In My Lifetime

Maybe 5 or so years ago, I contacted the Beaverton City Engineer about the desire path from the east end of SW Millikan Way to SW Lombard.  One had to go around a power pole, and, in the rainy season, it became a sucking mud pit.  But it was one of the best ways to go east-west in Beaverton.  He told me it was YEARS before it would become a street.  I told him I didn't want a street, I wanted a paved path for pedestrians and bicyclists.  It did eventually appear on the Beaverton transportation improvement plan, but it didn't seem to be high priority.

Earlier this summer some construction was going on, but there were no informative signs.  Maybe they were doing something with Beaverton Creek.

I walked by there today.  Be still my beating heart.  Pavement.  Wayfinding signs.  A drainage pond which feeds into Beaverton Creek.

No curb cut, though.  Ah well.

Errandonnee One, Two, and Three

And it was a good thing I had receipts, totally forgot about the picture thing until the last stop!

March 20, 2017

From home to the dentist - 7.3 miles.

I went the northern route, on the Hwy 26 bike path, then experimented with staying south of Hwy 26 at Camelot Ct (mi 2.4), rather then the usual path continuation to Skyline/Scholl's Ferry with the interesting left turn onto Humphrey/Hewett.  Learning there - more steeper climbing that way!

From there, I would have normally dropped down Dosch to Sunset (mi 5), but both Google Maps and RWGPS suggested I continue up to Fairmount Blvd, and then drop down through the neighborhood side streets.  Every road descending from Fairmount is steep.  Intellectually I knew that.  I did.  How bad could it be?  9-10% downgrades, narrow twisty roads, and generally more potholes and grit than pavement.  I was never so happy to make it down to Sunset Blvd in my life.  Once there, I only had to go another easy mile.

As for the dentist - I will say that N20 makes a dental visit much less stressful.  Plus, the dentist decided it was much less work than originally estimated, so it cost me much less as well!

See receipt #1 for documentation.

From the dentist to the library - 7.6 miles.

The plan from here was to cut between Wilson HS and Rieke Elementary down to SW Vermont, work my way to Multnomah Village (we'll be back here at least once this coming week), and then follow my known route back to Beaverton, except continuing on SW 5th to the library, rather than turning north just before Hwy 217.  Really, I only needed supplementary navigation assistance from Fairmount to the dentist, and then from there to Multnomah Village.

The only unknown was would the Fanno Creek Trail be open?  There had been some contentious trail closures (Portland Water Bureau has a sewage pump station on the trail OUTSIDE THEIR CITY LIMITS AND OUTSIDE THEIR COUNTY!) for pump station work, and the proposed detour put cyclists on SW Garden Home Rd.  Sounds bucolic and all, but that section is a highly traveled, very narrow 2 lane road with ditches right at the fog lines.  I myself pestered both our parks district (it is their trail) and the road department, and they did put up Bicycles on Roadway signs.  The few times I rode that way, though, I crossed Garden Home and paralleled it through the neighborhoods until SW Oleson Rd.

To make a short story long, I was pleasantly surprised to find the construction finished and the trail open.

Felt a few rain drops along here.

So, right, the library.   I was picking up a book which was an interlibrary loan, and, after fruitlessly searching the Hold books racks, I asked where it was - turns out ILL books must be picked up and checked out at the service desk.  The book came all the way from Nebraska.  Pretty cool.

See receipt #2 for documentation.

From the library to the fabric store - .8 miles.

Nothing to report here.  Got to the fabric store, bought my velcro for the Porteur Bag Sewing Project (for flaps to attach the removable lining), had a great conversation with the cashier about the project, as I was adding the velcro to my plastic bag (suboptimal and tacky).

From the fabric store to home - 1.3 miles.

Since I had gone to the fabric store, I continued directly east through the Hall Creek Enhancement to SW 114th.  While it is very short, I love riding through there.  The creek was very high, and I only saw a couple of Canada geese.  Usually there are ducks everywhere.

See receipt #3 for documentation, and I even took a couple of pictures.

I could have stopped for coffee, but I was getting tired of locking and unlocking my bike.  There is good coffee at home.

Beat the rain home.

The route.

Total distance - 17 miles.

Documentation:

First 200k In 11 Months

And, oddly enough, our it seems to be annual "Ride a 200k on Civil War Day", the civil war in question is the Oregon State - University of Oregon football game.

