First Pumpkin

My nephew Cameron took his first trip to the pumpkin patch!



It was the best fall weekend yet. I didn't upload the pictures from my ride but I will tonight. Hopefully some of the magic of the trail came out in them.

Politics Anyone?

It isn't often that you'll see much political content on my blog but I thought this might interest some of you. Maybe you've seen it, maybe not. It's a site where you can go through a couple of pages of statements on different topics. The statements were made by presidential hopefuls and after you check which ones you agree with on however many topics you care to go through, it tells you who you're top choices should be based on how many statements you matched with each candidate. Pretty interesting. Have at it. My Election Choices

No hands!

Do you remember as a kid when you first learned to ride with no hands? Remember how cool you were? I still feel cool whenever I ride no hands. It's a very useful skill to have when you're trying to get your jacket off and shove it in your pocket, or take your arm warmers off or whatever. Yesterday on my ride home as I was coming through my neighborhood there was a group of little boys practicing riding with no hands and I had to chuckle to myself as I pedaled by. I should have stopped and taken their picture.

Welcome to the color. The weather was PERFECT for my lunch ride and I had a great time out there.

Why

Why can't people get that the more people that ride their bikes to work, or walk or skateboard or whatever, means there are less cars waiting in traffic?

"I don't think encouraging cycling is going to reduce congestion or significantly change the transportation makeup of our cities," says Randal O'Toole, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. "There really is very little evidence that any of (these efforts) are reducing the amount of driving. They're just making it more annoying to drivers."

WOW

Hop Trip!

I stopped by Deschutes yesterday to have some Hop Trip beer. It was just as good as I remember it from last fall. I think overall, the seasonals in fall/winter are better than spring/summer so there is a lot to drink these coming months.

It isn't all about drinking though. Aside from the strong winds, it was a good day for a bike ride. Hopefully I can get some more rides in for the next few weekends - I love the forest this time of year. The cold temps are gone and we're back in the 60's now.

Derek got some of his pictures published here. It was getting dark so he said it was hard to get some good shots.

Hope everyone has a nice Monday!

Friday fun day!

Fun Bend City Code fact of the day:
Except in an authorized parade, no person shall lead, ride, tie, or fasten a goat, horse, cow, sheep, swine or similar animal in such a manner as to permit it to remain on or go along a parking strip, sidewalk area, or public pathway.

Autumn is a blur.

Happy Wednesday

Not much new going on for me. I raced a storm home last night. The wind was out to get me and it would hide until I got into the open away from everything and then it would rush up in a hurry like there was an emergency or something. I like stormy skies with the different colored clouds and character.



I felt a couple spits but nothing major and I pulled into the driveway breathing heavily.

Tomorrow night is the big Bend Bella Cyclist meeting and I hope we get a good turnout. I prepared a slideshow with pictures of different rides we did this past season - should be fun.

Happy October

BAM, just like that September is gone and here we are in a new month. I've been scraping together some rides the last couple weeks at lunch and after work. At least at lunch it's sunny and I can appreciate the leaves and fall colors. After work though it just gets a bit chilly out.

We spent last weekend in rainy Portland visiting some family and breweries. Hey, breweries can be like family. I'm extra excited to get over to Deschutes ASAP to try out my favorite seasonal Hop Trip. YUM!

I see snow on Bachelor and lots of it!



WOOHOO!

Anything Could Happen

Stark contrast. I rode the last few days at lunch under sunny skies and warm conditions and now I see on ODOT's Trip Check that is is snowing on Santiam Pass and Willamette Pass. That's Autumn for you.

I have a road loop I like to do during lunch and it's what I rode on Wednesday. I don't have a computer thingy on my cross bike and I don't wear a watch so I had no idea how long I had before I needed to get back. So, I hammered. I hammered a little harder than normal because I got back too early...only took me 43 minutes.

I ordered one of those Cho-Pat knee straps the other day and should get it soon. I'll see if it does anything to alleviate knee pain. I'm always hopeful but how long can one hold out hope really? I guess worse things could happen.

Have a good weekend!

Morning Fog

I forgot to post these from my camping trip I took so here goes. We camped out at Little Cultus and got a nice ride in around Lemish and Charlton Lakes.









I got to thinking the other day after a Bend Bella Cyclist ride I was on. One of the ladies was talking about what she'd been doing over the summer while her son was out of school. She commented that they would go camping and to the beach and on big hikes and fishing and what not and that they would take some rest days off in between to let him regroup. Those are some of the fondest memories I have of childhood...camping out, hiking, fishing. Who doesn't have a good camping story?

Summer is winding down and that means Farmers Market cookie days are almost over.

