On Any Sunday

Date: Sunday, April 22nd, 2007
Leave: 7:00AM
Return: Noon
Distance: 69.78 miles
Average speed: 15.4 mph

Drop-kicked my second kick ass ride out to Multnomah Falls with Captain Crafty yesterday. Gaht Damn that ride is awesome. Early on, it looked like we were on track to be dumped on all day like last time, but I only got hit by about 10 drops of rain all day. It stayed pretty cool all day, which was actually good because I was dressed for cold and rain.

We met up at the intersection of the I205 bike path and the Springwater trail about 7:15 and headed east towards the falls. The weather was a mix of ominous grey clouds and peering sunshine, and there's a stretch of the Springwater Trail east of I205 that absolutely teams with wildlife at that time of morning after a big rain. We saw upwards of 20 rabbits, tons of ducks and geese, feral cats and even a coyote -- it was very bucolic. We passed the time with conversation and a leisurely pace and made our way up 180th to Stark and had a nice descent down to the Sandy River at the base of the first climb of the day.

Justin crammed a couple of Shot Bloks in his face just as we were starting to ascend up towards Corbett, and learned the hard way that climbing with a mouthful of energy chews sucks balls. It's a nice climb up to Corbett, pretty easy, not too steep, but long. Once we got to the top, we got our first look out over the Gorge and it is always amazing. The sight is always envigorating, and it quickened our pace down to the Vista House where we took our first pause to soak in the view. The clouds we just high enough at this point that we could see all the way down the Gorge, and the morning mist gives it an ethereal asthetic that causes you to just stare at it endlessly. We sucked down some Gatorade and made the kick ass descent down towards the falls.

The ~8 miles from the Vista House to Multnomah Falls is awesome -- nice rolling hills and tons upon tons of waterfalls everywhere you look. The new asphalt is so smooth and nice, I stayed in my big chainring from the Vista House all the way to falls. Once we got to the Falls, we ate a bit, refilled our water bottles, and I had my requisite 2 shots of espresso, and we headed on. There is still a certain victorious feeling about rolling up on the Falls on bikes.

The way back up to the Vista House was nice -- I actually really enjoy that climb. It's not as bad as it seems going down, but it's long enough to really get your blood pumping. I was feeling really good and still had lots of legs, so I cranked up it at waited for Justin at the top. Turns out he slipped his chain on the way up (ugh) and was along shortly.

Just as we were pulling out of the Vista House parking lot, we saw a group of about 6 riders coming down. They turned out to be the first of about 50 riders that we saw coming up the whole time we were heading down. There is something kick ass about flying down a descent that you climbed earlier, and it's made even sweeter when there are people chugging up it while you are rocketting down.

The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful, save for the fact that Justin did great and I am totally confident that Reach the Beach will be a breeze. We parted ways at Burnside and I205 and I hit the manual carwash on the way home to clean up the steed. I got home, showered and dusted a box of Annie's Mac and Cheese with a can of tuna mixed in and took a nap with Miles. Bad ass Sunday.