3 Perfect Rides in 8 Days

The snow has melted throughout most of Portland, and we have been blessed recently with a long rain-free streak. The last four days have been cold, but we've had lots of sunshine to soak into our Vitamin-D deprived bodies. We are continuing our training for the April hill ride and have managed to bring a few others into our harebrained scheme. It's January, and everyone is going in for self-improvement. On Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, you can see much of the IT department running stairs at the corporate building next door. It's quite a sight.

Our training started in earnest on January 1 when Harrison and I bundled up on a cold, wet day to attempt 3 of the 17 or so hills we'll be expected to climb. The conditions outside were miserable, and the rain was flying sideways as we made our way across the Broadway Bridge and headed north. Before we'd even reached the first hill, I took a spill going over some train tracks, doing some minor damage to the bike and my left side. But I got squared away, and we continued, heading first for Saltzman Road.

Saltzman is one of my favorite climbs in Portland, because it winds its way on unpaved road through Forest Park, and you're unlikely to see more than a few souls along the way. Unfortunately, the road had seen some damage from the recent storm. Branches littered our way and parts of it were still covered in slush. We were grateful to finally reach Skyline and paved road, but that turned out to be no better. Instead of plowing, the snow along Skyline had just been pushed to the side to uncover half of our lane. The rest of the lane was dusted with gravel. Skyline isn't a high traffic road, but it is windy and the cars that pass aren't going slow. It's also a steep downhill to Burnside, and my brakes paid the price.

Once on Burnside, the ride only got worse. We tried snaking our way back down to Portland on minor roads, but the downhills were too much for my weary arms and worn-out brakes, and we made the very unwise decision to get down as quickly as we could by taking Burnside, a very steep, very heavily used, and very gravelly road. It was downright terrifying, and we were frozen to the bone by the time we reached the bottom. We rode to the closest bar to soothe our souls with pizza, beer, and a shot.

Since then, our luck has been much better, though we still end most of our rides with a beer and a shot just for the sake of tradition. Last Saturday, five of us met downtown to do a 33 mile ride hitting 3 of the major high points in Portland. We first climbed Council Crest on the West side, then Mt. Tabor and Rocky Butte on the West side. It turned out to be a frigid day, and Patty had to race home after the first hill to get some gloves and hot tea. Luckily, she's faster than all of us, and we didn't have to wait long for her to catch up. We ended the day at McMenamin's Kennedy School with food, a beer, and a shot of course.

If I haven't mentioned McMenamin's before to the non-Portlanders, they are sort of the McDonald's of entertainment around here. Every McMenamin's is different, but most are large complexes that include a restaurant, brew pub, theater, concert venue, hotel, etc. The Scottish brothers who own the chain buy up historic, unused buildings and estates and make them grand again. Kennedy School was, as you would guess, a school that sat vacant for more than 2 decades before it was bought and renovated by the McMenamin's. They have turned classrooms into intimate barrooms, made a restaurant out of the cafeteria, and installed a movie theater and soaking pool.

My next ride was this past Thursday before work. My coworker Nick is finally recovering enough from the surgery he had on his Achilles to join us on our training rides. Four of us met at 6:30 am to climb Mt. Tabor just before sunrise. It was another frigid day, but the view from the top was like nothing I've ever seen. We were looking west toward the city, and a layer of fog had settled over it. You could see the skyscrapers poking out above the white line and the sunlit hills in the background. On the way down, we got a view of the east side too, the outline of Mt. Hood with the sun rising behind it turning the sky orange and pink.

Yesterday was my third perfect ride. Patty and I hopped the Max train as far west as we could go to Hillsboro, OR, about a 45-minute ride. From there we rode west another 6 miles to Forest Grove and then turned south down country roads to Hagg Lake. There's a 12 mile loop around the lake, nestled among rolling hills, green pastures, and forest. On our way back, we stopped at another McMenamin's, The Grand Lodge in Forest Grove. This one also has a soaking pool, a hotel, and a disc golf course. We got back to Portland just as it was getting dark after 45 miles of riding.

Tomorrow morning, we're hitting Mt. Tabor again. Maybe this time I'll think to bring my camera!