Bike riding

Bike riding blog posts

BBC to Omak - 60 miles

The early morning ride down the Methow valley was quite nice.

The town of Winthrop is all decked out in old west attire, touristy, but nice.

Colonial Creek to Barn Bicycle Camping - 60 miles

This was the big day over Rainy and Washington Passes. The climb started right away but then eased up for a while. Now that I was past the hydro-electric stuff the scenery was much more beautiful.

It was a long slow climb. It never looked steep, but all I could manage was about 4 mph. One of these days I will get smart and learn to not carry so much. I found my self stopping to cool off about every 15 minutes for the last couple of miles.

Walker Creek to Rockport - 54 miles

Got an early start, out by 7:15. Low clouds and cool. Second breakfast in Sedro Woolley. South Skagit highway to Concrete. Nice low traffic road but there was some road work going on and a bunch of gravel trucks. The Skagit river is quite a bit bigger than the Willamette and a lovely aqua green color. Also very fast moving.

Rockport to Colonial Creek - 40 miles

Got out by 7:50. The sun was already shining and it was warming up quickly. The ride to Marblemount was on a very quiet back road. Very pleasant. Had to beg for wi-fi at the Buffalo Inn so I could text Linda. After Marblemount the road got narrower and more uphill and soon entered the NP. It would have been nice except for the power lines. Newhalem a.k.a. Seattle City of Light is home to a huge hydro electric plant and the people who work there. It's actually quite nice with lots of trees and a park. After this the road got steeper, and the sun got hotter.

Getting ready for the North Cascades

Leaving this weekend for a 10 day tour, starting out with a ride over North Cascades Highway.
<br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/116323603138300579796/Mobile#5901765854823… src='https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5FE3EPv9oeo/UedIxqxNZFI/AAAAAAAAGvY/…; border='0' width='281' height='210' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />This picture is from Mary's Peak. I'm testing the BlogPress app, which I've used before. <br />

McKenzie Pass

June first promised to be a warm clear day, just right for riding McKenzie pass. The road is closed to cars for another week so this would be the ideal time to do it. Normally I avoid a long drive to a ride, but I had to make an exception for this one. It was 2 hours from Corvallis to the ranger station at McKenzie Bridge. Even this far up it is a mighty big river.

My best rides of 2012

I did a lot of riding this year. 5025 miles worth to be exact, making this my second highest yearly total. 2010 was my highest with with 6313 miles. Of course I wasn't working that year, and did a month long tour. Coming in third is 2005 at 4639 miles, the year we did Rideaho.

This year I spread the miles over a variety of bikes:

Stub Stewart to Jewel

52 Miles

Oregon Coast Tour - Stage 1

I leave Sunday for a two week tour. My plan is to go door-to-door from my house in Corvallis, ride north to Vernonia, and then west to Astoria. From there down the coast as far as Florence before heading off on back roads through the Siuslaw National Forest through the Coast Range to Alsea, and back to Corvallis.