I took the Coast Starlight from PDX to Eugene, given as how they've now got bicycle service AND a better schedule than the Cascades.



Pro: better schedule and cushier seats
Con: coach passengers sit in the very tail end of the train, baggage car is right behind the locomotive.  It is a very long train and "the stop in Eugene is 4 minutes!".  No wifi, and the water dispenser in the car was empty.  And the lighting was dim.

But with all that, I made good progress knitting on my sock, to the point of finishing it, but not weaving in the ends; I wanted better lighting!

First off the train, and scampered up to the front (as the conductor was announcing Last Call!), to find Michal holding my bike, waiting for me to show up with the claim ticket.  Whew.

Our route was Bill Alsup's Perm #1177: Eugene to Beaverton.

And so, up at 5am for the 7am start.  The drop down Michal's hill was kind of scary in the dark, like it always is, but I didn't work up to the whole bike shaking, like has happened before.  We found Chris at the coffee shop, and got ourselves some coffee as well.

Sunrise wasn't until 7:25am, so we got to enjoy heading north out of Eugene in the dawn.  All the coffee for breakfast and at the start meant that the customary pause at Armitage State Park was again observed.  We also decided that it wouldn't be raining any time soon, and ditched our rain jackets. Once over the McKenzie River and through Coburg, we were out in the rural Willamette Valley for most of the day.  Not that we could SEE anything, because there was a persistent fog, which stayed with us until we started the climb on Gap Rd (mile 22 or thereabouts).  We then dropped into Brownsville, pausing at the Chevron c-store, where I discovered PayDay bites, a convenient form factor presentation of the PayDay bar.

North through Brownsville, re-enacting the final scene in Stand By Me, then out the other side, eventually arriving at a road blockage.  Now, there's nothing OUT there, but looking ahead, we could see a small herd of cattle on the road.  It turned out to be the annual moving of the bulls from one field to another, and we watched them being herded by several guys on ATVs and an SUV bringing up the rear.



That settled, we continued on north.  Now, it was supposed to be raining most of the day, but we hadn't seen any rain to this point, and the skies looked like we wouldn't, for awhile anyway.  There were even bits of sunlight!

pic by Michal Young

Passed through Lebanon, and Crabtree, on to our first control at the Hoffman Covered Bridge.  Although, the info control answer was found at the corner of Crabtree Drive and Hungry Hill Rd, rather than at the bridge, 1.6 miles further along.



After the bridge, a driver stopped to warn us that there was a chaser dog up ahead "on one of the downhills".  We did not find the chaser dog, but I did find a shard of glass, so there was a pause to fix the flat.  I just swapped in a fresh tube.

A few more ups and downs, and we found Chris waiting for us in Scio.  It wasn't a control, so we kept going, encountering the Leffler Grade.  I didn't know if I'd be riding up it or walking it; maybe a third of the way up, walking all of a sudden became a very attractive option.  Once at the top, we rolled along the ridgeline, finally dropping back down and entering Stayton (67 miles), our first open control.  On this route, the preferred stop is the Safeway; for other routes, the Roth's Market.  Drank down a half teaspoon of salt before going in.

I got a rice bowl with orange chicken, and Michal and Chris cheerfully refilled my bottles (one with plain water, the other needed hot water for the Gatorade-Tea-Maltodextrin beverage).  I ate about half of the orange chicken and rice.  I really like orange chicken, and white rice seemed to be a good thing for my stomach. Michal thought he'd have a taste, and proceeded to make serious inroads on the leftovers.

And with that, my stomach was all of a sudden very much happier, and we had a tailwind to Aumsville, and all was right with the world.  It looked like it might start raining at the corner of Shaw Hwy and Hwy 214, so Chris pulled on his rain jacket.  Michal and I didn't bother; we couldn't see where it would get any worse than a bit of drizzle.  And, indeed, it cleared right up.

pic by Michal Young

We also had a helpful tailwind on all 18+ miles of Howell Prairie Rd, and the first 2+ miles of gentle uphill didn't seem burdensome at all.  There's not much to say about Howell Prairie - the berry bushes are pretty with their fall coloring, lots of wide open space, the elevators at the Pratum Co-op.  Once you cross the Little Pudding River, there are more trees.

