Cyclocross, a sort of crazy I'll never experience except through a camera lens

October 2, 2011, Alpenrose Cyclocross. Lamont knew a few folks in the race, so he invited me to tag along to watch. To paraphrase, good golly, Miss Molly, these folks sure like to roll. Steep, slippery, muddy, snaking--all terms that describe the course that they strived to roll. Men and women of all ages did their best to stay upright and finish. I had a great time watching and taking photos!

The bike box at work at this intersection.

Bicycle commuters at the corner of SE Madison and SE Grand, waiting to head west over the Hawthorne Bridge into downtown Portland. I took this photo at 7:42 a.m., October 13, 2011. I had walked part of the way to work on that dry morning. That brick building is where I work. The green-painted pavement is a bike box which allows bicyclists to get in front of cars in order to be visible at specified intersections. It's a safety measure, particularly where cars want to turn right and bicyclists want to go straight.

Winter Opposites - No. 9, The family that cycles together?

May 20, 2011, I walked east on East Burnside, more than likely transferring from the 6 bus or the CL Line Streetcar to my last bus home, either the 12 or the 19, depending on which one arrived first. Naturally, this group of cyclists stopped at the traffic signal caught my eye. Although the sky is not blue, there is sunshine which probably made their ride more pleasant. May in Portland does mean layers are still a necessity. Here's what I think is happening with these people--the man and the children in the green helmets--love that sort of beetle bug shade of green--and the woman are a family. The other man is her brother, in town for a visit and altogether not too sure about this business of riding a bike in the big city.

Creative Problem Solving, #4

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How do you let passing bicyclists know that right there on the sidewalk--on NE Couch, just west of NE Martin Luther King--free coffee and donuts await? You make and hang a sign!
 

How do you transport what you use to hang the sign to that spot on the sidewalk? You tow its folded-up-self behind your bicycle. Creative problem solving!

Mother's Day Mini-Vacation, No. 20 - On the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway

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Our waiter at the best-place-to-eat-weekend-breakfast-in-Bend-Oregon, Brother Jon's Public House, had told us that he'd heard the announcement--Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway, open already--usually not before Memorial Day! The guys added this to our plan for Saturday, May 11, 2013.
 

Left to right, South Sister, Middle Sister, North Sister, and Broken Top. Outta sight swell and glorious!
 

Mt. Bachelor.
 

Snow piled up on the driver's side of the car! Amazing!
 

Around every curve for a while, snow! I haven't seen snow this deep since I rode the cog railway up to the top of Pike's Peak years ago. Of course, this is pile here by snow plows and that at the top of the mountain was plain ol' deep, probably deeper than this, but nevertheless, this snow impressed me. And I still had the window down on the car and could feel the chill in the air. Magnificent!
 

Saw these bicyclists. Could not believe how many folks we passed riding bicycles!
 

Look! Here's one now!
 

We stopped to take a look at a lake. As I paused for traffic so that I could cross the byway back to the car, here comes the same guy!
 

There's Leland in the driver's seat of Engine, our Zipcar Ford Escape. We pulled out from here and stopped at another lake. Lamont walked, carefully watching out for vehicles and bicycles.
 

Isn't this lake a beauty? I wish I knew the name of it. Alas, I saw no sign.
 

Close up of the snow and trees on the far side of the lake.

Mother's Day Mini-Vacation, No. 6 - riding Highway 26 with folks on their way to ski and/or race. TTTT, there is no engine in that race car.

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While going through Madras, Oregon, we noticed these young men on bicycles on the highway. I wondered what they were doing riding bicycles, loaded with what looked like camping equipment, and said, "Gosh, that looks crazy." Meaning dangerous. Then Leland said, "I wouldn't want to be riding a bike to go skiing." Skiing? Then I noticed that strapped on with the camping gear were skis and ski poles; there's a red helmet on the back of one bike, too. Oh, this just entered my mind. I wonder if inside those bags are ski boots and ski suits, not tents and cookware and such? Maybe they've got a reservation at a resort? Do they call proper ski clothing ski suits? By the way, I took this photo at 4:31 p.m. And I just checked how far it is from Madras to Mt. Bachelor, the nearest place I'm aware of for skiing -- right at 65 miles away. We drove right by Mt. Bachelor on Saturday, snow every where.
 

Here's a wider view of the same photo. I didn't want to ignore the chance to show you two of the Zipcar perks on Engine, our deep red Ford Escape, stuck to the windshield, those orange things in the lower right corner. One, an Annual Northwest Forest Pass, which sells for $30, so we didn't have to buy a Day Pass for $5. And two, an Oregon State Parks Yearly Day Pass, which also sells for $30, so we didn't have to buy a Day Pass for $5. Yea, Zipcar!
 

And here's the race car we passed in Engine. No engine in it, no engine at all. That log building is the Black Bear Diner which a friend of both sons says has good food. Maybe another trip we'll stop for a meal--didn't work out that way this time. Oh, is TTTT a proper abbreviation in use today by those who text? For me it means To Tell The Truth. Is that a real one? Anyone? Anyone?

Seen in downtown Portland, backlit bicyclists

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December 5, 2012, the night I walked to Pioneer Courthouse Square between homeward-bound buses in order to get a good photo of Portland's Christmas tree, I saw these two waiting in the traffic while I waited to cross the street. There's a good chance they are headed east to cross the Hawthorne Bridge. 

I cannot remember which intersection this is, so I've looked at the photos before and after it, in the download on my iMac. I've looked at the trees and the light fixture on the wall in the photo. I've made my best guess and have Google-Mapped SW Broadway and street-viewed SW Broadway and SW Salmon. There it is! Yep, they're headed east on SW Salmon which could eventually put them on the Hawthorne Bridge, or to some north/south thoroughfare that would take them to other bridges open to bicycles in Portland. Pretty cool. 

If I were younger, I often wonder, would I ride a bike here? I honestly do not know. I did ride a bike to the grocery store and to acting classes back in 1971-72 in Kansas City, Missouri--my neighborhood was in between the oldest area of KCMO and the downtown area, on bus lines and with wide streets. So, I rode the bus to work and the bicycle on errands, after I had sold my car. Younger, more limber, less fearful of consequences because, like most youth, I knew nothing could ever happen to me because it would only happen to someone else.