Pedaling around N Pdx with Cecil and Liz

Cecil said if it was raining, she wasn't riding. I'm still wondering who said that, and what she did with Cecil. Fortunately, it was NOT raining, so Bleriot, Little Pink Bear and I were at Cecil's at the appointed hour.

We headed north to Liz's place (about 5.4 miles), then over to NE 33rd and north to the Marine Drive bikepath.

We saw deer by the airport, cormorants and herons in the river, and a Cooper's hawk on the airport fence.



On the way to the turnaround there was a gent fixing a flat. He assured us he had everything, so we went on.



After faffing around at the turnaround, taking many pictures of flowers, and finally riding back, he was still there. He had patched the hole, but the tube would still not hold air. I found the OTHER hole, while Cecil swept the tube for sharp pointy things. Then we sat down to wait until it looked like he could proceed onward.

Back along the path, and onto NE33rd, where we found KRhea and Mrs. KRhea on one of their many tandems. KRhea was happy to see that I was not a ghost, as Portland Velo hasn't seen me since early May.

Then back to Liz's neighborhood where we embarked on a fruitless search for an open coffee shop (Labor Day. Chancy, that). Then back to Liz's for tea, cookies and more visiting.

Cecil and I then rode back the 5.4 miles to her house, where I ended up with zucchini bread (all you Facebook readers should be very envious :-) ) and a chunk of melon.

27.8 miles, at the blistering pace of 9.7 mph. I had fun. Longest ride since May, and a 42 mile weekend. Whoo!

Also, color decision made for the eventual new bike:



I suspect none of you are surprised.