Yeah, I know I am a shitty blogger. Summertime is a full time job at my house. Sailor got a Wii for his birthday and had a house full of 11 year old homies playing it all weekend. I finally escaped for a KICK ASS ride around 2:30 yesterday.
I headed south on Oatfield, which is a nice, rolling road towards I205 through Milwaukie; the weather was cool and a little bit windy. I was on the Ellsworth which has bladed spokes and I could really tell the difference in a cross wind on one fast descent it even got a little bit sketchy, but I am still not 100% confident descending full bore on it yet. I was feeling a little tired and sore from wakeboarding on Friday, but I was trying to get a good long day in with some climbing, so I kept a moderate pace wanting to get a least 70 miles and be home before dark.
I crossed I205 and headed out Jennifer Road towards 224 and Estacata. It was a little dicey going through the industrial section here because the bike lane was full of gravel and a bunch of other sharp shit. There were also big grates with plenty of room to drive a 23c wheel into, so I had to stay on my toes. Once I merged onto 224, I had a nice string headwind and plenty of big assed trucks whizzing by to boot. My legs were feeling good, though, and I had plenty of bars, drinks and gels to get me down (and up) the road.
I turned off at the Springwater Road bridge and took a nice detour south towards Estacata. There were a couple of nice climbs and then the road followed high above the Clackamas River for a couple miles where I turned off on Bakers Ferry and headed back towards 224. I think if I do this route again, I will avoid 224 more, and take Springwater road all the way to where it intersects with 211 just west of Estacata. Baker's Ferry was a nice, quiet, rural road with a good surface and I was able to hum along nicely. The afternoon sun was starting to come out and I was really glad to have gotten away for a ride. Anyway, more berms and rollers on Bakers Ferry and one good stiff climb up to 224 after re-crossing the river and I was back heading towards Estacata.
224 is not a bad road for biking, it has a nice, wide shoulder and not too much traffic (at least on Sunday afternoon). I did, however, get a flat from either a big peice of glass or a sharp rock, but a quick change and a Clif Bar and I was back in action. I headed south through the bustling metropolis of Estacata and then west on 211. There's a nice, long climb out of town that lasts a good 8 or 9 miles, that really got my heart working. Some really nice descents out here too... good, wide shoulders and smooth pavement and not a lot of cars.
211 is a nice, quiet highway and I was able to fly though the couple of small towns it cuts through. Around 6PM, I stopped in Colton and bought a gatorade and refilled my water bottles and ate the other half of my Clif Bar. My legs were tired, but I was mostly just still sore in my arms and shoulders from wakeboarding. I stayed on 211 until it intersected with 213 and made my way north towards I205 and Oregon City. It was a very nice evening and while 213 is busier than 211, it was still comfortable and relatively quiet. I crossed under I205 at about 7:30 and decided to see if I could haul some ass and make it home by 8... I hammered all the way up River Road and careened into my driveway at 7:59PM. Great day.
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