Riding with the Velo

My local cycling club is Portland Velo. They've got rides every day of the week, and the big one on Saturday mornings, where everyone breaks up into pace groups, so, in theory, you don't find yourself out in the countryside all by your lonesome.

The past few weeks, I've been riding with, or ride leadering with, the 15s. For the record that is TOP SPEED ON THE FLATS, not the AVERAGE!

A couple of weekends ago we had a nice wander out north of Forest Grove, into town, and then back - a new rider hadn't quite gotten the memo of how long the ride would be (husband was vague about details), and she was pretty toasted. We took a shorter route back; all was good.

Then another nice loop in the countryside. The red clover was still not there.

This past weekend I joined LJ as leader for the 15s. I hadn't signed up before, for various reasons, but there I was and the group was 10 riders (wow, that's a lot for the 15s), so I co-led.

The weather was outstanding. By the time we got to the Laurel Store, I had to peel off the remaining extra clothing and apply sunscreen. We then headed up Holly Hill, which has amazing views of the valley. One rider had bike fit issues, so she took the hill slowly - her knees hurt. And she walked some. But she made it, and we took pictures of each other to document ("my husband will never believe me")



Then down to find LJ and the rest waiting at the store, and we proceeded off to McCormick Hill and Vandeschuere. I am pleased to report that the horrible pothole (read the very, very first post in this blog) is now patched. I was riding sweep, as the rider with the fit issues was walking up the rollers. Everyone had gone ahead at that point.

We elected to take River Rd all the way from Scholls Ferry, rather than going to the right and climbing Clark Hill.

Note: don't ride River Rd from Scholls Ferry to Farmington. Heavy, fast traffic, absolutely NO shoulders. While no one was trying to run me off the road, they were passing at a very fast clip, sometimes with less space than I would have preferred.

Then we were back on the route. I had suggested she eat some more back on River Rd, and it started to show some effect right around Davis Rd. We finished the ride in fine style. The red clover should be spectacular in about a week, if not sooner.

Had a very nice visit afterward with LJ, KRhea, Dean, Mrs. Dean, and Angela, outside on the patio.