Holiday Road: Day 13

Wednesday, January 2

Tina’s only “must-see” in southern California was the La Brea Tar Pits in the middle of Los Angeles. La Brea was closed on New Year’s Day so we visited it on our way out of town. Despite the fact that their gift shop is full of dinosaur memorabilia, nobody has ever found dinosaur bones at La Brea. In fact nothing older than 60,000 years has been found there.

Outside the museum we watched the methane gas bubble up in the little lake and marveled at tar pits that had only recently appeared in the grass. As I repacked our luggage in the roof rack, I asked Tina if we should use the tarp. A passerby in the parking lot asked where were going. When we told him “Oregon”, he said that we were headed into a big storm and that we should definitely use the tarp.

It took forever to get back onto the freeway but we did finally see that elusive “Hollywood” sign. After grabbing some Thai food, we finally found the freeway and began the long drive to Redwood City in the Silicon Valley to visit my friend, Rob, whom I’ve known since my first day as a freshman at Wartburg College.

Predictably, we were behind schedule and the drive took longer than expected, so we didn’t arrive at Rob’s until evening. Even so, we spent several hours with him playing on his PS3 (Ratchet & Clank, Guitar Hero 3), watching David Letterman’s first show since the writer’s strike started and just talking. Finally, at 3:00 AM, Rob, Thomas and I retired because at least two of us had a long drive ahead of us the next day.

Evening Bike Commute

Distance: 19.3 miles
Riding time: 109 minutes
Max speed: 32.6 mph
Average speed: 10.6 mph
Temperature: 75º
Soundtrack: Science Friday
Route:

  • Alder to 1st
  • 1st to Salmon
  • Salmon to Hawthorne Bridge
  • Hawthorne Bridge to Springwater Corridor
  • Springwater Corridor to Powell Butte
  • Various trails over Powell Butte to 162nd
  • 162nd to home

What a glorious sunny afternoon to ride my bike the long way home. It was a tremendous effort to climb Powell Butte – one that found me laying down, gasping for breath on the side of the trail at one point – but it was well worth it. On my way down the north side of the Butte, I wondered how hot my brake pads were getting. My rims were plenty hot when I got to the bottom and as I touched the front rim, I heard the distinct sound of air leaking from the front tire. At least it didn’t blow out when I was flying down the hill at 35 mph.

It took me about 15 minutes to pull the tube out and install my spare. I was actually pretty refreshed when I got back on and pedaled towards home. How surprised was I when I came upon this at 162nd and Division:

The picture is pretty blurry (you can click on it to get the full-size version), but it’s a car that had run up a telephone pole and came to rest in a vertical position. Somebody at the scene reckoned he must have been going 100 mph or better. I asked around and they said it had happened about 15 minutes before.

Now picture this: me in the bike lane at that moment had my bike tire not gone flat 15 minutes before. Freaky, huh? More pictures on my Flickr page.

Morning Bike Commute

Distance: 11.0 miles
Riding time: 55 minutes
Max speed: 27.2 mph
Average speed: 11.8 mph
Temperature: 72º
Route:

  • 162nd to Halsey
  • Halsey past I-84 overpass
  • 80th to Glisan
  • Glisan to 76th
  • 76th to Everett
  • Everett/Davis to Floral Place
  • Floral Place across Burnside to Ankeny
  • Ankeny to Grand
  • Grand to Burnside
  • Burnside to Broadway
  • Broadway to office

This was the second morning in a row that I took this route (instead of jumping on the Max). I mostly felt good but lagged on some of the hills. All the aches and pains from the weekend are gone and it was much cooler than yesterday (when I looked down to see 93º on the bike computer). Overall, a beautiful ride.

Vital Statistics

Hours of sleep last night: 8
Hours billed last week: 0
Cobs of corn eaten: 12 (approximate)
Aches & pains: none
Current reading:: Metal Cowboy by Joe Kurmaskie
Recent weather: hot, cold, wet, dry (no lightning or thunder)
Recently accomplished: picked and shucked corn, skeet shooting, swimming at Lake Hendricks, water park supervision, visited with various relatives, camping, shopping at Cabella’s
Upcoming To Do: return rental car, shopping at Mall of America, airplane to Portland, drive home from Seattle

You have to let that raga drop

As we hid from the rain in my sister’s giant RV this morning, somebody switched on the TV and we watched George Bush arrive at the new ground zero in Minneapolis. It occurred to me that if I lived in the middle of a disaster area, I would shudder if George Bush showed up. Nothing says “incompetence” quite like the Bush administration.

