My new toy!!

[DarcyInOregon]

Ellen, great photos!

Except you missed me on my pink bike. :-)

I did 30 miles and came back along that way yesterday. Your photos show everyone on the forum how beautiful Oregon is, and how special the roads are where we bike. The photos show how lucky we are to live where we do.

You can get rides past 50 miles and still come back that way. That road remains my favorite to ride.

Darcy

[LadyinWhite]

I love those roads! I would LOVE to be able to ride in an area like that! *wistful sigh*

[oxysback]

Ellen, great photos!

Except you missed me on my pink bike. :-)

I did 30 miles and came back along that way yesterday. Your photos show everyone on the forum how beautiful Oregon is, and how special the roads are where we bike. The photos show how lucky we are to live where we do.

You can get rides past 50 miles and still come back that way. That road remains my favorite to ride.

Darcy

We'll have to ride together again so I can get some of you on your bike, for sure!

I was out later in the afternoon. I didn't even see your car at Champoeg, so you must've been done long before I got there.

We are, indeed, fortunate to live in this part of the country. I love the farms, orchards and beautiful scenery and I count my blessings because I get to see this every day!

[F8th637]

Congrats on the new camera! My husband and I love taking pictures and I can't wait to start taking some on rides. Thanks for sharing!

[Jo-n-NY]

I love the pics!!! You know maybe that is what I need, my own camera. I never posted a single pic in the years that I have been here. This was great. I love seeing pics of where everyone lives. Oregon looks like a really nice state to ride.

~ JoAnn

[HappyAnika]

Thanks for sharing. I always wonder what other people's rides look like. I just got a small camera myself, I can't wait to take it out on a ride.

[IFjane]

Oxy - what great pictures! Our terrain looks much like yours except ours is a bit hillier - and no hops and hazelnut groves.....or ospreys this far inland. My mom lives over on the Potomac River & has an osprey next out from her house. They arrive every year on March 3 (her birthday) and usually leave on Sept. 2 (my late father's birthday).

Anika - YOUR pictures will be the best 'cause you live in the most beautiful place to ride. (Jane is envious......can you tell? )

[DarcyInOregon]

Well I saw Ellen on that road on the way back from my ride this afternoon. Gosh, it was a lovely day. The temps went from the upper 70s to the low 80s. Ellen was on the side of the road tinkering with her brakes. It was good to see her.

Ellen, if you get on Donald Road, between Boonesferry and the overpass, there is a farm on the left (if you are heading toward Donald) and the farmer cut down a tree and made three stumps of varying heights; one stump is 3 feet, one is 4 feet and one is 5 feet. There are three goats and some days when I bike that way, the three goats are all perched on those stumps, one goat per stump. It is the most amazing sight, and maybe you can capture it in a photo.

Let us get together for a ride soon. I've kept my rides on the short side this week (30 miles) because I am doing the metric century on Sunday; I am recovering from some bruised tissues in my sensitive parts because I wore a pair of shorts that were too large for me on a longer ride last week and the chamois wrinkled up under me. I had new shorts arrive in the mail today in a smaller size and hopefully that will help solve my problem.

Darcy

[7rider]

Oxy - what great pictures! Our terrain looks much like yours except ours is a bit hillier - and no hops and hazelnut groves.....or ospreys this far inland. My mom lives over on the Potomac River & has an osprey next out from her house. They arrive every year on March 3 (her birthday) and usually leave on Sept. 2 (my late father's birthday).

Jane - my friends who live in Colorado - in Summit County at 9,000' - have an osprey nest not far from their place. All they need is water and suitable nesting space.

[oxysback]

Well I saw Ellen on that road on the way back from my ride this afternoon. Gosh, it was a lovely day. The temps went from the upper 70s to the low 80s. Ellen was on the side of the road tinkering with her brakes. It was good to see her.

Haha...that was certainly an interesting ride today. I was riding with a friend that will end up going with us on our couples ride in August to Cour d'Alane (I know I spelled that wrong!), Idaho. Right about at the rose gardens she has a flat. Back tire, of course, and she didn't have a spare, so we tried to patch it up. We couldn't find the leak, so it was a lost cause. She told me to go ahead and finish my ride and she would start walking the other way, then I'd pick her up with the van when I got done. Turns out she called her daughter to pick her up instead and I didn't check my phone messages, so I'm driving around thinking, "Surely she would have gotten this far by now!"

On a positive note...she and I used to ride at about the same speed. I guess I've gotten faster or something because it seems like I go reeeaaaaly slow when we ride together. But that's ok...feels good to be faster than someone for once!!

Oh, Darcy...did the scruffy border collie chase you today? He was just waiting in the bushes for me, but I yelled in a really low, loud voice and that stopped him in his tracks. He nipped my husband on the shoulder yesterday (he rides a recumbent trike...so he's at about dog level). Guess he looked like a weird sheep! I think I'll drive by that house and get the address so we can take some sort of action about the dog.

[DarcyInOregon]

Hi Ellen, the border collie runs out at me a few times a month, but I keep yelling NO! at the top of my lungs and pedal furiously, so the dog hasn't caught me yet. If a dog continues to bother you, it is best to stop and let the owners know, especially that as the weather warms up there will days where hundreds of cyclists will pass in front of their house.

Regarding your speed, when I cycle with you your low speed is about 12 and your high speed is about 18-19. You must be twice as fast as your friend, because when I rounded the bend in the road and saw you today, you were off your bike and tinkering with the brake, and your friend was still a quarter of a mile further along the road biking to catch up with you. I think for the rail-to-trail ride the four of you are planning this summer, you will need to sit down and discuss things like speed, how often you will stop, if you will bike together as a group, and so on. If your friend is only cycling at 8 miles an hour, I don't see the rest of you cycling that slow for 70 miles, especially when you are used to averaging 14-16 and your husband averages 18-22. For one thing it would take you almost 9 hours of being on the saddle, and that isn't counting the time for the stops.

Darcy