The Friends of Cecil Ride

My friend and riding buddy Cecil was getting up a ride for this Sunday. She advertised it as "40 miles, 2 teenage girls, 1 out-of-shape rider, and me". The start point was 10 miles west of my house; she was riding to the start from HER home (add another 10+ miles).

After, say, 10 microseconds of thought, I asked if she wanted 2 out-of-shape riders, and did she want to meet me at the barkdust place at the top of my neighborhood. My thought was that if I could do the ride plus the out and back from my house, it would be 60+ miles, and I'd see if the Birkie Brevet (http://www.orrandonneurs.org/sftest/2007_BirkieBrevet_Info.html) would be a real possibility. I was certainly on track until my crash 3 weeks ago, but it has been uncertain since then. Plus I'd get to give the Bleriot a REAL ride!

She was game, and we fixed the meetup time for 9am. At 8:40am, I went OOPS, filled up my hydration pack, made some Gatorade and a pbj sandwich, grabbed a banana, put all on my bicycle (fortunately I had gotten the bike ready the night before), and zipped up the hill.
Not only was Cecil waiting, but there was also the bonus of Nat! We headed west, crossing Hwy 217, down Park Way, west on Walker, north on Amberglen, west on Evergreen, left on 235th, where we found most of the riders, except one who missed a turn getting there and was retracing. We also acquired Jeff, who thought the Portland Velo ride started at 10am, rather than the 9am start, so he elected to join us (many of us are PV members, but this wasn't a club ride).

So off we all went on a standard Washington County 45 mile loop - heading through North Plains (regroup point), Roy (regroup point), Banks (wait for the flat tire to finish up and catch us here), west on Cedar Canyon, then down to Forest Grove, only to find Maggies Buns CLOSED :-( Well, now we know. A brief interlude at the Grand Lodge, snacks and a stop. There were lots of front yards filled with daffodils. All the trees had that fuzzy spring look; some were blooming pink and white. Many freshly plowed fields. Then back to Longbottoms Coffee and Tea, and they were STILL OPEN :-) Till 2:30! Scones and juice. The morning had started off in the 50's - cloudy, occasional very light drizzle, then went to sun. It got warm. I may have to start using sunscreen.

As Nat was riding on the threads (I've never seen tires that worn in my life), he and Cecil elected to ride back the way we came in - reasonably clean road surfaces and not a lot of glass. I had company, and that was nice.

And, you might ask, how was the BIKE? The bike was very fine. I have finally gotten used to the helmet mount mirror, and no longer flinch when I drop to my granny gear - the chain does not stick between the chainrings, causing a sudden cessation of forward motion. I might drop the handlebars a bit more. Chipseal and railroad tracks are more tolerable with the fat tires. I don't worry about whacking my toe with the front wheel much anymore. I'm starting to get used to how it handles, and am picking up my speed on curves and descents.

65.5 miles, in total.

Oh, and I came home, and registered for the Birkie Brevet :-) Stay tuned.