Bridge Pedal - I'm Famous

I saw Jonathan Maus of bikeportland.org taking pictures as we were cruising up the approach to the Broadway Bridge and nine hours later it is posted to the web. I am glad he didn't catch me on the way home, because I was sucking wind!
Amelia was watching Susan who was on the right side of the yellow line!

Portland Bridge Pedal

 
One of the best events in Portland because of the combination of local products (Widmer Root Beer, Nossa Familia coffee, and bike mechanics galore - too bad there wasn't Voodoo Doughnuts or Burgerville), bikes, and bridges. The Oregonian is one of the sponsors and calls the ride "Perfectly Portland".
It is a great ride and it is great to see that many families out on the streets. There was a great article about the event in the O this past week.
 
Marcy and her kids stayed the night at our place so we were on our way from Sellwood to downtown when Chris called saying they were at the meeting point! We met up with MK, Tym, Henry, Dad, Chris, Del, and Deb and we were off. It was a beautiful day for the ride and we were happy to have the opportunity to be carfree on the Interstate Freeway bridges. We completed the 6 Bridge Ride and I rode the bakfiets. Susan questioned whether I was going to have trouble and while I didn't think I would, her asking me a couple of times made me second guess myself. All told it was a 25-mile trip which makes me wonder what a bakfiet mile is equivalent to in road bike miles. The hill up from the Oaks Bottom to our house was a beast, I was really dragging because I hadn't eaten anything on the ride. Abby did great on the ride on the trail-a-bike and I was surprised that Ameila and Matthew didn't complain any during the ride about sitting too much in the bakfiets.
The ride went pretty smoothly, it has been customary in recent history to have something disrupting bicycle flow through key spots or turns and while there was reportedly a train near the end that disrupted folks considerably, we didn't experience any of the backups that has traditionally plagued the ride.
One mistake on my part was not charging the batteries to the cameras, I took some photos, but the cameras did not make it past the Marquam and I normally enjoy taking more throughout the event.
 

Summer Saturday in Estacada

 We took a trip out to Estacada to meet up with the Kishpaugh folks at Ken & Doreen's house. They have horses, so the kids were very excited about the chance to ride. They also just had puppies, so it was a double attraction. I didn't feel the need to partake in multiple hours in puppy and horse love, so I was off on my aluminum steed and biked from their house to Dan & Sheila's, which was a good 20-mile with a pretty good climb. I didn't take my GPS unit, so I don't have details from the ride.
 It was only fair that I rode, Susan got her solo ride in on Friday while Marcy watched the girls.
 

Abby Rides a Bike

 
It is true that patience is a virtue. Abby has really picked up riding a bike. With a lot of things, Abby can not be pressured, she's going to do things in her own time. Once she starts down the path she remains tenative and cautious, wants to be perfect about it and take her time, and is easily frustrated. Sounds like a fun combination of Susan and I. Oh well, I guess that's to be expected. The good news is she has the capacity to ride her bike, now all we need is a little more of the will.

Oregon/Washington Bike Rides

Susan hasn't hit the streets on her bike this week because of the heat, so she took off this morning on the Lake Oswego Loop.

She wants to do a century this season, we just need to find one. If you have an idea, let me know!

I came across this list of rides and I was thinking the Vine Ride might be a good one.

The Harvest Century conflicts with a Beaver game (unless it is a night game) and there is one in Bend that isn't quite a century (Sunnyside Cycle), but appears to be a tough ride!

Garden of 09

After a few days when the temperatures soared past 100 degrees, we're starting to get some good yield from the garden. I just picked three cucumbers and a head of romaine lettuce. There are several ancho chilis The red cabbage is getting closer, and the garden is overrun by tomato plants. I remain disappointed that we didn't get many peas and the beans weren't that plentiful either. There is some squash and pumpkin? starting to grow well and I am starting to get more sophisticated in how I get the cucumbers to hang in a trellis. I need to get some twine or string to hang the vines. If I don't it will be a lot harder to find the fruits of the watering and planting.