Laura's birthday approaches, and Fred asks Ben/I if we want to join in for a group ride on Saturday, followed by a cookout. "Sure," I said, "will pack rockets and/or lassos." (Background - Fred and Laura are super-fast dedicated Serious Cyclist-types, despite disguising themselves as normal, chilled-out, delightful people.) No no, no lassos and/or boostery required, he says - just Piper's low-key Lake Oswego loop.
So, low-key? Not a problem! Saturday morning, get up and have a small bit of oatmeal, coffee. Get organized at a properly weekend-pace; pull out and put on the diaper-pants, fill up those waterbottles, pump up those tires.
Sure, I haven't ridden my road bike on a serious road-ride since we stopped the hill ride series earlier this spring, as my p/t doc said don't ride hills for a bit. Sure, I led a PDX hill-ride for Pedalpalooza, but I'm not sure if that counts...
...anyway, it's been awhile. But low-key LakeO - sounds pretty okay. Maybe a couple of hills, sure sure.
Should have known better. Piper, like Fred and Laura, doesn't mess around when it comes to the biking. We meet up with the group and there's a half-dozen-plus spandexed folks, ready to go eat up some asphalt...
So, starting from the Willamette Bluffs, we headed south - Milwaukie, Oregon City, West Linn, Lake Oswego, up to Lewis/Clark, hills to taste - crossing the Willamette and the Clackamas both on fairly-exciting bridges.
We wound through beautiful farm country and past strange suburbs, some major streets and some MUPs, secret little backstreets and new ways of getting familiar places. Up down up up down up turn down up up up turn stop, red light green light ...
There were "a couple" of climbs.
There was "a big" descent, the kind of "big" where you realize your brakes don't stop your bike on this kind of slope...
Note: You know you're out of your league when the group votes to hit Council Crest on the way home, as an additional bonus prize.
Having tagged the not-quite-top of Council Crest and dropped back through downtown, we returned to the eastside via the newly-opened (I missed you!) Broadway Bridge and everyone split for their abodes. Ben/I headed off to find non-diaper pants, make a side dish or two for the cookout, shower off the sweat. I was stupidly-hungry and a bit dehydrated, having not been prepared for the ride we just finished (note-to-self: a half-cup of oatmeal and a larabar doesn't cut it).
So, low-key? Not a problem! Saturday morning, get up and have a small bit of oatmeal, coffee. Get organized at a properly weekend-pace; pull out and put on the diaper-pants, fill up those waterbottles, pump up those tires.
Sure, I haven't ridden my road bike on a serious road-ride since we stopped the hill ride series earlier this spring, as my p/t doc said don't ride hills for a bit. Sure, I led a PDX hill-ride for Pedalpalooza, but I'm not sure if that counts...
...anyway, it's been awhile. But low-key LakeO - sounds pretty okay. Maybe a couple of hills, sure sure.
Should have known better. Piper, like Fred and Laura, doesn't mess around when it comes to the biking. We meet up with the group and there's a half-dozen-plus spandexed folks, ready to go eat up some asphalt...
So, starting from the Willamette Bluffs, we headed south - Milwaukie, Oregon City, West Linn, Lake Oswego, up to Lewis/Clark, hills to taste - crossing the Willamette and the Clackamas both on fairly-exciting bridges.
We wound through beautiful farm country and past strange suburbs, some major streets and some MUPs, secret little backstreets and new ways of getting familiar places. Up down up up down up turn down up up up turn stop, red light green light ...
There were "a couple" of climbs.
There was "a big" descent, the kind of "big" where you realize your brakes don't stop your bike on this kind of slope...
Note: You know you're out of your league when the group votes to hit Council Crest on the way home, as an additional bonus prize.
Having tagged the not-quite-top of Council Crest and dropped back through downtown, we returned to the eastside via the newly-opened (I missed you!) Broadway Bridge and everyone split for their abodes. Ben/I headed off to find non-diaper pants, make a side dish or two for the cookout, shower off the sweat. I was stupidly-hungry and a bit dehydrated, having not been prepared for the ride we just finished (note-to-self: a half-cup of oatmeal and a larabar doesn't cut it).
I spent most of the ride back to my apt dreaming of my next food conquests - juice, tuna sandwich, water-beer. It felt really good to be that hungry.
We returned for dinner later that night, greeting our riding companions, now barely-recognizable in clean clothes and normal pants, plus other friendly folks. Dinner was fantastic - talented cooks and w/ good taste in wine make great dinner company. Riding home that night we certainly pedaled slower than we had in the morning - but, still, feeling pretty darn good.
Next step? Do this more often. And don't let Council Crest make you cry next time, not even a little bit. (So tired, so hungry, so much up!)
Ride trivia, Piper's Suburban Surprise
50 miles
3600+ feet of climbing
2 waterbottles, emptied
1 angry-and-scary TriMet bus driver in Oregon City
0 flat tires, disasters
various: roadkill, angry drivers, and other standard ride features
The rest of the weekend included some un-fun things, like my working most of Sunday and Ben crashing his bike en route to a movie-date. But also some quite-fun things, like making pasta from scratch and two plum-ginger pies and my tying frozen veggies to Ben's crashed-and-mashed ankle. Weekend report and pictures @ Ben's blog.
The rest of the weekend included some un-fun things, like my working most of Sunday and Ben crashing his bike en route to a movie-date. But also some quite-fun things, like making pasta from scratch and two plum-ginger pies and my tying frozen veggies to Ben's crashed-and-mashed ankle. Weekend report and pictures @ Ben's blog.
Great post, and happy birthday to me! Btw, I had a flat after I got home. I removed the metal splinter today.
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