Dairy Creek, no farm animal pictures

Susan was recruiting for a jaunt up Dairy Creek Rd and back, with a stop by Longbottoms for lunch.  If I rode to and from, with at least one optional hill climb, it would be over 60 miles.  Plus the aforementioned hill climb.

I was instructed to show up promptly at 9, for the inevitable faffing and a 9:30am departure.  Jeff and Lee were also riding.  As I left the house a bit late to work in a hill climb, I took the most direct route, and arrived promptly at 9.  Lee pulled up, we rang the doorbell.  We knocked.  Finally, the door opened :-) Then the garage door opened, and Jeff and Susan completed their pre-ride preparations.  Lee and I wondered at the absence of freshly-baked biscuits, butter and jam.  And coffee.

Munched on a ProBar (360 calories) on the way up.  Waved at Prancer the Pony.  One of these days I'll get on a first name basis with the alpacas further along.

Took a picture, but had to stop to get my glove back on, so worked hard, but didn't catch up - they made it to the turnaround a bit before I did.

Nice late winter day, jacket not required - fleece jersey, thermal vest and new gloves and I was good.  The trees are starting to leaf out, but heading north and slightly up on Dairy Creek showed that it was still winter - snow from the Meacham Rd intersection onward.  Fortunately, not on the road.





Way fun heading back - slight downgrade, and I was rocketing (avg speed 20mph) back to the intersection with Mountaindale Rd.

I was chatting with Susan - she said it looked like I needed a new saddle.  I also said I needed new shoes, the Pearl Izumis were getting soft.  Susan: "what size do you wear?".  Now, we wear the same size shoe.  We also ride pretty much the same size bicycles, and have been known to swap shoes and bikes on a ride.  To make a short story long, she had some Sidi Dominators she was no longer wearing (went for the shiny Sidi Dragons, yes she did) which needed a new home...

Practiced riding no-hands.  It is getting much easier.  I'll attribute that to my improved core strength.

From there we headed over to Longbottoms for second breakfast.  Lee broke off to go home, but got to his car and thought the better of it and joined us.

Farm plates, French toast, coffee.  Visiting.

Then back over to Jeff and Susan's where the Sidis were produced and tried on (yup), and then secured to the rack with binders twine.  Half hitches, for the knot geeks.



Time to get in the hill climb, so I headed through the park trails, ending up on Kaiser Rd, and turning right on NW Springville. 4.25 miles, 935 vertical feet, 33 minutes.  I'll have to work on improving that.  Right now I just grind up it.  Then 2.5 miles further (more up and down) and then the paycheck descent down Thompson/McDaniel/119th.




















Home just before 3pm.  Would have been a few minutes sooner, but I stopped to chat with my neighbor.

The Snow was a Nice Touch...

Foraging around for a ride this weekend.  The Portland Velo ride was a 47 miles loop in the flats.  I had no other plans.  Looked at the weather forecast(!)

Soooooo.  Up around 6:45, getting ready.  I ride to the start (10 miles), and like to get on the road an hour before the ride starts.  Foraged around for the least shredded pair of booties.  Decided to toss on another layer (nylon vest over the wool jersey and sleeveless baselayer) under the Shower Pass jacket.  Put the rain cover back on the helmet.  With all that, I found myself on the road at 8:15am.  Ooops.

Sweetpea is still set up as Commute Bike, but as long as I had stuff to fix a flat with me, it would be ok.

Heading up through my neighborhood, I passed through a band of big snowflakes.  Fun!  I knew it wouldn't stick or freeze, so I could enjoy it.

The wind was supposed to be whipping in from the WSW, 25 mph.  Fortunately it hadn't picked up yet, or I'd never have gotten to the start in time.  As it was, I rolled into the parking lot as the "fast" group (for some strange reason, not a big turnout today) was departing.  This was fine, I ride with the "less fast" group, which, today, was JRod and Dana, and for awhile Brian C.  I enjoy riding with all of them.

Headed south on the PV Southern Escape Route, with a bit of a headwind, then west along Burkhalter-Simpson-Johnson School-Tongue... with more than a bit of a headwind.  Brief stop at the golf course, where I shed the vest.

Bands of rain passing over, heavy rain, then sun, then more rain.  We all had fenders and long mudflaps (Portland Velo is very big on proper fenders/mudflaps in the wet season), so no spattering.

Heading into Forest Grove, I managed to suck down a gel at a light.  One challenge with these rides is that we are moving rather faster and in a tighter group; eating and drinking is hard.  (Yes, they made me work.  This is good.)  Another snow shower in Forest Grove.  Epic :-)

No other stops.  Heading out of Forest Grove, JRod and Dana had a conversation, and asked if I had any issues turning on Purdin, cutting about 7 miles out of the route.  By now we were headed north, with some tailwind.  After the turn onto Purdin, heading east, with a better tailwind.