At the northern terminus we crossed Hwy 99E, turned into the wind for a bit, and then picked up Boones Ferry Rd (we'd see a lot of this road off and on for awhile), and ended up in downtown Woodburn, our next control.  We usually stop at the Del Sol market and get tacos or tamales.  We both ordered tacos, and I am pleased to report that I managed my entire transaction in Spanish (and yes, there was an actual conversation), then foraged around the store for other things.  I found Arroz con Leche (rice pudding!) in the refrigerated case, in a single serving container, and promptly snapped it up.  It was much better than the tacos - I had ordered Asada tacos, and they were dry and bland; I kind of expect Carne Asada to be moist and flavorful.  We never found Chris; he had gone ahead.



Michal noted that the cars passing by had their windshield wipers on.  Darn.  On with the rain jackets and rain legs.  I was already wearing my Showers Pass waterproof socks; they'd likely get another trial.  I didn't bother to pull on the helmet rain cover.

So now it was dark and raining.  My helmet headlight seemed rather uninspired, and the stretch from Hubbard (just north of Woodburn) to Aurora (just south of Wilsonville) was not clear in my mind.  Michal had been fiddling with his gps and got it working again, so we'd be ok.

Heading out of Hubbard, we picked up Boones Ferry Rd again.  The traffic was rather heavier than in previous years; maybe these were folks headed home from the aforementioned football game.  I see now that we just head north on Boones Ferry, cross Ehlen, and then turn right on Keil, cross a very busy road (the rain had gotten much heavier), follow Keil to Airport, and head north to Miley, at which point I no longer need a cue sheet.

Yes.  Well.  From Miley Rd to get to Wilsonville, there is the small matter of crossing the Willamette River.  At this point the only way across is the Boone Bridge shoulder, which is a busy stretch of I-5.

So, dark. Pouring rain. Four lanes of high speed traffic.  Lots of debris on the shoulder - wheel parts, shredded tire parts, possibly a departed opossum or two.  Good times.

After exiting I-5, turning left onto Wilsonville Rd (there is also the part where one must leave the shoulder and move left two lanes), and onto the relative quiet of Boones Ferry Rd...  Whew.  We then turned into the industrial park, and I was on my work commute home from my stints at Microsoft in Wilsonville.

After topping out on the small climb on Boones Ferry Rd (there we are again), we dropped down into Tualatin.  There is usually a bike lane until there isn't, and the descent is ever so much more fun in the summer evening sunlight.  By now I was feeling soaked through, but not too much further to go!

Through Tualatin park, over the river and into Cook Park in Tigard, north on Hall Blvd, left into Old Downtown Tigard, then out the west side, the non-intuitive left onto Greenburg Rd, cross over Hwy 217, and ride up the back side of Washington Square Mall...  North on Scholls Ferry, and finally the left turn into the neighborhood before the last bit.  We actually got across to the turn lane without having to resort to the crosswalk and sidewalk to get to Elm St.

Through the unmarked and very subtle cut-though (always helps to have a local guide at this point), down 5th Ave (where I just wanted to turn right through the office park and go home!), under Hwy 217, up Griffith, and done.  12:22 elapsed time.



I barricaded my bike with tables and chairs up against the Starbucks window, and went inside to find hot coffee, and Chris A and Chris W (who rode one of my local perms and was planning to meet us at the finish).  They had obviously been there awhile, certainly long enough to change into dry clothing :-)  They eventually took their respective leaves, we finished our hot drinks, and rode the last mile to my house, where Fitz and Cyndi were awaiting our arrival.

Hot showers first, but Fitz had made an enormous pot of turkey chili and fresh cornbread.  With pie for dessert.

Navigating through Beaverton - UPDATED August 2017

I live right outside the border of Beaverton, Oregon, and do much of my errands by bicycle or on foot.  East/west travel is a bit tedious.  No matter which road one chooses north of TV Hwy, one either gets on a rather major road passing large local employers (swoosh!), passes through a heavily trafficked shopping center (bad things happen there), and otherwise end up having to turn because the road doesn't go through,  because there's a shopping center, a creek, or just because.

And then there's Millikan Way.  It started out as a street bordering the southern edge of the (now much diminished) Tektronix Industrial Park, between Hocken and Murray.  All the roads around and through Tektronix are named after famous physicists.  Over the years, it was extended to Hall Blvd to the east, and, to the west it went out to the Tualatin Hills Nature Park, and then turned south to intersect with TV Hwy and join SW 160th.

