(File photo)
I just returned from a much-needed mini-vacation to the coast (Fort Stevens to be exact, more photos and story later).
Looks like there was tons of bike action while I was gone.
Big crowds and large fields were reported at the Alpenrose Velodrome Challenge track race. Here’s a recap of Day 1 and the Oregonian has a story in their Sports section today on one of the racers, Jenn Wangerin.
Saturday night was The Night Ride and from the looks of Dat Nguyen’s great photos, a huge, costumed crowd really got into the spirit.
And finally, while I was camping, I got a distressed call saying a Vanilla track bike had been stolen off a MAX train. By the time I got home, the bike had been found!
So how did your weekend go? Did you do the Night Ride? Or perhaps you took your own bike adventure. Fill us in!
We did the Night Ride! It was great, mostly… yes, it was colder than last year, but it seemed like the turn-out was bigger, so it didn\’t stop the Portland bike crowd!
My boyfriend Scott won for most lighted bike– Tron Bike! He had about 150 light sticks outlining his bike, it was really quite impressive when it got dark enough to see, like at the Filmed by Bike rest stop.
It seemed like a large number of people were having parties in their front yards along the route, and it was neat to see all the kids and adults waving and cheering us on.
There was one injury, a lady crashed her bike on interstate and broke her wrist. Hopefully she\’s doing okay. A lady also went down at the entrance to the Broadway bridge right at the beginning, but she popped right back up and seemed okay.
All in all, it was a great ride!
PS– I loved all the answers the bikers were giving to people who asked what we were riding/what we were riding for/what we were doing… very creative!
I did a pre-ride for the Oregon Randonneurs July Grab Bag brevet
http://www.orrandonneurs.org
190.8 miles in 15 hours, 16 minutes (including stoppage time) – a new personal best [Insert big tired grin].
Did a sweet ride Sunday along South Waterfront and up to Forest Park with Aaron and a group of ExchangeCyclers. These are fun casual rides with no one left behind.
The previous weekend, I rode the seawall (well, as much of it as is open while repairs to windstorm damage proceed) at Stanley Park in Vancouver, BC, and then various trails throughout the park.
TNR was wonderful. I towed my 5yo son on his trail-a-bike and he had a blast. His bedtime is normally 7:30ish, so this was a huge change in his schedule. He loves riding in the dark and he really enjoyed the decorated bikes and costumed people. We ended up riding in from John\’s Landing, which made for a great warm-up and adventurous ride home.
I saw some other younger kids, but I think my son might have been the youngest. I think this is an awesome event for kids of all ages.
The Alpenrose Challenge was great fun. Kind of like NASCAR but way more fun (and fewer mullets). We picked up some discounted bike jerseys and even found some high-quality padded bike shorts for the kid.
All-in-all another awesome bike weekend in PDX!
Rode Milwaukie on Saturday, to finish researching the:
Milwaukie Hidden Routes Ride (insert advertising here) 😉
Every Neighborhood in Milwaukie has its secret places…
We\’re going to explore most of them.
Come on the Milwaukie\’s Hidden Routes ride and see the nooks,
crannies, alleys, and cut-throughs of Milwaukie. We\’re going to ride
nearly every legal shortcut through Milwaukie\’s negihborhoods. This
is not a ride for the faint-hearted. Bring a mountain bike, or put
wide knobbies on your road bike and bring a patch kit or a spare tube.
We\’re going to see brambles, dirt, gravel, hills, thrills, and
hopefully no spills.
There are a couple of steep descents on this ride, a fair amount of
low hill climbing (at least 4 ascents up to 200\’ elevation change
each).
Here is the route: http://tinyurl.com/387w35
Start time is 6pm, Thursday, July 19th. Repeat performance on
Wednesday, July 25th for those who can\’t make the first ride or want
to ride it again.
16 miles, approximately 2 hours. Start and end at Milwaukie City
Hall, 10722 SE Main Street, Milwaukie.
Live far to the north in Portland? No excuse – Milwaukie City Hall
sits right next to a Tri-Met transit center. Take buses 31, 32, 33,
70, 75 or 99 to get there from downtown Portland or the NE side.
With help from some awesome Bikey friends, I put together my first fixed gear last night. It\’s awesome, I love it. We had our own little bike workshop. It was great having an entire bike yard so filled with bikes & bike racks that you could barely find a spot to sit and enjoy the BBQ. Good times! No big rides for me, though, there were a few from the other folks who were wearing-in some new gear for STP. I was bummed to miss out on the Night Ride but it was still a great bike weekend for us.
Oh, and Sunday I joined 5 other people who I\’ve just met on a ride out the Springwater to Boring and then up in the hills between Boring, Sandy and Eagle Creek. Great scenery, killer hills – killer as in \”I almost died\”. I was not expecting a 700\’ vertical climb to be part of my weekend.
OTOH, 44.7 mph on the downhill is *really* fun.
I got my two daughters and three of their friends to join my wife and I on our first Night Ride. What a hoot! I loved all the people along the way waving and smiling. Especially cool was the Columbia Slough part of the ride with thousands of blinky lights stringing along the water. A beautiful site.
Then, on Sunday a couple of friends and I did Larch Mt. Perfect weather for it, and what a tremendous climb through the beautiful forest.
Can\’t beat Summer in Oregon; bike heaven.
I made my first attempt at Larch Mountain on Saturday and fell 3 miles short of the summit (Note to self: take something to eat next time). That was quite the fun, cold descent. Starting from home it was a 52 mile round trip. It was my penance for missing the Night Ride. 52 miles wasn’t enough. I was still frustrated about not being at TNR.