Mountains of the Rose City

[Smitty-A-Go-Go]

Even though we'd never met, list member Norm and I recognized each other from across the street. He was sitting at a sidewalk table in front of a coffee shop and I was walking my bike on the sidewalk to the crosswalk to come meet him. We had connected through the list here. His orange All Rounder and my blue AHH were dead giveaways.  

We discussed destinations/routes a little bit and were soon on our way. About half a mile up the road there was a sudden and horrible sound from my rear wheel. It was the sound of metal clanging against metal. I slammed on the brakes and looked back. Everything looked ok but the tire was flat before the bike was even stopped. Further investigation led me to a #4 finish nail through the sidewall of my tire. The sound was the nail hitting the seat+chain+fender stays... like a finger strums a harp. Fortunately I had pliers in my tool roll because the nail was in there really tight. The spare tube came in handy too. I got the wheel back together and we were back on the road.

Our first real stop was Mt Tabor. We got peek-a-boo views of Mt Hood and a nice clearing provided views toward downtown Portland, but the forest was too dense on the Mt St Helens side to really see any thing. Next stop was Rocky Butte. There's an interesting structure that looks like a castle from the outside, but when you get up to it the "castle" is full of dirt and is just a lawn and walking path with a spectacular view. Norm and I ate a snack, took a few pics, and soaked in the view. It was time to head home.  As I was turning onto my street I was thinking it was perfect timing 'cause it was just about time to dig the lights out of the saddlesack.  

A fun little adventure with some great views and good conversation.

click for the pix  

--Smitty  

[David Blessing]

Thanks for the pix.  Just beautiful. . . the mountain was, too.  

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[Ryan Ray]

Nice shots!

[Bill Carter]

Your photography is amazing. I immediatly put up the bike silhouette
against the mountain as my new favorite desktop background.

> click for the pix  <http://www.flickr.com/photos/15966859@N07/sets/72157628789865139/>
>
> --Smitty

[Smitty-A-Go-Go]

Thanks for the kind comments. 

[Mike]

Nice shots. On a day like that and with some elevation it's hard to
get a bad shot. I strongly suggest heading out to Crown Point some
time for even more spectacular views.

I'm always on the lookout for Rivs around Portland. I haven't seen
either of those but I'll keep an eye out for them.

--mike

[Smitty-A-Go-Go]

My family and I moved to Portland in August, so I have only begun to scratch the surface of places to bike. Crown Point in definitely on my list. I'll probably save it for when I have a full day and the days are longer... perhaps go by CP on an overnighter in the gorge. I've also heard the views from Council Crest are pretty good. Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately for my wife and kids) there are plenty of resources for finding places to ride around Portland.