bluekat's Journeys

“… a lot of medium hills but no killer ones,” The email said. I still have the email to prove it. Greg, Barbi, Al and Emma on Northern Drive An early start today, to beat the heat. Perhaps it was the wrong map, or a miscommunication, but somewhere along the route, after I was already halfway ‘round the mountain, we were suddenly going to ride over Fern Ridge. What happened to Old Holley Road? Scenic. Rolly hills. Lovely. Why? Yours truly I spent Northern Drive desperately chugging down gummy-drop-nutrition-thingies, in a last ditch effort to stave off the dreaded bonk that would surely ensue somewhere on the ascent of Fern Ridge. Northern Drive, Brownsville It was suggested by one rider that we could turn back and still catch Old Holley Road, but of course no one would actually be the first to turn back down the hill. We would have all followed. Really we would. But no. Up we go. Al, Emma and Greg at the top of Fern Ridge - Whew! I’m happy to say I ha...

Morning in the forest is soooo wonderful. Good for the soul, or whatever. Did one of my regular routes. It's been over a month since I've been here. How did a whole month go by? That explains why my legs are so sore this afternoon. It would also explain why the trail looked so lush and overgrown with a new crop of wildflowers to distract me from my workout. Carpenteria californica, or so Google says. Heck you didn't think I'd come up with the latin name did you? It was the usual stuff. Hike up, run down until the legs are thrashed. Then hobble back to the car. The hike up was at a pretty good pace, I think. I jogged some of the lesser inclines. Ran from Peavy down to the lake, about a mile. Stopping to fuss after things in my pack and what have you, so I had some short breaks. Fern. (I figured that one out myself!) I fell once. The upside of trail running, if you're lucky you will face plant into a soft part of the trail. No harm done, and the lady I pa...

Went for a mid-morning run at Cheadle Lake. Stopped for a few pics on the last lap. It was so pretty with all the wild flowers and baby ducks and geese. Only the flowers lingered for the photo op. All photos from the iphone. I posted them to Facebook and Instagram earlier, but these were processed in lightroom, so hopefully a little better. This evening Ron and I returned for a walk with the dog. This time I brought the Sony. I read an article earlier this week about hand-held HDR photos, so I decided to give it a try. I've done very few HDR images, so it's all rather new to me. Single image processed in Lightroom. My somewhat garish attempt at HDR. Photoshop and Lightroom. I must say I prefer the single image, processed photo.

Nanci, a friend of mine has been working on a project for me, a memory quilt for Rachel. I'll post more about that later, when I have some pics, but on Friday I went to pick up the quilt and on invitation from Nanci I brought my bike along so we could go for a little ride. I've wanted to explore Salem, Oregon for some time, but it's always tricky to find the best routes in an unfamiliar town. I was pleased to have an opportunity to have a guided tour from Nanci. We headed north towards the state capitol. The cherry trees were in full bloom, so it was a must-stop on our ride. I've never visited when the trees are in bloom, and today they were gorgeous. Cherry Blossoms  Oregon State Capitol Afterwords we headed out north of town for some quiet country roads and a quick stop at the Spongs Landing on the Willamette River. It was very pleasant sitting and watching the river roll by. Willamette River at Spongs Landing We returned to Salem and stopped for l...

Compared to yesterday's wind and rain, today is beautiful. Since I didn't get my Wednesday ride in I decided to go for a hike today. Can't waste these nice fall days. They'll soon be history. It's hunting season at the refuge. Bicycling on the trails is forbidden as is running/jogging anywhere within the refuge. No dogs allowed either. The reasoning is these activities are too disruptive to wildlife. Apparently shooting the wildlife with noisy guns is not disruptive to wildlife. BTW I agree with the ban on dogs and bikes. :) Would love to trail run though. I hiked two loops, Mill Hill loop and Woodpecker Loop, as well as the intertie trail that connects the two. About 4 miles probably. My bicycle computer (Garmin) didn't work well at walking speed and hidden under the trees. It only recorded about 30 minutes/half mile of the hike. I imagine a true gps unit would fare better. Pretty day. Nice weather. I'm happy. Beautiful old oak tree. Grey...

A group of us cyclists wanted to ride the Row River Trail. By the time the day rolled around, there were only three of us able to go. It was another great fall day. We have had a fantastic fall this year. I know it's drawing to a close, but I cannot complain. Ace at the start of the trail. Cool trestle ahead.  Ace and Jo On the trail Dorena Reservoir view from the dam Spillway Yours truly at Currin Covered bridge. You can barely see him, but there is a fellow taking a nap on the bridge.  I don't know the name of this bridge. Traffic was using it, but obviously it's under renovations. _______________________________

Two days of hiking in the Portland area. Saturday we visited Tualatin Hills Nature Park . 200 acres in the heart of Beaverton. The weather was decent and it was so nice to be outside and walking! Sunday we woke to rain. and rain. and more rain. Spent the morning at REI with about a zillion other shoppers. Found me a nice little cap, so it wasn't a wash. I had to get outa there though. Too crowded! Next stop was Road runner sports to replace a pair of my running shoes. My poor old NB's are getting mighty thin in the soles. Not sure why, it's not like I actually run that much! Stopped for a hamburger for lunch (was good and didn't order the french fries!), then as it was still raining, we popped into downtown Portland to visit yet another Bicycle shop - Western Bike Works . Nice shop. We drooled over the lovely bikes and bought a computer for Olivia, my hybrid. The weather was looking a little more promising, so we headed toward Tryon Creek State Par...

What started out as just a ride along the river turned into a slightly longer ride out to Berlin and back along McDowell Creek. Didn't ride up to the park. Chased by one very determined Rottweiler, and got the stare down from a group of Llamas. Didn't ride hard enough to make up for the calories that will be consumed later today. Diversion Dam Llama gathering No pics of the rottie. Who has time to snap a pic when a dog wants your leg for a thanksgiving feast! 25.44 miles 1:54 time 13.37 av 31.77 mx 5210 odo mx hr 181 av hr 159

The ride to Detering Orchard is one of my favorite rides. The weather has been spectacular this fall, and Saturday was no exception. It was a crisp, cold start in the morning, but eventually the day warmed up. We were joined by a few folks from MVBC making for a fairly sizable group of riders for the day. Pretty flowers along the way Who wants to pack one of these babies home? Apples, apples, and more apples And the best apple?   Carmel Apples! Man's best friend and Duck Fan! A little bike porn on the way home Motobloggery None. Zip. Nada. This is my chariot of choice this week: A little bit of Mopar in my life - Dodge Charger Not ours. Our car is in the shop for a couple of days, getting a boo-boo fixed (minor fender bump, minimal damage). Ron requested a little economy car, but this is what they gave us. Sadly it's not the hemi (after all if you aren't going to have an econo-car, you may as well have the hemi!).  It's rather...