Familiar return routes (randos - this is the outgoing leg for the Verboort Populaire), more rain and sun.  Heading east on Evergreen we merged with the fast group coming down Sewell.

As I had no car, I went straight to Longbottoms.  Dana, Dan ("my wife said I could stay"), and eventually Brian joined me.  I ordered the Farm Plate, and was trying to drink all their coffee.  Conversations about their planned event rides, my planned rides (mine are somewhat longer), and a long technical discussion on causes of interference with wireless bike computers.  Many cups of coffee.  Blotted my wool cap with some paper towels.  I did have dry gloves in my bag.  Should have checked for dry socks; that would have been nice.

The last 10 miles home was uneventful.  I warmed up about 5 miles into it, and had a tailwind the whole way.  One more snow/sleet/hail episode right around 185th and Evergreen, and then the sun came out and stayed out the rest of the way home.

Very hot shower, and the sad realization that eventually I'd have to turn off the water and get out...

In all 59.6 miles, 14.42 avg mph.
My fastest average this year.  It was 14.8 until the stop at Longbottoms, but I always seem to loaf that last 10 miles.

Finally Melting!

Our driveway is probably still the most dangerous part, but as it is 50 degrees outside, it should be melted off soon.

So, I'm knitting



Catching up on Battlestar Galactica episodes I've missed (apparently the entire first half of Season Two),

Lighting Hanukkah candles,



And having a little too much excitement in the cellar. We'd had a very toxic, petroleum-like odor, which was increasing in strength. I was the only one that could smell it for quite a few days. Then... It was coming out of the heating vents, which originate in the cellar (yes, cellar - one must go down a ladder to access it).

I went down to investigate on the 23rd, once someone came over to stand outside in case I was overcome by fumes. The cellar reeked, but I couldn't pinpoint it. So Mr. Hot Water Heater came by on the 24th - not that. Then Mr. Furnace came by a few hours later - not the furnace either, but he was really not wanting to leave until we found it.

Fitz started rummaging around in some boxes, and found a box of really old garden chemicals, one in a metal can that developed a leak. And that was it. So all the affected boxes were hauled out.

In one of them, we found two boxes of floppies. The 5-inchers. Lots of vintage software.



Oh, and we had our first mail delivery since the 23rd. Timely.

36 Degrees and Raining!

Maybe the end is in sight. Dawn this morning was pretty.



I was up and walking around at dawn because I spent the night at my parents' home. We are having natural gas issues (think incomplete combustion/carbon monoxide). I got up to get home to wait for the furnace guy. But we decided it was the hot water heater, and the hot water heater guy will be here later this afternoon. As it is Christmas Eve, I'm amazed. I wasn't pushy or anything, even. And they are busy.

As last night was our family Hanukkah dinner, I had to relocate it. We took over my parents' kitchen, cooked, ate, cleaned up. They hardly knew we were there :-) except they didn't have to cook any dinner.





Ongoing Happy Hanukkah to all!

Day Eight, Snow Still Here...

If this keeps up, I'll start constructing Calvin and Hobbes snowmen

Hiked over to see Dad, and borrowed Mom's snowshoes, for a hike through the neighborhood. They weren't strictly necessary, most of the time, but I had fun plowing through the drifts.

Some pretty pictures for you:

Back from THAT, and I was starting to excavate the sidewalk once again, when SIL and children hiked by, so I joined them. We walked over to the Thai restaurant for lunch, watching vehicles skillfully get themselves into ditches (so, like, avoid the stretch of SW Walker Rd from Hwy 217 to Cedar Hills. Trust me on this.)

After lunch and a Blockbuster and JoAnn's stop, we hiked back. More excellent displays of driving skill (nose down in the ditch), followed by even MORE. Can you say honking big Escalade with a flat front tire teetering in the ditch? We got her out, but she just got all twisted around again. More vehicles on the road, some impatiently driving around, and getting themselves into predicaments. Just east of Hwy 217 we shoved another big one out of a ditch, then turned off the main road. Whew.

Oh, and USPS brought me back my surgically-altered Brooks saddle! Now, if the roads would just clear up...

Cabin Fever Sets In

We are having exceptionally bad weather. As an aside, I'm glad I finished the R-12 the first weekend of December - this past weekend was bad.

Snow. Cold. Yesterday and Sunday, very, very windy. The snow has since morphed into icy roads. The main roads are probably driveable, but I can't get to them - our house is on a hill, and all ways down are steep.

