (Ride Around Mt Hood), yesterday I saw Monica and Dean.  Today I saw Joe, and a few miles later Monica and Dean again.  It seems that when these folks aren't riding around Mt Hood, they are riding Springwater!

We arrived back at the bakery where we started and we all enjoyed a late lunch.

Following lunch we began talking about the current nice weather, and the fact that in the very near future we'll be longing for days like this as the rain falls and winds howl.  4 of us decided to go for a few bonus miles.  We rode back across the Tilikum Bridge............

Then turned north along the Eastbank Esplanade.

We crossed back over the Willamette River via the Steel Bridge, then worked our way back south via the Waterfront Park trail.  We had been talking about the Thursday Night Ride so when we got to it's starting point we had to stop.

Jan W photo

We rolled out again, continuing our way south.

We approached the Tilikum Bridge again and got to check out the new connection infrastructure.

We arrived back at the bakery, and we disbanded.  On my pedal back to Sellwood I came across the Portland Mural Ride, where over 100 people on bikes were being led around various sites that had large murals and given a talk about the artists.

The tour ended and I made my way back to Sellwood Riverfront Park.  My odometer showed 58.5 miles.  I turned up Umatilla Street rather than into the park.  I rode out a few blocks then moved north a few blocks, then back to Sellwood Riverfront Park.  

60.02 miles complete!  

It was a good day on the bike.  The slower pace left me feeling fresh.  The little races and the commute to and from the start were good "interval training", and 60 "base miles" is nothing to scoff at.

Those who stayed home today for fear of raindrops missed a superb ride.

.......Road bike........Rollers.......MTB.......Lifecycle....Total
Today.......60...............0..............0..............0.............60
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...........786............0...............0.............0...............786
Total........4183.........0...............70............0..............4253