It doesn't have much traffic, and is a fairly straightforward way to ride east and west just north of TV Hwy.  Did I mention that TV Hwy is a stroad; not much fun to ride along?

Metro just opened a really nice path along Hall Creek, between SW 117th and SW 114th.   You'd think there would be a connection, but Millikan Way dead-ends east of Hall.  So there's an unfortunate gap in the route.

One can (and there is a very definite desire path) cut across to SW Lombard from the east end of SW Millikan.  There will finally be a road extending Millikan to Lombard, but the project dates are unknown.  UPDATE: Aug 2017 - the desire path is now PAVED.  With WAYFINDING SIGNS.

Then, from SW Lombard, one can cross the street and cut through the Transit Center, over a bridge, and into a shopping center with well-behaved traffic.  I take the path continuing straight through to SW 117th.

And there we find another gap.  The path along Hall Creek is right there across the street.  But there is no crosswalk and no curb cuts on either side of SW 117th.  Fortunately, another lightly trafficked crossing, and a fun ride (with pauses to watch the ducks) through to SW 114th.



At this point, the route really does come to an end.  I typically turn left, and then right on SW Center, so as to cross over Hwy 217 and head home.

Places of interest along the route:
Falk Hardware (Millikan and Cedar Hills) - my favorite hardware store.  I need a fastener, they've got it!
Edge Coffee and Cafe Yumm (Millikan west of SW Murray, north side)  Cafe Yumm.  Nuff said.
Beaverton Bike Gallery (Millikan just east of SW Hall) My LBS.
Portland Clinic - not that I like going there, but it is great that my doctors are so close.
Bogza Coffee in The Round
Tualatin Hills Nature Park
Joann's Fabric, Marinepolis Sushiland, Jim and Patty's Coffee
many useful small businesses south of Millikan and north of TV Hwy, like the Batteries Plus, Tom's Pancake House and the Brickyard Tavern

Coffeeneuring 2014

Being retired, I have declared my normal coffeeneuring days to be Sunday and Monday.

Coffeeneur #1, Ava Roasteria, Beaverton Oregon

Date: Sunday, October 5
Drink: iced latte
Distance: 4.5 miles
Bike Friendliness: bike rack concealed behind a post at the door.
Factoid: edible chestnuts have really prickly husks, horse chestnuts (inedible) have slightly spiny husks - see the picture below.

Even though I live about 2 miles from this coffee shop, I have never been there.  They are open 24/7, so you'd think it would be a great place to locate a perm start, but I prefer Jim and Patty's, as I don't start or finish perms in the middle of the night.  So far, anyway.

I had to return a library book (The Magician's Land) and deposit a check (SPOT Gen 3 refund, yay!), and Ava is right there.



Vibe: On a sunny Sunday afternoon, it was extremely popular with the "study in a coffee shop" crowd.

Ordered an iced latte, and enjoyed it out on the patio.

From there, I proceeded to my favorite bike shop, where I met one of the newer mechanics, Ryan, and he found a chainstay bridge bolt for my fender, because the one that was there went walkabout, and I don't need a fender crumpling up and wrecking my upcoming planned bike adventure.  Where I plan to exercise the Vacation Rule :-)

Riding home, I picked up some chestnuts from a couple of trees, some inedible horse chestnuts and some (well only one worth keeping) edible chestnuts.  The really prickly husks contain the edible ones.



Took a snap of a local Desire Path.  It actually IS on the Beaverton plan, but way far in the future.  Nice now, but will be a sucking mudpit within a month.



And a snap of a road with a very bad sight line, which is on my route to Beaverton.

Coffeeneur #2, Mc Donalds, Annapolis, MD

Date: Monday, Oct 15, 2014
Drink: iced tea
Distance: 50 miles
Bike Friendliness: I just helmet locked my bike and went inside...
Factoid: the bike shuttle over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, while expensive ($30!) is a decent deal.  The driver was a super guy; told me all about the bridge, took me to the 7-11 on the east side, and dropped me at the motel.

