Day 21 of #ridingeverydayinNovember

Today was a crisp but beautiful blue sky day.  I had a steady stream of other issues to deal with today and didn't get on the bike until 4 hours after sunset.  I took the fixed gear bike out for a short ride to a viewpoint looking over downtown Seattle.

With all the rainy days in the last 3 weeks, it sure would have been nice to get out for a longer ride today, but alas.

.........Road Bike.....Rollers.....MTB.....Lifecycle..Total
Today ......3...............0...............0.............0...............3
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..........390..............0................3.............0.............393
_________________________________________
total.......4888.............0.............118............0...........5006

Day 19 of #ridingeverydayinNovember

Today is the 19th day of the #ridingeverydayinNovember cycling challenge.

It was raining lightly all morning in the Portland area.  It was okay since I was busy anyway.  By noon I was ready to ride.  It was still raining in Portland, but it was sunny and dry not too far away, and I was going that way anyway!

I hauled the bike up to Castle Rock, WA. and rode the award winning  Riverfront Trail.  It is a short trail, just over 3 1/2 miles in length.  I rode it twice.

A fixed gear bike takes a break next to the Cowlitz River

.........Road Bike.....Rollers.....MTB.....Lifecycle..Total
Today ......7...............0...............0.............0...............7
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..........387..............0................3.............0.............390
_________________________________________
total.......4885.............0.............118............0...........5003

Day 18 of #ridingeverydayinNovember

After yesterday's blustery deluge, today started out nice.  In fact, this morning the sky was blue without a cloud to be seen.  Unfortunately I had duties waiting. By afternoon the blue sky and morphed into a solid covering of clouds. I was busy all day and by the time I was able to get on a bike it was dark.........and raining.  Talk about bad timing.

I put the clip on rear fender and lights on my fixie and my rain gear on me then pedaled my donut run route into town. It is a pretty safe route, most of it being off road paths.  I didn't get any donuts, but I did ride the route 3 times.

As I neared home there was a doe and three fawns walking across the street.  They ended up in the nearby grassy area. I turned my bike light on them, but didn't dare try to get closer, fearing they'd bolt.

6 miles, good enough to keep me in the #ridingeverydayinNovember challenge.

.........Road Bike.....Rollers.....MTB.....Lifecycle..Total
Today ......6...............0...............0.............0...............6
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..........380..............0................3.............0.............383
_________________________________________
total.......4878.............0.............118............0...........4996

Day 17 of #ridingeverydayinNovember

Today the #ridingeverydayinNovember challenge was going to be even more challenging.
I had a full day of duties that would keep me off the bike until well after dark.  A few friends were planning on riding a Two Bridges Loop (Interstate Bridge and Jackson Bridge, both cross the Columbia River).  I planned to ride to the ride, which started in North Portland.  The day was blustery and wet, and unfortunately the evening was going to be worse.  There were power outages, local flooding, and downed trees before darkness even fell. (TV coverage is HERE)

I geared up and took off from near Sellwood Riverfront Park under heavy wind and rain.  Riding toward Portland would put the wind (with gusts to 50!) at my back.  I gave the pedals a couple of good pushes, then coasted as I futzed with my Garmin and speedometer.  I hadn't reset either of them before the ride.  It probably took me nearly a minute to get them both ready to go.  I looked down at my speedometer and noted that I was travelling at 20 mph...... without pedaling!

I arrived in Portland quickly. Now that there were streetlights around I stopped for a photo of the rain.  It had been coming down unbelievably hard and I was hoping to get a photo showing that.  I was only moderately successful.

Even with the stops for red lights, I crossed Portland in 30 minutes.  Seeing the freeways nearly at a standstill, it was obvious that I had the faster mode of transport tonight!

There were supposed to be 4 of us tonight, but one of the riders decided that it was just too wet and windy.  That left three of us to "enjoy" the evening.  We started off riding north to the Columbia River. We of course had a tailwind.  The wind was a bit of a problem as we crossed the Interstate Bridge.  The pathway for bikes is very narrow (less than 3 feet in many places) and the gusty wind made for treacherous riding.  One small wobble at the wrong time and it would be into the iron girders!

