N/NE to PCC Rock Creek

[q`Tzal]

I've been running almost slicks like Schwalbe Marathon and Continental Ultra Gatorskin. Obviously much better in high speed turns on dry pavement; not even so bad on Saltzman rd because you can tell that at some point it used to be paved. The gravel doesn't give too much.

[rainperimeter]

no. will not be biking up springville road. i'll have books for 2 classes and maybe my laptop. went with a friend today to see how it is. just way too steep (granted, the super steep bit is short), then the gravel is far too loose. we had fun for sure. but i don't want to do this in between classes. and we didn't deal with rain. that stretch of springville up to skyline would be a mess in the rain. fun if not for the commute aspect.

a guy i used to work with was biking out to classes at rock creek. gonna see which route was taking.

[bikieboy]

rp, you might consider Saltzman up from US 30 - it's a closed road, good gravel (might have once been paved?) & not hideously steep. Takes you to Skyline, hang a right & go for a mile to Springville. Springville (near Skyline) shows as 2100 ADT (ave daily traffic) but it probably picks up as you go west toward campus.

[rainperimeter]

so today was my first day biking to that class. last tuesday i took the PCC shuttles. lame. took forever. on the bus sitting in traffic. no thanks. thursday i drove my gf's truck. lame. took forever. in the truck sitting in traffic. but blasting metal (electric wizard). still, no thanks. i have a 1pm class at cascade, got out at 3, rode to food front in NW to supplement my sandwich and fruit with more fruit and junk food, then rode up lovejoy to cornell to thompson to skyline to springville. took less than 2 hours even with the lunch break. not bad i guess. beats the shuttles and the parking lot that is hwy 26. why people put themselves through that shit blows my mind. whatever. the freedom of the open road is a powerful thing.

oh, on the way back tonight, at the intersection of thompson and skyline; COYOTE! hell yeah!

and as it's dark and there is no cross traffic on those back roads, and really not much traffic to speak of anyways, i did what i never do on my bike...i blasted metal! not too loud, i care about my ears and ensuring i can rock into old age.

[bikieboy]

that's a treat!

(insert howling here)

[rpc]

Was "cut off" by a coyote once in Forest Park. I thought to myself that was sooo much cooler than being cut off by some impatient ahole while driving

Q'Ztal - thanks for the tires info...you definitely don't want to ride on what I have (took a tumble on a wet manhole cover a week ago -- I was almost stopped too...piece of crap tires).

Bikieboy - thanks for the Saltzman idea. maybe I'll try it out sometime but for now, I kinda like the gravel punishment.

[rainperimeter]

so last night at thompson and skyline, where i met a coyote a few rides back, i had another encounter. only last night it charged at me. scared the shit out of me. thinking less of my route home and more of getting the hell away from this animal coming at me, i turned right on thompson...the wrong way. i take a left there. whatever, it shouldn't have been a big deal, just a little evasive move, wait a few, head back up and down thompson the right way. but it just kept following me! ugh. when i finally stopped my heart was pounding and legs were jelly. i called a buddy who was on his bike and had left rock creek a little after me. we met on laidlaw and rode home together. fun. the only drawback to this is i'm on an old bridgestone with front and rear rack and a pannier full of crap, and tony is on his fancy team issue vanilla speedvagen. he hauls ass. i don't, not on the bridgestone at least.