Day 29 of #ridingeverydayinNovember

Today was the 29th day of the #ridingeverydayinNovember cycling challenge.

Noted Kentucky cyclist Cherokee Schill is a new Oregon resident, and as luck would have it, she lives less than 7 miles away. We have had our discussions on the merit of Portland cycling infrastructure in the past, so today I invited her to accompany me on a tour of Portland bike routes.

I had invited folks to join us with "You are welcome to join us if 1) you can put aside your personal agenda to score a personal record or Strava segment win. 2) You can ride 13-15 mph on flat ground. 3) you agree to stay with the group's slowest rider.4) you agree to follow all rules of the road."

It was 26 degrees this morning, and only a degree or two warmer by 10AM as 6 of us pedaled out.  Yes, Cherokee, you are not in Kentucky anymore!

We pedaled north from Sellwood Riverfront Park and onto the Eastbank Esplanade.  I assumed tour guide status and dutifully pointed out the Willamette River bridges and named them as we pedaled passed.  We stopped at the Tilicum Crossing for a group photo.

Me, Cherokee, Mark, Mike, Sara, and Jan

We rode a bit farther before having to stop for a saddle height adjustment on Cherokee's borrowed bike.  Mark took advantage of the lull in the action to get a photo of my fixed gear bike.

Mark's photo

I failed to get a photo of his fancy bamboo Renovo. :-(

We pedaled north up the slightly uphill Williams Ave.

Our group began to break apart with a rider leading off the front by several blocks.

We arrived at the Columbia River and turned east.  Today this involved a moderate headwind. By now, half our group was ahead and out of sight. I felt bad that this was billed as a ride to show a new resident the bike routes, and some had chosen to ride off the front.

Mt Hood in the distance on a slightly foggy day.

We regrouped as we turned south on the I-205 bike path.  We rode a few miles before stopping for a quick refueling snack.  A rider expressed a desire to forego the stop and finish up the ride, citing cold temperatures.  2 others followed, not hearing the plan.

Following the quick food stop, we three remaining rode a bit farther south then turned west on Yamhill Street and climbed over the shoulder of Mt Tabor. Our climb would reach grades of 9%.  Easy for Mike on his geared bike, easy enough for me on my fixed gear.  Cherokee struggled on her ill fitting borrowed bike, but we eventually all made it to the high point and rolled down the west side.  My riding partners rolled, I struggled on the descent, as fixed gear bikes are want to do.  The grade eventually flattened out and we rode easily with a shallow descent and some tailwind to the Willamette River where we rode across the Hawthorne Bridge.  We had to wait for a bridge lift for a few minutes.  It just added to the charm of the day.

Mike H photo

We rode south to the Tilicum Crossing Bridge and crossed back over to the east bank of the Willamette.

We stopped to watch a steam locomotive chug by.

                          

The three of us followed the MAX Orange Line southeastward and rode along the bluff above Oaks Park.

Our speed bunnies were in contact via phone and had indicated that they were at a Mexican restaurant near our finish point.  We finished up, locked our bikes up, and drove to the restaurant. (there was no place to lock up there hence we locked up on the vehicle's rack and drove the pickup there)

When we got there we were surprised to find those that dropped us, had dropped their 3rd member also.  I made a phone call to make sure all was okay.  We three late comers ordered food while discussing all sorts of topics from Kentucky bike law, to HIPAA to group riding etiquette.

It was a nice day for a ride, cold in the morning, warming to the low 40's by afternoon.

.........Road Bike.....Rollers.............MTB..........Lifecycle......Total
Today .......35...............0...............0.............0............35
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
Aug.........502.............0...............0..............0.............502
Sept.........974.............0,,,,,,,,,,,,,,44.............0............1018
Oct.......... 962.............0..............45.............0............1007
Nov...........464..............0..............20.............0...........484
_________________________________________
total.......4975.............0.............118............0...........5093