Council Crest - Seven and Seven: 2025 - CycleBlaze

June 8, 2025

Council Crest

We're experiencing something of a heat wave here for a few days.  Yesterday maxed out in the low 80's (or 30, to you Celsius types - but I'm trying to train you so you'll be ready when DJT bans units he didn't learn as a child).  It's ten degrees hotter today and expected to be so tomorrow also before it drops back to something more comfortable.

Rachael's game for a bike ride again tomorrow, as long as we get an early start; but for today she opts for a walk up to the Rose Garden where she can stay in the shade as much as possible.  I decide I need to get some climbing in though and head up to Council Crest again, biking past the Rose Garden and Japanese Garden (both insanely busy today) and then up to the divide.  It's actually a pretty fair climb up through Washington Park, with maybe six to eight switchbacks that lift me up around a thousand feet in maybe five miles.  They're pretty tame, except for the three spots that hit 11-12%.  It's enough though that after the sixth or seventh one I start imagining I'm a seventh of the way up Stelvio.

There's not much more to say about the ride than that, ther than to include the map, claim some credit, and show the few photos I pulled the phone out for.  After that I dropped back through the park again, making it back in time to meet up with Rachael and head over to Jake's for lunch.

The rose garden in Washington Park is a beautiful spot but I think I prefer the character of the one in Peninsula Park.
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Andrea BrownAgreed. Peninsula Park is less touristy and seems more part of a neighborhood. It's a very old park, too, with an old pavilion kind of structure that is very cool.
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6 days ago
Patrick O'Hara"I start imagining I'm a seventh of the way up Stelvio." Dare to dream! With those new knees, who knows?
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1 day ago
Scott AndersonTo Patrick O'HaraYes, but by then I'll be nearly 80. Nobody climbs Stelvio when they're 80.
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1 day ago
Patrick O'HaraTo Scott AndersonYou're not everybody, Scott.
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1 day ago
On Council Crest.
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Kelly IniguezDoes your bike have a steer stopper? Isn't that a handy do dad? I never know I needed one, until I bought a used bike that came with one installed. When Jacinto sent his bike back to Rodriguez last summer for the frame repair, he had them install a steer stopper on his bike.
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6 days ago
Scott AndersonTo Kelly IniguezA steer stopper? I think you'd need that more in Colorado than southern France. I don't remember seeing many steer roaming around over there.
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6 days ago
Kelly IniguezTo Scott AndersonYou are a quick one! What is that on your top tube, near the handlebars?
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6 days ago
Scott AndersonTo Kelly IniguezJust the strap from the handlebar bag.
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6 days ago
You get a fair view of Mount Saint Helens from up here, as well as a bit of Rainier peeking over its shoulder.
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Also a good look further east to Mount Adams. And Hood of course, but we've seen it a lot lately.
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The afternoon is relaxed.  Rachael reads her latest book, the planning committee has its thinking cap on, and in the background is the Stan Getz/Oscar Peterson disc Frank sent me as a welcome home gift.  It's a new album to me, pleasantly mellow.  We'll keep it in mind for the right video, maybe on a lazy overcast day.

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Today's ride: 25 miles (40 km)
Total: 1,091 miles (1,756 km)

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Bob KoreisIf you've not looked, there is some great Oscar Peterson content on YouTube, especially interviews where he talks about musical styles and plays a bit of the same piece in the style of different pianists.
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6 days ago