Because I had just ridden 50 hot, headwindy miles from Arlington, VA, I had iced tea.
This was where the shuttle across the Bay Bridge was meeting me; he showed up a few minutes later.  Super nice guy, told me all about the bridge, and dropped me at my motel on the other side.

Coffeeneur #3,  McDonalds, Chester, MD

Date: Tuesday, Oct 16, 2014
Drink: just coffee
Distance: 5.6 miles
Bike Friendliness: didn't see a rack, left my bike in the vestibule
Factoid: Hwy 50/301 does a nice job of creating a moat down the center of the communities there - limited crossing points, and bicycles not allowed at all.  Bicycle crossing is legal, but fraught with peril.

Vacation Rule!

Coffeeneur #4, Lewes DL- Cape May NJ Ferry, M/V Cape Henlopen

Date: Wednesday, Oct 17, 2014
Drink: mocha
Distance: 4.5 miles to the ferry, 80+ miles afterward
Bike Friendliness: very much so - bike racks on the car deck, first on, friendly crew.
Factoid: the posts on the car deck are called "staunchions".

Vacation Rule!

Coffeeneur #5, Coava Coffee, Portland, OR

Date: Sunday, November 2
Drink: latte
Distance: 13+ miles riding, in all.
Bike Friendliness: only one lone parking staple outside; we had to get creative and lock to gas meters and power pole supports.  Later, we saw folks bringing their bikes inside.  We should have done that; there was certainly room, but we didn't know if they were ok with that.
Factoid: Coava also fronts as a handcrafted wood products venue.  Lots of nice woodwork as part of the walls, and all the tables were also handcrafted, and very well done.

A fleche-style coffeeneur; a group of us converged on Coava Coffee.
This is both a coffee shop AND a woodworking showroom - bamboo products; pretty cool stuff.

We all thought they could have had more chairs.  I saw a woman sitting by herself at a big picnic table, and arranged a swap for the four chairs we had at the end of another table, since we were more than four, and she would get a real chair.



I was so happy to have a social gathering, with ceramic mugs and latte art.  I had a latte and a croissant.



Some folks peeled off to go to other things, one more joined us.

After that, we stopped by the New Deal Distillery, so Gary could buy some ginger liqueur.



From there, we rode over to Detour Cafe, for second breakfast/lunch, where there was MORE coffee, and an excellent potato skillet.





I then took myself to Universal Cycles, where new winter cycling shoes were purchased, and then rode in the now-increasing rain across the Hawthorne Bridge and up to the Goose Hollow MAX transit station, and took the train over the hill, then coasted on home.

Coffeeneur #6: BOGZA Coffee, Beaverton, OR

Date: Monday, November 3
Drink: chai
Distance: 5 miles
Bike Friendliness: while The Round has bike racks, the closest ones were far away and in secluded locations.  I elected to lock to a metal bench just outside.
Factoid: The Round has the tallest building in Beaverton (parking garage)

I had heard from a fellow board member from the NW Bicycle Safety Council that there was a new coffee place in Beaverton.  Beaverton could use some new coffee places; mostly we have chains, and a few independent shops.  The menu looked promising.  The husband said he'd meet me there, as I was going to swing by the library, return a book (Divergent), and pick up a new one (The Slow Regard of Silent Things).  I was also checking out my new wet/winter cycling shoes (Lake MX 145, men's version).

Navigation to the library from my house is fairly straightforward; just one caution required street crossing.  Getting from the library to The Round was a bit more interesting.  I elected to ride up SW Hall (one way, three lanes), and turn left on SW Millikan Way just north of SW Canyon Rd, which would put me right there.  I elected to do a Copenhagen Left; as the mass of cars going north quickly evaporates, and then it is easy to cross SW Hall.  Found BOGZA, and Fitz was just arriving.

Since I'd already had plenty of coffee for the day, I ordered a chai and a chocolate croissant.  We went for the squashy chairs in the corner.  The front of all the businesses in The Round (a condo/retail/office development in Beaverton, which, since construction started in 1997, has still not really taken off) are rollup glass doors; this could be nice in the summer.



I expect it would be more lively before or after work, as the MAX train stops right there, but at 2:30 in the afternoon, it was pleasantly peaceful.

While preparing to leave, some guys walked by, one: "that is a nice looking bike!  What is the brand?"  Me: "Rivendell".  He said he had an Atlantis, so we gazed at my bike in mutual admiration for a bit, then he moved on.

