A few years ago I used to ride with Portland Critical Mass every month. Eventually, the numbers became so small that it seemed pointless to continue. Still, I’ve long felt a kinship with Critical Mass rides everywhere. Thus, seeing the following video taken Friday night in Brazil almost made me cry. One minute into the video, the joy and serenity is replaced with insane violence:
Porto Alegre, Brazil, February 25, 2011
February 27th, 2011 Mitchell Laurren-Ring Posted in Biking, News, Politics, Video Comments Off
Inspired Bicycles
April 20th, 2009 Mitchell Laurren-Ring Posted in Biking, Video 2 Comments »
I wish I could do these things on a bike but I’d never be crazy enough to try:
Make sure you watch at least until the 3:10 mark.
Morning Bike Ride
September 8th, 2008 Mitchell Laurren-Ring Posted in Biking Comments Off
Distance: 10.0 miles
Riding time: 57 minutes
Max speed: 29.8 mph
Average speed: 10.4 mph
Temperature: 90º (according to questionable bike computer read)
Route:
- Stanton to 162nd
- 162nd to I-84 bike path
- Bike path to Fairview Parkway
- Fairview Parkway to Sandy
- Sandy to 223rd
- 223rd to Marine Drive
- Marine Drive to 185th Ave
- 185th to Airport Way
- Airport Way to 158th
- 158th to Fremont
- Fremont to 156th
- 156th to home
Tina recovered quickly from our soul-sapping ride last week and got back in the saddle on Saturday to ride with Thomas. I was more conservative about my recovery time and didn’t attempt to ride again until today. I felt pretty good the whole way and my legs felt fine going up hills. I had a conference call so I headed for home from Marine Drive but Tina decided to keep going.
Afternoon Bike Ride
September 4th, 2008 Mitchell Laurren-Ring Posted in Biking Comments Off
Distance: 15.0 miles
Riding time: 99 minutes
Max speed: 22.2 mph
Average speed: 9.0 mph
Temperature: 90º (according to questionable bike computer read)
Route:
- Through the neighborhood to 158th and Sandy Blvd
- 158th to Marine Drive bike path
- Bike path past 205 several miles (turnaround)
- Bike path back to 205
- I-205 bike path to Fremont
- Fremont to 122nd
- 122nd to I-84 bike path
- Bike path to 162nd
- 162nd to Stanton
- Stanton to home
Ever since we knew that I would be working from home, Tina and I have been looking forward to riding our bikes together during the day. We finally did it today and boy did it wear us out. I thought we might go five miles out and then turn around, but Tina was enjoying herself so much that we went another mile. I also decided to take the 205 bike path home which may have been a mistake since it seemed like it was all uphill. When we attempted the last hill at 122nd, my legs had had enough and I simply didn’t have the will to pedal uphill anymore. So we walked up the heavily trafficked hill in the very narrow bike lane gasping for breathe the entire time. The rest of the ride went smoothly but we’re both pretty shot tonight.
Morning Bike Commute
July 31st, 2008 Mitchell Laurren-Ring Posted in Biking Comments Off
Distance: 11.9 miles
Riding time: 70 minutes
Max speed: 21.6 mph
Average speed: 10.2 mph
Temperature: 75º
Soundtrack: Jimi Hendrix (box set)
Route:
- Stanton to 162nd Ave
- 162nd to Sandy Blvd
- Sandy to 158th
- 158th to Airport Way
- Airport Way to Interstate 205 bike path
- Bike path to Old Evergreen Highway
- Old Evergreen Highway to 164th Ave
- 164th to 34th Street
- 34th to 168th Ave
- 168th/169th Ave to 26th Way
- 26th Way to Fred Meyer parking lot
- Fred Meyer parking lot to 167th Ave
- 167th to work
It’s been three months since the last time I rode to work. I knew I’d have to start riding again but have been dreading/avoiding it because it was so traumatic last time. The good news is that, even though I’m in much worse shape, the ride went much better than last time. Knowing when to expend effort really helps to manage your energy for the entire ride. Also, I was much better prepared for the locker room at the gym after my arrival (last time I had no towel) and that went much smoother, too. I’m looking forward to at least one ride next week!
Leaves were falling, just like embers
June 21st, 2008 Mitchell Laurren-Ring Posted in Biking, News 1 Comment »
I’m sitting beneath the picnic shelter at the Wolf Lodge Campground in the beautiful Idaho panhandle near Lake Coeur d’Alene. Today it’s just me and the dog watching over the camp as everyone else in our party cavorts at the Silverwood Theme Park and Boulder Beach Water Park. I didn’t bring a laptop with me but the dog’s owners brought several so I bummed one for the day. The dog is completely deaf and not a good conversationalist so I will amuse myself with some blogging, assuming this HP laptop doesn’t drive me crazy first (windows keep popping up every minute and it chooses to ignore many of the letters I type).
