A Saturday bike ride with Har

Remember when I said that the only bike accessory that Harlan wanted was me on a bike next to him. Last Saturday he got his wish. It was the first time that I've been able to ride along side him for any distance.  We decided to go on the trail that was my initial Ride Like a Girl ride.

Marine Drive

It was much easier to watch my bike get lifted off of the truck than doing it myself.

It was a hazy morning but was a pleasant temperature. Harlan let me set the pace for the ride and was patient when I wanted to stop to take pictures. The above thistles were growing next to the parking lot where we started out.

We saw this rose at the point that our group turned around last time. Har and I decided to go further along the I-205 South path. We found a path that we discovered years ago that runs along the Columbia slough behind some of the airport employee parking lots. It's much more overgrown than it was then.

There have been a lot of improvements to the path. We'll have to explore where this bridge leads to at another time.

The cottonwood fluff was blowing around and thick along the paths. Looking up in the trees you can tell why it's called cottonwood. I've not every seen the huge clumps of "cotton" on the trees before. Though I often hear those trees whispering, you know ;0)

We stopped for a bite to eat at the Subway on the west end of Cascade Station.

We remounted our bikes and rode all the way back to the truck with just one stop near the Sea Scout Base. We watched a couple of planes take off. We rode a total of 15.87 miles. Not bad for our first time out.

It's always fun to watch planes take off. It was especially exciting to think about taking a trip to see our East Coast kids hopefully this fall.  I miss the days when you could park along the fence and watch the planes and all of the activity over at PDX. The repaving of Marine Drive even took away the little pull off we used to park when tee ate lunch down by the river near the Sea Scout Base.

Some simple and free things to do are no longer an option but after this bike ride I believe there are so many more opportunities opening up to us. We talked to a gal who parked near the airport Home Depot and rode all the way to Kelly Point Park that morning. That has a few places where you have to share the road but if you go early enough the traffic shouldn't be a problem. 

This coming Saturday may not see us out on our bikes but we're going to try to get a couple of rides in per month. I'll make sure to keep you posted ;0)