Coffeeneur #7: Jim and Patty's Coffee, Beaverton, OR

Date: Monday, November 10
Drink: salted caramel latte
Distance: 4.4 miles
Bike Friendliness: The strip mall has a wheel-breaker bike rack which one cannot successfully u-lock to.  I u-locked the Riv to itself, and looped my very sturdy cable through the rack.  And sat where I could see it.
Factoid: Back when it was Coffee People (early 90's), this was their Beaverton location.  After many years of not being here, they reopened in the same storefront.  These are the people who started and nurtured my coffee addiction.



The library had a book for me, so I rode over there, then back to Jim and Patty's to have a drink.  I was also seduced by a pastry; hard to say no to "Well of Nutella".

I thought to try something new, so ordered a salted caramel latte.  It was QUITE good; I'd order it again.

Note on the bike-friendliness: the shop itself is not inherently bike-unfriendly; I have started a brevet from here, and they were delighted to have a swarm of randonneurs descending early on a Saturday morning (I warned them).  I'd put it on the cluelessness of the strip mall.

Hot Hot Hot

My new perm pop needed someone to ride it :-)  Couldn't rustle up any other of the retired or flexible work schedule folks, so I was on my own.

After last ride's flatfest, I patched several tubes, and swapped on the new Hutchinson tire.  The one that flatted was cut clear through.  Only 918 miles :-(

Located my evaporative neck cooler and got it soaking.  I'd be checking out the Road Holland jersey (thanks MG!) - I was wondering how a wool-synthetic blend would work for me in the heat.  I also mounted a third water bottle cage on the right seatstay, and wanted to see how that would work it.  I bolted it to the braze on, and maybe it would jiggle too much and stress the braze.

Coasted down to Jim and Patty's for some coffee to get me started.  I was starting earlier than is usual for us here for a perm pop, because, even though it was supposed to be a bit cooler, I wanted to finish before the hottest part of the day.

Headed out to Forest Grove by a fairly direct route - straight out Baseline/TV Hwy.  While these are both major roads, they have bike lanes or generous shoulders the entire way.



First control, headed to Maggie's Buns and ate a berry muffin.  SPOT did not appear to be transmitting; I knew the battery might be a bit low.  My new bike computer then chose to inform me that the computer battery was getting low.  It was a sale model, and probably sat on the shelf for a couple of years.  I resigned myself to another electronics meltdown.  Oh, and the cadence pickup had gone stupid, so I couldn't play with the new Power function.

Then south on B St.  Hmm.  Why was the cue sheet telling me to turn left of 18th?  Who created this route anyhow? Phantom zero distance turn?  So I ignored it and continued on south, past the bison ranch and through Dilley, pausing briefly at the Lake Stop Store to refresh the sunscreen.

Then off to circumnavigate Hagg Lake.  Note: when riding this route on a weekday, expect log trucks heading into the lumber mill by the lake.  

Hagg Lake is always a pace-neutral stretch for me - just can't seem to make up time here.  This is the stretch of the route with all the climbing, and the ramp into the park is definitely a soul-sucker.

Lots of sweetpeas in bloom :-)  Nice new pavement segments around the lake.

Then back out, and heading south to Gaston.  One of my favorite little bits of road.  Bought a V8 here, because it was so hot. 25 miles to go.

Got to the intersection with Spring Hill, only to find flaggers, big trucks, stopped traffic...  I knew it was scheduled for new chipseal, but didn't think it was this soon.  Filtered up to the front, where the cheerful flagger told me they weren't paving yet, and I could go in just a few minutes.

The wind was stronger, and not entirely favorable.  Slogged north on Spring Hill and Fern Hill; got a bit of a respite on Geiger.  Wished I had some tunes along for company.  And I stopped again at the golf course, for another V8.

Finally into Hillsboro, turning onto SW Johnson just past the TV Hwy Fred Meyer.  Ah.  Lovely road - low traffic, and goes east all the way to SW 170th.  There are some major road crossings, but they all have traffic lights.  Beware at SW 185th - the traffic light won't see you; there is a beg button right at the curb.

The north on SW 170th, right on Merlo, right on SW Jenkins, a couple more familiar turns and done.  That mocha mint freeze at Jim and Patty's was outstanding.