Memorial Day Family Bike Ride
May 27th, 2008 Mitchell Laurren-Ring Posted in Biking, Vital Statistics Comments Off
Distance: 11.8 miles
Riding time: 98 minutes
Max speed: 20.3 mph
Average speed: 7.2 mph
Temperature: 70º
Soundtrack: n/a
Happy Mother’s Day
May 11th, 2008 Mitchell Laurren-Ring Posted in Biking, Favorite Things, News Comments Off
Graham quietly woke me shortly after 7:00 this morning so I could help him prepare our annual “surprise” Mother’s Day breakfast. We made our plan and I advised him that we should wait until at least 8:00 before starting it. Graham watched TV while I napped on the couch until Tina came out at 7:45 asking where everybody had gone. I emphatically told her that she should go back to bed and she eventually understood. Graham and I then went to work making french toast, warm syrup and with orange slices on the side. We served it to Tina in bed but she decided to bring it out to the kitchen since we don’t have a good tray for eating in bed anymore.
Hey, I recognize that view!
May 7th, 2008 Mitchell Laurren-Ring Posted in Biking, Link Comments Off
CNN has an article about the bike trail on which Graham crashed a couple of weeks ago.
I watch the ripples change their size
April 28th, 2008 Mitchell Laurren-Ring Posted in Biking, News 3 Comments »
On Saturday all four of us joined Thomas’ Boy Scout troop for a trip into the Gorge to ride our bikes on the a restored section of the Historic Columbia River Highway. The ride was intended as a warm-up for the much longer trip that the Scouts have planned for June in Idaho.
Thomas rode Tina’s mountain bike, Tina borrowed a friend’s single-speed “cruiser bike“, Graham rode his single-speed 20″ dirt bike and I rode my trusty commuter/mountain bike. My achilles tendon had loosened up since my excursions from and to work earlier in the week but my butt was still plenty sore. It didn’t matter much, though, because I spent more time walking my bike than riding it. At least it seemed that way.
I had expected the path to be relatively flat but I was very wrong. Tina and I hung back with Graham and Zack, one of the Boy Scouts. They both had a lot of trouble with the hills and had to resort to walking fairly often. After we finally reached the summit, we were all glad to tear effortlessly down the path. Graham pulled out ahead of us and I noticed that his steering was rather unsteady. Fearing the worst, I caught up with him to give him some tips on what to do when going fast. The first thing I told him was, “Keep your eyes straight ahead. Don’t look at me. Look straight ahead.”
He did look at me when I said that but I had expected that. I didn’t expect that his attention would be drawn by an island in the middle of the Columbia that we had been looking at from the top of the hill a few minutes earlier. He said something about the island and then noticed that in turning his head, he had also turned his handlebars. He quickly turned them back the other way, but predictably overcompensated and steered right off the path. There was a slight drop from the paved path to the dirt and rock shoulder and I think that’s what started him into his tumble. He soon met with one of the head-sized volcanic rocks that were all over the side of the path and came to a sudden stop.
All of this happened about 4 feet away from me as we rolled down the hill at about 18 mph. I was able to stop about 6 feet down the path and hurried back to him. Tina was further up the hill but had seen what had happened and was racing toward us. He was quiet when I first got to him but he soon began wailing. I made him lie down and I asked him where it hurt. He said his stomach hurt and his knees hurt. His knees were both road-burned even though he had on jeans and I think he got the wind knocked out of him. I felt for broken bones but he had none. His right leg had gotten wrapped inside the bike frame and the odd angle had pulled off his shoe. The look in his eyes was one of abject fear. Graham is a brave little boy and I have never seen him that scared.
He cried for awhile and then started to calm down. I went ahead to see what the rest of the party was doing and found them lunching. Much to my surprise, Graham came over the horizon a short time later and began describing his crash in the most grandiose and impressive terms possible. I took the opportunity to reiterate that he needed to keep his eyes pointed forward and he chimed in that he had been riding too close to the edge. He also said that he needed to “focus” more. On the way back, I rode behind him on the downhill and he did very well. He’s still a little wobbly with the steering but he maintained focus and kept the perfect distance from the edge.
It turned into a good learning experience with only slight injuries. The next day I adjusted the pedals, handlebars and seat on Thomas’ “old” mountain bike and Graham enthusiastically hopped aboard to learn about shifting and hand-braking. He’s looking forward to our next ride so we’re going to try to get out this week some evening. I don’t think we have to worry about him giving up on biking anymore.