The Mad Scientist

I'm still working on making my night bikey shots like my drivey shots.

The problem I'm having is getting the camera stable enough. My carbon-fiber tripod, strapped to my rear rack flexes too much (I'm guessing the zip-ties attaching it aren't of much help either...).

When I was in Junior High School, I won the "Most Likely to be a Scientist" Award from the Science Department. I guess they were as close as could be expected - I mean, I doubt they have a "Most Likely to be a Mad Scientist Creating Arty-Farty Digital Imagery on a bike with a tripod zip-tied to the back." or "Most Likely to be a Mad Scientist Creating Arty-Farty Digital Imagery in a bike with a tripod jammed into the backseat."

I love coming up with an idea (or usually half and idea based upon some silly inspiration I had while out riding... or driving to work night after night...) and then playing around with it (experimenting, if you will) until I find the right formula (f-stop, shutter speed, ISO, camera angle, etc.) and then playing yet more.

So I guess, in a way, those science teachers were right.

Now I just need to figure out a way to mount the camera to the bike the way I was able to mount it to the car. If it's securely attached, the bike will remain in focus better than it has.

Stay tuned...

Another bikey weekend

go daddy go
Originally uploaded by Nikki McLeod

Hey guess what?!

We rode our bikes this weekend!

On Saturday, we rode over to HUB for the Biketobeerfest, a fund-raising, beer-drinking good time. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the beer was yummy. I'm not sure which I liked better; the Totally Radner, a 70% beer, 30% lemonade concoction, or the Gayle's Pale, the first fresh hops beer of the season. The fund-raising was done on behalf of the BTA and Sunday Parkways.

I've been thinking about trying cyclocross for a while now, so yesterday, I raced in the Kruger's Kermesse, a "segway" into cyclocross season. It's on hard-packed dirt roads without any obstacles, so I figured that I could race it on my road bike.

I was wrong, so very very wrong.

In order to deal with the vibrations from the dirt road, I lowered the pressure in my tires, but I think I took out too much air. About 100 feet into the second lap, I pinch flatted-out.

I hopped off my bike, thinking that I'd quickly change the tire. My hands were clenched from a combination of vibrations and nervous energy. So much that I could barely grasp the tire irons. As I sat there, I began to realize that this may be the best bad situation that I could have asked for. If I put that tube in and continued to ride, I'd most likely do more damage to my beautiful, faithful road bike.

I also sat there really, really pissed off, because I had just had a blast riding that one lap and wanted to get back out there.

So my friends, it appears that I'm in need of a new bike. It's time to start looking at cyclocross bikes. I'm thinking that I want a single-speed, but I saw a sweet CX bike at Biketobeerfest that only had one ring up front and 6 or 7 speeds in the back. I really like that set up.

In addition to my participation, Liam raced in his very first bike race! And he finished. All of the cyclocross races have races for the kids, and Liam says he looking forward to racing some more.

Bring on the cyclocross season!

Portland Century 2010

On Sunday - August 22 - Bryce and I rode the Portland Century. It was the second time I had ridden it and the first for Bryce - not only that, but he had just (as in, less than 48-hours prior) returned from a month-long family trip that saw far more gin & tonics than bike rides.

We started off feeling good and riding fast. The new pavement on the Springwater is niiiiice. We got into a nice rhythm and were moving along having a great time when we were joined by some guys that I guess really wanted to get into a draft train. They wouldn't pass and kind of pushed along behind us.

We rode like that for a few minutes, with me in front, until finally there was some oncoming traffic, some confusion and I got dropped off the back. I hung back about 50 feet watching Bryce lead the train. He was hauling ass, and seeming to enjoy himself, so I didn't want to shout something like, "hey, wait for me!"

I found myself riding alongside this dude named Carl. He was a nice, outgoing guy who's buddy had bailed on him so he was talking to everyone (particularly women) that came into sight (he also was totally jacked on too many shots of espresso). We rode along talking as he cheerfully greeted everyone that we passed.

