Ride and Event Reports

lineTriple Trail Tandem Trek Two - August 13

Our second attempt at this ride had a much better turnout than our first attempt, (thanks to Ted & Nancy for showing up for that one) due to the fact that the forecast was for warm and overcast, instead of cold and rainy.  Joining us were club members Michael and Carleen on tandem and Larry on a single bike. About a mile down the path, club members John, Valerie, and Team DIZ: Deirdre, Ian, and Zara joined us. We also had three non-club tandem teams show up: Dave & Pam, Jeanne & Michael, and Frank & Penny... for a total of one single, six tandems and a triple.  The ride headed east on the Springwater Corridor, then north on the I-205 bike path.  It was a little challenging getting all the long bikes onto the curbs at some of the intersections, but we managed. Team DIZ & co. opted for a modified route partway into the ride. (I didn't do a good job of setting the pace despite my stoker's comments).
 
We headed east on Marine Drive out to 185th.  The section with the bike path gave us an up close view of a glassy Columbia river for several miles.  Going south on 185th we reached Sandy Blvd, then headed east up to 201st and headed south again.  The new Fairview Gresham trail begins at 201st and Halsey.  If you weren't looking for the trail you would probably miss it.  This trail took us back to the Springwater trail in Gresham, which gave us a scenic finale to our 35 mile ride.
 
Alan & Allison Zimmerman

lineTriple Trail Tandem Trek

 

The Triple Trail Tandem Trek could have been called the the Penta Trail Tandem Trek.  We actually rode on five off-road paths: the Springwater corridor, the I-205 bike path, the new Gresham-Fairview Trail as well as short sections of bike paths along Marine Drive and I-84.   Since Triple Trail Tandem Trek was a lot catchier of a title and the majority of the ride followed the first three trails, we decided to stick with the snappier ride title.

The weather forecast for May 7 was 70 to 80 percent chance of rain.  We felt pretty confident we would be canceling the ride, but needed to ride two miles to the start just in case anyone showed up   When we arrived at Sellwood Waterfront park, much to our surprise, we found Ted and Nancy Magnuson waiting for us and ready to ride.  We warned them of the impending possibility of extreme dampness, but they remained undeterred.  The weather at the start didn't look too bad.  We headed east through Sellwood, soon got onto the Springwater Corridor Trail, then headed north on the I -205 bike path.  About 10 miles into the ride, the weather took a turn for the worse.  At first it was light rain, but it soon turned into a major downpour.  Fortunately for us we were on the part of the path that dips down below the overpasses along I-205.  Except for the deafening noise from the freeway, it was a rather pleasant place to wait out the rain.  After about a half an hour, the rains let up and we continued on our trek. 

We continued north until we reached Marine drive and headed east.  We worked our way over for a short stretch on the I-84 bike path and then went east on Fairview Parkway.  We connected up with the new 3.3 mile Gresham-Fairview trail that almost connects the Springwater trail to the I-84 bike path.  It provides bikes with a really quiet route to get between the two bike paths without riding on major thoroughfares. One short section goes along a wetland and uses concrete tiles instead of pavement.  There is an almost comical sign warning of the trail condition.  Neither tandem had trouble with this section.

The final leg of the ride headed west on the Springwater Trail.  This was the prettiest part of the ride and gave us many picturesque views.  On our test ride two days earlier, a flock of geese had commandeered the path and were very reluctant to let us pass by.  But apparently the weather was too lousy for them this day because they were nowhere to be seen.  

We stopped for lunch about a quarter mile from the finish at the Muddy Rudder Pub.  Except for the major downpour where we took cover under the overpass, we only experienced a few sprinkles. Thanks to Ted and Nancy for joining us on what looked to be a soggy day of riding but turned out to be a pleasant and mostly dry 36 mile ride.

 

lineRock Creek Ride

 

Sunday, October 17

By Jim Edwards

We started out with a plan to go from Rock Creek Tavern to Banks and return for dinner. But the weather was so nice and with all the traffic on SR26 returning from the beach the route was changed to go to Roy instead of Banks. This allowed us to cross over SR26 on a bridge instead of ground level. It was a really nice fall day and the riders included Mickey and Amy, Jeff and Kim, Larry and Joan, Robert and Liza and Janice and me. After the 29.6 mile ride we feasted to happy hour prices at McMenamins along with lots of pumpkin gatherers out for fall drive in the country. With the rainy season looming, it was good to get in another great bike ride.