Biking is Overrated

Yesterday morning we got off to a little late start, but not too bad. It was worth it for the great breakfast. We started just at the St. Helens boarder so it seems that all of our actual rides are longer than our planed routes. The start of our ride was mostly flat which was nice for a change compared to the first day’s hills. We made it into Portland area no problem, but like usual, we didn’t see the turn. Needless to say, roads don’t just end like Dad says, they merge into BIGGER roads. We almost got on the major highway bridge. I quickly told dad we need to turn around so we walked back and asked for directions. Eventually, after asking several times for directions, we crossed the Willamette and followed the esplanade along the river to the Springwater Trail Corridor. It is a converted railway so it’s now a beautiful 34 mile long bike path. We passed a submarine and Oak's Park, an amusement park that has been here since the Lewis and Clark exposition. But they are doing improvements right now so we had to take a detour. We had our pit crew meet us during the ride to refill and pick up mom so that she could spend time with her cousins. Me and Dad continued until the detour signs ended. And yes they ended, not at the beginning of the corridor, but just in at the end of the street. Yet again we were asking directions and even less people know where the trail is than major areas of Portland. We eventually got back on it and continued to our planned route. Let me tell you, the Springwater Trail was not on our original plan and again we added extra miles. I ran out of steam probably 20 miles from our destination and called in the back ups. We drove back to Oregon City for dinner and a tour of Portland. And where do all great tours start? Doughnuts. We went to Voodoo Doughnuts and got all kinds of delicious sweets. They even had one with my favorite ingredient, BACON! We figure if we’re riding all day it’s ok to have junk. We went around the city and got out to see the rose gardens, much nicer than any we have back home. Well, as you can see I am writing this blog this morning and mom is around packing. Dad got up this morning to start where we left off and we’ll join him this afternoon. We know that we’ll be the ones driving once we lose our pit crew so why force ourselves now? Today Dad will bike over Mt. Hood and we'll join him on the down hill.
-Ben