As we approached the first rest stop, there was a couple walking in our opposite direction. I was riding to Carl's left, so I slowed down to drop behind him. As I did this, I glanced down to grab my water bottle and heard Carl very cheerfully say, "Good Morning!" I looked up, checked to make sure I was clear of the couple, looked up the path toward Carl  - who was now in front of me by about 15 feet and a bit to my left - and watched as he flew up in the air and over his handlebars!

At some point, I threw my water bottle and grabbed my handlebars in order to avoid Carl, who had landed on his head directly in my path. Fifteen feet may sound like a lot, but at 15 mph it's roughly three-quarters of a second. I narrowly avoided both Carl and his bike, screeched to a stop, and hopped off my ride, expecting to be dealing with a broken collarbone or some other horrible, maimy-type injury. Instead, Carl was up and staring at the source of his problems; a steel divider post (the kind to keep cars off, but can be removed for emergency vehicles). He had clipped it with his left crank - which, along with his right brake lever, was not looking all that great.

Luckily, we were right at the very first rest stop, which had a mechanic. But no Bryce.

I wished Carl luck and got back on the road, hoping to catch Bryce - while sending him a text saying something like, "hey, wait for me!" Bryce said that he pushed along at the front of that train for a while before realizing that I was no longer in it. He said that he then rode along slowly waiting for me to catch up, and finally stopped when I sent him a text telling him about Carl's accident.

It was somewhere after the first hill, but before the second rest stop that we encountered Carl again. He said that the mechanic was able to get his bike going, and that he had a little road rash, but was feeling fine. His helmet had a nice ding in it.

We rode with Carl to the second rest stop. I think it's my favorite. They have strawberry shortcakes. But then again, maybe the one at Fireside is my favorite. They have all the fixin's for a beautiful ham & cheese sandwich on Dave's Killer Bread. Just what I needed at that point. However, the pizza at the Blue Lake rest stop was not what I needed. I thought it was, but then I walked over and saw them pulling a glistening pepperoni pizza out of the oven. At that point, I had ridden almost 75 miles. Pizza was not an option. Especially if I was going to ride another 25 miles!

The watermelon at Smith & Bybee Lakes was awesome and exactly, exactly what I needed.

So yeah. They have the foods at the rest stops pretty dialed in. In addition to the strawberry shortcakes, sandwiches and pizzas, they also had plenty of bananas and other fruits, granola bars and energy bars, as well as water and Gatorade and Heed mixes.

There was a decent amount of climbing. I think somewhere around 6,000 feet - which feels about right for 100 miles. Anything less would be flat and boring. Right?

It rained a little, enough to cool things down, but not enough to be truly wet, but enough to make roads slick. Some of the windy roads would have been fun to scream down (a little faster than I did...), but I really had to keep my speed in check. At one point, we came across a guy who had wiped out on a hairpin turn. He had about a dozen people with him and looked OK (he passed us a few miles later...) so we kept going.

We also had a fun encounter with that 1%. You know, the 1% that want to kill someone someday somehow. I was ahead of Bryce on a downhill moving along at 35-40 mph when a car passed me at what felt like a crazy-close distance. Had I been startled, I would have wiped out. Instead, I fixed my eyes on the road and kept riding. Now that I try to remember, I really can't even recall the make, model, color or even what state the car was from. I think it was a beater blue mazda - but I really don't remember. All I wanted to do was survive!

Bryce later told me that the car also passed close to him, but he didn't realize how close until it passed me. From his perspective, the car missed me by about six inches (or less) - and that's not including the dog who's head was hanging out the window. Bryce tells me that had the dog moved, he would have hit me.

Do people like that understand that making someone wipeout on a bike at 40 mph is potentially fatal? My guess is that they don't. These are the same people that get all road ragey. They have absolutely NO idea of the deadly, destructive force that they wield when they get behind the wheel of a car.

Oh well. I survived, and on we rode. Up and down. Up and down. And around.

I had a "clipless moment" in front of a crowd of about a dozen at an intersection in Troutdale. I stopped, went to clip out, couldn't, reached my had out, and actually caught myself on the sidewalk! I was then holding myself up with one arm at like a 45-degree angle, while attempting to clip out. Finally, I clipped out and was able to stand - to the applause of the crowd!

