Summer in May

After two years of La Nina, we are finally having a damn fine spring. These last few days have been spectacular, warm and sunny. And the nice weather seems to be lingering a little longer than usual. Nice!
Saturday Ron and I went for a 20 mile bike ride along some local bike paths. We weren't the only ones out. There were plenty of riders, walkers, runners, kids and doggies all out enjoying the day. A full ride report here.

bluekat

Small pond along path

Scenic park

After our ride we tracked down (ha!) a local velodrome. We missed the racing that had gone on earlier that day, but managed to talk to a couple of riders and learned a little about the velodrome. Apparently as long as there are no events happening on the track, anyone is free to bring their bike and ride. Looks a little scary to me. I'd like to watch some races some time though.

Alpenrose Velodrome

Sunday afternoon Rachel took us to the Japanese Gardens. Neither Ron or I had been there before. We only did a portion of the garden as Rachel is still easily tired out, but the portion we did see was beautiful and so peaceful. I'd love it on a cool morning before the crowds would show up.

Not a bad way to spend the weekend.

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Motorbikes and Pedal bikes, 2-wheels and 3 wheels, What fun!

Any of you who follow Redleg's Rides probably already know that Dom treated my daughter to a ride in Valencia's sidecar. This was a very special treat for her and she had a wonderful time. Big grin on her face when she left the parking lot. Thanks Dom for stopping by and making our day! It means a lot to Rachel and I.

We've moved out of the hospital to an extended stay motel. We need to stay close to the hospital for a couple months until our daughter's health is more stable. This weekend I got in a little bike riding. Boy have I lost a lot of fitness this year! I found a short bike path close to the motel that crosses a major scary intersection. The intersection is literally where two freeways and an arterial road all converge, intwine, meet and repeat. I actually only had to cross the street and it had a crosswalk. One freeway veered away from my location, and the other freeway had a pedestrian bridge the crossed over the top. Not very scenic, but kind of interesting to explore.

Sunday Ron and I had a chance to get away for a couple of hours. So where do we go? Why to the bike store of course!
They have a green bike!
Did you know I'm fond of green?
My belated birthday present...

Properly baptised with Oregon rain on her virgin ride.

For now I mostly ride her on the trainer, but she'll be my little commuter for runs to the the library, grocery store, and the local coffee shop. :)

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St Patrick's Day Walkabout

OHSU has a tram that travels from the main hospital campus to their waterfront campus about a mile or so down the hill. For the fun of it Ron and I decided (well I decided, he just went along with it!) to try to walk from the hospital down the hill to the tram station below.



I knew a trail from Terwilliger Blvd. that cuts down the hill to Barbur Blvd. The path looks like someone's driveway and literally the trail passes between their house and garage. I only knew it was the official trail because of the signage. It was like walking into someones yard. I should have gotten a pic of the house and trail, but a path/drive way one will have to do.



Sorry, blurry.


The trail continues down along some fence lines to a small road just above Barbur Blvd. A short stairway drops us onto the blvd.
SW1 Trail


There are three major roadways between us and our destination. Two are busy 5 lane roads and one is a freeway. The first road, Barbur blvd., has a crosswalk with a pedestrian island in the middle to aid crossing. The second road, Naito Parkway, has pedestrian tunnel that crosses underneath, and the freeway has a pedestrian bridge that crosses over the top.
Ron on the pedestrian bridge over I-5

South waterfront

From the bridge you can take the elevator or the stairs down the last bit of hillside to the South Tram station. The elevator is that tall, narrow structure in the background.

The tram doesn't usually run on Sundays, but it was running on St. Patricks Day, and as an added bonus it was free! There was some talk of walking back to the hospital, but we came to our senses and took the tram back up the hill.


Just a couple more pics from the day:



Caught this fellow red handed...

Daughter's update: Day 6 and doing well.

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