Cyclocross

Thursday night was Webcyclery's #3 cyclocross race and I rode over to watch the last part of it and cheer people on. I really like cyclocross...it's a lot like mountain bike short track races. A set period of time where you ride a short loop as hard as you can. Only, in cyclocross you have to get off and jump over barriers and run up steep short hills. Here are some of the better pics

Doggie dressup!

This isn't my dog, but it was so hilarious I had to get a pic. He's wearing a rain coat complete WITH a hood and reflective piping! hahahahahah

Yep, it's chilly

My ride at lunch today was quite chilly. The thermometer says 48 but with the wind it HAS to be colder than that. I actually dug out my thermal vest to wear! It's nice though, that's one of the things I really enjoy about Bend. We get seasons! The wind won't even stop me from going and getting a cookie today at the Farmers Market.

First fall ride

Sunday I led the spirited Bend Bella Cyclist mountain bike ride. We drove up to Dutchman Flats and were a bit shocked at how chilly it was up there. It really was the first time where it was 100% fall weather. We rode up to and then down Flagline, down South Fork, across Tumalo Creek, up Skyliner Summit and down Whoops and Bens. Basically...Mt Bachelor down to the city. Great fun. Here are a few pictures





Here grousy grouse.

Payoff

Lots of times mountain bike rides are all about payoff. You can climb for miles or hours but it's really only worth it if the downhill is as rich as the chocolate flowing through Switzerland. That describes Saturday.

Stu and Dane picked us up around 10 and we headed out for a new trail. Before hitting that trail we rode on some oldie but goodies. Charlton out and around Lemish was fun as usual, then we connected to Waldo and took the Bettie Lake trail upwards. We passed at least three lakes on that trail and popped out on the road. After a short ride up the rode singing songs and joking around, we came upon The Twins. The Twins is a brutally steep climb up. It is just under 4 miles with somewhere close to 2000' of climbing and the peak tops out around 7300'. Steep. It's gorgeous landscaping up there with big boulders, trees, rock outcroppings and ponds.

The descent was better than words can describe. I took no pictures of it because we were going too fast and furious.

And now for the few pics I took.

















HAPPY MONDAY

Wednesday views

I rode to work early again this morning to get some extra stuff done and was greeted to this view right away.



It was a comfy 52 degrees as I pedaled in. I gave an extra effort heading through the construction area so I could keep the same speed as traffic and then cherished the cool breeze and pink skies as I rounded the bend and gazed at the mountains. What a great way to start a day.

I went for a ride during lunch and came across what is possibly Bend's newest roundabout.



It's hard to believe (well, maybe not), that the site of that roundabout is where trails used to be that would take me out to KGB.

Double Whammy

It was a PERFECT day out today if you like warm weather. It all started with a beautiful sunrise and brisk ride to work. I went in early so I could catch up on some work. I don't mind too much because I get paid for overtime and I had woken up early anyway. Then, I rode during lunch and worked up quite a sweat by the time I was finished. It was one of those days where I was just feeling really good and solid. My knee wasn't bothering me too much and I took advantage of it.

I switched it up and swam after work. By the time I got to the pool it was already 7:15 so I got to enjoy a peaceful swim in the near dark. Good times.

Tomrorow is Farmers Market day so you can rest assured I'll walk over to get my favorite..Oatmeal Raisin cookie!

Take care.

Dread and Terror

No kidding, that is the name of the section of trail we rode Saturday. It was spectacular! We did it as an out and back so there was quite a bit of climbing. The map claims that there is 2200 feet of climbing on the way downhill and then 3368 or so feet of climbing coming back uphill. It really didn't seem like that much climbing to me though. The trail rolls along the banks of the North Umpqua and is muddy and rocky in some sections, dry and foresty in others. On the way back up to the car a group of hikers asked me how far it was to the falls. I told them correctly that it was less than a mile (I'd just stopped and taken pics of it). One then asked me if it was worth seeing. I told her yes, I'll let you be the judge.

I give you....Lemolo Falls

















Lemolo Lake where we started and ended our ride.

Alpine Trail

I'd have been doing my guests a serious disfavor if I hadn't taken them to Oakridge to ride. I'll allow the photo blog to talk for me though.

September!

I can't believe a new month is already upon us! Last night was the first Webcyclery cyclocross race of the season and 101 racers turned out. I helped the guys count laps to keep score and the race seemed like a huge success. If you missed it, don't worry, you get 3 more chances to join the racers or just watch and cheer. It happens the next two Thursday's in the lot across from Cascade Lakes Brewery. How convenient.

Anywho, where did I leave off with my pictures? Oh yes, with Waldo Lake.













HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Day off?

HA - now why would we take a day off from riding? I plotted out a smaller ride and off we went. The climb was hot but was made worth it by the descent down Whoops and Skyliners with a few stops to try out some little features.









This sure beats a day at the office.