Can't ride. Can't run. I can WALK, and I've been doing that. Sunday, Brian and I hiked to Powells' Book at Cedar Hills Crossing.



I took a 3 mile hike in the neighborhood yesterday - my shorter running route.

Today, I had a utilitarian walk to Fred Meyer and back. We were out of a few essentials, and are expecting more snow/ice/freezing rain tomorrow. I wanted to buy some YakTrax (my Sorels are warm and comfortable, but not slip-proof), but Freddie's didn't have them, and I didn't feel like hiking another couple miles to Joes or Sports Authority. Maybe tomorrow.

Holiday shopping needs to happen, and it isn't.

On the bright side, I did finish my online Flash training class. Lots of knitting getting done, too.

Another Snow Day!

Even better snow this morning!





The roads were just wet.

Today's Commute

It was meant to be a spin class and weights morning, which means I drive to the gym, work out, change into commute cycling clothes, do the post-workout bagel and coffee meetup, then drive home, grab my lunch and work stuff, and ride into work.

Best-laid plans. We were up all evening before dismantling the computer center so daughter could continue painting the upstairs family room. (This is a story for another time.) 4:50am was too darn early.

Our tradition is that if spinning is skipped, we still do the Executive Workout - bagels and coffee. Rode over to the bagel place by the gym, leaned the bike up against Jason's, and had a great breakfast with John and Jason. Scott (bagel place owner) thinks he should be getting a bike rack. We agree.

John and Jason were doing their electronic tether activity (Treos), when Jason commented that Richard, a friend of ours who lives on Council Crest (highest point in Portland, I think), reported that it was snowing, and he bombed down Broadway in it. I looked out the window - "hey guys, it is snowing here, too!"

The subsequent commute into work had the bonus of snow! Not sticking, and it stopped partway through, but snow always makes me smile.

That Was Novel...

Today is my friend Beth's birthday. She had a birthday breakfast, and I thought I'd ride on over and celebrate with her. Now, I live in the SW burbs (ok, 1 block east and north of Beaverton), and she lives NE. Totally do-able, other than I'm not the biggest fan of riding through downtown Portland. Planned a route.

Got up at 7. Weatherbug said snow at 500ft, but the temperatures were above freezing. Headed out about 8. It was raining, but I'm okay in that. Climbing up through my neighborhood, I started to see bits of snow in the grass. Headed onto the Sunset Hwy bike path... more snow patches. The rain started mixing with snow, and then, by the time I was even with West Sylvan Middle School, it was snowing. Some slush on the bike path; not much. I watched the other bicycle tire tracks so see if there were traction issues.

Still heading up. Slush getting thicker. No traction issues. I'm admiring the way slush is building up on the outsides of my wheels. I hear a slight rubbing sound. Snowing heavily at Sylvan summit, slush looks almost snow-like on the bike path headed down. I kept it VERY slow. Still snowing heavily at the zoo. Turn left into Washington Park, starting to wonder if I should perhaps consider hopping the light rail. Riding down through Washington Park...hmmm.

At this point I realize that my rear wheel is slipping with every pedal stroke. I slow down even more, then stop to chat with the zoo security guard. I notice that my fenders are packed with snow, and knock it loose. My rear derailleur is iced up as well. Can't get moving forward again - no traction.

I walked to the light rail station and took the train to the Convention Center (cleverly skipping both downtown and crossing the river). I was looking for N. Williams, but I see I went too far east.

In any case, a handy bike route sign on NE 7th said "North Portland This Way", so I followed it through a really cool neighborhood until it dead-ended at Webster and cut over to 9th and continued north until I got to NE Ainsworth, which was back on my route, and a really nice road to follow. Note to all - 7th/9th is MUCH nicer than Williams!

Found Beth's house. Aaaaahhhh. Hot drinks, hot food. Good company. I need to bring my knitting next time. Met Beth and Liz's friends and family. Watched cartoons (Daffy Duck and Porky Pig). Visited with Joel and Heinz and Ian. Long bike-geek conversations.

I chose to watch the shadow hunt from the front window :-)

Beth had a Simplex front derailleur for me, in case Gitane needed a different one.

It kept on snowing.

I finally figured I should go. Beth told me to head east and I'd run into the Interstate light rail. Given that it was snowing there, and Sylvan would probably still be covered, I did just that. Got to the Killingsworth station, where another bike rider admired my bike and we had a conversation.

Switched trains at the Rose Garden. Snow still on the ground heading into the tunnel. Nothing on the west side, just very wet and cold.

So, not nearly as many miles as I intended to put in, but some new riding experiences, for sure!