Ride complete (and heck, I even filled out my card!), I headed over to my favorite battery store for refills.  

Aftermath: new batteries in the bike computer and SPOT.  New cadence pickup as well, so I have a Power readout.*  Fixed the cue sheet, too.

The Road Holland jersey was fine, although not the same as a 100% wool jersey - it dried out quickly, rather than working as an evaporative cooler.  I did like the fit.  The rear zip pocket wasn't quite big enough for my cycling wallet, but there were three traditional pockets, a rarity on a women's jersey.

And maybe I will explore plan B for mounting that water bottle cage.

*I know it isn't REAL power.  However, I can compare it against myself.

The New Bike Ride

Not mine :-)  Rando friend Michal just (as in just) took delivery of his custom Winter rando bike, so of course he wanted to ride.  Rando friend Graham was planning to ride Bill Alsup's Eugene to Beaverton 200k perm, taking the train down to Eugene on Saturday (Feb 1) morning, and starting at 11:30am, or something like that.  Michal suggested he come down Friday evening and start earlier Saturday morning, and I joined in. The finish is just over a mile from my house, so I offered up dinner for all afterwards.  Plans were made.



For me, it was "hop the MAX train downtown and figure out the best way to get to Union Station".  I could transfer trains and get right there, but with a 15 minute wait time, I could ride over there quicker.  Almost.  The roads are either one-way or transit mall.  Can't easily get there from here.  After trying this twice, I think I will stick to 4th St.  Anyway, got there, got my bike ticket, and Graham found me in the luggage room.  He got his bike ticket, and we went and hung out in the lobby waiting for the train.  Which was late.

When we got our boarding passes, they directed us to the left.  Everyone else was sent to line up on the right.  Eventually they told us it was so we could jump ahead of the group and get our bikes in the baggage car soonest.  Nice.  Other than the train being late, uneventful ride.  Graham and I got better acquainted, he did Sudoku puzzles, and I worked on my small knitting project. Cyndi was pulling in as we walked to the front of the station, and Michal had a batch of chili with tasty bread waiting.  And ice cream for dessert.

Of course, time was spent in the garage admiring the shiny new bike.  He really had only ridden it around the block when he picked it up, so this would be all new.

We planned to leave the house about 7am for a 7:30 start.  Michal and Cyndi had breakfast out and multiple cups of home-roasted coffee.  Still dim heading down the hill, but our bright headlights helped.  We arrived at Full City Coffee, and bought yet more coffee for that starting receipt.  I had some Caffe Latte Perpetuem and hot cocoa mix in my thermal bottle, and just had them fill it up with coffee.  Lots of coffee.  We set out only 4 minutes after 7:30, which has got to be a record.



So Michal had his entirely new bike, and I was riding on an entirely new saddle - a Rivet Pearl.  Right out of the box, and only a couple trips up and down the driveway, plus the 2 miles total riding to get to Union Station.  This could be an interesting ride.

First stretch, Eugene to Brownsville, 29.7 miles.  Early, sunny, cold.  The wind was not hindering, and might even have been a teeny bit helpful.  The climbs on Gap Road were not a big deal (somehow, they always hurt coming the other way toward the end of the Five Rivers perm), and the descents down the other side were quite fun.  Horses, cattle, sheep, and llamas out in the fields.  Still very much winter, but some trees were getting that pre-leaf fuzzy look.



There might have been a pause along the way to remove some layers.  Or we did it when we stopped in Brownsville; I really don't remember.  Bought some peanut butter crackers, but I really had plenty of food with me.  Also ate a slab of Italian Fruitcake.  Michal broke his bike in by plopping a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos on the seat.



Graham's front bag has a built in corndog holder.



Brownsville to Hoffman Covered Bridge info control 24.2 miles.  Still wonderfully sunny.  More rolling hills (I think they call them buttes).



Passed through Lebanon and Crabtree (there isn't much in Crabtree), to turn onto Hungry Hill Road, where the bridge is to be found.  We stopped to write down the answer, and take a few pictures.





Hoffman Covered Bridge to Stayton 13.2 miles.  The last time we rode this, we stopped in Scio, but not today.  The only wall of the route was waiting - gets up to 12% or 14% toward the top.  I bailed and spun my way up; Michal and Graham climbed somewhat faster.  This puts us on top of a ridge with wonderful views.

