Riding Weather

We haven't seen much riding weather this year. Every time we think we're about to get a nice long break from the rain,  the forecast changes, it clouds back up, cools off, and the rain begins anew. Fortunately, though, the last couple of weekends have had a least one day of good riding weather and Wanda and I have been able to get out for a jaunt in the countryside. Last weekend we decided to ride up to see some friends on Bald Peak.

The ride up to their place, Dragonfly Landing, is quite scenic and has some great twisties plus some long straightaways through farm country. It wasn't as warm as we would have liked it, topping out in the low 70's, but it was sunny and in Oregon that's all you need for a ride.  Besides, we were looking for any reason to get away from the house and out into the world.

There wasn't much traffic on our route and except for a bit of construction on 185th Ave, we had a nice smooth ride over to Farmington Road and then out to Bald Peak Road. We saw quite a number of other bikes on the roads and more than a few were couples with a rider and passenger as well as a number of small groups.  It seems like lots of folks had the same idea as Wanda and I did.

On the ride up the mountain we had some great views of Mount Hood and the Tualatin Valley. There was a bit of loose gravel on the road, but the twin front tires of the MP3 seemed to handle it quite well, though honestly we weren't moving fast enough to really test it. Wanda was much improved as a passenger this time and I could tell she was much more relaxed on the ride. There were far fewer helmet bumps and she didn't shift her weight in anticipation of the curves. There was one curve on the way down the mountain though where it seemed she was fighting the turn and leaning out of it instead of moving her body with mine, but that was the only one.

At the crest of ride, we stopped at Bald Peak State Park to enjoy the view there. Mount Hood was clearly visible for a change, and the view of the valley was quite lovely too. We took a short hike on one of the trails leading down from the west side of the park to get a better view of the valley. The rain has been good for something at least--the vegetation was lush and there were lots of little wild flowers blooming all up and down the slopes of the mountain.

The trail was well drained, so there wasn't much mud to deal with on the hike down and up. I had Wanda stop for a couple of shots on the trail as I thought I might use it for a future photo shoot and also because I think she looks might fine in her riding gear.

We walked around the park for a bit, used the restroom facilities there, and then headed on over to Dragonfly Landing to see our friends, Mark and Gabi. Our timing sucked though, because Gabi wasn't there and Mark was taking a nap. Good friend that he was, though, he got up from his nap and showed up some of his family's latest projects - a new leather corset for Gabi, new tents and camp-beds for their SCA group, and some of the landscaping and housing improvements they've been doing around the place.

Mark lets me use his property quite a lot for my summer photo projects, so I took some time to check out some of the fields and wooded areas in preparation for an upcoming shoot I have planned. Wanda was very interested in the camp-beds and I'll have to say there were very nicely built and seemed quite rugged and sturdy. Steve, the builder, told us they could be broken down in 5 minutes and setup in about 10 minutes, and more importantly they could be stored flat for transportation.

We didn't overstay our welcome, though, and we wanted to get back home while the sun was still high so we could have a little cookout with our daughters and grandkids. Coming back down the mountain was just as fun as riding up, although the one curve I mentioned previously did give me a bump of adrenaline.  What was rough though, was the winds down on the valley floor, pushing us around when we cleared the mountain shadow.

All in all it was a fun little ride and a nice afternoon outing.

Wanda on the mountain trail

Ready to ride.