We all made it across safely.

We turned eastward and rode through Vancouver, WA.  As we turned onto MacArthur Blvd there was a lane merging in from our right.  Between our travel lane and the lane that was merging there was a raised curb, about 2" wide and 2" tall.  It was painted yellow.  One of our riders mistook it for a painted line and attempted to cross it. He of course went down, and as luck would have it, there was a vehicle merging in.  Luckily, the car wasn't going too fast, and was able to stop, as our rider had been thrown into that travel lane.  He was shaken up a bit, but seemingly uninjured.

We continued on, slowly for a few miles, before picking the speed back up a bit.  We crossed the Glenn Jackson bridge, back into Oregon.  I had expected a brisk headwind, but surprisingly, we did not have one.  The first half of the crossing, to Government Island, was practically wind free.  I reached my maximum speed tonight as I rolled down the bridge's gentle arch, 34 mph. From the island to the Oregon mainland, there was a gusty crosswind, but at least on this bridge the pathway is 12 feet wide, and there are no metal girders trying to grab us!

When we got off the bridge and it's ramps we regrouped.  Our rider who had taken the tumble decided that he had enough fun for the night.  He had arrived at the ride by taking the MAX light rail. We decided to change our planned route to accompany him to a MAX station so he could get back home.  We continued on our planned route north on the I-205 path.  We had a bit of tailwind.  We turned west on the Marine Drive path, now into a quartering headwind.  When we got to the intersection to go to Cascade Station we turned toward the shopping center, and it's MAX station.  We had timed it perfectly, our man rode his bike right up to the waiting train, dismounted and walked in.  The doors closed and he was off!

We were down to two now.  We weighed going back out to Marine Drive against taking some inner streets.  The Marine Drive path would likely have more wind since it is more exposed.  The alternate route isn't as bike friendly in places.  We decided to stay inland.

By now the wind seemed to have subsided considerably, and the rain had stopped.  It was actually quite enjoyable, with the temperature in the low 50's.

We eventually got back on our planned route as it arced southward into our westward path.   Soon we were at Vancouver Ave, where I had planned to turn back south for the ride back to Sellwood.  The ride leader was down now to just leading himself!

We said our goodbyes and pedaled our separate ways.

Amazingly, the wind had really died down.  There would be a little gust one way or another from time to time, but really not an issue.  There was no rain as I pedaled along at 18-20 mph toward downtown.

As I rolled onto the Eastbank Esplanade I stopped for a couple of photos.

I rode a short distance then stopped again to take a photo of the Morrison Bridge and it's homage to France.

A few drops of rain fell so I started pedaling again.  As I pedaled past Ross Island, I saw the doe and fawns again.  They obviously live close by, I've probably seen them on 30% or more of my night rides through that section.

The rain never amounted to anything, and I arrived back at my pickup safely.

What might have been an epic ride turned into just a night ride..........well, after the first 10 miles anyway!

It was fun!

The modification we made to accompany our rider to MAX cut off a few tenths of a mile.  Not much, but enough to change the planned 44 mile ride into a 43 mile ride.   That is okay, it's still good enough to count for #ridingeverydayinNovember.

.........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
Aug.........502.............0...............0..............0.............502
Sept.........974.............0,,,,,,,,,,,,,,44.............0............1018
Oct.......... 962.............0..............45.............0............1007
Nov..........374..............0................3.............0.............377
_________________________________________
total.......4872.............0.............118............0...........4990

Day 16 of #ridingeverydayinNovember

It was in the high 30's this morning as I pedaled my fixie on a donut run.  I rewarded myself for a ride well ridden with a Chocolate Bismark.

After consuming the creamy confection I detoured to the hardware store to pickup some supplies for a home improvement project, then returned home.  I had to be in Portland later today to check progress on another job I'm involved in, but planned to get a ride in while there.

All morning was dry.  My drive to Portland was dry.  After 30 minutes of inspecting the job there, it began to rain.  I waited for awhile.  It continued to rain. It would rain all afternoon and into the evening.