By now I was noticing that I had a new saddle.  Or, more to the point, the sitbones were noticing.  Shift, wiggle, shift. Michal was also noticing his new saddle, but perhaps not as acutely.

Found Michal and Graham at a corner, with a bit of a quandary on which way to go.  Michal's GPS was indecisive, and I thought we'd stay left.  I got to pull out MapsWithMeLite with the ride track installed and verify that this was indeed the case.  We continued on Stayton-Scio Road, and quite soon found ourselves in Stayton, headed for the Safeway.  Applied some lubricant to my poor sit bones.  Bought a sandwich, which seemed to take longer than it should have, but Michal was still in line at the Starbucks.  Got another bottle filled with coffee, Perpetuem and cocoa mix, and topped off my water bottle.  Ate half my sandwich and a banana, and we were off again.

Stayton to Woodburn  28.7 miles.  This stretch was mostly autopilot, as it goes from Stayton to Aumsville, north on Howell Prairie, and then, departing from the Mill City Coffee Run, into Woodburn, rather than Gervais.  We were all looking forward to some Mexican food in Woodburn, at one of the many stores which line the main street.  This is a pretty stretch of the route.









Heading into Woodburn, an impatient driver passed on a two lane road, with oncoming traffic.  The oncoming pickup almost ended up in the ditch.  We all shook our heads in disbelief.

Stopped at the same place in Woodburn as before, except all the window signs were now in Korean(?)  Bought a Red Bull to get a quick receipt, not that we were anywhere near pushing the time limit.  Receipt time was almost 30 minutes off :-)  Then went to order some food.  Brain freeze.  I just ordered what Michal had - three tamales.  They turned out to contain chicken, and were somewhat spicier than either of us were expecting.  I ate two.



Woodburn to Beaverton 29.6 miles.  And here we were leaving Woodburn, and it was still light!  Granted the shadows were getting long, but still...  A zombie freight train was heading north, same as us (the locomotive was at the other end, running in reverse), so I could head straight on, knowing that no one would be turning or crossing in front of me.  Michal and Graham came up in not too long, and we headed into and through Hubbard, then NW towards Aurora.  A stop to swap to the clear lenses and turn on a few more lights.  Rode alongside the Aurora airport, and Graham and I swapped stories about my brother's flying lessons there, and his flying lessons there.

Then it was time to hop onto I-5 for the Boone Bridge crossing.  Still not full dark.  That didn't happen until we were headed through the Wilsonville industrial park.

Last time we did this ride, it was dark and raining, and we had to stop and check the cue sheets much too often.  I had done some serious review of the route north from Wilsonville, and Michal had his GPS set up.  I was a bit stressed about the next stretch on Boone's Ferry/Tualatin Rd, because, again, the last time was in the dark and rain, and the road was two lanes, no shoulder, and heavily traveled.  I was in for quite the pleasant surprise!  Road widened, big shoulder/bike lane, and new white curbs, which my headlight picked out quite nicely!

Into Tualatin Community Park, over the Tualatin River bridge, and then the left turn in Cook Park on the bike path. Now, this is clearly a recreational, meandering path.  Not a single light in the park, and no edge lines painted on the path.  Good thing there was a wide beam on my headlight!

Now north on road with names I recognized - SW Hall, SW Burnham, a funny u-turn in downtown Tigard, through some neighborhoods, and then we popped out on SW Greenburg Rd, at which point I no longer needed the cue sheet.

Pulled into the Starbuck's at the Beaverton Freddie's, and I ducked in to get us a receipt.  Came out to find Bill A, the route owner.  Called home to say we'd all be there in about 10 minutes.  Graham wanted to get a picture of a license plate (200 DNF), so he said he'd be right behind us.  He never was right behind us, but as we headed up my street, I could see a bike taillight in front of us.  Bill pulled in right behind us.



Aftermath.  First things first, it being Graham's first R-12, his wife Sharon had brought a bottle of champagne, and we had a celebratory round.  Then we fell into dinner.  Sharon had also made a wonderful lasagna, which we accompanied by a big Rich and Charlie's salad, bread, apple cake and ice cream.  And beer and cider.



The route
130 miles in all,
13.05 moving average,
11:57 total time, about 15 minutes quicker than before, even without the tailwind assistance
about 3800 vertical feet