Wanda's First Ride

Wanda has gradually been coming around to the idea of riding with me. Slowly, but surely she has been warming to the idea and yesterday, on our way out for our anniversary dinner, we stopped by Beaverton Motorcycles to get her some riding gear. I'll have to say this much for her, she has good taste.

She picked out a lightweight Nolan helmet with built in sunshade and a detachable chin guard, and black armored jacket with magenta piping, some leather gloves, and very nice mid-calve riding boots. She definitely looked good in the outfit.

Today was a perfect day for riding. It was sunny, but not too hot, and the roads were finally dried out from all the previous weeks rain. Our plan was to head out for a ride then hit McMenamin's Rock Creek Tavern for a late lunch on our way back.  Before we could head out, though, Wanda insisted we get some chores done first. So, while she vacuumed and cleaned the house, I edged and mowed the lawn and then we both went to Home Depot to get some supplies for a small project.  After that, Wanda finally screwed her courage to the sticking point and we got ready to ride.

I had a destination in mind and the plan was for a relatively short ride to give Wanda time to adjust to riding with me, and for me to figure out how to ride with her riding pillion. We tool a slow ride through the neighborhood first to let me get a feel for how the bike responded to two riders and to give Wanda's nerves a chance to setting down. After a short circuit around a couple of blocks, we headed down the long, straight route leading east from our subdivision. That let me pick up some speed and settled her in on the bike.

At the first intersection we headed north on a curvy stretch of road to give her a chance to learn how to lean with me and the bike. I kept it fairly slow, but I could feel her grip tighten with each curve. At the next intersection, about 4 miles up the road, I stopped and checked with her and she told me she was fine, so we turned and continued west toward our destination.

The road we eventually rode is called Skyline Boulevard, and it's called that for a reason. It runs along a ridgeline that divides the river area of North Portland from the fields and farms of the Washington County.  Our destination was a logging area just off the road where, on clear day, you can see the snow-capped peaks of Mount St. Helens, Mount Ranier, and Mount Adams in a beautiful panorama. I'd driven there a couple of times when searching for fall foliage to photograph, but had never ridden there on the bike. It seemed the ideal destination for our ride, and I wasn't disappointed.

The view was fantastic. Bright yellow scotch broom dotted the landscape and all three mountains could be clearly seen in the distance. The area where we stopped is owned by a logging company, but they allow hiking on the property and the logging road allows good access to various overlooks. Wanda and I didn't go very far from the gated entrance, but we did wander down the trail to get a couple of different images. It was definitely cool enough at this elevation that we could keep our riding jackets on as we walked.

The ride up was quite curvy and Wanda really got to experience some decent speed and twisties. As we road through the curves, she became better at adjusting to the ride and moving her body with me along the way. We bumped helmets a few times, but that was the worst of it. When we got to the viewpoint she seemed quite excited and happy to be riding with me. She admitted to some nervousness at first, much like the anticipation of standing in line for a roller coaster ride, but she seemed to have gotten over that pretty quickly. Of course, the beauty of the ride and of our destination helped with that I'm sure.

Once a the top of Skyline, it was time to ride back down for lunch. Rock Creek Tavern was our place of choice because of its proximity and its lovely outdoor patio. One thing is for sure, you don't go there for the service which is very, very slow even on the best days. I'm not sure why it is, but service always seems to take 15-20 minutes initially and is intermittent even after that. The surroundings are lovely and the food is quite good (the beers are terrific), but they never seem to have enough wait staff on duty to accomodate the patrons. Even with smaller crowds the service never seems quick and drinks can sit empty for quite a while before your server gets around to you again.

We weren't the only riders deciding to stop for a bite at the tavern. There were at least a half dozen motorcycles parked in the bike area as well as a number of bicycles along the upper fence (we were passed by a couple of sports bikes on the way down from the viewpoint, but we didn't see either of them at the tavern).  We managed to get a nice seat on the patio and settled down for a leisurely meal. As usual, I received a number of questions about our ride, since lots of people are really interested in the unusual looks of the MP3 500ie. One Harley rider asked me some extensive questions and as he rode off said, "nice ride."

After lunch, we went a different direction and chose to ride around looking at some of the lovely farms and homes located in our area. Lots of people were out enjoying the sunshine and working on their yards or on their farms or ranches. Bicyclists were out in droves enjoying the sunshine - it's been raining almost solid here for nearly 3 weeks so who can blame them. After about another 45 minutes of riding, it was time for another short break so we decided to head to Starbucks for a drink before heading home and tackling our own yard project.  A nice cold frappacino hit the spot just right and we took advantage of the stop to check on a small bicycle for our granddaughter and to visit the new toy store in the shopping complex.

All in all, it was a pretty good first ride for us both. We got to spend an afternoon together in some beautiful weather, enjoying some gorgeous scenery, and still managed to get quite a bit of work done around the house as well.

Since the rain is coming back tonight and we'll have the grandkids the rest of the weekend, we made the best of a lovely afternoon and some fun time with just us.

Afterwards, Wanda suggested a trip for us latter in the summer that will require a longer ride and a stay at one of our favorite Oregon retreats. That should be a lot of fun and we're both looking forward to that and many more rides together.