We were about 60 or 70 miles in when my right knee started to creak. And hurt. And hurt.

At around 75 miles, we ride along the mighty (windy) Columbia - and my pore knee didn't get a break. The headwind is so strong that in order to standstill, one must pedal. There is NO coasting. Bryce and I tried to draft off each other, but at some point I lost him (his knee was also hurting, but hurt less when he pedaled less hard - my hurt no matter what, so I figured that I'd get the pain over with faster if I rode as fast as I could). Luckily, a couple on a tandem dropped in behind me when I passed them, only to give me a break a few minutes later.

By the time we got to the last stop at Smith & Bybee Lakes, I was ready for beer (after inhaling three watermelon slices), but I had to make it through downtown Portland first. I've really come to love city riding over the past couple of years and even get all Kevin Bacony in it sometimes, but not when I've just ridden 90 miles, my knee hurts like hell, and I want beer. traffic lights and the pedestrians were all laughing at me as I rode through the obstacles, determined to drink all the free Widmer beer that I could.

After a weird ride along the Naito Parkway (I think I would have preferred Broadway) and up one last hill we made it across the finish. Luckily, the Widmer tent was about twenty feet away.

Four beers and a whole lot of yummy salmon and asparagus later, I was ready to head home. My super-smart wife (who rode the half-century) had brought the boys and the car. I piled in, crawled out at home, took a shower and went to bed.

The end.

p.s. I woke up Monday morning feeling a bit sore but not in any pain. By Monday evening, I was fine. Not like 2008 when I had a horrible - HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE - case of chaffing. This year Chamois Butter saved my ass (that should be their pitch-line, "Chamois Butter. It'll save your ass!").

MTB boy

On Sunday, the boys and I rode the bucketbike in the Southeast Sunday Parkways. At Col. Summers Park, there was a MTB skills course set up which drew Liam like a magnet.

He watched as people rode, and I could see how much he wanted to ride it. Moments later I got a text from Shetha saying that she was on her way over, so I asked her to bring an extra kids bike.

And she did!

Liam then proceeded to spend the next 30-45 minutes riding the skills course; through the mud, over the bridges and his favorite, the see-saw.

Thanks Shetha!

We did it!!

proud of their mommy
Originally uploaded by Ben McLeod

Nikki graduated from her program today!

We arrived in Oregon two years, three months and two days ago so that she could attend grad school at Pacific University to achieve her Masters degree in Science and a certificate to practice as a Physician Assistant.

In the past 824 days, the McLeod family has seen a lot of joy, a fair amount of frustration, more tears than we'd like to admit, bittersweet separations and a whole, WHOLE lot of change.

But here we are. What didn't kill us made us stronger.

We've come away from this experience a better family. My boys are incredible. The amount of change that they've dealt with over the past 117 weeks (which, by the way, is a huge chunk of their lives to-date!) would be enough to discourage most adults.

Nikki is a rockstar. She worked her ass off. It's hard to be a full-time student and incredible mother and an amazing wife. But she did it.

And now she has a Masters Degree, her P.A. Certificate.... and a killer job (at a hospital right here in Portland - so we get to stay in the place that we love!)!

See more pictures from graduation here.

2010 Providence Bridge Pedal

my cute family

Yesterday - Sunday, August 8, 2010 - we rode in the 5-bridge Providence Bridge Pedal. It was the second time we've ridden the Bridge Pedal.

Something like 18,500 other riders took part, making it the second-largest community group ride in the U.S. (I saw that somewhere and now can't find the link - the largest community ride in the U.S. is in NYC)! However, much to the credit of the organizers, it really isn't very crowded. In addition to our ride - which had a staggered start - there were also 7-bridge and 10-bridge rides, as well as a special kids ride.

The only place it was really crowded was at the finish. I'm not exactly sure why people think it's acceptable to stand RIGHT on the finish line and have group hugs and photos. People. There's like 10,000 people behind you, also trying to cram across this line in the street! Just move a few feet to the side. That's all I'm asking...

The boys and I rode all pirate-style in the mighty Revenge (although one of my crew members recently discovered reading, so he spent most of the ride huddled in the bottom of the bucket, voraciously devouring his new library books and ignoring the mayhem around him - I was one of those kids, lost in books, as was his mother, so I can't really blame him!), while Nikki rode my trusty Breezer.

