GPHQ 1: River View Cemetery

April 9, 2021

I’m really warming quickly to this hill quest idea. It’s much easier to plan for, in contrast to plotting out and following a convoluted route that stitches together ten heritage trees. I can just wake up, check the state of the legs and the weather, and pick a climb that appeals to me at the moment. And, since they’re my rides, I get to pick the music for the video!

We’re starting out easy today, with a modest climb and descent on one of Portland’s best short riding experiences: the cycle route through River View Cemetery. There’s not that much to it - 1.6 miles with a 400’ rise or drop - but it’s a pure delight either direction.

The cemetery is private property, but permission has been granted for cyclists to follow a specific route from Palestine Hill Road at the top to the west end of the Sellwood Bridge at the bottom. It’s a convoluted route but easy to navigate if you’re paying careful attention to the navigational markers painted on the pavement. They’re easy to miss though, especially when whizzing downhill and watching for bikes coming your way around the next blind hairpin bend. And it’s beautiful, gliding through a virtual arboretum with sequoias and spruces crowding the margin of the narrow lane.

Not much narrative needed. I biked along the waterfront to the Sellwood Bridge, stopping for a few shots along the way; climbed through the cemetery, took a small loop past Lewis and Clark College at the top, and then dropped back. This morning, the day after, I see from a slight tightness in my calves that it had the desired effect. It’s not much of a climb, but the most I’ve done since we got home. Adirondacks, here we come!

And, a special note of thanks to Rachael for her help on preparing this and all of the other videos to come in this series. I’ve got the easy part - turn the GoPro on and off, hand her the camera to do her magic, and pick some music. She generaously volunteered to do the rest. Thanks, pard!

On the waterfront, the BF gets a last chance to preen before he gets stuffed into his suitcase for eight weeks.

Image not found :( — Looking across the Willamette from the Springwater bikeway. Below, the south end of Ross Island. Beyond is Council Crest, a high point we’ll be coasting down from later in this quest.

Video sound track: Desafinado, by Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd

Ride stats today: 20 miles, 900’

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marilyn swettNice ride Scott and great music on the video! Of course, I'm partial to historic cemeteries. I would have loved to have seen some closeups of some of older monuments but the flowering spring trees were nice to see.
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