fall family ride

fall family ride
Originally uploaded by Ben McLeod

It was a sunny, beautiful autumn day today so we took the McLeod family bike-train for a ride. It was close to 60 degrees out, so I wore shorts and a long-sleeve jersey, while the rest of the crew was a little more bundled up.

Basically, we rode out to the base of the hills that surround Hillsboro (out to Forest Hills Golf Course) and back via Rood Bridge Road (which brings us by another golf course - I guess you could call this route the Golf Course).


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The mostly flat route takes us through farmland and nurseries, with great views of Mt. Hood, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Adams (the sun glowing off the new snow on the peak was creating a gorgeous alpenglow!), Mt. Saint Helens, and a glimpse of Mt. Rainier.

We saw cows, horses, chickens, llamas (OK, OK, alpacas!), geese, and goats - to which, Liam and Camper would shout a greeting. At one point Liam even yelled a greeting to a farmer ("hello farmer!"), who politely - and graciously - gave us a wave.

Most of the trees were barren, with a few still clinging to their leaves (or is it the other way around?) but the scene was almost more reminiscent of spring than fall as many of the fields are verdant with the fresh shoots of whatever was recently planted (lettuce, spinach, rye?) having just broken free of the soil.

The ride ended with a trip to the Rood Bridge playground, so everyone came away satisfied. At close to 20 miles, it was the longest ride Liam has ever ridden on his trail-a-bike - this time he even pedaled a little!