I ride the Hawthorne and Morrison Bridges frequently, but it's a real treat being able to ride over the top decks of the Marquam and Fremont Bridges, two structures that generally see high-speed traffic (or really, really slow, bumper-to-bumper suckiness - that I never find myself in because I ride my bike to work) and are both way, WAY up above the river. Like hundreds of scary feet! The Ross Island Bridge was fun as well.

BikePortland's wrap-up story is here.

Watch a slideshow of my photos

living the velo life - a check in

headed home

When Nikki and I got married - a little over nine years ago - we said that we'd always try to be a one-car (or less) family. It hasn't always been easy, and for a while in the year after we got married I needed a car for the 60+ mile commute I found myself facing twice a day. I bought a beater Volvo station wagon for $800 and drove it for a few months before we bought our first house, which was a more reasonable mile from my work.

At that point, I bought the Breezer and really started my love of bike commuting, and bikes as transportation in general. At the time, we were living in Concord, New Hampshire, and most people riding bikes were doing it for exercise. A guy riding a bike loaded down with groceries, towing a trailer with an infant was a peculiar sight.

Fast-forward a few years (like, way past the two years I spent working 7pm to 2am twenty-five miles from Concord; but, because of my hours, maintaining the one-car family thing) and we've found our way to the bike mecca known as Portland, Oregon.

I ride the Breezer to work every day - roughly 12 miles roundtrip. Most of my ride takes me along the beautiful Springwater Corridor which runs parallel to the Wilamette River. I see Bald Eagles, Ospreys, Blue Herons and something like 150 other bird species, along with other bikers, runners, kayakers, tug boats and more.

We recently bought a used Bakfiets (Dutch cargo bike) and have used it for everything from grocery shopping to basic transportation of the kids all over Portland. We've owned it for almost two months now and have probably put a couple hundred miles on it. In that same time, I doubt that we've put as many miles on our car.

I've decided to keep this blog updated, so stay tuned. I promise that I won't let a nine-month lapse occur between posts.

Springwater Corridor Closure

Are you one of the 2500+ people that ride the Springwater Corridor between Sellwood and the Central Eastside (or areas beyond) every day?

Me too.

When I first found out that the Springwater will be closed from 9am to 4pm on Thursday and Friday of this week (August 5th & 6th 2010) for the filming of a TV show, I was a little upset. It seemed odd to me that the city would shut down a major throughway just for the sake of a TV show.

But at this weekend's Sundae in the Park, I was informed of how the closure would work. Just the half-mile section from the Spokane Street entrance to Oaks Park is going to be closed, and Oaks Park Way - which runs parallel to the Springwater - will act as a detour. Trail users will use the ramps at Oaks Park to access the trail again, which will be open.

I made a little map to show how it should work. I hope that helps any of my fellow Springwater commuters!

View Springwater Closing in a larger map

sharrow

sharrow
Originally uploaded by Ben McLeod

I know, I know...... it's been like 9 months since I last updated this blog.

Sorry.

So.... we moved to Portland - Sellwood, to be precise - right next to the Spokane bike boulevard, to be even more precise....

Nikki is finishing up the first week of her last rotation. 5 more weeks to go! She's already been offered a job, right here in Portland!

I've been working at the Gartrell Group, doing GIS project management and other geeky stuff. I ride my bike to work every day - a twelve-mile roundtrip (unless I have to run home to get the boys, then it's 24!).

Oh, and we got a bucketbike...

OMSI members

Gecko. #OMSI #pdx
Originally uploaded by Ben McLeod

We joined OMSI today.

Nikki's dad bought Liam and Camper (and me and Nikki) a family membership for their birthdays. We weren't going to get it until we came back from upstate-WA at the end of December, but Nikki's school just informed her that this rotation comes with housing; family not welcome...

So... the boys and I will be hanging tough in Hillsboro until Mommy gets home...