I had the rain bike along, I had my full rain gear along. What I didn't have was a strong desire to ride in the rain!

So my 3 mile morning donut/hardware ride was it for today.

I'm so bad.

It was however enough to keep me in the #ridingeverydayinNovember challenge.

.........Road Bike.....Rollers.....MTB.....Lifecycle..Total
Today .......3...............0...............0.............0..............3
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..........331..............0................3.............0.............334
_________________________________________
total.......4839.............0.............118............0...........4957

Day 15 of #ridingeverydayinNovember

Today is the midway point for #ridingeverydayinNovember. Some of our little entourage found it harder than they expected and have dropped out.  Most have stayed the course and are still 100% in.
We are all having fun and enjoying the challenge.

Today 3 of the local participants and I took off from Sellwood Riverfront Park for a little ride.

Sara, Mike, and Jan

We rode north on the Springwater Corridor and East Bank Esplanade and eventually got on Williams Ave, one of Portland's Neighborhood Greenways. Today, in addition to a lane to ourselves, and dedicated signaling, we were treated to fall colors.

We made our way up to the Columbia River and scoped out routing for an upcoming group ride that my friends are organizing.  Along the way back we decided to take in the Cross Crusade event happening at PIR.

Obviously CycloCross is big business in Portland!

Best viewed by clicking for full sized photo

Up north in Washington State there is a big move to make riding safe for the "8 to 80" crowd.  IMHO they often end up making infrastructure that ends up not being safe for anybody, regardless of age. Today it appeared that everyone in that age group, and then some, was out playing in the mud!

Despite an 80% chance of rain today, we had a dry ride to this point, including the long stop at the CycloCross event.   We finally got back on the road only to start getting some moderate rain showers from time to time.

As we neared the end of our trip, the weather dried up again, or should I say we were in a lull between showers!   We took a slightly less direct route back to Sellwood Riverfront Park and managed to end our ride dry.  It had been a cool day, never getting out of the 40's.

It was fun!

(for those new here, you may see my first 14 days of the #ridingeverydayinNovember challenge by clicking on the "Older Post" link at the bottom of this page.)

.........Road Bike.....Rollers.....MTB.....Lifecycle..Total
Today ......30...............0...............0.............0..............30
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..........328..............0................3.............0.............331
_________________________________________
total.......4836.............0.............118............0...........4954

Day 14 of #ridingeverydayinNovember

I'm still committed to #ridingeverydayinNovember.

The weather forecast for today called for a dry day.  The temperature was a mild 58 degrees within an hour of sunrise.  It was a perfect day to ride the Columbia River Gorge.  I had hoped to do this route last year during the #ridingeverydayinNovember challenge to be able to share the scenery with the other participants, who are scattered across the country, and across the ocean!  It never worked out last year, but it would today!

I started in Troutdale.  Luckily for me, it smelled pretty good there today.

There was a thin cloud cover that hid the sun, but the road was dry. I pedaled up along the banks of the Sandy River. Lewis and Clark mistook the Sandy River as the major tributary of the Columbia River.  It seems that they visited the mouth of the Sandy River shortly after an eruption of Mt Hood, which sits at the Sandy's headwaters. Today it was much more calm.

I pedaled up through Corbett and continued to climb along the Historic Columbia River Highway and finally reached the high point for today's ride, Women's Forum Park, that perches on Chanticleer Pt.
From here I had my first view of the Columbia River since Troutdale.  Despite the forecast, and the fact that the climate gets drier as one travels east. it looked to be a bit wet in my direction of travel.

The Vista House

                (clicking on any photo in this blog will display it full size)
Despite appearances it really didn't rain, it was more like a heavy fog. I made my way from Chanticleer Pt to Crown Pt and the Vista House where there were some good views of the Columbia River.

I rolled down to the Vista House and took short break to check out the informational displays

I continued to roll down the hill.  Normally this is a 30-35 mph descent, but today a carpet of wet leaves in some sharp corners made it wise to go a bit slower.  I arrived at Latourell Falls and took a quick pit stop for a photo.