Morning Bike Commute

Distance: 17.6 miles
Riding time: 1 hour, 43 minutes
Actual time: 3 hours (estimate)
Max speed: 21.5 mph
Average speed: 10.2 mph
Temperature: 63º (with a little rain)
Route:

  • 162nd to Powell Butte
  • Rode in circles for 30 minutes
  • Old Holgate Trail down to Holgate (wow!)
  • Holgate to Buddy’s house
  • Buddy’s house to Foster Road
  • Foster Road to Woodward/Clinton
  • Clinton to Springwater Corridor
  • Springwater Corridor to Hawthorne Bridge
  • Waited 10 minutes for bridge to close
  • Waterfront to Oak
  • Oak to Broadway
  • Broadway to work

I originally intended to ride down to the Springwater Corridor and take that into downtown but taking 162nd south ran me right into Powell Butte. Powell Butte is a park with many trails suitable for biking. It hooks up with Springwater Corridor on the south side, so I decided I would ride over it. It opens with a really steep, but paved hill that will literally take your breath away (from pedaling). After I took a five minute break, I zig-zagged the rest of the way up the hill. Once I got to the top, though, it was easier going. I grabbed the paved trail and went on my way. After riding for about 20 minutes, I was very close to where I had started. Powell Butte has many trails to choose from and I had no idea which to choose. Except it occurred to me that the “Old Holgate Trail” might take me down to Holgate Street which is south of Powell. It did and I came out very close to Buddy’s house. I was going to stop and leave a copy of the Constitution in his door (my new calling card) but his truck was in the driveway and his front door was open. He doesn’t work on Friday so we chatted for a few minutes while I plotted my new course with my bike map. I didn’t think I had much left in the tank so I threw out the Springwater Corridor course, which jogs south a few miles, and adopted a new course crossing southeast Portland into downtown. As it turned out, I was not very fatigued as I pedaled up the ramp to the Hawthorne Bridge. Sadly, they had the drawbridge open and were doing some sort of maintenance which took a very long time. I stood patiently and listened to Handsome Boy Modeling School.

Morning Bike Commute

Distance: 11.0 miles
Riding time: 51 minutes
Max speed: 30.5 mph
Average speed: 12.8 mph
Temperature: 75º
Route:

  • 162nd to Halsey
  • Halsey past I-84 overpass
  • 80th to Glisan
  • Glisan to 76th
  • 76th to Everett
  • Everett/Davis to Floral Place
  • Floral Place across Burnside to Ankeny
  • Ankeny to Grand
  • Grand to Burnside
  • Burnside to Broadway
  • Broadway to office

Morning Bike Commute

Distance: 11.0 miles
Riding time: 56 minutes
Max speed: 25.6 mph
Average speed: 11.7 mph
Temperature: 70º
Route:

  • 162nd to Halsey
  • Halsey past I-84 overpass
  • 80th to Glisan
  • Glisan to 76th
  • 76th to Everett
  • Everett/Davis to Floral Place
  • Floral Place across Burnside to Ankeny
  • Ankeny to Grand
  • Grand to Burnside
  • Burnside to Broadway
  • Broadway to office

Morning Bike Commute

Distance: 10.9 miles*
Riding time: 54 minutes
Max speed: 23.7 mph
Average speed: 12.3 mph
Temperature: 58º
Route:

  • 162nd to Halsey
  • Halsey past I-84 overpass
  • 80th to Glisan
  • Glisan to 76th
  • 76th to Everett
  • Everett/Davis to Floral Place
  • Floral Place across Burnside to Ankeny
  • Ankeny to Grand
  • Grand to Burnside
  • Burnside to Broadway
  • Broadway to office
*The cable to my bike computer is shorting, I think. This route is usually around 12 or 13 miles.