I've decided that as fulfilling as the stay-at-home-dad thing has been, we're broke... I need to get a job. Also, I think Camper really needs to be able to hang with other kids on a daily basis - and Liam needs to get into a pre-school program to be ready for next fall (kindergarten!!).

I've already started to look for a job. I'd like to get a job in Portland. My mother can come out to help me deal with the boys until I make enough money to a) move into PDX and b) locate a pre-school for the boys.

my big FIVE-year-old

my big FIVE-year-old
Originally uploaded by Ben McLeod

Liam turned five today.

So Mommy and Daddy celebrated by bringing the family to the 2009 Fresh Hops Tastival.

Seriously.

We sampled about a half dozen delicious fresh hop beers, from really pale ales to hoppy IPAs. Yummy!

Then we went home, made pumpkin pie (Liam's choice) and had some people over for a little schin-dig.

Football schmootball

Football schmootball
Originally uploaded by Ben McLeod

We spent the afternoon at the Alpenrose Dairy watching the kick-off to the 2009 Cross Crusade cyclocross series. We were there last year as well.

It was so Portland; coffee, bikes, dogs and kids.

Oh and tattoos. There were lots of tattoos.

And cowbells.

I love the scene - the energy and the vibe. It's why I love Portland so much. Thousands of people show up to cheer on a muddy bike race.

I read that it was the biggest cyclocross race in the U.S., with over 1500 racers (and probably 3000+ spectators).

Sunday Parkways

little rider
Originally uploaded by Ben McLeod

The McLeod family spent Father's Day afternoon in north Portland participating in the Sunday Parkways, a 7.5 mile loop of roads closed to cars.

The loop connected several parks and neighborhoods, and temporarily converted a good portion of the city into a (carfree) park. The turnout was amazing and the weather was typical Portland-weird (sunny rain showers).

Last year, there was one experimental Sunday Parkways. It was such a success that the city decided to host three this summer. I wish we were going to be around for the next two.

Liam rode his own bike, and, while there were a few tears and moans about halfway through the ride, we all made it and had a wonderful time. He tried his hand at the MTB skills course that was set up in Kenton Park.

A big HUGE thanks to the City of Portland as well as all the volunteers who made today possible!

in case you were wondering...

Houston, we have an addrenaline junkie!
Originally uploaded by Ben McLeod

...I'm enjoying myself.

The past couple of weeks without Nikki have been tough - and given me a huge amount of respect for single parents - but I've managed to enjoy myself.

I'm really glad that we made the decision to have me stay with the boys full-time. It's tough financially, and there are moments when I want to cry (oh wait, I've done that...) and scream (and that...), but I know that in the long-run this is the best thing for everyone. I get to see my boys grow up.... and they get to hang out with me, the coolest guy ever...

Despite the fact that we're car[e]free, the boys and I went into Portland today (we rode the MAX - suck it George Will) to take in the Rose Festival Carnival.

It was free admission, and the rides were just two bucks each. The problem was, Camper was too small for most of the rides, which meant Liam would ride alone and I'd have to stay with a kicking and screaming two-and-a-half-year-old. When he did get to ride, he was into it. He showed his big brother how to do the crazy bungee-jumper, easily going twice as high as Liam had, all while screaming, "I Iron Man!"

We sucked down some carnival food and headed home. Upon arriving at home, we hopped on our bikes and rode around the neighborhood, meandering our way to the pool for a late afternoon/early evening swim.

I wouldn't trade today for a "real job" ever.

There will be time for that later...

hot [bike] date

hot date
Originally uploaded by Ben McLeod

On Saturday, Nikki and I went out on a hot bike date. A classmate of Nikki's stayed in with the boys, so we rode our bikes to the MAX stop near her school and rode into town.

We hopped off the MAX at Kings Hill/SW Salmon and rode NW 18th about 20 blocks to the Lucky Labrador Beer Hall on Quimby where we had a few slices of yummy veggie pizza and a few rounds (OK, maybe I had a few and Nikki had like one...) of delicious beers!

The Lucky Lab is a fun, open beer hall with long tables full of people playing games (provided in shelves by the door), using laptops (using free Wi-Fi - or maybe Clear?!), or just hanging out with friends (or a hot date).