I continued eastward.  Traffic was light and the route was colorful, even with the grey sky.

There are 77 waterfalls on the Oregon side of the Columbia Gorge.  I knew I wouldn't get to anywhere near all of them today.  I was going to be happy to get to some of the easy ones.  I passed by Shepards Dell Falls and Bridal Veil Falls, but neither presented a good photo opportunity from the road, and I didn't feel I had time for too much off road exploration today. When I got to Wahkeena Falls I took a quick stop to get a couple of photos.

The next falls worthy of a photo stop was Multnomah Falls. I spent a bit more time here.

I continued on for another mile or so to Oneonta Tunnel.

The Oneonta Tunnel was recently reopened after being closed for over 60 years.

Oneonta Falls is near here, but the short hike to view it is in the river that has cut it's way down through a fault line crack in the lava. In places you can almost touch both side walls.

crashmacduff.wordpress.com

I've hiked it numerous times before, but today was not the day to do it again.  I turned the bike around and headed back.  In hindsight, I should have continued a very short distance east and taken a photo of Horsetail Falls.  I guess that will have to wait until next time!

Names in the "Birthday Club" are noteworthy even today.

I began the climb back up to Crown Point.  It is the same elevation from either way, but I've always preferred the climb from the east side.

Before too long I was nearing the Vista House.

I made the final turn and looped around to the parking lot.

From here on it was all downhill back to Troutdale.  Nothing on the Historic Highway exceeds 5% so downhill speed isn't too bad, but you can reach 35 mph without too much effort.  I just rolled easy.

I got back to Troutdale, loaded my bike up, and headed toward home, making a stop in Portland for dinner.

It was a good day on the bike.  Comfortable temperatures, (mostly)dry, and no winds in the Gorge!

.........Road Bike.....Rollers.....MTB.....Lifecycle..Total
Today ......41...............0...............0.............0..............41
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..........298..............0................3.............0.............301
_________________________________________
total.......4806.............0.............118............0...........4924

Day 13 of #ridingeverydayinNovember

Today is the 13th day of the #ridingeverydayinNovember cycling challenge.

I took Joe's advice and started the day off with a ride for donuts.  In this case it was a maple bar and a chocolate frosted bar.

The temperature was a mild 54 degrees and it wasn't raining. I decided to take the long way home via Memorial Park.

The wind and rain of the last few days is clearing the trees of leaves.  It is beginning to look a lot more like winter.

I turned the bike back towards home.  It is time to get started on the day's duties and it IS Friday the 13th.  I wouldn't want to press my luck!

I'll probably get out for more miles later.  Check back for any updates.

Evening update:

By the time I got my jobs done today it was mid afternoon. The sun goes down awfully early this time of year so I made sure that I had my lights along and took off for a ride.

I started from Sellwood and rode Springwater Corridor east.

I took a short detour to satisfy my curiosity.

Now I know where that trail goes!   I continued on the Springwater Trail.  Johnson Creek was gurgling along from all the rain.

The next stop was at Powell Butte Nature Park. If I had a different bike along I might have been able to explore a few of those trails, but the rain bike doesn't have the tires for that sort of riding.

The sun officially set just before I got to Gresham. The bright foliage was still doing it's best to make a show.

It was 15 minutes past sunset when I got to Main City Park in Gresham.

I turned around and started my ride back.  As I passed near Powell Butte there were several Cottontail Rabbits that scampered across the trail in front of me.  One even scampered straight down the trail ahead of me for quite some distance. I of course couldn't get a picture of them.

I continued westward.

The weather had been reasonable.  After a dry morning, by mid afternoon very light showers had been crossing the area. The temperature was in the upper 50's.  The wind was a bit pesky, but really not all that bad.

It was a good day on the bike, and just happened to be the 4th consecutive time this week that I've finished in the dark.

.........Road Bike.....Rollers.....MTB.....Lifecycle..Total
Today ......31...............0...............0.............0..............31
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..........257..............0................3.............0.............260
_________________________________________
total.......4765.............0.............118............0...........4883