After the Lukcy Lab, we rode along NW 20th, up the hill by PGE Park, and down into Goose Hollow. The Goose Hollow Inn has a fun, small, dark (and maybe on the gritty side) bar that looks right out at the MAX stop, so we had a round while we waited for our train.

I love riding my bike through Portland at night. The bike lanes are full of riders moving all around the city and bike racks outside (and in the case of the Lucky Lab, inside) bars, brewpubs, restaurants, stores and all types of establishments are full.

two rides; one week - only in Portland!

steep - steep - and steeper!
Originally uploaded by Ben McLeod

I recently rode in two rides that exemplified why Portland is such a great city for riders.

Crazy, crazy climbs!

On April 3rd, I rode in the De Ronde van Oeste Portlandia, an undergroundish-group-ride with about 600 people. It was 47 miles with over 7000 vertical feet of climbing and was probably the most challenging ride of my life.

The course zigged and zagged up and down Portland's west hills, climbing the steepest inclines I've ever attempted on a bike. There were moments when I figured I'd just quit, but I ended up riding with a great group of riders who kept encouraging each other all the way to the finish at Council Crest, Portland's highest point.

It took me alomost as long as it took me to ride 100 miles in last summer's Portland Century! 

my bunnies
Originally uploaded by Ben McLeod

Bunny on a Bike

A little over a week later, the McLeod family joined about a hundred other Portland riders for the 5th Annual Bunny on a Bike Ride.

It was one of the funnest rides I've ever been on, as we paraded through the streets of Portland with everyone dressed as bunnies. We started the ride in southeast, where we rode through parks and down bike lanes to the Eastbank Esplanade.

Groups from northeast, northwest, southwest and north Portland met up with us at the Vera Katz statue at the riverfront, and from there we circled the waterfront, then rode through the city to Irwin Park for a teaparty potluck and easter egg hunt. It was a perfect day for a ride through the city with a bunch of bunnies!

Check out the map of the De Ronde van Oeste Portlandia

@ PDX

@ PDX
Originally uploaded by Ben McLeod

There's a cool display of handmade Oregon bikes at the Portland Airport (PDX) . The bike shown is a Renovo wood-polymer frame with carbon components.

Dear Santa......

Portland Century

I rode in the Portland Century ride on Sunday, and the swelling in my ass (thank you Boudreaux's Butt Paste!) has now gone down enough to allow me to sit and write about my experience.

For those of you that don't know, a century ride is an organized, fully-supported (rest stops with supplies, support vehicles, and marked courses) 100-mile ride.

It was my second century (but not the second time I've ridden 100 miles in a day. I've done that several times, but not with support). The last one I rode was the Tri-State Seacoast Century in 2003. My total time (including rests) was 7 hours, 15 minutes. My ride time (the time spent in the saddle, chaffing my ass to bits) was 6 hours, 35 minutes.

It was a perfect day for riding; cool, and slightly overcast. I started the ride at 7:30 at PSU in downtown Portland. The ride goes across the Willamette and hops onto the Springwater Corridor for most of the first twenty miles. I hopped in behind a guy that I'm pretty sure was a pro rider (he was totally decked out in Hammer jersey, shorts and socks, had a sweet ride, and crazy sculpted legs). I drafted behind him (we were moving at about 25 mph; I could feel him pulling me along. If I fell too far behind, I'd have to pedal like mad to catch back up, but then could rest once I was back in his slipstream) for most of the length of the Springwater until we reached a cluster of riders that he was able to deftly maneuver around. I was not so lucky.

We started to climb at about mile twenty, and then dropped down a fun descent around mile twenty-five (see the map and elevation profile to the right, or here. Thanks to Matt Haughey). This is where all of the riding in the Hillsboro Hills this summer came in handy. I blew by people huffing their way up to the second rest stop (I skipped the first one) at Eagle Fern Park. I pulled into Eagle Fern Park to re-fill my water bottles, eat strawberry shortcake, a peanut butter sandwich, a banana, and a Hammer bar.

As I was leaving the rest stop, a guy was entering and screaming at someone in a acr. I couldn't really hear what his problem was, but I did hear him ask the driver if he wanted to get out of car and discuss it (this was no hot-head, young rider; he was easily in his 60's). The driver did not take him up on his offer and drove away. I, and everyone around me assumed that the driver had not given the biker enough room on the road.

About a half hour later, while riding a narrow, winding road, this same biker came upon a group of us riding together. Everytime a car would approach from behind, someone would yell "car back" and we would all get a in a single file line to allow the car to pass. Not this guy. He would ride out into the middle of the road to block the cars. At one point, someone yelled, "hey man, car back. Get into single file!" To which, he responded, "fuck them. They need to learn to share the road." I guess he didn't get the irony in his statement.

It's riders like that that piss off people in cars, and make them hate the biking community.

At mile fifty, I went to hop off my bike for a moment, but my right pedal wouldn't clip-out, so I fell on my side and bent my derailler. It made it so that I couldn't utilize my lowest three gears. A total bummer on the hills I was dealing with at the moment! Luckily, there was mechanical support at the Fireside Retreat rest stop at mile 58 (of course, that was the end of the climbing).

The mechanics got my bike all fixed up (sort of.... I think I need a whole new drivetrain) so I could finish the ride.

The ride from the Fireside Retreat rest stop to the next stop at Blue Lake Park was mostly downhill and brought us along the Historic Columbia Highway and through Troutdale and it's lovely outlet malls. I was feeling a little tired, but still pretty good.

The rest stop at Blue Lake Park was at mile 73. After that, we rode on the bike path that goes along the Columbia River. That part was the worst. I was starting to get tired and had to deal with some pretty high winds coming off the "Mighty Columbia" as well as families out for rides and walks on the bike trail.

By the time I reached mile 90, I was pretty sure my ass had fallen off, but realized I was now only 10 miles from the beer. The ride through the wastewater treatment center was almost enough to dissuade me from my longing for the beer. Almost.

The last few miles were through downtown Portland, which was kind of fun, but difficult due to a combination of the traffic, my low energy levels and traffic lights (the constant stopping, unclipping, starting, clipping back in... repeat... was pretty hard). I just kept thinking to myself, "beer... beer..."

As I approached the finish I saw Nikki and the boys. Liam was jumping up and down, and Camper was pointing at me yelling, "dadda, bike! Dadda, bike!"

It was a wonderful finish; I had my family there to greet me, free beer, an incredible salmon dinner, more free beer, and a great goodie bag that included beer and coffee.

Tour de Fat

trike
Originally uploaded by Nikki McLeod

We checked out the Tour de Fat this weekend. The Tour is an event sponsored by New Begium Brewing (makers of Fat Tire beer) and is a fun celebration of all things bike.

They have crazy, tricked out bikes (as seen to the right), beer, bands, beer, a bike parade, beer, a New Orleans-style funeral procession for a car, beer, The Sprockettes, beer, a slow ride competition, beer, bike giveaways (like, for people that are willing to trade their care for a bike), and did I mention beer?

There was a good crowd (I love the Portland, tattooed bike punk scene), despite the 100 degree, oven-like day. For respites, the kids ducked out to the Salmon Street Spring fountain.... and I drank beer (I highly recommend the Mothership Wit!).

You can see my set of photos from the day here and Nikki's photos here.

Providence Bridge Pedal

Fremont Bridge
Originally uploaded by Ben McLeod

This week's Sunday family ride was the Providence Bridge Pedal. We rode the 6-bridge, 14 mile, family ride, along with thousands of other riders.

It was estimated that there were over 17,000 participants.

We had a blast and didn't experience any of the congestion that has marred the event in past years. There were only two spots where traffic moved so slowly we had to walk our bikes.

It was so cool being able to ride over bridges that are normally highway bridges reserved for cars. It was fun just being up on the Marquam and Fremont Bridges with all my fellow bikers.

Like all gatherings of humans, 90% of the people were great, and fun to be with, 5% were kinda moody, 4% were idiots, and 1% were just plain assholes. That's life.

After the ride, we went into the Bite of Oregon and enjoyed some good beer (so deserved), fine food and fun music.

Another successful McLeod family Sunday Ride!

Check out all my pictures here.